Labor Day was originally a day organized by the unions to honor the American labor movement. Now, 129 years later, Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer.
Long weekends have turned into vacation weekends or travel weekends. If you are a select soccer or volleyball parent, these have become weekends full of tournaments and travel. What if we proposed this weekend to be “Total Disconnect Weekend”?
With technologies advancement, the line between work and personal time has been blurred into oblivion. It is no longer, grab your keys and go. Now, It’s grab your keys and your phone. Then use the phone to turn off the lights, shut the garage, set the air conditioner, turn on your truck and check Waze for the best route to wherever you are going.
Whew, when did it become so hard just to leave the house.
Could you disconnect for a weekend?
Can you live without being constantly connected through your devices, feeds, alerts and dings? Ever stop to consider what this 24/7 connectivity is doing to us?
At Tannery & Company, we are completely integrated and have the ability to take our office with us wherever we go. That sounds impressive, yet can we close the door to the office and put up the closed sign?
Total Disconnect Weekend
I am going to take a “Disconnect Weekend”. Will you join me?
These are my guidelines and I am sure that I will struggle with them.
- Phone usage will be limited to using it as a phone. We do not have a home phone and this will have to be the only way I communicate with family and friends.
- No computer or IPad usage unless it is to research movie times or other events where I need times and directions or to check college football scores for keeping up with predictions for Football Friday and ESPN College Pick’em
- Texts will be answered but not initiated. I will call you.
- Email – I will look at email once per day.
- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat are on pause. If you tag me, then I will see it later.
- When I am home, I will not have the phone on me except to return calls.
- Reading a book – I have a couple books to read and they are on my Kindle App. I will be reading on my IPad.
- Timing – My “Disconnect Weekend” starts at 6:00PM on Friday and ends at 6:00PM on Monday.
Can you join me?
Yes, I used can rather than will, it was not an English faux pas. For some, this may be the same as giving up smoking or drinking. Technology has become an addiction and interferes in life.
My guidelines too much or not enough for you? Then set your own. Let me know here what you chose and how you are going to accomplish your Disconnect Weekend. COMMENTS
Have a safe, fun, technology-free weekend.
Michael
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Michael Tannery CPA CDFA® AIF® ● CEO
Registered Principal
Be A Financial Olympian
Thank you for the suggestion! Our “disconnect” weekend was a great success!
My husband and I recently moved into a new house with acreage, and it felt like we’d been going non-stop since then. I was ready for something different, and he was game.
We set our business line up with a vacation message, telling customers when we’d be back in the office;
We walked away from the computer completely – no e-mail, no Facebook, nothing. (We don’t Tweet or snap chat);
I used my tablet for reading only.
We spent the majority of our time outside – doing yard work, and just relaxing in the breeze.
We got a few inside projects done too –
We didn’t really put any guidelines on it – we just went full out with the idea, and it worked!
Feeling rested and refreshed, I’m ready for work.
I look forward to the next disconnect weekend!!
JoAnne – sounds like the perfect weekend.
With three daughters and a Saturday morning meet for brunch to watch football games, my disconnect was interrupted by the 10 person group text that was going on to get all the details.
I did get two books read and truly enjoyed being disconnected