Wi-Fi Diet: Day 3 – Alright – this is hard
Friday, July 20th, 2012 Chris Churilo, VP Product Management & User ExperienceAs I mentioned the other day, I should have known what I was going to
be faced with because when I travel internationally, I shut down data
and voice on the smart phone. Of course, I get this weird out of touch
feeling during the day when I am not in range of a hotspot – and when
I am in range, I don’t want to leave. I have been known to sneak the
phone back on to check voice messages or make a few calls – but this
is like having cake (or whatever you are not suppose to have) in the
house during your diet and convincing yourself that you will only have
one bite. Once the voice messages light up my screen, I find myself
having a conversation in my head that the international data roaming
charges really won’t be that bad if I just check my email, and maybe,
just one social media site…
But this Wi-Fi diet at home – this is really hard and I am surprised
at my agitation by the whole thing. Here, I know, that if I turn on
the phone, I won’t get the big international roaming charges. On the
other hand, I break my Wi-Fi diet, and I can’t do that because I
promised Zoe that I could easily do this. But then again, I am
irritating my friends and family by not picking up their calls or
voice messages… and yet it is nice not to be buzzed every few minutes…
So, instead of continuing like a yo-yo on a crash diet, I am going to
build a plan and stick with it. So here are my 5 diet rules to keep me
happily on Wi-Fi:
1. Start the morning right – First thing in the morning; I need to
connect to my home Wi-Fi and check emails, the calendar, and any other
update I am interested in.
2. Get Organized – check the hotspot finder to look for hotspots that
are along my commute or any place I am going to be.
3. Keep up to date – before I head out for lunch, the gym, or the
drive home, take a quick look at email/calendar/news sites, update the
phone. And make the VoiP call before getting into the car.
4. Enjoy the quiet time in the car – listen to music or the game with
no guilt and interruption free.
5. When calling on VoIP and there is no answer, leave a message and
remind them that they need to try you back on VoIP or send an email
and that you will call back again later.
I am hoping that a little organization will keep me from feeling so
out of touch and within easy reach of a hotspot. And I think these
rules are useful for those of you traveling Internationally (with or
without the phone service). So far, I have found 2 hotspots along my
commute with easy parking, as well as a hotspot next to the gym. There
is no reason now why I can’t continue on this in peace.
