by Margwaret Wood, Editor

Leadership Flagship.com

Unplugging – the act of disconnecting from an ultra-connected techno-world

Shutting down regularly is a good practice and here’s why

01. Reduce stress – Reduce Burnout –  Improve your Wellbeing

By allowing your body and mind to rest, your brain functions will automatically improve, you will be more alert and more producted. Feeling rested and stress-free will provide you more clarity to perform at your best. Unplugging, eating right and getting enough sleep are critical to your performance and outlook on life.In most instances, allowing yourself to be “available” to your job 24-7 does not equate to dedication. Instead, this leads to high levels of psychological and emotional stress, draining all your energy, causing fatigue, and eventually burnout.

02. Avoid the downward spiral

Leave your office promptly at 5:00! If you don’t dedicated yourself to this concept, other areas will begin to suffer, i.e. your family, friends and “alone time”.  Your stress level will diminish your mental acuity  and these relationships will suffer. This will create the downward spiral of guilt, and you become conflicted between your loyalty to your job and your family.

Unplug! – company email will still be there in the morning! Play a game with the kids, cook dinner with your significant other, read a bedtime story, grab a glass of your preferred drink,  then settle back into some stimulating conversation with your significant other. Maintaining these relationships is important to everyone’s well-being.

03. Multi-tasking – a thing of the past?

By trying to do too many things at one time,  you are not providing your undivided attention to any one thing and something, if not everything, will suffer.  Your performance will not be at its peak. Time and again, constant multitasking demishes the quality of your work. If your brain is always “on”, something will eventually give – namely, your health.

04. Don’t let negative emotions rule you

According to a University of Maryland  study,constant connection may be classified as an addiction. While competition at work has increased and it may be understandable that one may want to “stay connected” so as to be “in the know” at any point in time, staying connected leads to feelings of jealousy, or even anger, and is not conducive to good health.

Exactly how important is it to know what friends and acquaintances are  doing at any given moment?  Would it make that much of a difference in your life if you didn’t know?

05.  Taking care of #1

While it may be difficult at first, it is entirely possible to set aside time to live without our precious derivices. MAKE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF! By setting a cutoff time, you are ensuring that you care and respect yourself.

As discussed earlier, regularly disconnecting from work improves relationships, decreases stress, increases the quality of your work, and maintains emotional and pysicial well-being.

 It can wait!