Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Downtime
Mike Urlocker has a posting on his blog about 7x24 accessibility versus downtime.
His conclusion merits discussion.
As a self-employed, independent consultant, one of the services I offer is always being available. As a result, I find that mobile access is an enabler of downtime, not a detractor from family time.
In my pre-Blackberry days, I can recall helping a client negotiate a contract during the weeks leading up to the school March break. We planned a vacation in Colorado with the kids. The contract wasn't signed, but I had my cel phone and my client knew how to reach me.
On the slopes at Loveland, the phone rang and I stopped to deal with an issue that arose during the drafting of the agreement. 15 minutes later, I was done and got to enjoy the rest of the vacation.
The point: accessibility didn't interfere with my ski trip; it enabled me to go on the vacation. The alternative was for me to stay in the city waiting by the phone.
I added some of the detailed results from the informal survey here:
http://ondisruption.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/actual_survey_r.html
Some 32% said BlackBerry increased their work time but many had positive comments, as you did, on the flexibility of such tools.
I'd welcome a discussion on this, here or at my place.
: 8:52 AM, June 21, 2006 << Home
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