Smartphones and Work Life Balance

In my experience, when it comes to smartphones and work/life balance I think a lot of the pros/cons are about how a person uses a tool such as this. Like any technology, first you have to know when to turn it off - and you also have to setup personal guidelines for how you are going to use the tool or service.

These personal guidelines should be clearly explained to others you work with as well, this will go a long way toward avoiding confusion and allowing you to respect your own limits.

For example, when it comes to smart phones: sometimes people think because you have a smartphone with almost instant access to email that you should be replying to every message within minutes, regardless of what day or time of day it is.

I am a proponent of what I would call "work/life integration," as I believe balance can be difficult to achieve at times - but smartphones and other new communication tools make it easier to integrate work into your life. So if that means you have to do a bit of work on your vacation - but instead you get to take a vacation you couldn't take before - in my opinion that is a win.

That being said, I still think it's important to block out dedicated time away from work, where you can focus on family, friends, relaxation, and personal development without the distractions or guilt.

I often joke that just because you can work from anywhere does NOT mean that you should work from everywhere. That's how I weigh in on this issue.

An advocate of working virtually? It would be more precise to say that Phil Montero is an evangelist for distributed work. He's been the spearhead of the remote work movement for more than a decade: teaching how to work effectively from a home office, the road, or practically anywhere.

The consultant, writer, speaker, and coach is the founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com - a site that assists organizations to leverage mobile work technology and create effective virtual teams.

His blog, TheAnywhereOffice.com, takes a big picture approach to the philosophies and strategies of navigating today's digital lifestyle while covering topics such as work life balance, virtual teams, mobile work technology, and internet marketing.

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by: Philip Montero