Out of Office – Are You Ever Anymore?

It’s 5 a.m. and the alarm clock starts blaring, I drag my hand to the nightstand and lift the screaming black bit of plastic. I drag the bar down to stop the sound and look at the phone screen staring back at me. A green light blinks at me from the upper left hand corner and a line of icons beckon me to read them. One by one, before I even put on my glasses, I check each account. Before I know it, the second alarm goes off. I stop the bell, put my glasses on and get out of bed to start my day.

Sound familiar?
E-mail, smartphones, texting, Skype, webinars, Slideshare, Twitter, Facebook, airplane wi-fi, the way technology is going, “9-5” will only be a memory of a Dolly Parton song (and movie, I happen to be a big fan). The question I have is: when are you “at work”? I (and I am positive most of you who are reading this right now) always have my phone with me and on. I check my Twitter feed while I am walking the dog, post status updates on Facebook as they occur IRL, I have even checked my email while I was in line for a ride at Disney World, I wrote this on a Saturday when I had a little downtime at a music festival.

This is a reality that people who are salaried employees have been used to for quite some time now, but technology is making it the norm for everyone now. The constant connectivity is something that took a while to get used to, but now, well – that is something you will hear about from me soon enough….
My job is fun, I love my job, I have no problem doing some parts of my job for free (please no one tell @rtoddthill). I drew my own line between clocked in and clocked out not long after being handed my EVO back in the spring. I am only “at work” when I am in the office or attending any meetings/events that would be considered office time. I have no problem replying to a quick email ping, Tweet or Facebook comment outside of those times. I have yet to set a “phone free” time of day and I don’t believe I will be doing so anytime soon.

But tell me – is there a line you don’t cross? When do you log off, tune out and shut down? I’d love to hear from you, please comment below.

Update: What happens when Carrie is left without her phone? Find out here: