Comments on: The Danger of Perpetual Availability and The Value of Being Unavailable

By: The Danger of Perpetual Availability and The Value of Being Unavailable « Amanda's Adventures

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:49:52 +0000

[...] The Danger of Perpetual Availability and The Value of Being Unavailable [...]

By: Steve Linderman

Steve Linderman — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:06:32 +0000

As someone that quit a stable job in 2001 to start a BBQ joint (which lasted 1 year), my problem was not being able to shake the “availability” feeling. It was part of the reason I went back to working in television broadcasting. I wish I had seen this post 10 years ago! Keep up the great work. Thanks. Steve

By: Deb Howard Greenleaf

Deb Howard Greenleaf — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:40:50 +0000

Marissa,
Just a note to let you know how much this post resonated with me. After months (yes, months!) of planning, we recently took our two kids and six other family members to Disney World for a week. I let my clients know as soon as we made the reservations, then reminded them monthly. I worked my tush off to get my to-do list done (or at least very close to done!) before I left. But what was I doing in the line at Space Mountain?? Answering emails! The irony was that all of those emails could wait until I got back and nobody was really expecting an answer right away. I just couldn’t stop myself from trying to be as on-the-spot as I usually was. Only when I got back did I fully realize that I was my own worst enemy. I need to draw those boundaries and stick to them myself!!!

Thanks!
Deb

By: Joe M

Joe M — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:07:44 +0000

Marrissa,
Agree totally. Just read this article and the one on working with “busy” people and really enjoyed it. Somewhere “busy” became fashionable and the technologies designed to help us be efficient and effective started to consume us.

My goal has been to be as effective as possible during the day to minimize any work that leaks into the evenings or weekends. Overall it has been a pretty successful strategy for me.

I’m not sure who said it first, but I frequently remind my teams not to confuse activity with productivity. Email, meetings, conference calls all fall into the activity category if you are not careful about how you use your time.

By: chacha1

chacha1 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:13:39 +0000

I am determinedly unavailable. Because, as Danielle at White Hot Truth says, we’re all so easy to find these days, really … why should we be hostages to anyone else’s random impulse to contact us?

I’m a wage worker with a (very) small home-based business. My business is teaching dance and personal training. I’ve been asked if I have business cards, and my answer is “no.” Why should I spend money to create business cards for people to pick up and forget about? People see me out dancing or out teaching, and that’s when they are most likely to think they might want to work with me. Alternatively, they can find me through the locations where I teach.

Technology challenges can actually be a big help. As an employee, I have restricted cell-phone access during the workday, which I love because people don’t expect me to take calls during the day.

I almost never answer our landline or fire up email at home. This bad attitude toward availability has not in the least impaired my marketability – or my relationships! It has, however, allowed me to keep improving my own skills so that I’m capable of doing what people pay me to do.

By: Square-Peg Karen

Square-Peg Karen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:59:00 +0000

OK, you’re freaking me out! I’m hopping around the blog and thinking you are TOO young to be this brilliant!!

This is sooooooo apropos – thank you, thank you!!
.-= Square-Peg Karen´s last blog ..How (Not) to Name Your Business =-.

By: Natalia

Natalia — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:12:20 +0000

I love this.

Soon after I began freelancing, I came across the blog of a supposedly very successful freelancer, and she had just blogged about being available for her clients 24/7- she explicitly mentioned weekends. All I could think was, “Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” Alas, I also doubted whether I was professional enough to compare to someone like her since I utterly refused to be available if I received a call at, say, midnight.

So you go, sister! Without rest we can’t be our best. (And apparently I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it.)
.-= Natalia´s last blog ..The power of language and how to hone it =-.

By: Dana Johnson

Dana Johnson — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:31:24 +0000

Well said, Ken. Importance and urgency are not synonyms.

By: Lisa Wood

Lisa Wood — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:06:36 +0000

Oh Marissa, I feel like you wrote this for me. Thank you. I think I’m going to send this to all my clients.
.-= Lisa Wood´s last blog ..How to Use Twitter to Drive Traffic to Your Website =-.

By: Sonia Simone

Sonia Simone — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:25:38 +0000

The other problem I see with over-availability is that then you’re not *really* available to anyone. I’ve been guilty of spending so much time on random email from strangers that I never get (or maybe even see) the most important stuff from, say, business partners.

And as you say, you simply *cannot* do the real, game-changing work without a reasonable amount of uninterrupted time. The constant pings will destroy your creative energy, your clarity of thinking, and your motivation.

I’m very attracted to the email system you worked out for Havi, although I admit I’m overwhelmed thinking about how to make the switch.