Disconnect Yourself From Everything… Several Times a Year!

We talked about this article on Friday at noon. My first thought? I'm writing it over the weekend … Then: STOP! This is demagoguery, how do I write an article about total disconnection when I do exactly the opposite?

And I set out to try … That's why this article is written on Monday at 5.00 am, waking up half an hour earlier and applying much of the personal development, productivity, and efficiency lessons I received lately.

My first attempt, after a while, is to completely disconnect … to see how it is, to have what it says authentically. I'm one of those people who can't completely unplug during the weekend, I often work on Saturday or Sunday mornings while my family is still asleep, but I know that a few times a year I break the rhythm for a few days and recharge my batteries.

But I usually get out if I leave home and yes… the beast called laptop is not around to be fed!

The invitation to take you two or three times a year for a few days, from Thursday to Sunday, in which to leave the city, to take a city break or even a more exotic outing may seem useful but sometimes slightly arrogant … Some will tell me: I can't afford it, it costs me, I raise money for a more elaborate vacation, etc.

So I'm not making this invitation, you can decide for yourself what and how to do with your money and there are countless weekend offers! That's why I'm going to connect with my experience of total disconnection from … home!

Disconnect when you're at home, not just on vacation!

What did I learn this weekend, where the laptop was around but I resisted the temptation to open it, answer emails and finish a few things leftover … I'm reading a book (Will this make the boat go faster, Ben Hunt Davis) and I took notes.

And considering that I had to write this article … I also practiced. Here's what I learned from Ben Davis, the 2000 British Olympic champion in Sydney, in rowing.

Set that goal that seems "crazy"

You may not even believe, workaholic, that you could completely disconnect. It was hard for me to believe on Friday night. Even impossible …

Sometimes on Fridays I have the habit of leaving seemingly small things for the weekend, which don't take me long, or on the contrary things for which I need reflection and at the end of the week I feel too tired and pressured, but I know that until one Sunday morning my thoughts clear up and I manage to put in the right format that something that is not connected to me on Friday night…

But I set this goal clearly: this weekend I disconnect from the office and see what comes out. I need to be able to talk to people about the benefits of total disconnection.

Make your goal concrete

I could do sports, which I have been proposing for a long time, I could garden, which relaxes me, I could visit some friends who, although they are close, are not seen too often. I thought as concretely as possible about what I could do with two days completely disconnected from my daily work.

Bring your goal into your control area

For me, to completely disconnect was not to give in to any temptation related to my connection with things related to the office: laptop, mail, not even opening the laptop bag and rummaging through it.

But let me tell you what I managed: I cycled 12 km two days in a row, I set a record for myself, I cut the bushes in the garden, I kept going for a few days, I went to visit those friends, and yes, I rode my bike, I even did some beach in the garden, I read. We enjoyed each other in the family in the true sense of the word.

Make it a routine

This is a challenge I will work on.

Having a weekend in which I, being at home, completely disconnected meant an extraordinary success, I feel rested, full of energy, and especially satisfied with myself, my success, and all the beautiful things I have at my disposal. 

I feel especially prepared for the next challenge related to my free time. That of exercising two or three times a week and not just on weekends. That's what good disconnections are all about … reconnecting with yourself.