You know that moment in Jerry Maguire when Mr. Cruise does his “all I need is this goldfish” speech to see who will follow him in founding his New World Agency? Crickets, right? That and Renee’s scrunchy face. Well, here’s to hoping this doesn’t land me in the same situation. Because I’ve been thinking…
Surrounded as we are by a sea of iPhones, blackberries, wi-fi hotspots and 3G (check that 4G), it’s easy to think that better connectivity means better service. And sometimes, it does.
But I’m here to argue for restraint. I’m here to argue that putting off a reply to a 10:30 pm email until 8 am the next morning might make for a better reply. Here’s my math.
Good work takes focus
If you’re at your kid’s ballgame, out to dinner with the significant other or just vegging out to an episode of Dancing with the Stars, odds are you are not “in work mode.” Which means it’s likely that the 48 character email you fire off from your blackberry is at best, not very well thought out. If it’s not on fire, odds are it can wait until the morning.
Our time has value
As professionals, we sell many things: creativity, strategic insight, experience, organization. But at the end of the day we sell hours, and those hours have to have value. When you literally “phone it in” with a late night or weekend response you devalue the worth of your time – and don’t even get me started about the likelihood of actually billing that time. We have to value the hours we sell if we expect clients to see the worth in what they are buying.
You need a break anyway
Study after study shows that disconnecting from work – even for a little bit – can make you refocus and perform better at the task at hand. It can also help remedy some serious issues that take a real bite out of productivity, like getting a good night’s sleep. So go ahead, leave the phone in the car the next time you grab 30 minutes for lunch. Try connecting with a sandwich instead.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when you have to field an issue outside of work hours, and when that happens thank the cellular gods for full bars. But on the day-to-day, run of the mill regular old work stuff, try staying the hand – or restraining the thumbs – and see how it feels. I’m betting you’ll feel better, and your work will be better, too. Worth a try right?
Of course, I just finished this at 10:39 at night. Look for my next manifesto about practicing what your preach.
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