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Robert Bacal is a noted author, keynote speaker, and management consultant. His most recent books include Performance Management - A Briefcase Book, and The Complete Idiot's Guide To Dealing With Difficult Employees.

I had to get some work done on my brakes. That entails bringing the car across town, and waiting on site until the work is completed. All told the time investment involved can eat up to two and a half hours of my work day. But luckily, I own a laptop computer that I can bring to the shop, so I can fill this normally ill-used time with useful activities. If I owned a cellular phone, I could also call clients, fax information, and receive faxed information. In other words, I could be a virtual office. I can work almost anywhere.

The question that occurred to me was this. While technology allows me to work at the auto mechanic's garage, at the mall, and in my car, does it make sense to do so? Is there some point where enough is enough?

Despite the fact that futurists trumpeted that technology would reduce our hours of work, research and certainly anecdotal evidence suggests the contrary. Staff, and particularly management are actually putting in more hours than before. And now, not only are people increasing their hours at the office, but they have blurred the distinction between what is work time and what is not. For most people the ride to work was a time for thinking and driving, not working. That has changed. The home used to be more of a sanctuary from work--now it is becoming an extension of the office. When is enough, enough? When is it time to turn off the cell phone, turn off all the computers, and forget about work utterly and completely?

Decision-Making Criteria

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Each person has to make their own decisions as to when and how to separate work time from non-work time. But if you are going to make the decision, and you should, what things should you consider? Let's look at a few criteria.

1. Constant overwork results in inferior work. Mental fatigue increases the chance that you will forget something, requiring you to revisit or re-do your work. Mental fatigue also increases the likelihood that you will "cut corners", since you will be rushing to complete the task. And, corner cutting can also result in having to re-do work, sometimes in embarrassing ways if you don't catch the resulting errors before other people see them.

Ask yourself: Does the quality of my work often suffer from the effects of mental fatigue?

2. Working in non-traditional settings (car, home, mechanic's garage) can also have an impact on the quality of your work. Non-traditional work venues are usually characterized by many distractions. If you are in your car, your concentration is split between driving, and talking on the cell phone. At home, you may be interrupted by your children popping in to say hello. And I am sure that the mechanic's garage is fraught with distracting elements, particularly when the estimate is presented!

What tends to happen is that it is more difficult to get things done in these settings. If you are distracted, you may forget things, or say things that don't make much sense, since your full attention is diverted. Again, we need to look at the quality of work done.

Ask yourself: Is the quality of work I do off-site equivalent to that of work I do in the office. How much extra time does it take to fix things that I do when I am distracted?

3. We know that people who focus their energies exclusively on work have a tendency to develop stress related difficulties. If you are in a situation where even your "leisure time" is occupied by thoughts of work, that may be a problem.

Be alert to the symptoms of stress. For example:

. Are you having difficulty sleeping?
. Do thoughts about work intrude when you are not at work?
. Are you enjoying your time at work less and less?
. Do you have difficulty enjoying your time away from work?
. Are you becoming more irritable and less patient?

Ask yourself: Am I experiencing stress symptoms? If so, it may be time to take more time off, or "wall off" your work time from your leisure time.

Conclusion

Just because technology makes it possible to work in non-traditional settings does not mean that doing so is efficient or wise over the long term. The real key to productivity is to keep a balance of work and leisure, and to examine your own habits and practices to see if it is possible to increase the amount of work you accomplish at work. Improved organization and time management can help you do this.

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