Hi everyone,
So, I'm on break, but I'm realizing that I rarely let myself be on break. I don't degrid well.
I've checked email all weekend... the weekend before Christmas. Today is Christmas Eve, the day before I am off for the week. I've set this up to go live on the 1st, knowing full well I'll be watching to make sure it does.
The week before, I ran across an article that has been haunting me a bit. It is in the print version of Information Week, December 17, 2012, "Always Connected, But Always Distracted," by John McGreavy. Yes, I still read dead trees. I love books, but that is completely off topic. I'm sure you can find the column online. It is in the Secret CIO section.
Anyway, if you haven't read it, you might give it a go. It isn't much longer than my blog here, but the message that I took away was twofold. One, we are very able to see attitudes and behaviors in others that we should identify in ourselves. Two, there is a time to de-grid and you better know it and do it. If you are lucky, you observe yourself in others and recognize yourself. Less lucky, you do what McGreavy does and express to your loved one something you don't see as your behavior and have your behavior pointed out to you. Even less lucky, you read it in Information Week, and think: wow, that's me. Way less lucky? You never know. You never take that moment and realize that what used to be incredibly self-bolstering and helped you feel good once, i.e., that you always answer and are always on call, has become a cage and an unnecessary one that no one asked you to lock yourself in.
We are concerned about BYOD, but are we just as concerned about our dependence on devices in lieu of human connection? Are we concerned that we must always be "on," always connected, and always available?
See you on the boards,