Plugging back in — a post-vacation perspective
Picking up the thread from Alison’s post on unplugging, I am moved to share a few observations about what it’s been like to plug back in after a significant hiatus from the office and from interaction with technology.
Defining “unplugged”
The first part of July I took three weeks of vacation and went on a road trip with my family. We drove 2,000 miles and covered parts of the OR and CA coast, the Redwoods, Sonoma wine country, Palo Alto and San Francisco. I share this not to bore you with the entire itinerary, but to give you a sense of the scale of the trip and of how unplugged I was. I didn’t check work email after the first few days, there were long gaps in cell phone coverage, and I went 2.5 solid weeks without looking at a computer monitor except for educational displays at park system exhibits, and Facebook on my phone — which is a recreational break for me from my dependency on email at my desk.
The experience of being unplugged
I had some withdrawal pangs at first, but I eventually settled in quite nicely to the long view of magnificent scenery and the joys of real time conversation. Mostly I enjoyed focusing on one thing at a time, making me a case study for the brain research that tells us multitasking is impossible for our neural circuitry, and we end up shortchanging the whole list of things we’re trying to do at the same time. Like trying to talk with my partner on the phone while sneakily typing - it never works, I always get caught, and I have to rewrite anyhow. Why not just take a moment to talk?
Plugging back in
Now I’m back at work, digging out my inbox and re-engaging with projects I put down for 3 weeks. A few observations stand out from my reentry:
The economy is taking a toll. Headlines in three weeks worth of the Puget Sound Business Journal include the closures of Taproot’s Puget Sound area office and of Unitus, and “Foundation grants to stay down, survey says”. It’s one thing to live with the “new normal” day to day, but coming back and seeing the accumulated evidence is sobering.
NPower does great work for nonprofits. Reading the kudos and thank you notes that came in from customers while I was gone were a reminder of our expertise and of the quality relationships we build with our community partners. It made me proud.
Exciting times are ahead. NPower Seattle is on the brink of some exciting changes to our services and our service area. Technology changes fast, but there is staying power to that 12-year-old idea that a nonprofit providing technology solutions to the nonprofit sector could change the game. I am happy to be a part of making that happen, one focused moment at a time.
