photo credit: Ed Yourdon

Is weisure time a blessing or a curse for you???

I had a weisurely weekend… “What,” you ask, “is weisure?”  It’s blending work with leisure, leisure with work. Work + Leisure = Weisure. Is it a good thing?  Maybe, maybe not.

Weisure makes a value judgment and comes across as critical of the way in which many western men and women live ‘lesser’ lives because of its instant and in-touch nature.  I see the experience as enriching and don’t bemoan the passing of the ‘old’ way of life, since there is no reason why the two cannot co-exist.

— William Keyser

Shackled or Free?

I remember a time when I rejected the idea that I should carry a pager – I was NOT going to be shackled, on-call and at the mercy of other people’s whims, any time, day or night!

And I also remember when, as a newly minted independent consultant, I realized that although I had work to do, I got to determine the when and where of doing it. It wasn’t just that I worked from a home office and had no “boss”, it was that I could stay in touch with prospects, partners, clients, students, suppliers, projects and information even while being out and about… from anywhere, anywhen.

I could, if I wanted to, go for a walk in the park in the middle of the morning – a guilty luxury I felt positively wicked enjoying.  Even today, more than a decade later, I appreciate that I can schedule an exercise class first thing in the morning, a long lunch with friends, write posts or lesson plans at midnight or on a weekend.  I can read beach-reading in the middle of the afternoon and postpone my research until later, say 4 AM, if I want to… I get to be weisurely with my time.

Ah, Technology – Blessing or Curse?

Technology has opened wide the door to flextime and to weisure time.  Our electronic connectors, our ’puters, our PDAs and cell phones, our access to the internet and wi-fi and search engines and PC/Mac software have given us the wherewithal to be at our weisure, day or night, home or office or elsewhere.  We covet the latest technology in iPhones, AirCards, netbooks and iPads… We wander about the Internet, Googling and Facebooking and photo-sharing, Tweeting and texting.  Sometimes we even talk.  (But we call it Skyping now.)

And we love connecting with business, family and friends from anyplace, anytime, anyhow.  We multi-task and juggle work, prospecting, family, community and self.  We combine business with pleasure, pleasure with business.  We practice weisure to our heart’s content.

Choose Your Weisure Life

And, you know, sometimes I like that I can have a weisurely life.  And sometimes I don’t… Sometimes I like to keep work and leisure VERY separate.  But mostly I think, I like my weisurely life.  But that’s because I get to choose… Vernon Roberts, an executive coach, offers some caveats for making weisure time work for you:

There are three components in determining if your weisure life is working. They are your family, your boss and your peers.

The 1st key to weisure is that these other three parties have to be accepting or they can sabotage your efforts. It’s up to you to communicate how you would like to work and play, the benefits to you and the benefits to the other parties.

The 2nd key to weisure is to set boundaries. With all the collaboration tools at our fingertips, sometimes it’s difficult to know when to disconnect. I’m a firm believer in using the off button. Collaborating 24/7 can be daunting … As this networking enhanced by technology evolves, be thoughtful about setting boundaries between friends, work and business colleagues.

The 3rd key is to set expectations. If you answer or connect with others at all times of the day and night, you are setting up an expectation that will eventually run you down. If you set an expectation that you’ll get back to them by the end of the day or within a few business hours, people are generally fine with that as long as you follow up.

Like it or not, weisure will probably be in the dictionary in the near future and will describe how more and more of us will work in the next decade. If you would like to move in this direction, having an open conversation with your manager and partner is the first place to start. The roadmap to a successful conversation will be your ability to focus on the benefit to them first and then the benefit to you. Remember, you are all in this together.

I agree with Mr. Roberts – figure out the WIFFM – What’s In It For Me – for everybody involved (including you) in your weisure equation and then work at finding a good balance that serves you and them well.

So, what do you think, is weisure time a blessing or a curse for you???