How I unplugged from Work, Technology & Regained my Mojo back
The Lockdown and consequent stay at home orders in most states as a result of the onset of COVID-19 pandemic had both positive and negative effects on all of us. Hopefully there would not be another one occasioned by the spikes in some states.
The Consequences of Lockdown
One of the positive effects of the lockdown and stay-at-home order was the ample time it handed out to independent business owners to work on their online marketing business. At least I did not have to two-time between my 9-5 job and my Wealthy Affiliate online marketing business.
The lockdown did not resonate well with some couples in homes where they were not used to being at home together at a particular time of the day. It led to the butting of heads that flared into open quarrels in some cases and had yet disastrous consequences in others.
In homes where there are school-going kids, parents had to become teachers guiding their kids through the online maze during virtual learning.Why the remote learning platforms do change constantly and confuse both parents and kids irks me to no end. With teenagers remote learning is a breeze but with the little ones,the parent becomes the resident teacher. If you ask me, traditional in-person teaching should always have a place in our educational system
Interaction with Work
By and large, most of us had extra time to apply to our business. I threw myself into my Wealthy Affiliate business with gusto playing catch up. Don’t forget I still have the Online Entrepreneur Certificate training program to finish up and of course the unending work on my website.
Day after day, I would sit hunched over my laptop chipping away at my assignments. I wonder what could have been going through my significant other’s mind. I worked long hours, took occasional breaks to listen to the news on TV. Sometimes my work would stretch up to midnight.
Suddenly the long arduous hours started taking a toll on me. I woke up one morning only to realize I was so exhausted that I did not want to go near my laptop.
Another disturbing thing I noticed was that in spite of my busyness, I had little result to show for it. I realized that instead of staying put on a particular task until I finished, I was flitting from one task to the other. That realization drove me into a tailspin of depression.
I decided to take a step back and assess what went wrong. I realized I needed to detach myself from work, so I can regain my balance. So I took a break.
Recovery from Stress
Detachment is the process of reducing or eliminating physical and psychological stress caused by work.
Being an affiliate marketer is a mental thing and does not fit the 9-5 model. Here I was trying to fit it into this outdated industrial revolution model. In 3-5 hours of peak deep work, I could finish my assignments instead of allowing it to stretch throughout the day. So I introduced boundaries. Before now, I was working seamlessly from morning up until nighttime. A sure recipe for burnout! I found out my peak period is usually in the early morning hours. That’s when the creative juices start flowing non-stop.
I decided I would go to bed one hour early and wake up one hour earlier than my 7am wake time. Doing my creative work in my peak period, when every one else is still in bed, raised my productivity a few notches higher. I had a start time and an end time. At the end of my work day, I would shut my laptop and be done for the day.
This singular action not only raised my engagement level but restored my vigor and vitality. It also allowed me to spend more time with my wife, kids, and friends.
Interaction with Technology ( Smartphone )
I quickly found out that just as I needed to unplug from work, I also needed to disconnect from technology, specifically smartphone usage by creating boundaries.
Granted that as online affiliate marketers,.we are engaged in a conscious use of technology as a means of livelihood, we still need to put boundaries on the amount of time we spend interacting with our phones. I find that when I wake up and head straight for my smart phone, my day is less productive than when I leave it in its airplane mode and head straight to the computer. I also realized that letting go of my phone a decent amount of time before hitting the sack helps me sleep better.
For the average smartphone user, the statistics is eye boggling. On the average, a smartphone user checks his smartphone about 85 times a day and spends more than 5 hours browsing his phone. In some extreme cases, it looks as if the smartphones have become an extension of their hands and they unconsciously check their phones more than twice as much as they think they do. Have you noticed how difficult it is to engage in the present with such individuals ?
Conclusion
I realize letting go of technology one or two hours before I turn in for the night allows me to experience higher sleep quality and less sleep deprivation. When I find it difficult to go to sleep after I hit the bed, I have two options: to read or to watch TV.
I would rather read myself to sleep; my wife would prefer to watch TV and stay awake while I am far gone!
So what has your interaction with work and technology been like during the lockdown? How did claim back your life-work balance? You may want to share it with the WA community.
Recent Comments
19
It's good to take a break from technology periodically. As with all technology, there are pros/cons to the smartphone. I do NOT have mine attached to me and my kids finally get that. Now they don't either. Yet, we're used to instant access to someone and it's frustrating when that doesn't happen. One of the things I really do NOT like to see is people at the dinner table (unless it's an emergency) with their phone.
I'm not surprised that you get better sleep. I stopped all electronics at least an hr before going to bed. I read for a while before I lay down. There's something with the light on devices that keep you from sleeping well.
Stay safe and keep your boundaries.
~Debbi
Thank you Debbi for your observations. That blue light emitting from electronic devices blocks the hormone melatonin that puts you to sleep.
Nothing much changed for me and my husband. We have mostly continued our routines, working on our websites for some hours during the day. I'm also working towards writing my 4th memoir.
In the evenings, my husband kicks back with Colbert and the like in our office. I stretch out on the bed about an hour before he will be there, with the cat joining me. Sometimes I poke around a bit on my iPad, but more commonly I turn on the overhead light and read a book... there is always a handy pile.
See more comments
Although I live a single, living 'on-my-own-but-in-a-community' life, I can relate to much of what you've shared because my daughter and family - three grandchildren and a son-in-law - live fairly close by, but never-the-less I've been fairly much isolated from anything close to normal. Because of another project that needed some intensive attention and also actually had a couple of recall requests which put me back into work (aka earning a living) mode for several days or part days, I've just been WA MIA for much of the past 2 weeks or more. On those days that I went back to work, I attempted several times at the end of my work day to come back to WA activity but found myself feeling somewhat like you described, kind of burned-out and lacking energy, so I didn't even manage to keep up with my email inbox, and more than once was 2 or even 3 days behind in getting on top of it.
My challenge - which you've given me a dose of encouragement and motivation to tackle, and give priority to - is to get active earning 'Comment Credits'. Thank you for the kick in the derriere!!
Great comment, revansca! Hope the kick to the derriere wasn't too painful but just enough to awaken you?