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One of the major tenets of this whole personal productivity dance is the elimination of distraction. Many productivity-related sites and blogs (including this one) espouse everything from the closing of email clients and instant messenger applications to the wearing of headphones as possible ways to reduce “background noise” while working. Another one that I hear tossed around is the turning off of the cell phone. Personally, I don’t partake in this particular piece of the pie.
Not long ago, my wife was pregnant with our first child. As the due date drew closer, there was the looming possibility of her going into labor at any moment, including the moments when I was at work. At the time, my job (and the culture of the company) dictated that I would have random, lengthy, ad hoc meetings in the halls of the office. Whenever these normally took place and I received a call from her, I’d hit the little “ignore” key and send her to voice mail. She understood that this meant that I was either talking to somebody or otherwise occupied. But, due to the imminent arrival of our son, we had to develop a system so I would know that the call she was making was “the call”. If I got a call, sent it to voice mail and immediately got another call, that meant that something important was happening and I needed to speak to her.
Granted, there aren’t many times in the average adult life where this kind of thing is necessary. Barring things like a grave illness in the family or a touch-and-go birthing situation, I get that the cell phone doesn’t *need* to be on all of the time. But I also don’t *need* to stop for donuts once or twice per week on my way to work. I do it because I like it and it makes me happy.
The same is true of my cell phone. While I may not love the actual phone itself (I’m starting to think they should’ve called it a “dropkick” instead of a “sidekick“), I take a certain amount of comfort in the fact that my family can get a hold of me at any time. Having two small children at home (and being something of a worrier) can lead to all sorts of unexpected incidents. And the thought of my wife frantically dialing my cell phone only to be met with my abrupt voice mail message - while I whistle away, feeling oh-so-proud of how productive I’m being - sickens me, frankly. The reason we *have* these damn things to begin with is for accessibility and, secondarily, convenience. There’s a reason that all cell phones in the US are capable of dialing 911 with nothing more than the battery power required to make the call.
I realize I’m probably in the minority among my productive brethren, but this is where I sit. There are precious few things that are so important that I must actively shut myself off from everybody not in my physical presence. For me, I’d rather have my wife interrupt me just to say hello than miss the call telling me that she’s taking one of the kids to the hospital with a broken something-or-other. I realize that most of this stems from the fact that I’m a relatively new father and I’m a paranoid S.O.B., but that doesn’t make me wrong 
Do you agree? Do you think I’m completely full of crap? Comment and let me know!
Technorati Tags: cell phone, productivity, technology, voicemail
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16 Responses to “Why I Never Turn Off My Cell Phone”
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I never shut my cell phone off either. When I am in the office (or any other public place) I set the phone to vibrate so I can avoid annoying people around me with an obnoxious ringtone. As a single parent that works full-time outside of the home I feel like it is important for me to be available to my kids, their teachers and school administrators throughout the day. Most callers do get sent to voicemail if I am in the middle of something but if at all possible, I take every call. Not because I like talking on the phone but because I think answering it is more efficient than checking voicemail and trying to connect with the caller at a later time.
I also never turn my cell phone off. I turn it to vibrate if we are going to be in a public place but other than that it is always on. That’s not to say that my less than par phone service hasn’t inadvertently made it look off recently but this isn’t a beef about cell companies entry.
With aging family, growing kids, and a hubby that works in a “risky” field, I am more comfortable with it on. So you are NOT alone.
The same goes for me. It’s not that I feel every call is important (I screen them, based on CallerID) and it’s not that I feel I’m so important that hundreds of people want to talk with me at all hours of the day or night(when I’m busy or exhausted, the vibrate or silent function works just great), it isn’t even that I have life situations that demand my urgent attention…it’s more that I just prefer being “in touch” or “reachable” whenever possible. Given that my network, if you will, of friends and family extends oer much of the US and Canada, getting a call or text from a friend in Missouri or SoCal is sort of equivalent to them dropping by just to say hello, or waving at me from across the street. Oddly enough for my age-group (mid-forties, if you’re wondering), I prefer texting, primarily because it lacks the immediacy of voice calls (not to say that I don’t have hurried or urgent conversations both in text and voice, but with text I have the option of pausing to think for minutes before replying to a question) and it’s faster and more convenient than any variety of mail.
