I’m not great at unplugging. That’s a trait I suspect rings true with a lot of people, especially lawyers. I am working on it. Writing this post while on vacation is not a great example of that, though I’m writing this while I’m on a plane, and the kids are occupied with their own electronic flashy things. 

I have tried very hard to put most anything that can wait to the side during our travels. I’ve not always succeeded, but I’m doing better than I usually do, so that’s good. 

Setting work aside (especially cellphones/email) is something a lot of try to do on vacation, but I also know I need to do a better job of it on a daily basis. If I’m accessible to people all the time electronically, I am necessarily less available to those right in front of me. There are times when that’s a necessary balancing act, but not always. 

In some ways, that’s a lesson I learned a long time ago (though I continue to need reminders), and I have done better in certain settings, such as individual meetings with students and colleagues. But even for myself, when I am writing or reading, I often let the possible get in the way of the immediate task before me. I’m trying to set up some better habits so I can be more focused — more in — in whatever it is I am doing. 

I am also contemplating additional efforts to protect other people’s time. The main one I’m thinking about relates to communication timing. I’m someone who tends to be connected, so I’m also one who tends to both reply and initiate emails at all hours. That can imply to others an expectation of similar accessibility, even if that’s not the intent. 

At a minimum, I plan to make sure people know when I send an email during off hours if it’s actually urgent or if it’s just me catching up. It’s almost always the latter.  But I’m also thinking strongly about using delayed timing for non-urgent emails, so they send during regular business hours, even if they were written on the weekend or in the evening. 

The challenge with that is that some people would prefer to have emails during non-business hours. I’m one of them, as I often like to work through email early in the morning, so delayed emails might actually set me back a bit. And while I’d like people to unplug more, I’m not one to tell others how they should work or when. 

At a minimum, I’ll be thinking a lot more about ways to make sure what I ask of people is reasonable and ensure that people know what I actually expect. It is not just students who appreciate transparency. 

My first order of business is trying to let myself know what I expect of me. Fortunately, I’ve got just a little more time to sort that out.