Technology and News Hiatus

As I mentioned in my post yesterday about my trip, I did my darnedest to go without technology while I was away. For the most part, I was successful–but it didn’t come without its price. I didn’t check news, didn’t check sports (well–I did check Fantasy Football, but that doesn’t count, right?), didn’t check email, a lot of Facebook and Twitter, didn’t keep tabs on all the blogs I follow . . .

It was very refreshing, though it did take some willpower to stick to it.

Now I come home, and I have a slew of emails and blog posts I need to wade through with a machete to get some sort of order going again. It’s a process that I don’t enjoy at all. I just feel overwhelmed by information. (Not a good feeling for a librarian to have.)

This is why usually on vacations I’ll take time periodically to sift through the news and make sure I’m not missing anything vital. Yes, it means that I don’t have a real break, but it also means that I’m not way behind when I get back home and have to work again. I suppose one could make the argument that I should just ignore everything I missed and move on fresh, but that’s not quite how it works. Part of my job is to be in the loop about what’s happening in the technology world. To be aware of upcoming trends and to have some idea as to how they might impact my library–and libraries across the state. So while I don’t have to go over everything with a fine tooth comb, I do need to be reasonably certain I haven’t missed anything vital.

It all leaves me with a big headache, since the time I’m devoting to catching up on all that information is time I’m falling behind on other things. I come home and am just mentally drained. Yesterday was Halloween, and it was a mad dash to get everything set before we went out trick or treating at night. In the rain. Hectic.

In any case, that’s what I’m up to for the next while, work-wise. And taking a break from writing for that long? The fingers are rusty, my friends.

But yay for vacations!