What happens with your work smartphone, tablet, or laptop when you get home? Do you turn it off? What about when you’re on vacation?
According to a recent Microsoft survey, 47 per cent of us have worked while on vacation. Another survey found that 54 per cent of people have bosses that actually expect them to work during vacation. Not fun. What’s more, the trend in mobile tech, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD), is making the disconnect between work and personal life even more difficult. Many employees prefer BYOD because of the familiarity and perceived efficiency of working with their own equipment. However, there is a risk working too many hours and suffering from burnout.
Some employers have started taking notice of this and are exploring ways to ensure their employees get a chance to enjoy their off-work time. But what can you do today to make sure mobile technology does not impinge upon the rest of your life? Consider these six strategies:
1. During your workday, scan and prioritize your e-mails as they come in. That’s not to say that you have to read them in full or address them immediately. Just take a few quick seconds to separate the messages into things you have to take care of from the things that you can safely ignore. That way, things won’t pile up.
2. Do your best to address your high-priority, more complex e-mails on your desktop and laptop. As powerful and useful as modern smartphones may be, it is still three times faster to draft messages with a full-size computer keyboard than to thumbtype. The smartphone is obviously fine for short messages and is wonderful for firing off urgent responses when you’re nowhere near your desk. But when you have the option of waiting till you get back to your main computer, do it.
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