I was just reading this article about how "Cell Phones Blur Boundaries Between Work and Home", and I think it's true.
It seems like many many years ago, but when I started my first business, EDK Enterprises, in 1996, I also got my first cell phone. I loved it when it rang. It was almost like a toy. I was so in touch – so available. My business was important. I was important. But then I was trying to sell myself. I needed to be available because if I wasn't, then maybe someone else would be.
But then to put it into perspective, in 1996 I was 28 years old, and still trying to play "grown up". My biggest fear was everyone pointing at me and saying "Fraud". I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but riding the train, and getting a call allowed me to pretend that I knew what I was doing – and show everyone on the train that I was important.
Eventually, for reasons having nothing to do with my cell phone, I closed my business & started working for a company. I learned a lot about customer service and being an employee working for myself. Although I was an employee, I still treated the relationship like a contract position. Also, it was the height of the dot-com era & technology was everywhere. I was given a text pager, laptop computer & I still had my cell phone. I traveled a lot. The text pager allowed me to see how my stocks were doing, the laptop allowed me to check email while I wasn't in the office. I checked it at home. I checked my work voice mail too – I was still important. My cell phone allowed me to keep in touch with my family and friends as I was traveling. I was one of those people who turned all of my technology back on when the plane landed.
I remember that I used to go on what I used to call "the white-man rant" and basically it was an outburst at all of the self-important traveling white men (because that's the overwhelmimg majority of people who travelled at that time) that I had to fight in order to get off the plane, get my luggage, get a taxi, whatever. They were more aggressive than I was, and they were more self-important than me too – and I resented them.
Right around the same time that I moved from Chicago to Texas to be with Gary, I also got laid off of that job, and the World Trade Center was attacked. I also realized that I wasn't that important anymore. No one was going to die if I didn't check my email on the weekends. No one would get fired if I let my cell phone battery die. No sale would get lost because I only worked a 40 hour work week.
I was much happier – I was less stressed. Because I had unplugged myself from my technology, I felt like I was on a vacation! However, because I used my cell phone so infrequently, the battery often died for days on end, or I wouldn't know that I had a voicemail message for a week! I would often receive the angry message from Gary "What's the point in having a cell phone if you're not going to answer it?!?"
I saw people driving erratically while talking on their cell phones – meanwhile the whole time thinking to myself "I just don't need to be that in touch. I'm not that important." I almost felt like the uni-bomber – anti-technology. Funny because I worked in the computer field for over 15 years.
Then, one company gave me a blackberry. They were so freakin' jazzed about them. I wasn't. "I don't need to be that in touch. I'm a Business Analyst. Your company is not going to flounder because I wrote a requirement wrong!"
My manager actually had the nerve to say that he was disappointed that I wasn't checking my blackberry email after-hours. That relationship only lasted 5 months.
Although cell phones and technology make our lives easier, they are also very intrusive. I can't count the number of times that Gary & I have been at a restaurant & someone in the restaurant has gotten a call, they get up from their table to have the conversation near us! Cell phones are rude. The only time they're not is when they are off – otherwise they are interrupting.
By answering your cell phone when you are with another person, you are telling the person you're with that they are not important – and that the call is more important than they are.
So, I'm back to having my own business. And my cell phone is (somewhat) exciting again. However, there's still a limit. Although I need to be accessible to my clients, I don't foresee any of them having a wellness emergency. And God help me if I answer my cell phone when I'm with any of them! That's what voice mail is for.
Am I important? Yes. Am I self-important? No. I am just one person on this vast amazing planet who wants to leave the world in a better place than whence I received it.
Elizabeth is a Master Certified Life and Health Coach with over 18 years of experience, dedicated to helping women in midlife thrive through holistic health and wellness. Her personal journey began with a desire to reduce her own breast cancer risk, which evolved into a mission to guide women through the complexities of midlife health, from hormonal changes to mental clarity and emotional resilience.
Elizabeth holds certifications from prestigious institutions such as The Life Coach School, Precision Nutrition, and the American Council on Exercise, as well as specialized training in Feminist Coaching and Women’s Hormonal Health. Her approach is deeply empathetic, blending her extensive knowledge with real-life experience to empower women in their 50s and 60s to build sustainable health habits that last a lifetime.
Recognized as a top voice in women’s health, Elizabeth speaks regularly on stages, podcasts, and webinars, inspiring women to embrace midlife with energy, confidence, and joy. Her passion is helping women regain control of their health, so they can fully engage in the things that matter most to them—whether that’s pursuing new passions, maintaining strong relationships, or simply feeling great in their own skin.