Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I’ll be able to teach a class tonight from Texas. When I was coordinating schedules to plan this visit, it seemed like a good option but now I regret the decision. It’s supposed to be a vacation, but teaching a class forces me to pack responsibility and my thinking cap in my luggage. I thought the point of a leisure trip was to leave them at home!
My students have also lamented the demands their employers place on them when they are theoretically away. While the internet and smartphones make it “easy” to join in on a meeting or respond to email, even a small interruption that brings us back to the work world negates a large benefit of time off.
As summer approaches and travel restrictions loosen, be vigilant with your time away and that of your team. This year more than most, we need a deep recharge of our mental batteries, free from distractions and minor obligations that suck us back to zero and reset the refresh scale. Even though you can take the internet with you, it makes a lousy travel partner and is best left at home.
