The ‘whirlwind’ effect
With so many tools, gadgets etc. etc. around to make our lives easier, its amazingly busy people have become. This stuff is meant to make our lives easier! Coupled with this, there is the ‘urgency factor’. Since you have a Blackberry (I know since the blackberry signature comes with every email sent) I take it for granted that you will be around to answer all my emails regarding a particular question. So, I start sending emails off to you. I tell me colleagues to send you emails since you are accessible. We get caught up in what I call the the ‘whirlwind’ effect! Has that every happened to you?
October 18th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I do think the tools and gadgets make our lives easier. I’m talking about the average gadget user (1 blackberry, 1 mobile, 1 laptop and 1 ipod) not the gadget freak.
I hated the blackberry in the beginning, it took over my life. The urge to check your email when the evil red light started blinking at insane hours of the night, was too much for me to bear. It got me into trouble with my wife. However, we all have learnt that too much of anything is bad: tv, ice cream, alcohol…. and thats when I came up with “Gadget Discipline”. Once we set some rules for gadget usage and discipline ourselves to follow them we reap the benefits of these awesome invenitons.
In my case, I took the following steps:
1. Do not check, acknowledge, answer emails after 8.30 pm and before 8.30 am.
2. Turn blackberry off on weekends and vacations.
……and the most important rule….
3. Do not break rule 1 and 2 under any circumstances.
Results:
1. Wife was very happy and blackberry has never been a part of my personal life since.
2. Set clear boundries between work and personal life and managed my colleagues expectations and they respect me for that.
Real Gadget Benifits:
1. Mobility and flexibility - my clients and colleagues do not know where I am and what I am doing as long as their emails and calls are answered and I am getting work done. I could be sitting in a cafe or in a park, no one cares. This is not just fluff, I have experienced this freedom with my blackberry.
2. Connectivity - I am always connected, informed and aware of everything going on with my clients and within my organization. Information is power and I have control over it. The only reason I am ever disconnected is because I choose to be; Because of “Gadget Discipline”.