Snow Day! Guess Again…

Growing up in Southern California as a kid, I never knew the joys of a “snow day.” I would watch TV and movies and stare longingly at kids who were able to skip school and build snowmen, while I trudged to school in 75 degree weather… in January. Then, a couple weeks ago it happened. Chicago experienced the Snowpocolypse and I was given my very first Snow Day.

Now, you might ask me, “How tall was the snowman you built?” Sadly, I have no answer for you, because technology all but canceled out my much anticipated day off. You see, while I was not at the office, I still had access to the internet and email and phone calls. In fact, minus team collaboration and a physical working space, technology has made it so that I can never actually clock out of work. It is true that I was home spending extra time with my family, but I was also working.

So my question is, “Has technology made it easier to maintain a work/life balance or just leading to information overload?”

I can honestly see both sides of the argument. Just taking from my own experiences, technology has allowed me to take extra vacations home to California because I can easily take my work with me. But it has also diverted an already short attention span to work away from family while I am home.

I guess the moral of the story is that while technology has become the great facilitator of the virtual office, allowing for ideas such as home offices and flex time, it is very much up to the individual person to dictate whether this will positively or negatively affect the work/life balance. Here are some tips to help turn the work light off.

1) Schedule “Me Time” into your calendar. If you use a public office calendar, create an alter ego and schedule a meeting with yourself. That way no one will question whether you are busy or not.

2) Every week, schedule at least one fun activity where you absolutely cannot check in with work. Leave your smartphone at home if you have to. It will help focus your energy and you will get much more out of the experience.

3) Rightsize your expectations. Does your boss really expect you to be available 24/7? Probably not. Make a rule to never answer a phone or email after 7 or 8 pm. People will start to notice and will stop expecting instant responses.

4) Carve out a specific office space in your house, whether it is a full room or just a corner of the kitchen table. When you leave your “office” the work stops. Let the rest of the house remain a work-free zone.

5) Turn off all email notifications. That flashing “New Messages” alert will continue to taunt you until you check it. Just turn it off. Out of sight, out of mind. Instead, make a rule to only check new email every couple of hours or twice a day.

The work/life balance doesn’t have to be a work/life conflict. They can peacefully coexist if you can manage your time and focus. Now as far as my Snow Day is concerned, maybe what I need instead is a “Blackout Day.” No electricity = no technology, right?