Finding Balance
I have had a post brewing in my head for a very long time and I think this is the perfect forum in which to bring this issue to light. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a problem that so many of us have, but are unwilling to acknowledge. The issue I am referring to is finding a balance between the various aspects of our lives. More specifically, I am an going to discuss the amount of time we spend online versus time we spend with our families.
I have two great loves in my life: my family and my career. I am passionate about both of them, but lately it seems like work has overshadowed my family. If I am being honest I would have to say that for the better part of the last year my family has taken a backseat to my career. I teach and develop online classes. Most of this is done at home on my own time due to the constant interruptions at school which occur even during my prep time.
I also have developed an amazing PLN that I love interacting with, but each minute I spend with them is a minute that I could (and should) be spending with my family. My family does not quite fully comprehend that I learn so much on Twitter. The other thing that they do not understand is that some of the friendships I have made on Twitter are very meaningful.
My husband made the awful mistake of giving in to my request and bought me a BlackBerry for Valentine’s Day this last year. I am now connected to all of my email accounts, Google chat, and Twitter around the clock. While I think this is great my family is not as thrilled. You see, I have not yet mastered the art of unplugging and taking a tech break. I enjoy the ability to connect to my network at any time from any place. My family is not impressed that I make myself so easily accessible to the world.
Last week I walked away for a few hours. I actually powered down my laptop and cell phone and I snuggled up with my husband in our favorite over-sized to watch a movie. When I had trouble remember the last time we did that I realized that I have been plugged in for way too long! It finally occurred to me that I need to find some balance. While I love working and I am not in danger of burning out; I am missing out on some very important things in my life. I am just not sure how an online teacher spend less time online, but I will figure it out.
Twitter, blogs and emails can wait, but my family can’t. I still have a lot of work to do online this summer, but I am going to turn off Twitter and I am going to purposefully neglect my reader. While I am online I need to focus on the task at hand. I need to learn to become more efficient when I work. I get tend to get sidetracked very easily! I am not quite sure how I will do this, but I need to find a balance.
I know other people have faced the same issues. How have you managed to strike a balance between work and family time? What are some of the suggestions you have for finding an adequate amount of time for each?
4 Comments
Jamie Reaburn Weir
Friday, 17th July 2009 at 11:57 am
I think you are absolutely right when you say it’s difficult to unplug. I find that I feel like I’m missing something if I’m away from Twitter too long and it’s really becoming an addiction. I try to do most of my work before my husband comes home, but I do tend to sneak back on Twitter at least one or two times per night. I guess I’m going to have to take a page from your book and learn to balance especially for when we have a larger family. Great post!
Susan Payne
Friday, 17th July 2009 at 1:55 pm
This is definitely an issue for me, and something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I have found it difficult to explain to other people how much I learn from Twitter (including my husband), but I was starting to feel like it was becoming too much and becoming a bit of an obsession. I have had to set some limits for myself (actually my husband and I agreed on some guidelines that we both could live with), and I am very conscious of the fact that other relationships in my life start to suffer when I spend too much time online. It helps to know that others are struggling with the same issue.
Errin
Saturday, 18th July 2009 at 11:54 am
I’m glad to see this type of post. I constantly struggle with a healthy balance. I think the first step is for people to be aware of how busy they are and recognize that balance is important, then find ways of dealing with it.
We have “No Technology Thursdays” at my house. I say it’s because I don’t want others on the computer, but it’s really so that I’ll have one day of the week without any screen time.
Mick
Sunday, 19th July 2009 at 6:57 pm
Could I dare draw attention to the fact that this post and its responses (so far) are all from the “fairer sex”. I think you are really highlighting a serious issue Beth. No matter what we do or achieve in cyberspace we live in the real work with real people!! Men have wrestled with this (generally very poorly) for years but the addictions have been sport, work or (for Gen Y) electronic games – and we all know the consequences!! You may be interested in http://mamamia.com.au/weblog/2009/05/sunday-column-technology-ate-my-holiday.html from one of my favorite commentators here in Oz!!
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