boundaries

I've spent almost two weeks straight with the same batch of seven to ten people, and It finally got to me last night. I skipped dinner with the crowd to hole up and read, catch up on some news, and begin packing for the trip home. I always appreciate having a group like this to travel with, because you get new people to bounce ideas off, share problems with, and generally commiserate and find comfort in the fact that other people in your line of work face all the same issues as you.

One of the things we've talked about is staying connected. On a trip like this, halfway around the world, and with the technology most of us now own, where do you stand on calling home, checking e-mails, and generally keeping your life in motion? There is one end of the spectrum that argues when you're gone you're gone, and you simply can't be reached. The older guys usually fall into this camp. The other end is someone who has cell service wherever you are, sending and receiving calls, texts and e-mails at close to the same speed as usual, and loves getting back into the city so he can really get down to business with a high speed internet connection. Everyone sits somewhere between these two extremes, and I think maybe it's becoming a generational thing.

Me, I like to stay connected on a trip like this. This is my job, not a vacation, and while I'm spending a good twelve to eighteen hours each day pretty much living work, I figure checking e-mails and dealing with work stuff is just another part of the gig. Larry argues its important to disconnect so people learn to deal with their work problems without you. I've got a whole different view of that, even when I'm at work, so it has absolutely no relevance to where I am in the world - I trust people to deal with their problems without me even when I'm sitting in the next chair.

On the other hand, I happen to be someone who can completely disconnect on the weekend and evenings. The same guys who say they never call home or check e-mails on trips are the guys who go in to work on Saturday, send e-mails on Sunday, and call your cell at night. This I don't get. And I also happen to subscribe to the notion that just because someone is trying to reach you doesn't mean you have to answer. In the world of e-mail, texts, facebook and twitter you've got a reliable connection to the world, but you still have the right to interface with it on your own terms. I think it's important to learn to find comfort and balance between knowing what's going on to stay informed and actually getting buried underneath a bunch of useless crap. It seems like most people end up buried, and I think that's too bad.
In the end, it's your life, right?