How do you maintain a healthy work life balance?
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@scottalanmiller said:
I find that unplugging causes stress. I need to unplug less. It's important to make work not stressful or negative, once you do that, unplugging from things that you enjoy to "get a break" doesn't make any more sense, then, than going to work to escape "life".
But there are so many other things that can be enjoyed that don't require sitting in front of a screen 24/7. Working that way isn't necessarily negative, all I'm saying is that there is far more to life than being plugged to a screen constantly. It's waaaaaaay more fun to do stuff outside, specifically things that require you to disconnect for a bit. I promise you can go out and look up at the stars on a clear night without any electronic devices. It has worked that way for tens of thousands of years.
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When I leave for the day, I don't unplug, I just don't respond, unless it's something important.
I'm dis-associated but connected, so I'm able to keep an eye out for trouble.
And as the saying goes "There is no such thing as a critical email or text, call if it's critical, anything less can be left for tomorrow"
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@Nic said:
I tend to avoid tricks and try and make sure that I'm doing well whether I'm at work or home. Like others here I tend to see them as one continuum rather than discrete areas to keep separate.
At 40-50 hours a week, work is second only to sleep for most people in "things that they do." If you add in "time preparing for work" it shoots far higher (getting dressed, mentally preparing, disruptions to other life events, commuting, etc.) When I was at one job my "on site" time was 50-60 hours and my commute time was another 15. So 75 hours a week away from my family. That's almost exactly 1/3rd of my entire life and more than sleep!
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@DustinB3403 said:
And as the saying goes "There is no such thing as a critical email or text, call if it's critical, anything less can be left for tomorrow"
Not a very good saying, IMHO. Quite the opposite. Nothing important can be relayed over the phone. No such thing as a critical phone call. In fact, I don't answer any calls unless someone has sent details in email first.
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@scottalanmiller You and I have widely different lives, you may need that email communication first, I don't, and generally don't want them.
I get CC'd on so many email chains that are 10 pages long (in the middle of the conversation) that I'm almost never caught up.
So everyone knows if you're calling me, it better be important. (or to ask if I want to go out for a beer
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@DustinB3403 said:
So everyone knows if you're calling me, it better be important. (or to ask if I want to go out for a beer
)I don't want noise or interruptions unless they are warranted. Can't have "Scott's life stops while he answers the phone before knowing if it matters" going on 24x7. That's untenable. I once got called 34 times on Christmas Eve for something that one email would have fixed instantly.
Also, emails are far more reliable. What happens if you aren't at home? Or your cell phone is broken? I can get emails anywhere. Phones you have to know what number I am at and that it is working.
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@DustinB3403 said:
I get CC'd on so many email chains that are 10 pages long (in the middle of the conversation) that I'm almost never caught up.
I feel like you are using phone calls as a replacement to good email management
Work with filters. -
@scottalanmiller New work responsibilities, so I don't want to start burying them into folders yet. ...
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@DustinB3403 said:
@scottalanmiller New work responsibilities, so I don't want to start burying them into folders yet. ...
Better than not being caught up and no longer getting emails that you need. If you have to resort to phone calls to make up for email management it's already past that point.
And just being in a folder doesn't make it buried. Your inbox is a folder and if it is no longer able to alert you, it is buried there too.
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@DustinB3403 If you have been there longer than a month, let the burying begin.
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I have a completely flexible schedule. I work when I want and where I want. Generally, I start in the morning about 9. I work on and off during the day and then break for. Few hours in the evening to be with family. Then a work on and off a bit more in the late evening.
I generally hit just under 8 hours a day on weekdays and then 3-4 hours a day on weekends normally coming in at 45ish work (billable) hours a week.
I of course have constraints such as client meetings, but these are not large impacts to my life.
I have found this schedule to be great for letting me be with my family whenever I want.
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@scottalanmiller But don't you think that the reliance on these devices is causing the stress? It's like if you try to quit smoking, of course you're going to crave a cigarette at first, but goal is to make that craving go away.
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@GlennBarley said:
@scottalanmiller But don't you think that the reliance on these devices is causing the stress? It's like if you try to quit smoking, of course you're going to crave a cigarette at first, but goal is to make that craving go away.
Why would it cause stress? Is being out of touch with no way to know if things are okay stressful? Is needing to get something done quickly and easily but having to try to remember and unload your thoughts later stressful? Is knowing the old fashioned phone could ring anytime stressful?
I don't know any reason why modern technology would increase stress, only decrease it. People have always been stressed, now there are just better ways to deal with it.
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@scottalanmiller The stress is related to work though. I'm talking about the people who go home after work and continue to respond to emails, check reports, etc. and don't ever have the time to get away from it.
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@GlennBarley said:
@scottalanmiller The stress is related to work though. I'm talking about the people who go home after work and continue to respond to emails, check reports, etc. and don't ever have the time to get away from it.
That goes back to my original point - you have to find work that you like so that "getting away from it" isn't a need. But even there, it isn't gadgets stressing you out, it is the job. The gadgets are just tools - tools that for many of us reduce stress. If tools are stressing people out, the tools are being misused.
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Something I had a VERY wise older man tell me once: "Work should only be what you go do to support your family. At the end of the day your family is what you should go home to. Family should be your number one priority."
When it is time for you to retire your family should be happy to have you with them, not be trying to figure out who you are now. Not to mention if you retire or lost your ability to do your job, do you know who you are without your job?
For those of us that work from home, I know that sometimes we feel like we are already there with our families, it doesn't matter that they never see me with out a screen in front of my face. But it does. Just cause you are working from home doesn't mean your family is number one priority in your life. A screen in front of your face all the time is almost as bad as being gone and working at the office.
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And I am guilty of being behind a screen way too often. I am really blessed and get to work from home and work with my husband and son. But we all tend to be in our own worlds if we aren't careful.
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@Minion-Queen said:
And I am guilty of being behind a screen way too often. I am really blessed and get to work from home and work with my husband and son. But we all tend to be in our own worlds if we aren't careful.
I don't get away from the computer enough.. I have more than enough work in the house to do... But if you dropped me in a dark room with plenty of monitor glow, I'd be just as happy....
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@Minion-Queen said:
And I am guilty of being behind a screen way too often. I am really blessed and get to work from home and work with my husband and son. But we all tend to be in our own worlds if we aren't careful.
aka: she kicks me out of the office and makes me have my own office elsewhere in the house.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@DustinB3403 said:
So everyone knows if you're calling me, it better be important. (or to ask if I want to go out for a beer
)I don't want noise or interruptions unless they are warranted. Can't have "Scott's life stops while he answers the phone before knowing if it matters" going on 24x7. That's untenable. I once got called 34 times on Christmas Eve for something that one email would have fixed instantly.
this sounds like a total failure on your part if you couldn't fix the problem on the first phone call, yet somehow a single email would have fixed the problem instantly.
Also, emails are far more reliable. What happens if you aren't at home? Or your cell phone is broken? I can get emails anywhere. Phones you have to know what number I am at and that it is working.
And sure, email might be a little more reliable - but if you're not home and your cell phone is busted, the email ain't gettin' to ya either - unless you're just weird and carry your 4G enabled iPad just for this reason.
I'm with Dustin. I want phone calls for emergencies. One or two dressing downs because they are calling about non emergent things normally solves at least that person from doing it anymore.
Besides, shouldn't a person like yourself only be getting calls from a 24x7 NOC anyway? Aren't those people trained enough to know when something is emergent enough to call you?
