Taking a Vacation Every Week: Why Disconnecting Leads to Enhanced Reconnecting

The first time I received an “out of office” message about someone having the audacity to take a vacation during the pandemic, my eyes bulged out of my head, like a cartoon character! I just couldn’t believe anyone had (or chose to take) the time to unplug and unwind during this crazy time.

But I’ve come to my senses.

I just finished reading 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week, in which the author, @Tiffany Shlain, makes the case for taking a “Tech Sabbath,” a 24-hour break from  electronics, inspired by the Jewish Sabbath, which also demands a break from electronics, among other things. 

On a related note, earlier this year, I lost my dear friend, Missy Stein. She was fun and funny, irreverent and sassy, and wholly-committed to completely unplugging for the Sabbath. That first Shabbat after she died, I unplugged in her memory, calling it #UnplugforMissy. Since then, I’ve done it a few more times, striving to turn it into a habit.

Yes, I’m doing this for Jewish Sabbath reasons, and yes, I’m doing this to honor Missy, but I’m also doing it for my own sanity. We all need a break now and then. All of us. Not one of us is indispensable for one day. Promise.

Yes, I’m still available (via landline) for my crisis communications clients (and my elderly mother), but other than that, no computer, no phone, no social media. Unplugged.

Shortly after my dad died in 2012, I started a non-profit in his memory called “Guess Who’s Coming to Shabbas,” with the purpose of engaging people with one another over Friday night Sabbath dinners, something that spoke to the essence of my dad. But long before that, we had guests at our home every Friday night – often people we didn’t know well but wanted to get to know better – and our only rule was that there be no phones at the table. It worked like a charm, with people actually looking at one another and listening to one another. People were unplugging to better connect. 

Shlain is right. We need to unplug – we need to disconnect to better reconnect with ourselves and with one another. Why? Because when we’re on our devices all day, our brains go from one thing to another, with the internet and email taking us from place to place to place. We all need time for our brains to go where they want to go. Shlain refers to it as letting your brain be “unleashed.” 

I now use that 24-hours of being unplugged to not watch the news and to not surf the web, and to not look at Facebook. Instead, I read, sleep, walk, think, and read some more. I talk to neighbors (through a mask) and to my husband (imagine!). I look at the hummingbirds out my window. I appreciate the disconnect; it allows me to be more focused and more connected when work begins again.

As Shlain does in her book, I invite you to try it. You’ll see that your brain needs that rest more than you realize, and then your brain will thank you for it.

So go ahead. Pick a day, and unplug. #UnplugforMissy or #UnplugforYourself. And then let’s reconnect after you’ve disconnected.