Preparing to Be Disconnected...Completely
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My wife and I are going on a cruise next week, and I will be completely unavailable to my team during that time. I'm not paying for wifi on the ship and will likely not check e-mail while in port at some of our cruise stops.
So after taking vacations where I had constant access to e-mail and phone calls / texts if needed, I am going cold turkey. For those who have done the same, did you feel a little anxiety in doing that? After working several side jobs in the past couple of years, it will be very different to not check e-mail every day. I'm sure it will be enjoyable, but I'm actually getting anxious about being disconnected. As long as my team can handle matters while I am away, it should be fine, right?
This will be the first time in over 7 years of IT where I will be completely disconnected.
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@NetworkNerd said:
So after taking vacations where I had constant access to e-mail and phone calls / texts if needed, I am going cold turkey. For those who have done the same, did you feel a little anxiety in doing that? After working several side jobs in the past couple of years, it will be very different to not check e-mail every day. I'm sure it will be enjoyable, but I'm actually getting anxious about being disconnected. As long as my team can handle matters while I am away, it should be fine, right?
I could not do it for that long. I've disconnected over a weekend a couple times, but gods, I could not do that.
I go to Japan and work 30 hours a week while I am there on average. Though that is visiting the in-laws so not sure that it counts as vacation.
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I went backpacking in Montana last year. We were 5 Miles from signal and about 1.5 miles from the car on foot for 5 days straight. The first day I was anxious about it, and then it got amazing. This was amplified for me because I was not only with out Internet, but also no electric, plumbing, running water, a bed, or solid shelter in Grizzly bear habitat. However it was life changing. I didn’t realize how much I was plugged in and how high my resting stress level was in dealing with email and people wanting information from me. Once you get over the point of no return, and you know it is just a fact that you are offline, it is nice and the pace and time of life kind of reset back to a normal. For me coming back online was the most upsetting because you are playing catchup. So you go from nothing to 3 times normal comunication for a couple days.
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I am doing the same thing in a year, around March, 2016. Two weeks on a cruise, totally out of contact. I think that I will need to be sedated. @Minion-Queen might need to be too.
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I find that there are times that I want to really disconnect.... however I enjoy music enough that while I enjoy the peacefulness of the woods, I would like to listen to music.
I am still experimenting on what works and what is just way to much....
Of course the shock therapy is helping.....
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I've really wanted to be disconnected when I've went camping etc. However Everywhere I've worked still has required us have our email on our personal phones and be available if needed. One even had to take a laptop on his honeymoon.
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@scottalanmiller said:
I am doing the same thing in a year, around March, 2016. Two weeks on a cruise, totally out of contact. I think that I will need to be sedated. @Minion-Queen might need to be too.
My feeling is that @NetworkNerdWifey can feel the anxiety I'm giving off at the moment. But I am hoping I will have a similar experience to that of @s.hackleman .
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@scottalanmiller said:
I am doing the same thing in a year, around March, 2016. Two weeks on a cruise, totally out of contact. I think that I will need to be sedated. @Minion-Queen might need to be too.
Whoa! You're going to disconnect for that long? Yep - you may need to be sedated. Repeat after me, " I am not a workaholic."
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@thecreativeone91 said:
I've really wanted to be disconnected when I've went camping etc. However Everywhere I've worked still has required us have our email on our personal phones and be available if needed. One even had to take a laptop on his honeymoon.
A laptop on the honeymoon? That just seems wrong.
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@NetworkNerd said:
@scottalanmiller said:
I am doing the same thing in a year, around March, 2016. Two weeks on a cruise, totally out of contact. I think that I will need to be sedated. @Minion-Queen might need to be too.
Whoa! You're going to disconnect for that long? Yep - you may need to be sedated. Repeat after me, " I am not a workaholic."
Moving to Spain has already cured me of that. Siesta, wine, mountain hiking...
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I enjoy camping and look for spots I know have zero phone coverage. Unplugging feels good.
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@MattSpeller said:
I enjoy camping and look for spots I know have zero phone coverage. Unplugging feels good.
Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize?
[Takes a bite of steak]
Cypher: Ignorance is bliss. -
I feel like this is mostly an American issue for some reason. Employers expect employees to be checking in 24/7 and employees feel bad if they aren't.
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@thecreativeone91 said:
I feel like this is mostly an American issue for some reason. Employers expect employees to be checking in 24/7 and employees feel bad if they aren't.
I agree. I remember talking with some British guys at Spiceworld last year who worked 35 hours per week and were paid for overtime if they needed to work it (which was not often). It's like the American Business Model has conditioned us all to be workaholics.
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@thecreativeone91 said:
I feel like this is mostly an American issue for some reason. Employers expect employees to be checking in 24/7 and employees feel bad if they aren't.
My employer definitely does not expect that. But I find very little more stressful than being stuck in a situation where I can't know that things are okay. I get the same anxiety if my wife and kids are traveling and have not checked in. There is no reason to believe that things are not okay, but there is always that possibility that the car has broken down, or there has been an accident, or someone got sick or hurt - because you don't know that things are okay, you have to wonder if they are.
It's about stress reduction. Being forced to be kept in the dark knowing that surprises are waiting for you when you return is a tough way to "vacation."
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@scottalanmiller said:
Being forced to be kept in the dark knowing that surprises are waiting for you when you return is a tough way to "vacation."
Nah, I have confidence in my team to handle anything that comes up. If anything does go "really wrong" then knowing about it will only stress me out not make it better.
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Knowing things are ok is comforting, but if you know there is a problem and can do nothing to help, well, that adds stress.
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@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Being forced to be kept in the dark knowing that surprises are waiting for you when you return is a tough way to "vacation."
Nah, I have confidence in my team to handle anything that comes up. If anything does go "really wrong" then knowing about it will only stress me out not make it better.
I don't have the "ignore it and it makes me feel better" thing. Nothing feels better than knowing that nothing is wrong. And if something is wrong, I feel better knowing than wondering. I've told my wife many times this year since we were stuck dealing with so many life disasters (mostly career and country related) that I'd be happier if the worst case scenario would happen (which is basically did) and just happen rather than spend months powerlessly wondering what scenario would play out. The worst case felt better than not knowing which case it was!
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@scottalanmiller I suppose if you work solo or are solely responsible for something I can understand that.
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@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller I suppose if you work solo or are solely responsible for something I can understand that.
Even normally. When I worked for a massive bank (hundreds of thousands of people) it was nice to know our boss was still our boss, that layoffs had not hit our group, that I wasn't reassigned or whatever. That stuff was daily rumour and knowing that everything was okay and that you weren't coming back to a relocation to another state or country or taking a paycut or laid off was comforting.
I can't imagine any scenario where knowing that bad things could be happening is more comforting than knowing that they are not.
