Thanks for your experience!

What I found also happens is that I won’t be disturbed at 2am by a phone call asking me to adjust some element of a project. (I had that happen to me ONCE.)

I can spend time at the dinner table with my family, enjoy a bit of television, games night and such. The boundaries are set for me.

Creativity happens any 24-7. Business happens 9-5.

Although it is “expected” (I use that loosely) of me to be in my chair from 9-5 we do have some freedom to work from home, coffee shop, car or beach. Do people ever take advantage of this? Not really. And those that do often get crap from fellow staff members because in their eyes it is perceived as slacking.

That being said, there are people out there that don’t understand the value of setting your own schedule and beat up those that do for not always being “live and in person”. In some cases it is important for those that take advantage of the flexibility to make themselves available to talk if needed. With that comes a self-imposed perception that they need to over achieve to squash the “you’re a slacker” mentality that others may have of them. This makes it very difficult at times to unplug.

So, not only do we need to figure out what may work best for us we need to be aware of how our work habit may impact others that work directly with us.

On a side note… I am with Chris.

As far as a social disconnect from communities that we connect with on a daily basis, I make sure I give myself my own time in the evenings and especially the weekends. It’s a personal choice that gives me some of that time back and sets a bit of a boundary for myself. And that’s what it comes down to – personal choice and what boundaries each of us are comfortable with.

@Mary – having a balance between in office (if applicable) and workshifting is a great way to get the ‘best of both worlds’. Giving us the ability to turn off whenever we like; though, I only question if people in the digital space are losing that ability to pull themselves away.

Thanks for the additional thoughts!

Those limits, like you said, are going to be most important for us in workshifting situations like yours. It’s definitely not easy, but with guidelines AND willpower, it is possible – and I know you can do it too!

Best of luck in your transition, Heather

Agency types (and probably many corporate ones as well) will probably tell you that the 9-5 work schedule is a complete myth. While you’re physically in the office during those hours, you’re actually “on call” well beyond 5:00p.m. That’s a working relationship that’s fine with me because I’m interested in serving clients, both internal and external, first.

It’s a similar story with online communities. It might be a cold way of talking about people, but they are clients in a way, right? Their “thirst” for knowledge and information doesn’t stop at 5 does it?

As you know, over the Labor Day weekend I tried the social disconnect experiment. I’ll admit, I had one lapse late Friday afternoon, but overall it was a difficult experience. I was constantly wondering what people were talking about, and if there was some level of insight that I could offer to add to the discussion.

Does any of this make me a workaholic? Or just dedicated to my “community?” Interested to hear your answer.

Appreciate your perspective, Daria.

@Chris – it’s refreshing to hear someone open up and admit that they WANT that 9-5 lifestyle. As technologies and workshifting continue to evolve, many of us will probably be less likely to unplug come week nights. But this issue is very subjective as well and depends on the type of roll you have. If you’re a community manager and acting as a support system via online tools for your customers, then there is an increased need to be constantly plugged in. Whereas agency or corporate types have set goals that they need to accomplish – what they do after 5pm (blogging, twitter, etc.) is up to them. Though disconnecting from that part of the digital world is another story!

In December, I’ll officially be a “workshifter” for the first time, and I know that it’s going to require a lot of self-discipline to avoid working ALL the time. Picking up on Teresa’s point, I think I (and probably many people like me) need to do a better job setting boundaries. I want my clients and bosses to be happy, so I respond to emails after-hours, answer the phone on the weekends, etc. To some extent, that’s good, because i know I’m providing good client service — key to a successful PR career. But it’s up to me to set limits. If I’m not going to work on Sundays, I need to stick to that. No answering emails. Otherwise, clients and bosses will think I actually am available 24/7. It’s a problem that I know a lot of us in the PR/SM circles are facing. If someone comes up with a good solution, PLEASE let me know!

Heather (@prtini)