Put down the damn cellphone please

06/27/08 06:29 AM

How many drivers need to use cell phones and how many people are that important that they need to check their Blackberry's every 5 minutes? Enough is enough ! I mean I see drivers just going along and you can tell that they are just "gabbing" on their cells. In meetings people are always checking their Blackberry's every 5 minutes because God forbid they should miss an eMail. The truth is that all these devices invade our personal lives and when we leave the office they should be shut off and put in the drawer.

Now I am a gadget person to the extreme. I have an Apple iPhone which I use for personal contacts but when I get home it goes on the charging dock and I don't answer it. If someone wants to reach me they can call me at home and when I leave work I try and leave work. There are times when we are all under a deadline and have to work until all hours or early in the morning but for most the bullshit it can wait. When you are texting your girlfriend or wife instead of talking to her you know you have a problem.

It got to the point in my house where my wife and I would check our eMails first thing in the morning. Since my wife has European contacts and they are 10 hours ahead of us this sounds reasonable but for me I do it only to ensure that when I get to work there won't be any fires to put out first thing in the morning. I have since learned to use the "out of office" assistant and tell people that I will not be checking eMail when I go on vacation or take personal days. Still you would not believe the number of people who expect information while you are on a cruise, swimming in the ocean or getting naked with your significant other.

Make a rule ha? Turn of the PDA and cell phones when you are going out with your romantic partner. Put them away in a draw with the power off when you want to make love and learn to live life to the fullest instead of living life for work.