One of the symptoms of modern working life is the lack of downtime. But such downtime is absolutely critical to let the mind recover from the stimulation of the week. This experiment comes from the belief that if something is important enough to deal with on the weekend (or holiday) then it is worth a phone call or text.

Goal of experiment:

• To ensure balance and recovery on the weekends.

Conditions:

• Remove the ability to receive work emails on the weekends. I do this by switching my SIM to a phone that doesn’t get work email. Other options are to have two phones and put one away etc.

Exceptions:

• Personal email–Because it is often needed for weekend activities
• Launch weekends–Because shipping matters

Tips:

• Make sure people know of the rule so they use text or phone to reach you for critical activities.

Results:

• Positive: Weekends are a true break. No getting tweaked by an annoying email.
• Positive: In the four years that I have been doing this, I have never missed an important weekend message
• Negative: The post-weekend re-introduction to work can be difficult. Important to manage it carefully.

Conclusion:

Continue.