The Skill of Unplugging

Welcome to Career Advise, the newsletter providing career advice, how-tos, and life musings through an optimistic and intriguing lens.

Today’s Pillar: Craft the Skills

A skill that is needed now that a half-century ago would have made no sense is “unplugging”. Unplugging is the term for truly disconnecting from our work lives whenever it is “after hours” or whenever we are on vacation. It’s something that I, and I’d confidently say others, struggle with.

I’d also venture to say this is now a skill in itself, as any remote or hybrid worker would tell you – it is easier said than done. We must develop the active skill of unplugging though that may sound a little counterintuitive … If we want to truly unplug, we cannot be passive in our approach since we are always connected.

The skill is not only the literal disconnecting i.e. the phones, the email, etc., but also how we think about unplugging. Many people feel guilt disconnecting or they feel anxiety being removed from their work.

• What if something goes wrong?

• Am I burdening my coworkers?

• What if they realize they don’t need me?

We need to remove these negative emotions and focus on the positive side of taking a break, i.e. the regenerative effects.

Here is some advice for unplugging:

• Delete the apps from your phone when you are on vacation. Many people have messaging apps on their personal devices.

• Leave the computer or work phone behind when on vacation. You can’t check your email if you literally cannot!

• Have an accountability partner. A significant other helps here!

• Write it down. Often we can mull things over and worry about them too much. Write it down and deal with it when you get back.

• Realize that this isn’t laziness. You need recreation. Give your body, mind, and spirit a rest.

Have you tried unplugging it? Apparently, this works for both humans and computers; but for it to succeed, there cannot be any lingering connection.

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