Travel Tips

Can a High-Tech Business Traveler Disconnect for 48 Hours?

Locations in this article:  San Diego, CA

Dark keyboardGadget guy Phil Baker has a problem and he’s not afraid to admit it. He’s addicted to staying connected, 24/7/365.

But when his wife threw down the gauntlet—to stay disconnected and work-free for 48 hours while visiting Napa Valley—he took on the challenge.

Is “getting away from it all” as easy as it sounds?

Remember how technology was going to transform our lives and make us more productive so we could enjoy more leisure time? It turned out to do just the opposite.

Some of us have a problem of being so immersed in our work that it’s hard to get away. Blackberrys, iPhones and portable computers allow us to be reached via phone, email and instant messaging wherever we are, at any time, night or day.

In past years most of us were able to take vacations without interruptions. The world didn’t end, others were available to fill in and nothing terrible happened.

Force technophiles to disconnect with Off-the-Grid Vacation Ideas.

And definitely don’t miss the Top Places to Unplug.

But now it’s expected that you respond day or night, wherever in the world you are. If you don’t take that call from your boss late at night or on a weekend, might he or she start to rely on a coworker rather than on you? And if you don’t answer an email, will you be viewed as a less valued employee?

For some, myself included, staying connected has become an addiction.

At the computerI spend several hours online each day reading and writing emails and surfing a few dozen Web sites and blogs that cover news, gadgets, technology, and the tech industry. But it’s not as if I’m using that time wisely. I find myself checking for email every few minutes, somehow worrying that I’ll miss something important. Or I’ll surf to a site and come back 30 minutes later looking for something new.

This addiction to stay connected extends to the times when doing it is considered impolite, like in the middle of a meeting or while out for dinner with friends or family.

So when my wife Jane and I decided to take a short vacation to the Napa Valley, she handed me a challenge: stay disconnected for 48 hours. No phone calls, no email and no work-related activity on my computer.

Napa Vineyard morningThis seemed like a realistic challenge, and Napa—one of my favorite places in the world— was an ideal location to do it.

While I could have (and as it turned out, should have) left my laptop and iPhone home, I took them along, planning to use them just for non-business activities such as finding directions to a restaurant or researching a local winery.

We stayed at Meadowood, a spectacular resort just off the Silverado Trail in St. Helena that combines elegant accommodations with a feeling of rusticity. My plan was to escape from technology, read a book, relax on their grounds and explore the area.

But like any addiction, freeing oneself requires a lot of self-discipline. Would I miss an important email? Would skipping a client’s weekly conference call put me at a disadvantage? Could others get along without my advice? I saw how my mind played games, playing to my ego and insecurities as I tried to withdraw.

Get the right travel tools: Helpful Online Services for Business Travelers.

For the budget-minded, there’s Cheap, Useful Travel Gadgets Under $50.

The day we arrived I received a late-night call from an important supplier. There was no caller ID, and as I considered the possibility that it could be an emergency, I decided I’d better answer.

That was my first mistake.

Ergonomic glowing keyboardThe call led to the need to contact others to address an issue. A five-minute phone call turned out to be a couple of hours of more calls and emails.

So my first day was less than successful and as I went to sleep my mind was still occupied by that first call. But it also gave me a chance to think about the outcome if I had not answered at all.

On the morning of the second day I decided to be more realistic about the challenge. I wouldn’t try to go cold turkey and disconnect entirely, but I developed a set of common-sense rules that would reduce my connectivity to a trickle without it affecting my ability to relax:

  • I sent a message to all of my clients saying that I was on vacation. I allowed myself to check the iPhone for a few minutes in the morning and then again in the evening to look at the list of emails. I didn’t open more than a couple that seemed to be urgent, but I didn’t respond.
  • The computer was only used for vacation-related purposes, as intended. I used it to make a restaurant reservation, or to check out some reviews and get directions to some of the wineries. But I didn’t open the email program.
  • I avoided all visits to news sites; most have become more gossip than news anyway, and their negativity would have unbalanced my relaxation.
  • All phone calls went to voicemail.

As a result, I spent more time outside away from the gadgetry and more time actually talking to Jane while we walked around Meadowood, downtown St. Helena and two magnificent wineries, Quintessa and Pride Mountain.

Wine bottle and glass There’s nothing like a rare glass of old-world Cabernet to take your mind off of business.

Freed of business intrusions, the last two days of my vacation turned out to be thoroughly relaxing and, surprisingly, free of anxiety about not being connected. While I didn’t remain completely disconnected, I was able to reduce the amount to a tolerable level so that I could truly relax in one of the most idyllic locations in the world.

When I got home and turned on my computer to review the several hundred emails that piled up, I found that no one died, my business didn’t dry up and the world was as I left it. I was able to work through those messages in about an hour. Now my next challenge is to adopt some of these changes at home to reduce my online dependency even further.

By Phil Baker. Originally published in the San Diego Transcript. Visit Phil on the Web at blog.philipgbaker.com and check out his latest book, From Concept to Consumer.

More by Phil Baker on PeterGreenberg.com: