A long, long time ago, when a school student did not go to school just because they wanted a day off, the student would be described as “playing hooky.” Hollywood made “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” about the success of a hooky day. For full disclosure, I did play hooky occasionally, never like Ferris.
This weekend I played hooky and it was better than I remember from my school days. The past year has not been sufficiently profitable so that more work time was needed to replace better rates. My off-time moments were measured in hours, not days. Therefore, my wife and I agreed to take a full day – 24 hours – without telephone, email, text message, web site search interruption or distraction. Mission accomplished.
For many years, I have written about the impact of our increasing access to technology wherever we are. Everywhere technology resources have been embedded inside our lives forever. We all need to know, as I have said for years, that we need to use a key feature of every device – its off switch. It was about time for me to take my own advice.
This weekend, from 5 pm Saturday to 5 pm Sunday, no technology was touched, caressed, or used. And – I am here to write about it.
There was a time when making a local phone call required speaking the number to a switchboard operator. I have lost contact with all of those operators. I have also been at the forefront of lots of technological developments. The available products and the new ones coming out at least monthly will continue to expand how we access and relate with entertainment, business operations and, yes, making phone calls.
- What are you doing with your time?
- Are your Smartphones and laptops used as an asset supporting your life?
- Are your Smartphones and laptops a controlling force, enabled to interrupt whatever it is you are doing?
- Are you making plans to play hooky? (Perhaps I could join you.)
Richard Oppenheim helps individuals and companies get better. His effort is to deliver short term actions that will serve as the foundation for achieving long term goals, such as getting unstuck. He maps what is desired with what can be accomplished and then help create a personal road map for going forward.
As a CPA, Richard was an early innovator of computer based resources. Over the years, his efforts have integrated lots of business processes, personal actions, technology resources and decision making. He has developed computer based professional education courses and co-founded a company providing on-line education courses covering the areas of security, management and control over IT operations.
As an adjunct professor at NYU’s Graduate School of Business, Richard served as a Director with NYU’s Management Decision Laboratory. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and did post-graduate work at New York University.
His writing includes books, magazine columns, computer product reviews, feature articles, trade association pamphlets, book editing and ghostwriting.
His journey continues as he endeavors to guide and illuminate the path that others need to take.
