When I wrote my post on how I manage my calendar, I told you I always take Sundays off, and that I would be posting about this in more detail this month because I think it’s that important. So, here we are. RELATED: Three Steps to Design Your Schedule The benefits for a day of rest are widely-known, even if the actual resting parts are not widely-practiced. Even God rested on the seventh day. From that, I don’t feel I need to pitch the benefits of resting one day a week. By resting, I don’t mean being lazy. It means abstaining from work and chores and all that jazz. It means focusing on things I enjoy. My journey to Sundays off started several years ago, sporadic at first but eventually becoming a hard rule when I knew I was on to something. After a few weeks, I was happy with my new rule, when I read this article about taking a Tech Sabbath. What the hell, I thought. I could try it out. The first couple weeks, frankly, were tough. Digital detoxes always are, I’m sure. But after adjusting, I found myself looking forward to unplugging, even with my deep love for technology. Weeks where I find myself having to work on a Sunday, or even using my iPad? I notice the difference. What does it do? Unplugging keeps me from working. Running an entire digital-based business means I am always on some device. On rare Sundays, when I still get on a device, I find myself gravitating to work. I can’t help it. It’s picking up my iPad to read something, then quickly checking my email, then adding something to my task list, then before I know it, I’m working on a project. I don’t end up going down this road if I don’t start on the path to begin with. Unplugging provides focus. Obviously, I’m all for technology. But I also believe that we run a real risk of becoming too distracted by our devices. Forcing myself to unplug for a day brings me back to focus. My brain, essentially, gets a break. On Mondays, I find myself refreshed and with more ideas and I wake up ready to kick some butt. Unplugging makes me creative. Reading. Writing. Coloring. I like all of these things, but I don’t find myself doing them during the week. I can’t describe how my brain shifts gears Sunday mornings, but without the pings of Twitter and Facebook and the glow of an iPad, my creativity spikes. I sleep in, and I wake up knowing my entire day is to recharge. I’m relaxed, and my brain just…regroups. This is one post I don’t have to go into how to do it. You just do. I can tell you it’s not easy. The extent to which you conduct your own day of rest is up to you. I’m still available by phone and text. I glance at my email notifications but try not to read them if I can help it. I really work to keep my phone away, and again, at first? This was TOUGH. Now, again, I look forward to it. I will, however, give two pieces of advice... Start slow. Remove one device. Abstain from one social network. You’ll probably feel some separation anxiety, and if you do “cheat,” forgive yourself. This is supposed to be about REST, not guilt. If you’re going off the grid, let somebody know. I’m available by phone or text, that’s it. If e-mail isn’t an option, I make sure people know that. This isn’t just a safety point, but I believe communication is important. It’s not fair to your colleagues for you if you’re always able to be reached to switch it up with no warning. So...yep. I'm a geek, and a technology-lover, and own a virtual operations business, and yet, I encourage everyone to take a day to unplug. You can subscribe to my mailing list here. You can also follow me on Twitter or Pinterest. If you’re in need of a virtual operations manager, check out my FAQs or available services, then head over to my consultation page so we can connect.
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