A Step-by-Step Guide to Taking a TechBreak™ from Facebook

November 16, 2011 Comments off

Never Fear – You’re Still in Control!

Here’s a challenge for you if you’re one of the estimated 750 million users worldwide who can’t get enough of the popular social media site, Facebook.

Take a mini-vacation.

That’s right. Give up Facebook for a day, a week, a weekend, a month. Do it today!

Does the very thought of disconnecting from Facebook fill you with dread? Don’t let it. Thousands of others have tried it and liked it. In fact, the alternative – being a slave to technology instead of its master – should send chills up your spine.

With Unplug and Reconnect’s new TechBreak™ Solutions, a service that offers simple strategies for those who want to step back from technology, taking a break from Facebook couldn’t be simpler. Here’s how to do it:

TechBreak From Facebook in Five Easy Steps

1. Click “Account” on the top left of your page
2. Go to “Account Settings”
3. Select the “Security” tab
4. On the bottom of the page you’ll find the button to deactivate your account –click it
5. Scroll to the bottom of the next page and click “Confirm”

Don’t worry – reactivating is also easy. Facebook won’t let you deactivate your account permanently, so when you decide your TechBreak is over, you can reactivate your account by simply signing in.

If you like it, tell your friends and try it again. Spread the word on Facebook. Share this simple TechBreak solution with your friends.

Do you want to receive more hints and suggestions from Unplug and Reconnect’s TechBreak Solutions? Simply give us your email address and we’ll be sure to keep you posted whenever we post another in our series of TechBreak Solutions!

Comments or questions are welcome.

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Breaking Up Too Easy to Do

November 15, 2011 Comments off

It was with a tinge of sadness that the Unplug & Reconnect team read about a recent survey in which more than a third of adults said they would use technology –– such as social media, email, or text messages – to end a romantic relationship.

All we can say is “ouch.”

The survey was conducted by Lab42, a market research company that focuses on social media. Lab42 surveyed 550 people over the age of 18 and found that of those surveyed, 40 percent said they would use technology to break up a romantic relationship if they ever found it necessary.

It probably should come as no surprise that many people today find ending a relationship via technology a natural thing to do. After all, many of today’s relationships begin via technology – such as text messages or emails to plan a date or Facebook “statuses” proclaiming the relationship to be real.

Still, many would argue that a breakup via technology is cowardly, heartless and less than classy. And while we’re not here to pass similar judgment, we would like to say that there’s a time and a place when real human contact trumps technology. Delivering bad news, especially news that is likely to hurt another person, is usually one of those times.

 

 

Yes, Let’s Do Lunch

October 25, 2011 Comments off

 

Are you guilty? Are you one of the growing number of employees who lunch at their desks or go without if you’ve forgotten to brown-bag it?

 

According to a recent study by Aviva Health, Health of the Workplace, you’re not alone. Thirty percent of employees surveyed said they were likely to skip a regular lunch break. Aviva found that almost 15 percent of employees skipped meals entirely because of stressful workloads, while 25 percent said their decision to take lunch or not depended on whether they had the time.

 

Many  of us would have fallen in with the 30th percentile, those who skipped lunch in order to complete their work. If you’re like these workers, you rarely take yourself away from your desk for a leisurely meal break. You probably feel virtuous about it, too, since skipping lunch seems to have become part of the new American work ethic. But skipping lunch isn’t good for you– and it isn’t good for your employer either.

From a health perspective, it’s important to refuel with a nutritious lunch, especially in the midst of a stressful day. When we’re stressed, we get an adrenaline rush that may mask our hunger pangs, but our body still craves food. Without midday nourishment, our body experiences dropping glucose levels. Glucose is something our cells (including those all-important gray cells) need in order to function properly. Eventually, skipping lunch will slow one’s metabolism, which may explain why we find ourselves stifling yawns at three in the afternoon.

But more importantly, taking a lunch break forces us to Unplug and Reconnect. The very act of getting up and walking away from our computers helps us recharge our batteries. Sometimes, when we give ourselves a brief respite, we find that our problem-solving skills grow stronger, that our creative juices start to flow again. A workload that seemed insurmountable before lunch seems more manageable once we’ve walked away from it for a while.

If you’re an employer who hopes for an energized workforce, encourage your employees to take lunch. If you’re an employee who’s tempted to skip lunch, step back and repeat: Let’s do lunch.

 

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