That's Fit

I'm too connected. I'll admit it. I'm texting, emailing, calling, and IMing waaaaaay too much these days. Entire hours often go by in which I don't have a face-to-face conversation with anyone. I would say I have a problem, but if a quote-unquote problem is designated by comparing an aberrant behavior against what has been deemed normative behavior, I can safely say that I don't have a problem at all. Everyone's plugged in these days. Even yesterday, as I collapsed into a chair at the airport -- after lugging my laptop, iPod, and camera through security, I struggled to find a plug socket to plug in my laptop. The difficulty did not come from finding the plug; rather, it came from finding a plug that wasn't already being used by other people with THEIR laptops. So, at least it would seem, we are all too connected these days.

This connectivity issue was studied by researchers at King's College in London, who found that almost two out of three people check email and/or text messages during their off-hours; meaning, either after they've left the office or even when on vacation. And, they also discovered that 20 percent of people answer a text message during a business or social engagement.

All this email checking, text message writing (BTW, calling text messages "writing" is a bit of a stretch), IMing, and every mode of electronic communication in between is making our workday 24 hours long and demanding a relentless commitment to every whim, desire, YouTube clip, and stupid question our friends and relatives can possibly dream up. In short, it's stressing us out. Finding quiet is near impossible when you're constantly interrupted by your annoying cell phone ring or the "Ba-Doop" sound it makes whenever you get a new IM. Do yourself a favor, turn everything off -- for at least a half an hour a day. Even longer if you can pull it off. Regroup and decompress a little. Enjoy a little Me Time. Disconnect. No message or phone call -- no matter how important it may seem -- compares to the importance of your health and wellness.