The Importance of Disconnecting from Your Work

Some of the happiest, most well-adjusted, and most effective people I know are also people who have a profound ability to disconnect from their work. They can disconnect rapidly and put themselves in another state of mind that does not involve work. Some images that come to mind are people like Richard Branson, setting records in balloons; captains of industry, leisurely golfing their days away; people in bars slapping each other’s backs while drinking martinis and making deals; or CEOs in their early 60s running marathons. One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your life is to disconnect from your work. Many people never disconnect from their work or do not even know how to disconnect. You can see these people walking around with telephones in their ears wherever they go, getting up from dinner to talk on the phone, screwing around with their Blackberrys at any given moment and, in general, working every second of the day. I have a secret for you: The most important people never behave like this. The most important people simply do not work when they are not working. If you are working all the time, you are not being nearly as productive [Read more]