Nowadays, you can get online almost everywhere, from a commercial airliner in mid-flight to your dentist’s office. But sometimes, for whatever reason, you can’t access the internet. Fortunately, there’s still plenty you can do while you’re offline, to make your job easier once you’re connected again.
(Photo Credit: Newtown graffiti/Flickr)
1. Tidy up your files.
Unless you live and work entirely in the cloud, chances are that you have a few files kicking around your laptop folders that don’t need to be there — or that belong somewhere else. Use the offline time to organize, delete, or move these items.
2. Make phone calls.
If you’re not on a plane, train, automobile, or in another place where you might bother someone else, you can get a lot done simply by checking in the old-fashioned way: on the phone. Heck, if you’re offline at work, you might even find one of those things on your desk, buried under a pile of tradeshow mugs and branded desk toys.
3. Engage with the physical world.
Have conversations with people in person. Look around you, and see what other people are reading, doing, or saying. Even if all you get is a sense of how uncomfortable we all are now if we can’t get online, it’s a good lesson to hold with you, once you rejoin the digital world. We might have trouble imagining life without our devices, but that doesn’t mean the world should revolve around being connected.
4. Make a to-do list.
Use a paper and pen, like our ancestors did. Sometimes, the actual act of writing out what you need to do can help order your thinking.
5. Rest.
Just because you can work all the time, doesn’t mean that you should. Take a nap. Read a magazine. Look out the window. Let your screen-weary eyes recharge and your adrenaline levels ebb. You don’t get many chances in today’s world to be offline. Make the most of your involuntary disconnection while you can.
Tell Us What You Think
What do you do when you can’t get online? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
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