Just Step Away from the Netbook, Ma’am

Last weekend I took a three-day vacation from connectivity. Not even a peek at my email. It helped that I was in the middle of 180 acres of wilderness with nary a Wi-Fi in the breeze. Admittedly, I was a little twitchy at first. After all, I had made it to Level 130 in “Babylonia” - the procrastinating writer’s friend.

There’s been much written lately on the emotional/mental and even physical effects of being in constant contact with everyone electronically. As a psychotherapist, I constantly stress the need for downtime. I wrote an article about it in 2007 (which sounds almost quaint now and predates Twitter); Disconnect Doesn’t Have to Be a Bad Thing. But as someone who also makes a living writing and glued to a computer, I realize that disconnecting is not easy. So maybe baby steps are indicated. Here are a few to try...

Click to read more ...

I recently blogged about things that I like more in my 30s than I did in my 20s.

Looking back on my "younger years," I can also see many differences in my attitude towards work. One of the big shifts is how much time I spend thinking about work when I'm not at work.

Over the years I have been able to re-train myself to eliminate work thoughts when I'm off the clock. I have found that this has improved my home life, reduced the feeling of dreading Mondays, and led to a better career experience overall.

I'd love to outline a laundry list of how-to tips, but, quite frankly, it comes down to a simple action: STOP.

When you find your thoughts gravitating toward work, or you catch yourself blathering on about last week's office events--tell yourself to cut it out. Even if you enjoy what you do and see great benefit in thinking or talking about it on "your" time, there is something to be said for compartmentalizing your work/home endeavors.

Read more of Andrew G.R.'s post at US News and World Report.