Smart Phones and Vacation

All this talk about vacation and holidays got me thinking about my iPhone and how it actually makes my vacations and days off more enjoyable. I am sure many people will agree that one of the best features of smartphones is also the worst feature, the ability to be reached anywhere 24/7. With smart phones today it isn't just a phone call that can reach you, emails, text messages, even instant messanger programs such as AOL instant messanger (AIM) can reach you no matter where you are, as long as your phone has service.

After reading that I am sure you are thinking, how could that make your vacation better! It isn't so much the vacation or the day off itself that is better, but my re-entry to the work place when vacation is over is much easier and much less stressful. I am a strong believer in Murphy's Law, so any time I am out of the office and unable to fix problems is when they will occur. In our line of work, and I am sure many others, many problems customers see as huge issues are very easily fixed. They could simply be typos, or products sorting wrong, or the wrong markup percentage being used. A quick response to a client concern, even if the fix isn't going to be done quickly, usually puts out the fire and buys more than enough time to implement a fix. On the other hand, if you don't respond, things tend to escalate very quickly. Before you know it my bosses are receiving emails and everyone is upset. Additionally without a smartphone, or at least checking my email daily, I would be unaware of these issues until I sit down at my computer and see the irrate emails in my inbox.

Like many of the other programmers here I am a bit of a tech/gadet lover, so I have had a smartphone for quite some time. I bought my first, a treo 650 about 4 years ago. At the time I worked for Richards Energy Group, in Lancaster PA, and didn't have the same type of demands, so I only had internet access on the phone for the first month (it was free). I enjoyed being able to browse the internet and check my email from anywhere but thought that the $45 price tag was way too much. A little over 3 years later when I purchased my iPhone I had no choice since the data plan is now "included", although I would have purchased it anyway since an iPhone without the data plan would be pretty useless.

As with all things moderation is key. If clients are going crazy and I am getting tons of emails, shutting off the phone and enjoying vacation may be the best route, but in general checking my email on a more consistent basis lets me quickly put out fires and enjoy my time away from the office with less stress.

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