Tomorrow I am conducting an experiment: I am going off the grid for a day.

Well, not really. But I do have a plan for taming the distractions of the internet. I am going to turn off all push notifications on my phone and all growl notifications on my desktop. I am going to keep my email client closed, shut down the Twitter app, the Yammer app, and avoid opening Facebook in my browser and phone. Maybe I’ll allow Google+ because it’s quieter in there than it is in my office with the door shut. My instant messenger client will be set to “do not disturb”.

I will check email, Twitter, Facebook, and Yammer at a few specific intervals:

1. First thing in the morning.
2. Around lunchtime.
3. At the end of the day.
4. During routine “meditation” (You know what I mean).

Feel free to contact me by any of the means you normally use. Just don’t expect me to respond until I do so on my schedule. If you need to contact me for something that is important and urgent, you can call me or text message me.

If you need to contact me for something that is time-sensitive, but not necessarily important, instant messenger or text message is a great way to get ahold of me. I may not respond promptly on IM, because I will have growl notifications turned off.

If this feels right, maybe I’ll extend the experiment for a few days…

UPDATED 2/13/2012: Read my follow up two weeks later, Off The Grid - Part Two