This past Friday my brother Mick asked if he could borrow my laptop for a while. He needed to meet with a client in the early afternoon and his computer was being repaired so he would need to be able to access the web remotely. At first I thought to myself, “man, can I make it through the rest of the day without my computer?” Then I thought to myself that I have been spending too much time with my head buried in the computer, waay too much time. To be honest I was getting a little burnt out from it. “Sure”, I said. “Just need to get it back sometime tonight. Got to a few things I need to complete and get done.” Is there ever a time that I don’t need to be online?
Every since I got serious at marketing online over 2years ago there has hardly been a day that I don’t log on to complete some task, check multiple account, scan hundreds of emails as well as conduct research on search engines like Google. Problem was, that I began to spend too much time online even as I began to automatic certain task. Some days I’m plugged-in from sun up to sun down, way down.
As I handed Mick the laptop I almost immediately began to feel the lonely, started having withdrawals but mostly it was probably more guilt than anything. I know more than anything that I can be to attached to my computer and reducing the time I spend there is like trying to break a serious gambling habit. Ever see the regular poker faces at the casino sitting at the slot machine for hours at a time. Try and interrupt their concentration and your likely to get your head chewed off.
Why couldn’t he have asked to borrower my car, I mean if there’s somewhere I need to go I can just call in a favor from someone. Hey, that could be the answer. Maybe I could swing by the library for a little while. They have internet access. I’m there man.
So, I jumped in the car off to the library to get more work done. On the way I pass the park. I saw people playing softball, riding bikes, people jogging and a couple guys practicing their golf swing. Hey wait a minute they’re out here having a ball. Maybe I should be out having some fun on a Friday afternoon too. I mean this is one of the reasons that I started a home based business in the first place - to have the freedom to choose my schedule and flexibility and control over how my decisions impact my goals. Let’s see, I’ve already checked and followed up y on some important emails, responded to inquiries from leads about my opportunities and I did check my PayPal balances (Friday’s a really good day to get paid). I can check for new emails on my phone. Okay so why the empty feeling.
A Day Unplugged
So, as I zoom right past the library make a right on to 87th and straight over to the Home Depot. You know today is a good time to paint the trim on the garage. It’s a small job and shouldn’t take too long. Before I made it back home stopped to grab a smoothie. All of this has made me thirsty for the frosty cold smoothie.
As I got into the grove I got into the zone and thought to myself that the afternoon had turned out to be a productive one. “A day unplugged” I thought. No staring at the screen, no browsing and not tweeting. The garage was finished, the lawn got cut, the dog got his needed bath and still had time to practice my golf swing in the back yard. My game really needs some work. Man I feel refreshed and getting away from that dang computer had energized me.
You see I had already begun to start to automate some of my task and implementing some systems that would take away some of the busy work. This experience made me want to complete the process of automating this way I can spend more time on the things that matter most and delegate the other stuff. Why do I feel the need to make excuse to break away from work, my business? If I’m going to be truly free then it has to be. I’ve come too far to go back now.
My brother Mick called me around 6pm and said that he was on his way to drop off the laptop. Hurray” I thought to myself. “ Go ahead and keep it and I’ll get it from you tomorrow. “ As a matter of fact you can hang on to it until Sunday” I’m on a roll here.” “Are you okay” Mick asked because he knows the history here. “Yea man, sure. I’ll be fine”. Did I just say, keep it till Sunday?
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