Unplug!
Unplugging can mean a lot of things. It can mean turning off the TV, the computer, the cell phones, the video games and the ipods. That can be tough to do in this day and age. I’m certainly not advocating abandoning all the technology at our fingertips. I believe technology can be used to bring a lot of good to the world.
But, every once in a while, it really does pay to unplug. Recently I spent a week in the Smokey Mountains with my family followed by another week at the foothills of the Uinta Mountains in Oakley, UT for a spiritual workshop. Over these two weeks I didn’t work, and I spent the bare minimum of time online. My assistant checked my emails. I turned off my cell phone for most of the 2nd week and only took about 5-10 minutes each day to post some photos to Facebook so my friends and family could catch a glimpse of the beauty I was enjoying.
The rest of the time I relaxed in nature and connected with real people in the “real world” offline. When I came back to work, the perspective I gained was incredible. Suddenly I could see the virtual world for what 
So I have two baby-steps into unplugging:
- First take at least one day a week and unplug from work. Stay off the computer, forget the email and rest your brain a bit. No working for that one day a week.
- Second, take at least 20 minutes each day to connect with nature. Go for a walk, dig in the dirt, go for a drive and enjoy the view, etc.
About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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Virtual isn’t real – that’s for sure!
Love your two tips! Nature brings me back to reality. Unless, of course, I’m sitting under a tree with my laptop. Best of both worlds? 🙂
@Lisa: LOL
Just what the docter ordered Marnie, thanks! Now if I could actually commit to doing it. How about a support group for us workaholic women online entrepreneurs?
Hi Joanne, a support group is a great suggestion. What would you prefer: an email discussion group, a monthly conference call, a web-based discussion board, a Facebook page, a Ning community, or something else or combination thereof? Thanks!
Hi Marnie,
I think a combination of a monthly conference call or webcast with an e-mail discussion group would be good. Are others interested?
I’ve given what you’ve said in this post a lot of thought, you have a couple of great suggestions for getting unplugged and I’d like to offer what I finally came up with for how I’m actually going to follow through with them. Maybe it will inspire others to give there ideas and suggestions on how to this as well.
So here goes:
I think that the most difficult thing for me is to take one entire day off of work, but I’ve decided to commit to not working from sundown on Saturday (Saturday night is supposed to be time spent with my husband anyway) to sundown on Sunday. I won’t open my computer unless it’s to help one of my kids with their homework or to shop online (for personal stuff)- but no e-mail, and no working on any of my web sites (unless there is an emergency). I will only answer my phone if it’s a personal call and I recognize the phone number.
I will commit to taking 20 minutes a day to get out of the house – take a walk if the weather is nice enough or just get out and run some personal errands or connect with friends.
Maybe you can share with us how you do this Marnie?
Thanks Joanne, I’ll have to see how much interest we can generate in a support group. I love how you’ve taken initiative and created a plan that works for you on this.
I generally take weekends off. I don’t work much on Saturdays and never work Sundays. I do pull down my email on Sunday evenings because my box will overload with all the junk I get in a day, but that’s about it. I might tinker around with Facebook and upload personal photos or check on friends over the weekend, but nothing business-related.
I’m better about getting outside when it’s pretty weather. In winter I hibernate indoors, so I need to figure something out for that part of the year since it’s getting colder already.
I have the same problem in winter. I live in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania so when it’s icy it’s too dangerous to walk outside. One thing that I do is exercise a lot since my hobby is Olympic-style weightlifting. That gets me away from my work a few time a week for a couple of hours at a time. But I still need to take 20 minutes a day and do some kind of aerobic exercise. I was walking, or working outside in the yard, but today it’s raining out, so I’ll skip it. And like you I won’t be able to keep that up in the winter. I really would love to find a place where I can go and swim. I find that it’s very relaxing and meditative, great excerise and good for my muscles and joints.