01-14-2004, 10:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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The Rise of Wireless Travel Tech
"Executives on the road can get a little nervous if they cannot be contacted, even for a second or two. Maybe the secretary is calling with a crucial message, or perhaps it's the boss, spouse or client. For business travellers, whether in a plane or at the hotel bar, being able to keep in touch with people, the Internet and corporate files via mobile, wireless networks has become essential. And as the boundaries begin to blur between the different technology kits -- PC, mobile, laptop, PDA --- so does the distinction between work and personal time..."
Interesting article. The last line I quoted above about the mixing of personal and business time makes me think of my own life - I truly have no distinction between personal and business time. I work off and on all day and night, always checking my email before going to sleep, and it's often the first thing I do in the morning. When I'm out for dinner with my wife, I check my email using my Smartphone. What's it like in your life - do you have a separation between work and personal time, or have connected mobile devices completely obliterated that? What are the repercussions of that, and how have you adapted to them? (I'm somewhat of an amateur sociologist, so I find discussions like this fascinating...)
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01-14-2004, 10:17 PM
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Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,878
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I find it quite easy to switch from work time to personal time, the minute I leave work, I don't want to hear anything about it until I return the next day... :wink:
OTOH, I find it harder to switch from personal time to work time. The first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I check at night is a certain Pocket PC site. Add to that, regardless of location (home and work or in between) and time of day, I am usually on line, logged in and checking it as well... :lol:
Steve
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"My eyes are rolling back in my head so far I can see my grey matter bubbling and frothing from reading this thread....bleh." JD
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01-14-2004, 11:11 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 69
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Business/Pleasure
I have to agree there. One of the many reasons I specifically do NOT have (nor does my wife) a cell phone is because I refuse to be contacted when I don't want to be contacted. We carry our PocketPCs everywhere, and if wireless internet were actually available in our area we might find it convenient to browse the internet while waiting in line at the movies or check movie times or look up restaurant food calories, etc., but we draw the line at being available for someone else to bother us. My work is my work. My time is MY TIME. I absolutely refuse to allow myself to become a slave to someone else's whim. Cell phones and pagers invite that specifically. Let some other fool get ulcers or a heart attack at 49 while I'm anxiety free even when I hit 70 (I'm 41 now and feel like a kid!).
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01-14-2004, 11:17 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 62
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I am a pastor who is planting a church. My office is in the house. I carry a cell that's on 24 hrs. a day. I carry an Ipaq 5450 with my ministry in it. It's a little hard to draw a strict line between personal and ministry. What I do do is honour my day off each week!
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01-14-2004, 11:46 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 94
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Ya know I am just a remote Paramedic and not "an executive", but I don't know what I'd do without all my devices and my GSM Internet. I travel A LOT and just knowing I can get in contact, or be contacted, is a relief.
I wrote up a small piece here. I actually wrote it before I saw this article.. 
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"So Shut Up, Live, Travel, Adventure, Bless, And Don't Be Sorry." - Jack Kerouac
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01-15-2004, 12:26 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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I am so with you there Steve. Work to personal is easy - when I leave work - it's my time.
There's Always time for PPCT! 5 minute work breaks are SO theraputic! :wink:
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01-15-2004, 02:03 AM
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2000 Posts And This is All I Get?
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,017
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Re: Business/Pleasure
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Originally Posted by RobertCF
I have to agree there. One of the many reasons I specifically do NOT have (nor does my wife) a cell phone is because I refuse to be contacted when I don't want to be contacted. We carry our PocketPCs everywhere, and if wireless internet were actually available in our area we might find it convenient to browse the internet while waiting in line at the movies or check movie times or look up restaurant food calories, etc., but we draw the line at being available for someone else to bother us. My work is my work. My time is MY TIME. I absolutely refuse to allow myself to become a slave to someone else's whim. Cell phones and pagers invite that specifically. Let some other fool get ulcers or a heart attack at 49 while I'm anxiety free even when I hit 70 (I'm 41 now and feel like a kid!).
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Lucky you. Some of us are not that lucky though. My company assigned a mobile number to all officers, and implied that we have to leave it on all time. I am not even a frontliner. Even when I am on annual leave abroad, someone from the office will find a good enough reason to call me on that number. Silly silly silly.
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01-15-2004, 02:32 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5
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Re: Business/Pleasure
I have broad grey lines between work and personal time. I run my own design studio so the office phone is sent to the cell when I am not there. When I am on my time I just let the voice mail catch the calls.
I do check the e-mail at the computer in the office, PPC or cell on the road or at home. I sometimes suprise clients by answering the phone or replying to an e-mail after hours.
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01-15-2004, 03:03 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 263
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I spend some time every week-day (2 hours or so) with my three y/o daughter away from my PPC and my lap-top but with the cell phone on, it's on 24/7. Every single minute left when I'm not sleeping I have the PPC or the lap-top (or both) 'on' with me.
Weekends are another story but I bring my PPC wherever I go and check mail every hour or so (I love hot spots :mrgreen: ). Have to say an important mail came in just once or twice in several years, got to visit my doctor I guess, :?: work boundaries are somehow blurred for me.
Regards.
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MacBook Pro 2.53-250-4. iPhone 3G-8
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01-15-2004, 05:24 AM
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,998
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I have just recently returned to the office as my wife is now home on maternity leave for the next year. For the past 9 months though, I've been spending most of my time working from home. I usually worked at home 4 days per week (sometimes the entire week). I found in this scenario the line between work time and personal time got more blurry. As my home was my office, I would do some work at various times throughout the day. On the flipside, as I'm connected with my mobile phone and my Blackberry, I would run personal errands through the day when the need arised.
I really enjoyed the flexibility this allowed. Now that I'm back in the office it's a little more cut-and-dried. I don't imagine I'll be working from home for a few years now (other than a single day here and there). By then I'm hopeful that the technology will be such that I will be able to be 100% as effective as I would be in the office (i.e. network speeds, video conferencing, etc.).
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