In a comment on last week’s post Make Time for Masochism, Alex Fayle of Someday Syndrome brought up a very valid point: What did people do before we were available 24 hours a day?
This got me thinking. What did I do before I was constantly connected?
I’m hoping most of you are smarter than I am, and far less addicted to technology. I’m assuming most of you don’t agonize over taking a few hours off to go to the dentist for fear you won’t be able to live without your iphones. (Please tell me I’m right.)
But I know an awful lot of folks, from fellow freelancers to lawyer friends, who spend a tremendous amount of time tied to various technologies, for work and for play. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed that I spend a lot of time on my iphone, even when I’m not on the laptop. And quite often, even when I’m not working I’m playing on the laptop or the iphone.
When I go for walks, I bring my iphone so I can listen to music, podcasts or audio books. Convenient, but having the iphone with me is also a great excuse to check my email every few blocks. When I’m through working for the night, I frequently watch a television show I’ve downloaded from itunes, or watch an instant movie from netflix. Even when I’m reading a book, the iphone is always close by (and usually on, so I can see new emails coming in).
I know I’m not so important that I need to be connected all the time. It’s simply an addiction to technology. Last month, one of my friends from San Francisco was in town, and we went to an art exhibit where we couldn’t take out our cell phones. For that hour or so we were in the cultural center, I felt naked. I actually had to stop myself a few times from pulling the iphone out simply out of habit.
Needless to say, I don’t disconnect very well!
How well do you disconnect? Do you find yourself tied to technology even for fun and relaxation? Or are you able to turn off the computer and the cell phone and the pda at the end of your business day and move on to other kinds of fun?
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I’m lucky. I have children. They do not permit me to stay connected.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
Well, I don’t have an iphone but I do find myself panicking if I can’t connect. I’m always wondering if that editor replied, etc. It’s weird. I’ve forced myself to “unplug” as I like to call it, but it’s hard. I’m always, always thinking of the e-mails I’ll have to wade through when I connect again. You’re not alone in this. In fact, you’re part of a HUGE club.
*smiles*
Michele
Michele’s last blog post..Freelance Writing: Writers on the Cyber Highway
I disconnect very well. I have to or else I get headaches. Or yelled at by my husband. Or stared at forlornly by my dog (and I don’t do well with guilt. I’m Catholic).
At the end of most days, I force myself to shut down my PC so that I can’t access my email until the morning. I don’t own an iPhone or a PDA. I love to hike and kayak and be outside, so when I’m in the woods, I leave all technology behind. And when I’m at the beach, there’s no technology allowed. You’re lucky if I used my electronic toothbrush that morning.
Rebecca Smith’s last blog post..It’s all about I
Writer Dad — Maybe I can borrow yours sometime.
Michele — We need to make it a smaller club. LOL I think unplug is a good word.
Rebecca — The laptop gives me headaches, so somehow I justify using the iphone instead. Itty bitty type, not better. LOL Is Catholic guilty anything like Jewish guilt? Cuz that would suck…
I just stay away from the computer,and relax watching the tube.
I hope that you have a grand day!
Mike Golch’s last blog post..something really great.
Hi Amy - I know what you mean - I used to be available and reply to everyone 24/7 - then it just got way too much. Now I only check my email about 3 times a day. Sometimes I switch it off and don’t look at it for a few days.
I got rid of my cellphone and I won’t always take calls on my homephone either. It just got too much. You’re right - people expect you to be available 24 hours a day - it really bugged me, until I realised they were only expecting that because I made myself available.
My worst weaknesses are probably visiting too many blogs and commenting etc, but those are in my control - they’re not interrupting me. You should try switching everything off for a while - once you’ve done it - you’ll realise you don’t need it.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..Blog Widgets And Other Great Stuff
Amy, I just read Jenn Hollowell’s recent post about “unplugging” and thought you might enjoy it too.
Michele’s last blog post..Freelance Writing: Writers on the Cyber Highway
Amy, I am a recovering techaholic. I did not attend a 12 step program or become traumatized by an iphone, it just kind of happened. It was a slow evolution that began with accidentally throwing away a pager while in the throes of my once every 10 years flu and finally came full circle nearly a decade later. I turn off and tune out pretty. There’s hope!
Start slow - on the weekend, purposefully don’t check anything until noon. Give yourself long slow weekend mornings. Go out for brunch and “forget” your iphone.
I can now go a whole weekend without touching anything computer or cellphone related. (I don’t own a PDA and don’t check email on my phone).
Of course as soon as I’m back in the house, the computer goes on and I’m checking everything.
