Jeff Zbar who provides the great home office blog, Chief Home Officer, had a post recently titled, The Death of the Home Office Away Message.
Jeff makes some points that actually go along with my concern about making ourselves available 24/7.
“Hello, I’m Jeff, and I’m addicted to my e-mail inbox. I check it at 5 a.m. when I awaken, and at 11 p.m. before I go to sleep. I carry my Blackberry to my son’s evening hockey practices, and weekday lunches with friends. I take my Blackberry and laptop on business trips and vacations, and boot up the computer to see if I’m in the midst of a hotspot connection, or to sniff around for a open network I can connect through (I’m not saying that I actually would connect to an open network; that’s stealing bandwidth, and I would NEVER do that). But I am Jeff, and I’m an unabashed techno-addict…”
Very true. And as he points out, “entrepreneurs are dependent on every prospect, lead, assignment or query that comes our way.” However, at the same time, we can still handle all of this and not keep ourselves so connected. We have to come to some form of balance in our office lives and our home lives.
So whether it’s holidays with the family, a business trip away from the home office, or at the rink with the team, our connections are pervasive. How we balance that connectivity can determine whether we’re addicted to technology, or savvy in our technical prowess.
I have been exploring ways to try to get a handle on all of this. From exploring limiting my email exposure throughout the day. To starting to use my virtual assistant to actually take my phone calls. I will be posting more on this very soon as we explore all of this.
As you can see, Grant, everyone approaches the 24/7 issue differently. Personally, I check emails throughout the day (Outlook posts a little pane [or pain?] on my monitor when a new message arrives). Is this ‘disruptive’ in the Zbar home office? Not to me. But that’s the point: It’s OK by me. As is taking my BlackBerry where ever I go. Trust me, I spend enough time during the 9-5 window NOT doing work that if a little slips in from 5-9, it’s OK by me - and more importantly, my family. Now, how we manage client expectations between 5-9, that’s a whole different issue. My solution: Answer some 5-9 messages from those I know will not abuse my tendancy to work outside the ‘normal’ window, and DON’T answer those from clients I believe might get hooked on the drug called “Over-Responsiveness.” That’s my strategy…
I,unfortunately, am undisciplined about e-mail when I am home and must check it frequently in order to keep up on it. And I’m not happy about this ‘pull’ I feel. But, to my credit, I do not get e-mails when I am out of the office under any circumstances.
However, when I work at night I like to answer e-mails almost immediately because it is one last headache yet it gives the impression to clients I’m ‘on’ 24/7 which I’m really not.
I will have to figure out something soon to help with this ‘addiction.’
When I first started practicing law as a solo almost 10 years ago, I practiced in a home office. The pull to constantly work (and worry about work not constantly being done) was GREAT (not in a good way)! I was so relieved to finally get an office in an office suite, because it freed me from having to worry about work all the time. Now, in my second turn as a solo, I again have an office (this time with staff) outside of the home, but I find myself bringing my laptop home most nights and checking e-mails and the like throughout the night. My wife will tell you that I have a problem, lol!