It’s Monday morning, and if you are like me, this means you are catching up on tons of email, writing out your weekly plan, goals for the week, and trying to decide what to tackle first. This Monday is especially hectic because last week, I fell sick after taking care of two sick children. Although I am not 100% better, I feel well enough to get in a full day’s worth of work and then some.
This morning, only for about half a second, I allowed myself to regret not powering up this weekend. “If only I had written at least one post, I may be a little further along this morning.“
No.
Lately, I’ve been committed to powering down on the weekends. When you are active in social media, it’s so easy to allow every day to be consumed with checking email, Facebook, blog stats, Instagram feed, Twitter feeds, etc., that you don’t allow yourself to ever take a break. In fact, I’m sure you heard of the recent Newsweek article titled, “Is the Web Driving us Mad?” Short answer: Yes. As Forbes.com said, we’re all internet addicts. Forbe’s position is that we become so addicted to our smart phones and computers that we become internet junkies, constantly in need of the next hit, unable to power down, even to eat or sleep.
Does that sound like some version of you? Are you always staring into your phone (even at red lights), always with your computer open, your iPad nearby, checking the number of likes you received, retweets, etc., even on the weekend?
If so, it may be time to power down some, and allow yourself the mental freedom to disconnect. Although I am a big believer in working hard, putting in the time, and love being a social entrepreneur, I’m also a supporter of striving for work-life balance between career and family. My weekends are for my family and for me. I owe to them and to myself to power down. So to do that, I schedule tweets, posts, and do as much work as I can on Friday so that Monday, I can live without regret and Saturday and Sunday I don’t worry about what isn’t getting done.
Monday through Friday, I’m hustling. I’m working more than overtime to meet deadlines, responding to emails, completing projects, but my weekends will be focused more on decompressing than responding to every email.
Do I totally ignore my inbox? No. I scan for anything that may be an emergency or really require immediate attention, if it doesn’t, I’ll get back to it on Monday. I may even write a short post if I’m inspired to do so. But I allow myself to sit on the couch with just the TV on, or sit at the pool reading a book, or go for a bike ride instead of crossing things off my list.
Now some folks will disagree with this approach, don’t think it’s possible, or believe that shutting down allows others to get ahead, etc.
What do you think? Is it possible to power down? Or is that not possible when you are a social entrepreneur?
Disclosure: This post from my archives is being re-run as part of BlogHer’s Smart Mom’s Guide to Being Busy editorial series, brought to you by Rice Krispies and BlogHer.
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