A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to Vermont for the weekend. We stayed in a cabin that doesn’t have a TV, and has cell reception that is spotty at best, nonexistent at worst. If you want to find out what’s going on in the world, you can drive to the nearest town, which is about 15 to 20 minutes away, to buy a newspaper. And at that point, if you’re still jonesing for a technology fix, you can get a much better signal. But by then, if you’re anything like me, the phone just stays off. Going up there gives an opportunity to really get away from it all, and sometimes, that’s just what the doctor ordered.
Don’t get me wrong — I love technology. I love that I can use Skype to chat with my brother, who is on deployment with the Army in Jordan. I love having an app that contains a list of everything I need to do today on my iPhone. I love that because of sites like Twitter, I sometimes know before an announcer the extent of a player’s injury during a football game.
There are definitely times when technology can be very useful. In fact, the trip to HIMSS last week marked the first time I traveled with a smartphone, and I can’t count how many times it came in handy — whether I was browsing news sites during the hour-long wait for a cab, scrambling to find a restaurant in the Venetian, or (obsessively) checking on the progress of my delayed flight.
At times like these, having access to the Web and e-mail can be a lifesaver. But, as many of us have learned, you can have too much of a “good” thing, and I think there should be times when you’re not plugged in. Although it can be convenient to know that you can reach anyone at any time, it can also be extremely freeing to know that you can’t be reached.
At one of the many CHIME events last week, I was talking to Seattle Children’s Hospital CIO Drex Deford about his recent trip to Antarctica. He told me that although it isn’t always easy taking two weeks off, it was worth every minute. He was able to spend time doing what he loves and exploring a beautiful area without being tied down by technology. I believe him when he says he wasn’t stopping between glaciers to try to get a cell signal.
And what’s even more important is that he expects the same from his staff when they are on vacation. In an interview with Anthony Guerra last year, DeFord said that he sometimes has to order people to take time off, and will even say, “If I see you on e-mail, you’re in trouble. You have to disconnect. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine.” He has even instructed the spouses of his workers to lock the laptop and Blackberry in a bag while on vacation and hold onto the key.
We all need time away from technology, whether it’s an extended vacation, a weekend, or jogging (which DeFord likes to do), or even going rock climbing (which is what John Halamka does to clear his mind). Halamka, a notorious technophile, told healthsystemCIO.com that he sees rock climbing as a form of meditation because it “creates focus. We live in a society with what I’ll call continuous partial attention. You’ve got three mobile devices and you’re playing a game and you’re reading and you’re in a meeting at the same time.” Focusing on rock climbing enables him to “have one singular purpose and really clears the mind.”
By leaving the iPhone, Galaxy, Blackberry and every other device behind, you’re not just helping yourself, but your staff and organization as well. Mary Anne Leach, CIO at Children’s Hospital Colorado said in a recent interview, “We have to maintain our health and maintain a good work-life balance so that we can come to the workplace inspired and refreshed and motivated and insightful.”
And sometimes, as difficult as it may be, that means powering down.
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