Burn out. You’ve felt it. Perhaps you’re feeling it right now. Overworked. Exhausted. The stack of papers is piling up on your desk and the deadlines are looming, but you just can’t seem to find the energy or the creativity to do what you must. The well has run dry. You thought telecommuting a day or two a week would help—skipping the hour-long commute, working in your PJs, maybe even writing on the back porch in the cool morning hours—but for some reason, you feel worse and there is no oasis in sight. You even tried taking a staycation, but because you spent more time on your iPhone with your coworkers managing emails than you did with your family, the relaxation you frantically sought slipped through your fingers. What’s wrong with this picture? Are you sabotaging your work-life balance without even realizing it?
You aren’t detaching from the office because your smartphone is an electronic leash
Smartphones are undeniably convenient. All those pretty, shiny apps staring brightly up at you, begging for interface. Or perhaps it’s the blinking red light that never shuts off, nagging you, creating an ongoing sense of guilt that you should be “on call.” The alerts and alarms may have once made you feel connected and techno-savvy, but tending to your phone’s every chime and buzz has become an exhausting, engrained habit. Worse, you bring your smartphone with you everywhere.
What you can do about it: Turn it off. Really. At a prescribed time each night, turn off your mobile phone. It will be painful at first, but your family will thank you for it.
Smartphones are undeniably convenient. All those pretty, shiny apps staring brightly up at you, begging for interface. Or perhaps it’s the blinking red light that never shuts off, nagging you, creating an ongoing sense of guilt that you should be “on call.” The alerts and alarms may have once made you feel connected and techno-savvy, but tending to your phone’s every chime and buzz has become an exhausting, engrained habit. Worse, you bring your smartphone with you everywhere.What you can do about it: Turn it off. Really. At a prescribed time each night, turn off your mobile phone. It will be painful at first, but your family will thank you for it.
You’re playing when you should be working or working when you should be playingLog off Facebook. Walk away from the water cooler. If you find that 10:00 turns into lunchtime before you’ve done a thing, it’s time to revisit your time management skills. There are an infinite number of time wasters available out there—both online and off—and if you don’t monitor and moderate the time you spend indulging them, your productivity will quickly take a nosedive.
What you can do about it: Compartmentalize. Save socialization for early morning coffees and happy hours after work when you can really enjoy it, and limit your hallway conversations to two or three minutes (unless it’s your boss, of course). Don’t fall prey to those who want to pull you into their own time-wasting vortex; this includes chatty IMs and emails. Limit social media surfing to personal time unless you’re using it to promote your business through social channels
What you can do about it: Compartmentalize. Save socialization for early morning coffees and happy hours after work when you can really enjoy it, and limit your hallway conversations to two or three minutes (unless it’s your boss, of course). Don’t fall prey to those who want to pull you into their own time-wasting vortex; this includes chatty IMs and emails. Limit social media surfing to personal time unless you’re using it to promote your business through social channels
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