Do You Work Weekends or Unplug?

I like this post as it hits close to home. Deeply.

I keep trying to convince myself (and Jeff) to step away from the computer and phone for the weekend. It's just hard because it seems my job doesn't have the “okay that task is done” and move on.

And you're right, being a blogger and checking in on the site and replying to comments and emails just keeps everything going. I think even networking needs a break from time to time.

PLUS being on the computer all weekend keeps from doing what I need to be doing… housework *maybe that's WHY I'm on the computer!* haha

I work at home as an independent contractor on the computer. I just recently stopped working on the weekends. This has proved to be so much better for me and my family and my sanity! Working on the weekend might have let me get ahead on the next week's work, but it didn't really help because it was a never ending cycle — work all week, work on weekend to get ahead next week, just to work all week again, just to work on the weekend to get ahead next week — enough already. I had to pull back and am so glad I did. Now Saturdays and Sundays belong exclusively to me and my family.

It's tough when your computer, your office, is down the hall from family life. I usually don't work on weekends unless I have something urgent I didn't finish during the week. But I often get this itch on Sunday night to check email. I'm addicted to what I do. I love it. So occasionally I sneak that email.

But when I completely unplug, I'm way better for it.

I think you just found the secret to our constant working…it keeps us from our other responsibilities! LOL

I'm so glad it's working out for you. I think I'm going to have to try to completely unplug one of these weekends and see how it goes for me.

Good to know that it works for you. I still have mixed feelings, but I also haven't gone completely work-free any weekend. Gonna have to try it…

There was a study recently that said owning a Blackberry (and I'm sure this is true for most smartphones) adds an average of 10 days of work per year, simply because it's that much easier to stay plugged in out of the office. A company here in Cambridge, MA, has changed their vacation policy because its employees are always working, whether in the office or out. The company is Hubspot and they've made it so that people just take off when they want; they've created a culture of trust with their employees and recognized the gray areas that new technology has created in and out of the workplace.

More and more we're starting to see this problem affecting more than just freelancers and non-traditional workers. I definitely support taking time to be unplugged, but it seems what day of the week it happens is becoming less stringent.

Great post! Thanks!

I suppose that’s a good way to look at it. It might not be the traditional weekend, but taking a day or two to be unplugged during the week, is a good idea. Thanks for the info on the study and company in MA. I think many companies are reevaluating how they handle leave time.

I suppose that's a good way to look at it. It might not be the traditional weekend, but taking a day or two to be unplugged during the week, is a good idea. Thanks for the info on the study and company in MA. I think many companies are reevaluating how they handle leave time.

I suppose that's a good way to look at it. It might not be the traditional weekend, but taking a day or two to be unplugged during the week, is a good idea. Thanks for the info on the study and company in MA. I think many companies are reevaluating how they handle leave time.

[...] had a nice, quiet, lazy weekend. One where I pretty much unplugged the entire two days. I had a lot of hang out time at home with my family and we rested – no going anywhere or [...]