Simple

Try going one full day without your computer. Wait, read the rest of this article and then do it.

A friend of mine brought this to my attention. She spilled a glass of red wine on her laptop. Everything she’s been working on for the past two years is on that laptop. I think her data can be salvaged. I really don’t think the hard drive was affected, but we’ll see. Anyway, we were sitting talking about the events of her day when she said, “I wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t use a computer for everything I do?” Collectively, we said, “Simple”.

Everyone knows that computers are meant to make our lives easier. Sometimes, however, I am convinced that they do just the opposite.

Here’s my solution:

• Take a day to go without the computer. You may have to briefly plan for this. If you are a blogger, this may involve writing an extra post and setting it to publish on a specific date or inviting a guest to post for you that day. To take it a step furthur, add your cell phone to the mix. You may have to let those close to you know in advance that you will be unavailable on your cell for the day. This keeps people from worrying about you.
• Get out of the house. If you’re in sales and don’t have a cell phone or computer you have to get out of the house (or office). This may be just what you needed. You have to get in front of people to sell anyway. Why not go out and meet some people? Don’t make it all about a sale and you just might have some fun. If you aren’t in sales or want to take a break from the grind, go for a walk or some other fun activity.
• Write out your To-Do list. When I was in elementary school, I learned how to write a word and it’s definition over and over until I learned it (or just the word for spelling). I still do this on a rare occasion. Anyway, the work invloved in manually writing something goes a long way towards making you commit it to memory.
• Save time by skipping the e-mails and RSS feeds. Lately, I have become increasingly aware of how much time I spend checking my e-mail and RSS feeds. When I have a 8a-11a window to call on prospective B2B clients and a 6p-8p window to call on prospective individual clients, an extra 30 minutes to check my e-mail is out.
• Make dad happy. My dad HATES computers! If I told him I decided to go without the computer even one day a week, he would probably jump with joy. He is constantly saying we need to ‘Get back to the basics’. I don’t know, dad, let me look this up on Google. Father’s Day is coming up…maybe I’ll try and put this post to work for a Happy Father’s Day.

Well, it was fun but I have to go.

Until next time…

Keith Porterfield

a Student of Sales