When I sent out an e-mail announcement in late 1999 about my plans
to write this book, I received a wonderful assortment of responses
from friends, clients, and colleagues. As you will see from these
excerpts, people responded based on their own situations or on their
observations about what they see going on around them. I've left their
names off of these excerpts because they did not respond with the
expectation of seeing their comments in print. See if any of these
thoughts and reactions are similar to your own experiences:
"Well, Gil, you correctly hit on a fundamental issue. Humans
are flesh and blood with emotions and wonderful intellect and
creativity but also have a capacity for immense greed and destruction.
All this technology and work harder/better/faster by teleworking
all needs to be put into perspective. If we are not enjoying ourselves,
family and friends and offering help to others then what the hell
is all this nonsense about any way? Get a life!"
"Seems to me that the new technology has had inconsistent
effects on this conflict. On the one hand, it has led to more
flexible schedules for a lot of people (positive). For others
it has become a nightmare because colleagues and managers won't
leave them alone."
"I just gave my hubby the mandate that I am going on vacation
with or without him.....with and without our laptops, cell phones,
printer (yes, my new neurosis), voice mail demands, e-mail demands,
etc. ..... the beginning of next year. No ifs, ands or buts. I
also found myself working like an idiot over the Thanksgiving
day holidays while in my hotel room in the Detroit area, fitting
my family and celebrations around my work. I came back here yesterday,
beyond exhausted. You know that feeling that if you don't let
your body lie down and suspend, your life may be suspended.
Since I already have too much energy, I find that our hi-tech
business acumen, at times (too many times) drives me to commit
to unrealistic expectations. And, then when I perform, I get angry
when people (clients) ask for more!"
"As I do seminars and training workshops, I become increasingly
concerned about this issue. Rather than teleworking enhancing
balance of work and family, I hear more teleworker concerns about
it infringing upon life after work. I hear of managers having
greater expectations from their teleworkers, thereby creating
a need for teleworkers to spend more time at their PCs. I raise
this "warning flag" at the sessions I facilitate. I hope the message
is clear."
"Bravo Gil! You are my hero! Can't wait to read it and
begin using it! You can be sure of an order from me -- there are
a number of people around here who will receive it as a holiday
gift."
"Glad to hear you're putting what you've been preaching
in words. And make no mistake, they are important words. Good
luck. I'll look forward to reading your new book."
"I believe that your timing on the book is excellent --
this is clearly a topic that many people are grappling with and
I think so far many organizations have ignored it. As the marketplace
tightens for scarce resources those organizations that understand
the need to help employees "turn-it-off" and better balance their
lives will find that they can attract, retain and most importantly
energize their workers."
"Congratulations Gil! I'm 100% behind you on this theme
and thrilled that you're putting something together to help us
all do a better job of drawing the line."
"Congratulations! It's really exciting to hear that this
much needed book will be going to press. In fact, I can't wait
to read it! I've been doing quite a bit of soul searching over
the past two months trying to discover how to keep my job from
taking over my life. My two days a week telecommuting has turned
into no days a week telecommuting for most of this fall. I don't
usually make New Year's resolutions, but this year it is to stick
to some work boundaries that I've recently set. I can't wait to
get the much needed support that I'm sure your Web site & book
will provide."
"Congratulations! I think this is a wonderful book idea
and the timing couldn't be better. It doesn't matter where I go,
people have the same thought; I just can't get away from it anymore.
Anyway, I too have had random thoughts on this high - tech,
always in touch world. My thoughts on this run to the other side.
That is, I believe at some point, this cellular world will become
just too common and totally unchic for some. The new status symbol
will be that you are so important that you join the ranks of the
unplugged. The ideal will be to be unreachable.
I often coach high-achievers who frequently don't realize that
they have the power to turn it off. (Not that I should be shocked
-- I didn't hit the off button when I was part of the corporate
world) And it frightens me that it often takes a serious physical
or emotional shake-up to gain that awareness."
"I don't remember who said the quote "life is what happens
to you when you're busy doing other things". The fact that our
business lives and our personal lives are colliding is great fodder
for examining our perceptions about what work means - hence doing
other things, and what it means to do as you say "get a life".
Clearly we are not substituting one for the other, just struggling
to live in harmony."
"I wanted to respond to your message about your new book
for some time. It is a topic that has ruled or run my life--always
what's the next project, am I creating ENOUGH -am I DOING enough!!!!
I often didn't know or think about turning off.
Some years ago I had to deal with turning off or what I call
the ENOUGH phenomenon--my body began to dictate when I had to
turn off. I had a physical condition that forced me to pay attention.
I began to learn meditation for health, balance, to remind me
of who I truly am, and clear out all those dictates that always
call for doing more."
"As a freelance writer with a husband who is also self-employed
-- and one child in college, the other in private school -- I
have to work very hard to keep the right balance between work
and family and personal time. Personal time may be what suffers
the most.
I treasure working from home. But it is tempting to work all
the time -- the computer and the work are always there -- and
it becomes addictive. In addition, writing requires intense concentration.
So I make sure to listen to my brain when it says "enough!",
then take a break -- whether walking the dogs, or reading a mystery
outside in the sun, or even stopping for a 10-minute nap. I schedule
regular non-work related lunches with friends, and try to fit
in a massage every once in awhile. My absolute favorite personal
break, however, is playing hooky, and going to a movie in the
middle of the day. It's a great energizer, and I get to sit wherever
I want and don't have to share the popcorn!"
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