Comments on: Switching Off

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:48:47 +0000

Jamie I agree with you – certainly 'people' prove to be a hack for switching off. I must say that I actually get refreshed meeting new people and love it!

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:48:47 +0000

Jamie I agree with you – certainly 'people' prove to be a hack for switching off. I must say that I actually get refreshed meeting new people and love it!

By: JamieLee

JamieLee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:05:43 +0000

Enjoyed the post & all the great comments. As I'm in business start-up mode, I'm more or less possessed by my work these days, BUT there are three things that help me step back and breathe:1. My daughter2. My beau3. My morning yoga (which is a work-in-progress in terms of consistency, but I'm getting there!)Like others have already commented, I find that it's the people in my life who help me gain the perspective I need to switch off – literally and figuratively. My daughter is 5 1/2 and absolutely does not deal well with partial attention. Multi-tasking in her presence is a horror show. And, that's a good thing. She forces me to come away and focus on her. My beau – being more of an adult – makes a conscious effort to help me step back from the tornado of communications and information and into a place where I can really “be.” I'm very grateful for that. Thanks for the gentle reminder to keep working on creating a healthy balance.

By: JamieLee

JamieLee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:05:43 +0000

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:58:18 +0000

Thanks for the link Jonathan. I would certainly say that a very large part of his success is that he is an obsessive person. Very similar to Richard Branson in fact – dyslexic, enterprising at a v young age, relished impossible tasks, full of energy, love risk, detailed memory, very visual and practical…As for switching off – congrats on your sons birthday. A thread throughout the comments has been 'forced switch off' – dog walks, family / bath time, walk home from work, etc, all seem to be ways of hacking yourself into rest.My fav remark is from Elizabeth a few comments below – switching off is ensuring balance by giving value to other areas of your life.

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:58:18 +0000

By: jonathanalder

jonathanalder — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:46:04 +0000

Hi ScottI just wanted to give you a pointer to presentation that Tim Ferris gave at the Do Lectures last year. I didn't know anything about him until I came across him on the Do site. Fascinating stuff, take a look: http://www.dolectures.co.uk/speakers/archive/20…But I then read the rest of your blog and thought it would be rude to leave without adding a contribution! I really struggle to switch off. Like you, I really enjoy what I do, so I like doing it. Given different economic circumstances I think I'd find it easier to take some time out, but for the time being it's just about keeping your head down and working towards your objective.But having a little boy – William – who will be 2 in less than 2 weeks does give me a very good outlet for switching off! 6.30pm is bathtime, so work stops then (it usually starts again about 3 hours later). And it makes a big difference to weekends too. I'll do some work in the evenings at weekends, but during the day Charlie (my wife) and I spend our time with William as a family.Exercise (running) is a good outlet – but that's too easy for me to skip. I've just got back into running after a couple of months off. During the week along the canal, at weekends on Haldon. A great change of scene and good time o focus my mind else where.Now, I'm 15 minutes past the time I was going to 'switch-off' tonight, so I better go. Good night.

By: jonathanalder

jonathanalder — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:46:04 +0000

Hi ScottI just wanted to give you a pointer to presentation that Tim Ferris gave at the Do Lectures last year. I didn't know anything about him until I came across him on the Do site. Fascinating stuff, take a look: http://www.dolectures.co.uk/speakers/archive/20…But I then read the rest of your blog and thought it would be rude to leave without adding a contribution! I really struggle to switch off. Like you, I really enjoy what I do, so I like doing it. Given different economic circumstances I think I'd find it easier to take some time out, but for the time being it's just about keeping your head down and working towards your objective.But having a little boy – William – who will be 2 in less than 2 weeks does give me a very good outlet for switching off! 6.30pm is bathtime, so work stops then (it usually starts again about 3 hours later). And it makes a big difference to weekends too. I'll do some work in the evenings at weekends, but during the day Charlie (my wife) and I spend our time with William as a family.Exercise (running) is a good outlet – but that's too easy for me to skip. I've just got back into running after a couple of months off. During the week along the canal, at weekends on Haldon. A great change of scene and good time to focus my mind else where.Now, I'm 15 minutes past the time I was going to 'switch-off' tonight, so I better go. Good night.

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:30:06 +0000

Sam, great thoughts that really take this conversation up a level – probably to a future post: Design and not by DefaultWe are then determining what aspects we are giving value to.Pukka!

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:30:06 +0000

Sam, great thoughts that really take this conversation up a level – probably to a future post: Design and not by DefaultWe are then determining what aspects we are giving value to.Pukka!