You see, I attended a two-day conference this week and sat there for the entire time in one of those “cold-spots”. At first I started to feel the stress build up, not being connected to the office or home, then a few hours later something else happen… how cool and free it feels to be disconnected. I had time to focus on the conference itself, with out distractions and some spare for dream-time, which is the birthplace of strategy for me.

… and hey, i did leave an “out of office reply” with contact details of someone else to contact in my office for urgent matters and my wife knew were I was.

So, thanks Nigel for helping realize the importance of finding a “cold-spot”.

Most evenings myself and my husband sit on the couch watching television after a long day at work, but instead of interacting with each other, we spend most of the time interacting with our iPhones and online worlds. I sometimes wonder what life will be like when we finally have children, will we all be sitting around the dinner table playing with our mobile devices struggling to disconnect from the web? It reminds me a little of the movie ‘Back to The Future’ when they go forward in time and the kids are wired up to their technology gadgets.

Mind you as a small business owner I find turning off from the web a hard process. I get email enquiries and orders daily at various times throughout the day and night. I also like to keep my social networking followers up-to-date with latest product releases, trends and specials. Not being connected to the web as often as I am means my business and customers don’t get the attention required.

Just discovered the magazine

Quoted your article in Find a Cold Spot, Disconnect from the Web, Get Face Time with your Life for my weekly ‘Monday Work Etiquette’ on ‘Serge the Concierge’.

I was surprised to see that it was your first vacation in 4 years.
I thought the US was the only ‘No Vacation Nation’

Serge
‘The French Guy from New Jersey’

There is nothing more destructive to the human condition than being always available.

If I don’t take a day off, it can become out of balance. A good week is when I take two days off – when I connect with purpose – with my family and with friends – face to face.

Are you controlled by the technology or does it control you? It’s your choice

Today when we go dowm, people are on their 3G phones, tapping into Facebook, twitter and checking emails. The TV is blarring in the background and the converation stalls every time someone gets another sms.

We need rules now to get people to enjoy the time there and turn off their phones and i am still refusing to put a television in the house on principle.