Disconnected

I mentioned in a recent post that I evaluate my personal goals monthly. For this month, I have been thinking a lot about my connections. I thought about my friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and, most importantly, my wife. I came to realize that I socialize with my immediate circle fairly regularly and talk to close friends when I get the chance. But pulling out my phone one day at the office made me realize just how digitally connected to everything I am. I had a Facebook notification, a Google+ update, a new message on Twitter, and a text!

For most of us, I realize that this is probably fairly regular. But I felt the need to hone in and focus on what is really important to me and disconnect for a little while. Understand that, as a professional, I know the power and influence of social media. In fact, is it arguable that no company or professional should be completely digitally disconnected with the world. Benefits of social media include keeping in touch, revisiting old friendships, and marketing yourself to potential employers. I am not saying that I will be disconnecting from everyone. But I did strongly feel the need to take some additional time out of the day to disconnect. So the other day, I took a walk.

It was very pleasant as far a temperature and sunshine that day and the walk did not take more than about 30 minutes. But I was incredibly refreshed afterwards. I had kept my phone in my pocket and just took time to enjoy my surroundings while thinking about absolutely nothing. The funny thing is that after I came back in, I hit the ground running with the things that I needed to accomplish for the day. The result was, I believe, getting my work done more efficiently and more quickly than I would have if I had not taken that break. Before I took my walk, I had recently tried going a weekend without technology. Let me go on the record by highly recommending a weekend break. It gave me a deeper appreciation for simpler things in life, but also allowed me to get back on pace during the week.

I know that I probably sound like a complete hypocrite as a frequent blogger, twitter, and LinkedIn user. But in the same way that productivity is more sustainable with breaks sprinkled throughout, I feel like my online presence is best maintained with chances to disconnect. I would encourage you to take some time away from your computer and relax a little bit.

It does not have to be a walk. I highly recommend playing a sport because you should not be checking the internet during such an activity. Reading a good book also works really well. Books help you focus solely on the content of the story and not on anything else. Whatever you choose, make sure it is free of distractions and gives you a mental break. Those are the only criteria.

Not only do times of disconnection increase your productivity afterwards, they also increase your mental capacity as well. My wife will be the first to tell you that I am not a good multitask-er. I can't even hide the fact that I'm doing something else when I am on the phone with her. But I have found the value in having a single-track mind. I am very focused on the task at hand. I have seen the benefits of this, first-hand in my office.

There are several employees that I work with who multitask constantly. They have email, projects, and daily tasks all pulled up at the same time and work a little bit on each one. Contrast that with the way that I work. I spend the first hour of every day working on my daily tasks for the job. The people that I come into contact with on a regular basis know not to expect an answer to a phone call or an email response in that first hour. But during the second hour of my day, I focus exclusively on returning phone calls and answering emails. The result? I accomplish the same amount of work in half the time of my aforementioned co-workers because I focus on one task at a time.

Not everyone is wired that way. My wife, for example, is great at multitasking. She continually amazes me with her ability to talk on the phone and watch a movie while simultaneously absorbing information from both sources. But I have found that my best practices are the ones that enable me to practice focusing on one thing at a time. That's why I liked free-throws on the basketball court and why I enjoy golf now. My point in all of this is that the benefits of disconnecting every once in a while will be different for everyone. Discover what your benefits are and take a break. Your body, mind, spirit, and professional life will thank you. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew