Do you feel handcuffed to your phone, watching countless hours pass by? Are you always checking work emails, never feeling present in the moment? Are you tired of your phone running your life? Well, I can tell you, it is possible to live a life without work emails on your phone. I have never had work emails on my phone and am more content in and focused on my life.
Why I Don’t Want Work Email on My Phone
Having work emails on your phone causes you to spend more time on your device and less time being present in the moment. Constantly checking work emails on your phone makes it difficult to maintain a work-life separation because you remain continually distracted.
I know everyone thinks that they must have work emails on their phone and that they cannot live without it. The truth is you absolutely can live without work email on your phone. I am an architect in New York and have been running my own business for over a decade. In all that time, I have never had my work emails on my phone. I also do not check work emails from my personal laptop at home. I check my work emails from the office during business hours and nowhere else. I run a successful business and live a much more stress-free life.
Work Emails on Your Phone Impact Your Life
Back in my early thirties, I was out one Friday night after work at a Japanese Restaurant. I met with five other people and was ready to start my weekend. We all were sitting at the bar, and after I ordered from the bartender, I turned to the group and found everyone was looking at their phone. Nobody was talking. They were all just staring at their phones. I would expect this behavior from teenagers, not from five grown adults. The entire scene was shocking to me. I thought the silence was because everyone was looking at the menu or waiting to order. No, they were all chained to their work emails at seven pm on a Friday night while sitting at a restaurant bar.
I looked at the group and said, “We could all have just stayed home for this.” The entire group erupted with laughter and comments. Everyone agreed that being out at a restaurant and not socializing because of their phones was silly. Everyone complained about how much they hated always being on their phones, but the concerning part is that they still did it. Why do you do it if you hate doing it?
The irony is that I am sure, to this day, all of those people still look at their phones while out at a restaurant, even though they say they hate it. Why are people so quick to do things they feel are bad for them?
A Study on the Effects of Work Email Outside Office Hours
There was a study on having work emails on your phone and being contacted outside of work hours. This study entitled Are Employees Happier when Staying Connected with their Companies Outside Working Hours was conducted by Ludivine Martin, Thierry Penard, and Nicolas Poussing and published in the Social Science Computer Review (2022). They surveyed 14,685 people to see their feelings about having work emails on their phones. The conclusion was pretty straightforward, as per the study abstract: “Results show that being contacted regularly outside office hours has a negative impact on life satisfaction.”
The most striking aspect of this study is the validation it provides to a common sentiment. It’s surprising that there might be people who need a study to confirm that checking work email outside of the office can lead to unhappiness, when this is something many of us already know.
The Freedom of Not Checking Work Email on Your Phone
As I mentioned, I am an architect running my own firm in New York City. Recently, a professor from the architecture school at Columbia University asked me to participate in a panel discussion on the business side of architecture. I gladly agreed and attended the discussion earlier this week.
Six architects (including myself) and the professor were sitting at the front of the class. The professor asked the group about work-life balance. I was the first to respond, “I don’t have work emails on my phone, I never have, and I don’t check work emails at home.” The entire panel of architects, the professor, and all the students in the lecture hall gasped and then laughed. There was literally an audible gasp from everyone in the room.
Their reaction was quite telling. Let’s look at it. First, they gasped at the shock and realization that I was not glued to my phone. For the first time in their life, these people heard someone say they don’t check work emails outside of work. An entire room of adults gasped in shock because they were so dumbfounded (these were graduate students, so mostly in their mid to late twenties, I would say). Also, the other architects and the professor at the front were all shocked. It never occurred to them that someone could run a business without checking their emails constantly. Guess what, everyone? Businesses have been around a lot longer than smartphones. Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company long before email existed, and he did just fine.
As I mentioned, first, there was a gasp, and then there was laughter. I think the reason for the laughter was the moment of realization of how ridiculous the audible gasp was. They all had such a silly reaction that they knew it was ridiculous. Of course, I can run a business without looking at my emails from home or when I go out to a restaurant. Why do I need email on my phone? I do not. I am perfectly fine checking emails from my office during working hours. I am not lacking in this lifestyle; I am benefitting from it. The people who are lacking are those constantly checking their emails outside of working hours. If you live like this, you will miss out on your personal life.
It’s OK to Stop Checking Your Emails on Your Phone
I give myself permission to have a personal life. I give myself permission to not live staring at a screen. It is OK for you to engage with the people around you. You can stop being locked in all the time to your phone.
I am so happy that I do not check my work emails outside of the office, and I will continue to live like this because the alternative is just not worth it to me. I am unwilling to sacrifice my personal life for my phone or some stupid email I can check on Monday morning. There is no reason for me to neglect the things that bring me joy because I am looking at emails that can wait until working hours anyway.
