Just recently, I found myself lying in bed at 1:30 am with my iPhone in hand answering emails and responding to people who I missed on twitter and Facebook that day. After switching off the device I realized that I was then spending another hour laying there thinking about the next day and how I might be able to work on the issues, problems or ideas presented in the emails. This sounds somewhat absurd doesn't it? I mean it wasn't more than a few years ago that you shut down the computer and that was the end of your day. Now we have mobile devices following us around and I know that I am not the only one perpetuating this issue!

I suppose you think that the rest of the article is going to be tips on how to find balance. Well, maybe a bit of it will be but I would really love to poll the readers of the workshifting blog on how you find balance! As remote workers and workshifters it feels second nature to pick up your phone during dinner to check your email. It feels natural to want to check the status on a project when you're really supposed to be focused on your kids school play. So what gives? Do we need to start setting up rules for ourselves? Here are two things that I am trying to reclaim a bit of sanity and hopefully make me more efficient with the time I am spending working.

1. Morning and Evening Email Redux - I remember hearing advice years ago saying that the worst thing you can do to yourself is watch the news first thing in the morning and just before you turn in at night. After all there is rarely anything good or uplifting on the news so why inundate yourself with that energy to start and end your day. I am going to apply this advise to email and social networks for now on. My advise would be to spend 15 minutes in silence each morning. Maybe visualize your day and set your wheels on the right track to move forward. Maybe it is talking a brisk walk before the morning shower. Either way I recommend clearing the mind every morning to get aligned. For those evening email and social media stints I recommend a good book. Read something enjoyable that settles the mind and leaves you with positive feelings. If you find yourself grumbling about the world forces around you each day, change the forces!

2. Reclaim the Weekend - Ok, so not all of us can afford to ignore our work life all weekend and maybe some of us are even scheduled to be actively working on the weekends. For those of you in that situation this should be called Reclaim a Day. I love my job and I love what I do. That being said it's important to disconnect and recharge for a day a week. I find this helps me immensely. Every Sunday i turn off the computers and leave the mobile devices to play sweet tunes in my ears rather than being a email machine or work device. I can't give you specific to do's here as we are all different but after chatting with a friend recently about this topic I told him to rekindle a passion. We grew up together golfing and fishing on the weekends as kids. Why not revisit some of those things? There is always time for yard work and chores. Go rekindle a passion.

These are two of the things I am doing to keep me fresh and creative. I would love to hear your thoughts. Are you able to put away the technology for a bit or are you checking your email at 1:30 am each night? What rules or habits have you created to help you stay fresh?


Photo Credit: Jorge Quinteros