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The World Keeps on Turning

So I’ve just returned from a two week hiatus where a lot of things happened and a lot of nothing happened. Some of the things that happened are personal and some of the nothing that happened was very important and I will share in forthcoming posts.

Two weeks is a long time to be almost completely “off the grid”. And I will admit, I had some serious tech withdrawalunplug Full 300x239 The World Keeps on Turning symptoms and placated myself by spending time setting up my new Droid Eris phone. But without reliable Internet connection and spotty cell phone signals, I was pretty much forced to stay off the grid and unplugged whether I wanted to or not.

I learned two VERY important things:

1) The nothing that happened while I hung out with my seven year old son tops ANYTHING that could have happened if I had stayed on the grid and tried to work while I was away. Because I was fully unplugged, we spent our days filled with safari’s, pirate treasure hunts, riding bikes on the beach, and of course shark’s tooth hunting. (Writing the shark’s tooth post for Liz Strauss was the closest I got to working the whole time I was gone.)

2) The world kept right on spinning without me. My business functioned just fine; my tribe had a ton of fun (though I missed them terribly); and everyone is here to greet me today upon my return. Granted I am ready to dive into the big stuff I am working on for January and February, but I am not behind or in a panic because I was gone for two weeks. Pretty amazing.

So, I highly recommend a full unplug. I know two weeks is totally impossible for a lot of people. But try it for twenty-four hours – or even forty-eight and see what happens.

As always, I am anxious to know your thoughts about what it would take to do a full unplug from your business. What are the risks? What are the potential rewards?

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Tags: business, off the grid, unplugging

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Uncommon Business, Uncommon Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • I'm glad to see that you (kinda) unplugged for a couple of weeks. I personally do this every year for two weeks. My version of unplugging removes me from any form of communication (except maybe smoke signals). I find that it recharges my batteries and allows me to look back on what I have accomplished and set new goals and objectives for when I rejoin society.
    For me the risks that I face while unplugged are greater than while plugged-in (I am an extreme outdoor adventurer). The rewards are knowing that no matter what challenges I face when I get back, I have the confidence to tackle them head-on. This is the direct result of taking on the wilderness and winning.
    I hope that everyone can unplug, recharge and realize their full potential. Ther is no better feeling than taking on a new project with the confidence that you will not only complete it but exceed everyone expectations in the process.

    Thanks for sharing your adventures with us Sarah.
  • edgaile
    The world kept spinning Sarah, but we missed you! The world always keeps spinning regardless of how busy we think we are. Actually now that I think about it, it is quite a sobering thought that the world would keep spinning if we were not here. Which is all the more reason to unplug, and take things in perspective (probably more often than we currently do).

    Happy you are back!

    -Ed
  • Welcome back, Sarah!!

    I unplugged more this last week than I've done in a long time. I hung out at our vacation home enjoying time with my family, my siblings, and my inlaws. Long walks, deep talks, lots of laughs, and beautiful memories...so WHY do I spend so much time on my computer? :-) Oh, yeah...connections with special members of our virtual tribes also can be rejuvenating, inspiring, and profitable in both tangible and intangible ways.

    Your post is a great reminder that we are not the center of the universe and it will keep spinning while we go off and give full attention to our own little corner of the world and connect with those who matter most. Glad YT had so much of his only mom's attention and you created some one-of-a-kind memories that will outlast his fleeting childhood. Happy for both of you!
  • Hi Sarah,

    When I go away, I always unplug, often as long as three weeks. It wouldn't be a vacation otherwise. The de-cybered time allows me to slow down, to center, to engage in lots of face-to-face interaction, to remember what life was like before computers burst on my scene. There's definitely an addictive quality to social media & emails. Breaks help me remember that I'm the master of my universe! Not my computer.

    Glad you had a good time with your son ... The most important people are the ones we love right next to us.

    Giulietta, Inspirational Rebel
  • I didn't totally unplug last week (still played on Facebook), but I didn't check email or do any work (including writing). It was hard, really hard, until Wednesday morning. So it took me four days to completely unplug and not worry about whether or not clients would live without me. Turns out, like you said, everything was just as I left it!
  • I just did four days. Not long enough actually. Productive and restful all at the same time. And my kids loved it. One of these days I know I am going to find my iPhone in the loo or something...

    But to answer your questions. It takes - delegation, trust. Risks - chaos, missed business. Rewards - empowered team, different and maybe better decisions, happier husband and children, relaxed and renewed me with more hunger and more to give on my return.
  • Hi Sarah,

    First of all, welcome back. Hope you had a restful break making memories with your son.

    In regards to your question, I think we all feel there's this risk that comes with unplugging ourselves. In terms of business, it's a fear that something will go wrong and untended, becoming an even bigger problem when we return. Or perhaps a lost opportunity that could reap us many benefits. On the personal side, there's that fear that we'll lose traction on the relationships we were working on nurturing, that we have to start over a few steps back because the other party has moved their interest onto others.

    And yet, from personal experience, I tend to find these risks pale in comparison to the reward we reap by unplugging. By giving ourselves time to focus just on ourselves, we're provided with the opportunity to not only recharge our batteries, but also get some fresh insight into how things have been going and where we'd want to go next. By letting go for a short while, we give ourselves the chance to catch our breath, so that we're not tired and overwhelmed and thus not playing our A game.

    Sure, it's hard to unplug in an ever plugged-in world. But once we overcome that fear, we'll realize that we're giving ourselves the biggest advantage in the end by taking care of ourselves so that we can move forward, ready to take on whatever opportunities that will come by our way.
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