I’m generally known for my sense of urgency and quick reply emails. Preparing for my maternity leave and the related disconnection was a great exercise for me. It was challenging to anticipate all the ways that I wouldn’t be available, create new paths of communication in our business, and to resist wanting to be involved in every conversation.

Earlier this year, I resolved to have a “close down”, end-of-business time to my day.  A designated time when I would stop checking emails and switch into my home mode. I loved the freedom and space that this resolution created. My maternity leave has been a reminder in how valuable being disconnected can be.

Some of these disconnected circumstances I took proactive steps to create, while others occurred sort of serendipitously. For example, I had spent the month prior to my leave doing some common sense things (redirecting, auto-filing, unsubscribing, etc) to reduce my flow of emails. It is unbelievably liberating to open your email and find only those things you NEED to read. On the serendipitous side, I ended up dumping about 30 ounces of water on my BlackBerry the first day home from the hospital. The phone and text functions survived but my data and email functions were destroyed. At first I thought it was a disaster but after a few days of not being distracted by emails every time I checked the time or picked up a voice mail, I decided I wasn’t in any hurry to fix it.

Recently there was an article in Business Week about executives who choose not to have cell phones. These folks aren’t complete luddites, they have emails and many have Twitter accounts, but they don’t feel that being available via phone at anytime is an effective business practice. They don’t want to always be reachable. This and my recent experiences really have me thinking about all the ways that you can be creative about your connectivity.

How often do you advance to the next level of availability just because it is expected or newly popular? Do you need to be immediately available? Via how many channels? What systems and channels of communication really work for you? What helps you be most effective in your role?

To be sure, it shouldn’t be impossible to get a hold of you…that probably wouldn’t be good for business! But my point is that we actually have quite a lot of choices AND I’m sure that effective messaging around your communication preferences could make almost any scenario work.

I’d love to hear how you may have made choices about when and how to be connected or disconnected.

As for me, I reached a point where the no data thing was starting to be a pain in the rear and I broke down and replaced my phone yesterday. And, I was so pleased to find that my new phone has a very cool “dis-connection” feature! On the new Blackberry Bold there is a “bedside mode” where you can easily set preferences for being disconnected. For example, my LED indicator light turns off in this mode, the lights dim, only a clock is viewed, and I’ve selected to only receive notification about incoming phone calls – though you could turn this off as well. This is just one example of the recent abundance of apps, programs, and software that helps to manage our boundaries and level of availability…for all of us who find it hard to establish those boundaries on our own.

So, before we get back into the full swing of fall I encourage you to take some time to evaluate your connectivity and availability. Does it work for you? Is there anything you’d like to limit or change? It is certainly your prerogative and the benefits may be greater than you’d imagine.

Image courtesy of lolasroom.