My friend Pat Katepoo wrote a post this week that left me thinking, and I like when that happens. In her post she suggested reading the book Turn It Off by Gil Gordon. Of course, I immediately went to the library to check it out.
The timing was perfect.
If you follow this blog, then you know I’m an advocate of integrating work and life, over the pursuit of traditional “work-life balance.” I believe in creating a whole, cohesive work-life over one that is segmented and perfectly contained in categories or life roles.
Yet, there is a paradox in creating a totally integrated work-life and Pat’s post reminded me of it. While it’s important to be an integrated, whole working mother, it’s just as important to create boundaries that enable you to enjoy your life. But if you misinterpret what I mean by “integrated,” you may become the unsuspecting victim of a boundary-less life that is certain to do more harm than good.
Today’s mobile technology, which we once believed would free us from the workplace, has turned on us. Advances in e-mail, cellphones, and social media technology has introduced conveniences that infringe on our time and often make us too accessible. Despite the busyness of our lives, it’s difficult to turn off the urge to check e-mail, respond to a call, or tweet back to a friend.
Working motherhood has taught me that life is rarely black or white, or in this case off or on. And in Gordon’s book I found validation of this view as he describes a way to regain control of your time without being one way or the other. Instead, he suggests a “Three Zone” model for structuring your work-life that’s based on three service levels: ON duty, MID-duty or OFF duty.
- When you’re ON duty, you’re accessible for work at 100%. This might be your normal work hours. For me, it’s the time during the week when my children are in school or with a caregiver. These are periods where I am able to concentrate on work tasks and I’m readily available to meet the needs of my clients.
- During MID-duty, you are available but at a lower level of service, say 60%. For me that’s 4 – 6 p.m. during the workweek when my children are home from school. They are old enough to manage themselves independently so I can work to some extent. But I realize that I will likely be interrupted and plan my work activities accordingly (i.e. respond to emails rather than edit a client document, which requires more of my concentration).
- OFF duty means you’re not available at all – no email, no voicemail, nothing. Everything is shut off.
I’ve used this kind of structure in my work-life before and noticed how much more productive and content I felt. Recently though, I’ve let work bleed into the crevices of my personal and family life so much that it’s now a full on hemorrhage. I’m not regretful (because I really do LOVE my work and just get so darn excited about it!), but I after reading Pat’s blog post and checking out Gordon’s book, I’m conscious. And with that awareness I’m bringing back the work structures I had in place months ago in an effort to reclaim my work-life, release the virtual tether from my work and enjoy a more simplified work-life.
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