Beach Email

management, software development

Kids putting the final touches on a grand sandcastle while their dad hunches over a blackberry thumbs on the keys.

We take an annual family beach vacation every year. Two years ago my brother in law turned up with a Blackberry and was constantly checking email over the course of the week to the point of distraction. I’d seen a bit of this behavior in the workplace, but it was a bit disturbing to see a full fledged Crackberry addiction on a beach vacation.

The difference this year was my brother in law has actually kept his crackberry usage down a good bit, but I saw multiple people on the beach hunched over there phones pounding away. Their kids were boogey boarding, jumping in the surf, or building sand castles while they stared at a tiny screen. I’d never seen people on the beach pounding away on a Blackberry.

Personally I gave instructions to my tech lead who was covering while I was out to call me if any emergencies came up, but not to bother trying to get me via email because I wouldn’t be checking it. I didn’t get any calls. I follow the same policy when employees are out I’ll only contact for an actual emergency via a phone call.

I hope seeing the Crackberry’s at the beach will be the last time. Studies are starting to recognize the negative impacts on productivity around this kind of interruption driven existence.

Ed Gibbs @ August 13, 2008