I never turn my phone off, but I have the same double-call system you do … all my friends know that if they call twice in a row, I’ll consider it urgent and answer.
For reasons I have yet been unable to articulate, I passionately and violently hate voicemail. I hate knowing I have a voicemail, I hate the blinking red light, I hate the little voicemail icon on my Crackberry, and most of all I hate that woman’s voice and having to pound “1″ 10x in order to skip over hearing the exact nanosecond the message was left. Leaving my phone off leaves me open to voicemail, because I won’t have a missed call. If people know my phone is on 24/7, they trust that I’ll see their missed call and return it when I can.
I always have my cell phone on and with me, but I often don’t answer it if I’m currently speaking with other people (on the phone or in person). My wife and I use the same arrangement: If either of us calls twice within a short interval, that is a signal that the call is urgent and should be answered.
We all want the luxury and convenience that cell phones offer. That is why they have evolved into the pocket sized annoyances that they are today. But we can’t let them control our lives. It is so tacky to be in conversation with someone only to be interrupted by their obnoxious ringtone (the one they are so proud of because they downloaded it on their own and they let ring to it’s fullest at max volume before pressing the green button) and then they take the call. Have you ever been in that situation? I’ve seen people in face to face conversation and take a call without apologizing, excusing themselves or skipping a beat. I mean taking the call as if the caller was standing there and in the conversation party. That’s just rude.
Interruptions, whether the phone, office drop-ins or email have to be controlled. I treat phone calls as entries in my “in-box.” I check voice mail at regular intervals throughout the day, determine the importance, and then document the call and place it in the appropriate “@next action” tab in my Moleskine and follow-up at my convenience. I do however check caller ID with each incoming call, just in case the wife is calling.
Here’s the thing though… Always return voice mail in a timely manner.
You ARE being efficient. With the double ring, you have been able to identify when a phone is truly important. You can’t usually tell that until you pick up the phone.
Of course, I’m biased. My s/o and I do that too.
My kids are grown and gone; we don’t have as many little ones to worry about these days as we used to, but I still keep my cell phone on all day. My wife, children, and I all use the same signal for urgent needs. It has not been used often, but it is good to have it available.
[...] Californian programmer Brett Kelly of the Cranking Widgets Blog perhaps sums it up, although his post is specific to his cellphone, it could just as easily apply [...]
I tend to leave my cell phone on 24 hours a day. I do power cycle it once a week but it is turned on right away. I have my family call me on my cell instead of my phone at work. I also do the double call system for extreme emergencies. The only flaw I have in this system is what others (spouse) call an emergency.
I have my phone on all vibrate 8 am to 4 pm (work hours) and then on full ring all other times. I do use special ring tones for the most important contacts (spouse, dad, children, etc…).
Amen sister! I know what you mean!
I don’t know many people who actually turn those things off at work. If that’s the case, leave it in your car or something. At my job, like many others, its important not to have these kinds of distractions, so of course it’s perpetually on vibrate (saves me money - I never have to buy ringtones since I never use them anyway). This makes it a little difficult to tell whose calling me - but most people don’t msg me, so my wife knows that, if something important comes up, sending a txt message is the best way to get my attention. It’s actually very convenient and polite when I’m in meetings - a quick peek, and no getting up to excuse myself unless it’s a true emergency.
[...] by Mike…During my recent blog reading, I came across the article over at Cranking Widgets, “Why I Never Turn Off My Cell Phone”. Brett takes a rather defensive tone while explaining that his cell phone remains on. I was [...]
I never turn my cellphone either. It’s just as easy not to answer it - in fact, it’s easier :0)
I always leave mine on too, mostly because if someone calls and doesn’t leave a message, I’ll still know they called. Of course I put it on silent when in the theater or something. Occasionally it has run even when on silent…don’t know what that’s about…but anyway, it’s my only phone, and if someone tries to reach me, I’d like to know, and get back to them soon if possible. So no, I don’t think you’re full of crap.
BTW, I just found your blog yesterday and I like. 
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce