Shutting Off
PHOENIX -- Newsrooms may cause stress. Okay, that’s like saying water is wet.
If your world is made up of deadlines and the never-ending need to feed the “news beast,” there will come a time when you need to get away.
News can be almost addictive. That “need to know” is a powerful feeling.
In my early days as a television journalist I was consumed by news. I’d show up in the newsroom on my days off just to see what was going on. That was before marriage and children took care of the "free time" concept.
These days I’ve learned to shut off the newsroom. With emails, texts and other communication tools, it’s easy to stay in touch all the time. But sometimes you just need to power down.
I admit to occasionally checking my emails on the weekend, but usually it’s just to clean out some of the spam that I may face on Monday morning. I’m not ashamed to say, “No I didn’t see your email over the weekend, I was off.”
That may be heresy to some but I also believe it allows me to keep work and life in perspective. I figure if something really important happens I’ll get a call or a text.
And when that message comes, I’ll head back to the newsroom and begin feeding the beast.
