I'm guilty of "taking my weekend" to re-cooperate from the week. I try to stay offline and not work – ok, maybe I will respond to some personal emails or read some articles, but I'm not producing anything new. I'm taking a break.
By Friday afternoon, I'm either:
- Overstimulated and just can't think rationally anymore.
- Overwhelmed and can't organize my desk – nevermind a thought.
- Stir crazy (looking at the same 4 walls for 4-5 days solid can be a little much).
When I look at the computer screen and all I see are pretty pictures, I know I need a change of pace.
That's when I know it is time to unplug, walk away from the computer and do something else. Anything else.
I do love my work. But to keep being creative, I need space to experience inspiration. Sometimes I can escape on a weeknight; often, I can’t. That’s what weekends are for.
I used to work faithfully all weekend and now that I look back, it didn't do me any favors. I was a freelancer working by the hour and it made me a lot of money, but I wasn’t working smarter because I never rested. It was hard to always be innovative because I wasn't making time to get new input or let myself be inspired – I was constantly pushing out thoughts and solutions.
It wasn’t until I moved to Dallas that I started to unplug during the weekends and give myself time for inspiration. It was the best thing I ever did. I opened up to new experiences, got offline, experienced life, and lived at a slower pace.
Recently at the Dallas Digital Conference, I heard a talk by Randi Zuckerberg where she noted that unplugging during the weekend was going to be a trend. She swears by it. And is working with an organization to encourage it.
She does admit that one of the challenges with unplugging is how people respond to that. Many do expect that all responses should be immediate. That’s just not realistic – nor should it be expected. And when we keep doing it, frankly, we are allowing others to keep expecting that behavior from us, and the cycle continues. Life doesn't need to be at the pace others set for you.
To experience the world, sometimes it is better to be offline anyway.
But I sensed it one night in November when I saw a photo of a beautiful Seattle sunset on Twitter, and realized I could have seen it myself that evening, if I had just bothered to look around. (Do you unplug? Making the case for ‘No-Tech Sundays, Monica Guzman)
That line “just bothered to look around” haunted me. So often we will shift our focus away from the present to look at people’s pictures, tag who is in them, and read about what others are doing that we are missing life around us. How many people have you observed so engaged in their phones and oblivious to the present life that they bump into poles? Or miss a curiosity around them? They lose touch with real life and start to devalue it. It's great to read about your friend's past and present, but your own present should also be treasured.
And then there is the creativity factor. It's pretty well known that to be creative at work, you need to take a break. Even Forbes has an article about it – 8 Ways Goofing Off Can Make You More Productive. And there is a line in the article about why I unplug on the weekends:
Many of our most creative, productive thoughts come not while we’re trying to force them during long sessions at our desks, but at odd moments outside the office.
On the weekends, I make space to create and let my mind wander, which I can't do during the week because I'm either in meetings or on deadlines. But on a Saturday, even running errands has a leisurely, wandering quality to it. I may decide to change my routine and explore a new part of Dallas on a whim. I may explore a store that is new to me, take a walk in a park, or visit a museum I have wanted to go to but never found the time to visit before. There are plans but no plans at the same time. There is no clock telling me where to be or what to do.
Being plugged in changes that because I feel that I need to respond to people's requests or be accountable to share what I'm doing ("document" as a friend of mine said). There are times where I just want to use my memory to record the experience and just enjoy it. Why do I need to share my experiences with others? It sounds selfish, but I wonder if the social media sharing is subconscious bragging or real sharing with the world? What’s my motive? And then I ask myself the larger question – Why do I care about what others think about my life?
On the weekends, I stay offline to experience life on my own and be open to new adventures.
Bottom line, no-tech Sundays are helping me notice all the things that connected tech is changing about the ways we behave. It’s not about rejecting tech, or recovering a life without it. It’s about taking this power that’s appeared in our world and slowing it down just enough to look at it, understand it, and maybe, just maybe, take control. (Do you unplug? Making the case for ‘No-Tech Sundays, Monica Guzman)
I couldn't have said that better than Monica. She's right.
So if anyone thinks I'm ignoring them on a Saturday or Sunday, I probably am. I'm unplugging and being slightly irresponsible, refusing to live on a schedule, and taking a break from work and life to be open to new ideas and experiences. I'll be a better person for it on Monday,