Unplug Yourself. Sparingly.

Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.

This is a post I never, ever thought I’d be writing.

One of the new popular things to talk about in productivity circles is "unplugging." The idea is that so much of what we’re logged in and connected to is just a time sink – Twitter, instant messengers, and the like. So, even for people who work with and through the Web, sometimes logging off can be a huge boon to our productivity. I’ve always thought that was crap.

This weekend, I went to the US Open golf championship. By the way, golf is officially the most frustrating sport on the planet. Basketball, football  – they all do things I know I’m not able to do. But Tiger’s golf swing doesn’t look all that different from mine! Except, you know, the whole "going in the hole, making me millions, and attracting supermodels to me" thing. Very frustrating.

But back to the story. The USGA, who runs the tournament, wouldn’t let anyone bring in cell phones, cameras, iPods, or any other electronic device. You either had to not bring it, or check it before you got on the shuttle bus to the course. So, for the first time in an awfully long time, I left the house without cell phone, laptop, or iPod. It was weird.

And it was kind of wonderful. Over the course of two days spent without any technology, and without anyone having technology, I realized that there are, in fact, a few great things about being unplugged.

Being in the Dark is Good Sometimes

The reason I wanted my cell phone so badly was not to make calls, or check my email – though I certainly would have done that. I wanted to be able to check the leaderboard, see what was happening at other holes, and follow the day more completely than from just my sweet viewing spot on the 18th green. Which was really sweet, by the way. You might have seen me on TV. I’m basically famous.

I spent the majority of the day having no idea what was happening on any hole other than the couple I could see and hear. And it was so much more fun! I got to get wrapped up in what I was watching, never felt like I was missing anything, and always made new friends asking newcomers what they had been watching.

My natural tendency is to always be "up on it," to always know exactly what’s happening – and there’s something to be said for that. But it’s also fun to be wrapped up in the moment, rooting like crazy for the two guys in front of you, even though they’re 25-over and have been out of the running since the first hole of the tournament.

There were a couple of people with radios (provided by the tournament), who were getting periodic updates on the major plays and players. We all made friends with them, and they were soon sharing their updates and analysis with about 40 people. Being connected to nothing but golf gave us all something to talk about, a common interest, and nothing to distract us and keep us from interacting. I’ve never had so much fun with a crowd than at this tournament, where there were no emails to check, no tweets to send, no business to conduct – just golf to watch, and friends to make.

Being Bored is Good

I hate being bored. I do just about anything, including giving myself 83,000 things to do, to avoid the bored, thumb-twiddling, time-moves-slowly feeling. I think we all do, and I’m realizing more and more that we do a disservice to ourselves in that.

Boredom forces us to use our imagination, a sorely under-utilized muscle these days. When I was standing in the concession line, where I would normally pull out my cell phone and knock out a couple of emails, I had to look around and think. That boredom, waiting in the ridiculously long lines (how long does it take to serve a hot dog?), led to everything from the idea for this blog post to crazy, weird daydreams about how Chinese food names make for great band names (Poached Rooster would be an awesome punk band).

We spend so much time wrapped up in doing, reading, writing, and checking that we sometimes miss out on being bored. For kids, being bored is the best possible thing – it fosters imagination and self-entertainment, and lets them dream and think. I think it’s at least as useful, and much less used, for adults and professionals.

I’m the last person who would ever recommend unplugging from technology for days, or weeks, or even hours. But, in small spurts, it can be a great thing. Have an errand to run? Don’t bring your cell phone. Enjoy the fact that even if you wanted to be productive, you can’t. Be bored, be present, and be in the dark – it’s a weird feeling, but it’s a good one.

Everyone loves to recommend "unplugging to be more productive." Try it. Not because it makes you more productive – in fact, it’ll probably make you less productive. And, just for a little while, that might be a good thing.

When can you afford to unplug? When might it be good to not be able to be productive, even when we want to?

Photo: commish96

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