I’m having withdrawal! The Internet is down! I’ve been without the Internet for nearly 24 hours at this point.
This isn’t one of those unplugged vacations that I encourage you to take. It’s a totally unplanned, in the middle of my work week, period of disconnection!
And to make it worse, we have no idea how long this will last. It’s very disconcerting to not know how long your sentence is when you’re being held as a prisoner offline.
So after several meditation and tapping (EFT) sessions, trying to remain calm, here’s what I’ve come up with:
1. Write an article.
Okay, it may seem obvious when you’re not stressing about being disconnected, but it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. After all, I often look for references while I’m writing – and that takes an Internet connection.
But I’m here now and you are the lucky recipient of this disconnected article!
2. Use your smartphone.
Again, not the first thing that came to mind, since my phone and ipad generally use our wifi network. So after thinking “duh” I turned off wifi and am able to pick up email with those devices.
I even sent a broadcast since I’m hosting a webinar in a few hours and they haven’t heard from me in the past 48 hours.
What made that possible is that I run Roboform on my computers and all devices. So I could log into automatically to broadcast the message.
Why not just use the phone and ipad to get work done online? For one thing, it’s not nearly as convenient as a computer. For another, we’re at the end of the usage month and I’ve already had the “75% of your minutes have been used” message.
Could I pay for overage? Well of course I could – but where’s the challenge in that?
3. Convert a book.
I’m in the process of converting all of my Kindle books into a print format in preparation for the new Matchbook program from Amazon. The first one is already being mailed to me, so I have the process down pat at this point.
Since it means you have to take your Kindle version, reformat for a print version with page numbers, headers, redo the table of contents, then deal with creating a back cover, it takes some time. Plus you have to convert all of the graphics into 300 dpi.
That could easily take several hours for each of the books.
4. Record a video.
While I couldn’t demonstrate anything online, I could easily put together a Powerpoint presentation and record it. I won’t need the Internet until it’s time to upload it.
But as I was thinking about putting this article into a video I realized – all of the graphics I want to use in the presentation are online! So it would have to be a plain words slide show.
5. Write a book.
There is always another book in the works. So the quiet time with no email and no Internet provides the ideal work environment.
I’ve already outlined my next book and finished the first chapter, which I think is always the hardest. So I could easily crank out 5 or 6 chapters this afternoon.
6. Plan and reflect.
We always talk about there never being enough time to take a look at what we’re doing, then plan our next step. So this might be a good time for looking at what’s working, as well as planning strategic moves on the calendar.
The holdup for this? All of my tracking statistics are online! So while I could plan, it would be off the top of my head, rather than based on facts.
7. Host a webinar.
This one is iffy. While the GotoMeeting software “says” you can host a webinar from your ipad, I’ve never actually DONE it. So you can imagine the level of stress associated with that task!
However, since I AM hosting a webinar this afternoon, I’ve already contacted the guest and explained that I’ll be telephone only. Whew! That removes some pressure.
But then I realized that the way GotoWebinar is set up, you have to have an audio pin to be heard – and you only get that after you log in! More research to do on that.
Whew! Seven seems a good number to stop with. And you can see from this list, that there are things I have to do. So I’ll check off the first one on the list. I’ve already done the second. Now moving on to the third. I’m off to format a book!
Inquiring minds want to know – what would YOU do with no Internet in the middle of your work week, with deadlines and expectations looming?
Why was your Internet down, maybe a neighbour could let you on their wifi?
Some good ideas there. I vote for going someplace that has internet, even if a hotel if this does not resolve itself soon.
You could put your receipts in order by category and have that ready to load into Quickbooks later.
You know those books you wanted to read on your Kindle? Now is a good time. Take a cup of tea and get with it….
You could do some research in magazines. If you don’t have lots of them, go to the bookstore and have a look there over a cup of coffee.
Pull up WordPress and start doing a brain “dump” I bet there is a fortune hidden in there.
Write out a book for each of your grandchildren…and have a personalized copy printed for them for a gift.
Make a list of all the blessings in your life…that should take the rest of the time ….enjoy the rest.
Cynthia,
Those suggestions dovetail beautifully with Jeanette’s. Thanks to both of you for reminding me that I don’t need the umbilicus attached ALL the time. LOL
Thanks again,
Deb