Last week, the wireless system in Judy's house in Vegas went down. Both the PC and the laptop weren't connecting to the internet. While we are software power users, occassional beta testers and feel very comfortable with anything HTML and e-commerce, hardware isn't our thing. After an hour or so disconnecting and connecting the modem, the router, and anything else that had a plug, Judy gave up. Well, a call to our cable service provider was made, and they assured us that the problem wasn't with them, but clearly with Judy. Instead of fretting for the rest of the afternoon, Judy did something atypical and forgot about the ever-present online access and focused on something else, mainly writing our "Entrepreneurial Linguist" book which we've talked about here before. Without constant online distraction, we are happy to report that the second draft of a chapter on social media was written in one afternoon. Lesson learned: you can live (and get work done) without the Internet, and perhaps we could even self-impose an internet-free afternoon (it's doubtful that we will really do that, though). The picture to the right features Judy's laptop poolside with no internet acccess. Perhaps it needed an online break, too.
A Day Without the Internet
Last week, the wireless system in Judy's house in Vegas went down. Both the PC and the laptop weren't connecting to the internet. While we are software power users, occassional beta testers and feel very comfortable with anything HTML and e-commerce, hardware isn't our thing. After an hour or so disconnecting and connecting the modem, the router, and anything else that had a plug, Judy gave up. Well, a call to our cable service provider was made, and they assured us that the problem wasn't with them, but clearly with Judy. Instead of fretting for the rest of the afternoon, Judy did something atypical and forgot about the ever-present online access and focused on something else, mainly writing our "Entrepreneurial Linguist" book which we've talked about here before. Without constant online distraction, we are happy to report that the second draft of a chapter on social media was written in one afternoon. Lesson learned: you can live (and get work done) without the Internet, and perhaps we could even self-impose an internet-free afternoon (it's doubtful that we will really do that, though). The picture to the right features Judy's laptop poolside with no internet acccess. Perhaps it needed an online break, too.
Sometimes the best techie is time. Wait a view hours and the most problems are gone ;-)
ReplyDeleteI *completely* agree, what a great post! My ISP went down for the better part of a day this summer and I have to say I was amazed at how much one can get done when one is not checking e-mail every 20 seconds, reading the news, updating LinkedIn, etc. It actually made me think that when I really want to get some work done, I should take my laptop to a cafe that does *not* have WiFi... Great photo, I wish I were at the pool with your laptop!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I can't help but thinking WHAT A FABULOUS POOLSIDE OFFICE YOU HAVE! How do you get any work done?? ;-))
ReplyDeleteWell I think you deserve it. After all, you worked hard enough to get it :-)
@Thomas: you are so right! Sometimes time does cure it...
ReplyDelete@Corinne: yep, it's sometimes healthy and good for our productivity not to be online. You are invited to the pool anytime.
@Emma: thanks for the comment. Yes, I do love the pool (just wait until I get the power bill, then I won't be as enamored anymore) and spend as much time out there as possible. But as you say, it's definitely hard to focus on work out there, so I try to limit it to a few hours a day and mainly work inside, which isn't nearly as nice. And yes, the house is the result of working two jobs for years, and of course the husband's job, too.