Another way to do it is to set yourself schedule. If you had a 9-to-5 job, you’d make an effort to leave work at work, no? So why not do the same for your home office. Set office hours (whatever you want) then stick to them.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome’s last blog post..When Too Much Stuff Happens: Nada Thomson Interview
Forget headaches — I think I’d go blind staring at an iPhone screen!
Rebecca Smith’s last blog post..Are you a medieval mercenary?
Amy,
I keep myself pretty well disconnected from things (don’t start and you won’t have to figure out how to stop, that’s my motto), but when I went to visit my family early in the summer I discovered I’m not as good about it as I think, since blogging has entered my world in force.
The vacation was fine (I could check in periodically while I was there) but the six-plus hours of driving, wondering if the blog was burning down in my absence, was killer.
Hello, it’s my own, calm little blog. Does it ever burn down? Why would it while I’m driving?
After it went well, we got out of town a couple more times, and I was fine. The first trip I practically forgot to say hi to my parents, for how anxious I was to plug in the laptop.
Regards,
Kelly
P.S. Didn’t you have a full feed (rather than excerpt) before? Please consider bringing it back…
Kelly’s last blog post..Inspiration Points: It’s You—Yes, YOU—Seeing the World at Dawn
Kelly — I didn’t take away the full feed, but apparently (now that I’ve looked into it) using the more feature (’click to continue’) makes the feed end at that point. I’m torn. I like not having to have the whole post on the main page and don’t really understand why it affects the feed, since the whole post appears on one page by itself. Must seek higher counsel… Will get back to you.
Oh and about your drive… I rarely worry about this blog at all, because everyone here plays nice, but I do worry about my clients’ blogs while I’m on planes and stuff. Luckily I’m not traveling much these days. 
Rebecca — I thought that too, but sadly I’m so used to it now that it doesn’t blind me any more than the computer screen does.
Alex — Your idea about waiting till noon I could do. But I don’t think I could go the whole weekend without technology. It’s not just work, but also that email is how I talk to my friends. So if I went without technology, I would also not have anyone to talk to.
Must find way to sit in silence without feeling wonky… You’d be proud though. Yesterday I went for a walk without the iphone. 
Karen — I need a 12 step program. LOL I’m glad you beat it. You’ll be my inspiration.
Michele — Thanks! I will have to check that out!
Cath — I know you’re right. I probably would realize I don’t need it. I got to the point a while ago where I stopped caring about phone calls. My phone ringer is almost always off. Email is my weakness. Blogs are another weakness, but at least like you say that’s a bit different. I only blogsurf when I have the time.
Mike — Ah, but tv is still technology, eh? Do you think so? (I do.)
Hi Amy, I’m here to serve! LOL! I can also help with your feed issue. It’s wonky WP issue, that I just fixed for my own blog. Download and install Complete RSS and your feed will no longer be truncated in feed readers and email. When I switched to WP this was driving me bananas too. If you are not sure how to do this hit me up and I can walk you through.
Karen — Thanks!! This was going to drive me bonkers. If I have any problem I will track you down.
Sadly, I don’t have an iPhone to disconnect, so that’s not a problem. I’m rarely near my own cell phone. But I do have a problem disconnecting from the computer at the end of the workday. I think instead of laptops, we should call them cracktops. Like the crackberry (I don’t have one of those either). Yes, that’ll work.
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Slam Poetry’s Wonder Woman
Melissa — Yes, I agree that cracktops is appropriate. LOL I have a very hard time getting off of mine.
Kelly — The full feed plugin seems to have fixed the problem for new posts, so let me know if you’re still not getting the full feed.
Amy,
I’ll get back to you, because I’m just that kind of gal.
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Inspiration Points: It’s You—Yes, YOU—Seeing the World at Dawn
I don’t have a lot of technology, just the computer and a basic cell phone I rarely use. But I don’t disconnect well from the computer at all. In fact, if I can take it further, I don’t disconnect well, period, not only from technology. I just can’t relax. I don’t disconnect from stress.
steph’s last blog post..Is It Okay for Me to be Selfish Yet?
Kelly — Thanks for being that kind of girl.
Steph — Neither do I. But shhh… I never said that. Heheh.
I used to be a full-fledged plugged in addict. Now I take weekends off including my cell-phone. It working OK.
It was harder as a Realtor. I am enjoying life much better now.
Much, Much.
Wendi Kelly - Life’s Little Inspirations’s last blog post..Wide-Eyed Walking
Wendi — What? No more Blackberry? Eeek.
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