I read a blog post from Cal Newport that referenced an article by Dan Kois in Slate.
The article discussed how Gen X and Boomers remember a time when there weren’t laptops, cell phones, and readily available internet enabling us to take our work home with us.
In the post, Cal laddered on to this idea and ended with this quote:
“There’s a lot about early 2000s culture I’m not eager to excavate, but this idea of the constrained workday certainly seems worthy of nostalgia.”
Cal Newport
My Story
This got me thinking about my own experience at the beginning of my career.
I had a computer at work that I shared – yes shared! – with another person.
We scheduled when we were going to use it and it swiveled on an arm between our desks.
Laptops and cell phones with “always on” capabilities entered about 10 years into my career.
When they arrived, they were new and exciting – offering possibilities that didn’t exist before.
My Perspective
Technology has had a positive impact on many things.
Yet, we no longer know how to leave work at work.
What if companies started having “90’s weeks” or “work like it’s 1999” events?
Periods of times where computers and cell phones were disabled when you left the office.
Would that change our perspective?
Maybe we don’t need our company to take the lead.
We could apply rules to our personal connectivity…..even if just for a weekend or on a vacation.
Time away might provide the space needed for a new idea or innovation.
Your Turn
Did you start your career before laptops and cell phones?
If so, how was the experience different?
What ideas do you have for how you or your workplace could embrace “90’s weeks”?