Silent Notification
Last week a catastrophic event stormed my professional life. This event was so Earth shattering, rocking my world to its core, that it didn’t just creep in and affect my personal life also, but charged it like elite athletes sprinting the last feet before the finish line of the finals of the 100 Meter Yard Dash. I’m not quite sure when the events I’m about to discuss started sprouting, but I noticed it on a Thursday, scrambled to find a solution on Friday, and come Saturday I had embraced and accepted my fate and future.
The day I realized that my life, both professionally and personally, would change forever was Thursday, February 4, 2021. It was Parent/Teacher Conferences. My work hours were flexed a little bit this day, so I took advantage of the open morning. Coffee, reading, and a workout were how I spent my hours alone while my wife was at work and our kids were enthralled in their own remote learning. I finished a killer weight session, ferociously shook up a banana protein shake, when it dawned on me that I had not gotten any work emails all morning. Now I know I said that my hours were flexed, and that’s true, but not everyone’s hours were. We still had one of our secretaries in the office since 8:00 AM, the typical opening hours. District Office secretaries and Admin were working their normal hours. Even some teachers were taking advantage of the open morning and getting extra conferences in, copies made, or team planning done. So, being an elementary principal, I should have had a handful, maybe two handfuls, of emails at this point of the day.
To say I was frightened is an understatement. I was terrified. Palms and brow sweating, heavy breathing, and none of it was the result from the workout I just crushed. I had no clue what horrors I was about to unlock. I I had spent my morning practicing my own self-care, something we stress to our staff more than ever right now, and I felt so free. But now, when I realized that something had happened, that I hadn’t been reached out to once, everything I did for myself was wiped away. I knew I was about to open a portal that should have remained closed.
I put the protein shaker cup on the kitchen counter, took six deep breaths, closed my eyes for a brief prayer, and placed my thumb on the Microsoft Outlook Email icon on my cell phone's home screen.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, my worst nightmare had grown to a reality. More than just a few handfuls of unopened, unread emails sat staring right back at me, in an almost sinister stance giggling, “Haha, you’re going to have some fun going through all of us!”
My Outlook email notifications somehow became disabled on my phone. There was no update, no change to my settings, the notifications just stopped popping through, the one job they had. I spent most of Thursday and Friday trying to figure out what had gone wrong and how to get the notifications back. I was unsuccessful at this and eventually gave up in defeat.
I know many of my PLN have praised and touted the mental health benefits of not having work email notifications on their phone. There needs to be that separation. I could never do it. I always felt I needed to have that notification alert me when I was sent something. I didn’t always reply immediately, but if something came in that may need immediate attention I could address it. I felt that rather than try to fix a tech problem that was obviously out of my hands this would be a good enough time to leave my comfort zone and see how this horror story unfolds.
After a weekend of not receiving any school email notifications, or even checking the emails on my own accord, I felt liberated, free! I had spent the entire weekend, every minute of it, taking care of myself and spending time with my family. Not one second pertained to work. I learned a lot throughout these past few days unshackled from email notifications.
Not everything is important or time sensitive. I spent this morning, Monday, catching up on all of those emails that built up. Not one, none of them, required any attention that I was overdue on, or even near their deadline. Things can wait.
If something needs direct attention that individual will call or text.
The happiness, the freeness, that has come with filling my time away from school is exactly what I have been missing to truly “unplug.”
I’m excited for my nights and weekends, free from the ball and chain of Outlook. I can give my undivided attention to those closest in my life, my beautiful wife, energetic children, and myself. This will only make me better for our staff and students. If you are like me and have yet to learn to live without work email on your phone I highly suggest you try it out. I will never go back, and if this notification issue resolves on its own I will be sure to disable it.
