Last night as I was wrapping up for the day I packed my bag and left my computer at work. Blame it on Rio, blame it on Mame, blame it on the New Year, but I decided that the world (and my job) wouldn't come to an end if I severed my 0101010110010101 tether for one evening.
Every morning when my assistant arrives and gets settled she comes into my office with my calendar for the day. Usually I have about a dozen meetings already set up, varying in length from 30 minutes to two hours. That's my day.
I've counted, on average I get 162 emails a day.
What does any of this have to do with getting work done? Naturally as the ECD of an agency, there's stuff I have to do. I have to meet with people, I have to strategize and all that.
But when you add it all together, part of me feels that there is a tyranny of thought control happening here. (Maybe that's why I am so avid about expressing myself in this space.) I have no time to think, to do what I'm good at doing, to create.
Last night I left my computer at work.
What if today I blew off meetings?
Left my email unread?
And just is-ed for the day?
you're right. we've been taken hostage by technology. what technology does to us. i panic when i forget my cell phone or can't get to a computer soon enough. how the heck did i function 20 years ago. judging from boxes in my attic i was very productive.
ReplyDeletetake a mental health day.
ReplyDeleteYou deserve it.
Just sit in your office and surf the web or read a book or look out the window. Take a long lunch. Take a walk.
Or better yet, go home.
My bff is a nurse and when she has a bad day, it's because someone died, or almost died. Made me realise I've never really had a bad day.
Leaving your computer at work is like getting a cold after traveling. In the case of a cold, it is your body telling you it is time to stay on the ground and off the plane to rest. Leaving your computer at work is like your brain (or office) telling you to rest and take time off. Next time leave your cell phone too-make shock your whole system into moments of clarity that last all year!
ReplyDelete