I was without email communication, task lists and the calendar for a day. And what a revelation that was.

It was one of the quietest days I’ve ever had in my home office since launching Kaleidoscope Virtual Assistant Services two and a half years ago.

Fortunately, when my emails were up and running again at the end of that day, I hadn’t missed anything major. What I did do, however, was enjoy a really productive day in which I caught up on some reading I’d needed to do, and was able to really focus on some client work.

It’s a summary of the mounting evidence that continual use of email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is not only eroding our productivity – it’s messing with our heads.

She says, “being ‘always on’ is affecting our concentration, leading to a superficiality that translates into our social and work environments. An additional danger is that people are so lost in their virtual worlds that they fail to connect in the real one. Does having 375 Facebook friends or 439 LinkedIn connections really make you happier or more successful, or do these things act as proxies for meaningful relationships and fulfilling jobs?”

I would agree with a point that Jane Simms goes on to make, that these facilities are not intrinsically a problem – it’s the way we use them. They are a useful tool – but they’re a bit like alcohol or chocolate cake – fine if properly used, but if you get addicted to them, they take over your life!

I rely massively on technology – in fact, it’s only because of the modern communications we have that my business as a Virtual Assistant is possible. I admit I felt a little bit cut off, and of course the uncertainty of wondering what had caused the crash was not fun, but overall the peace of the day was really beneficial.

Simms calls for us all to have a ‘secular Sabbath’, a day just like mine – but all at the same time, on purpose, and turning mobile phones off too. I am all for this. The office is now mobile, which offers a lot of freedom, but also means we are in danger of feeling like we’re ‘in the office’ all the time.

She calls for ‘uninvaded time and space’ which sounds heaven. I think I’d certainly like to take more time to just be, relaxing in my own space, without any gadgets or tools to distract me.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this – please drop me a line or use the comments box below - but don't expect a swift reply on my 'secular Sabbath'!