The Blessing (& Curse) of Instant Access

Greetings from Connie Mann in Central Florida, where summer means sweet tea,
afternoon thunderstorms and mosquitoes the size of dinner plates. It is so tempting to hunker down inside—air conditioner at sub-zero, ceiling fans whirring, and our favorite electronic device clutched in our hands.

But that’s where things get tricky. Today’s instant-access technology can be a blessing--and a curse. The plus side is that smart phones and tablets allow us to work from anywhere, at any time. The downside is that we often keep working, when we should be connecting with the folks right in front of us. We can trade relationships for productivity—and not realize we’re doing it.

During my six-plus years as a Glass Bottom Boat Captain at Silver Springs, I met thousands of lovely people. Sadly, one man in particular stands out as an example of, “How not to go on vacation.” He came aboard my river cruise with his wife, several grown children and a cluster of grandchildren. As I narrated the trip, everyone aboard ooh-ed and aah-ed over the alligators, birds and beauty around us. This gentleman saw none of it. He had angled away from everyone and spent the entire trip talking on one cell phone while he typed into another.

I don’t know his situation, so I need to be careful, but I do know he missed an opportunity that may never come again. And if I’m honest, I can be guilty of the same thing. Unless I make a conscious decision to set boundaries on my time, my workday bleeds over into the evening and weekend.

If we’re never really “off” work; then we’re not really “on” for our family, either. We’re checking email while cooking dinner, posting Twitter and FB updates during television commercials, and listening to conversations with one eye on our computer screen.

Instead of flowing from social media to family to email and back, we need boundaries. We have the power to decide when we’re working and when we’re not. The trick is to be intentional about it.

I will admit that some days I do better than others; but the more I’m aware of it, the easier it is. I’ve learned to put my cell phone in another room, and to turn the computer off and call my workday done. I also try to make one day a week social media free.

I don’t want to miss opportunities and conversations with the real people God has blessed me with in this season of life.

How about you? How do you separate your creative work from your family time?

Connie Mann’s new romantic suspense, Angel Falls, is now available and she’s trying to promote it during her regular business hours. You can connect with her on twitter: @CaptConnieMann, Facebook and her website: www.BusyWomenBigDreams.com. During her “off” hours, she spends as much time as possible on the water with her family.

 

Comments

[Susan Macatee]

I do most of my writing and promoting during normal weekday working hours and stop when it's time to start dinner. I do take one quick peek at email after cleaning up the dinner dishes, but at 7 o'clock my computer is shut down for the night. I haven't yet gotten into the portable devices, though, so will have to set new rules when that happens. I do turn my computer on most weekend mornings, but that's when I work on my blogs and set them up for the week and I do check email. I don't write on the weekends and have no access to email or work when we travel.

[Connie Mann]

Susan, your discipline is an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your strategy!

[Linda Kennedy]

I'm a morning person so first thing, after Bible study, I go through emails. Then I shut it down. It drives me crazy to see couples in restaurants, both texting away and never communicating through the meal. I make a point to keep the phone in the purse. Since I'm caretaker for my 91 yr. old mother, I keep a large calendar and plan my day around it. I try to get my writing done between 9:00am and 4:00pm. I never write on Sundays and only Saturdays when I've had to do a lot of Dr. visits, etc. with my mom during the week. I guess I'm fortunate in that after 4:00pm my brain is done and I couldn't write if I wanted to.

[Connie Mann]

Hi Linda,
I love the way you balance all the "plates" spinning in your life and work with your body's natural rhythms! You encouraged me. Thank you!