“Nomadism increases productivity—you get more done. With it comes an addictive behaviour that also occurs in gambling. There is a random pattern of awards, you never know when it pays out, so you keep going.”
I am so there! What is interesting to me about the “new” trend is that personnel in my mission have been pretty much living this way for the last decade. Many of us move multiple times per year. We attend conferences and workshops where we are uprooted from “home” for weeks and sometimes months on end. I once asked my kids where home was. Their unanimous response: The Land Rover.
Everybody I know on the field is a workaholic. We love what we do and the trick is learning how to shut the door and turn out the light. This past year as I have been exploring mobile technology I have experienced all the symptoms of addiction. In fact, this week I’m checking in to a rehab clinic for five days with no computer, no cell phone, just nothing. Actually, it’s not a clinic just a resort on the beach of Lake Malawi where our family is getting away from it all for a few days.
If you are a fellow homeless professional, you might enjoy checking out the series of articles online at the Economist: The new nomadism.
2 responses so far ↓
eclexia // April 28, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I’m thinking the increased productivity benefit of nomadism may be highly personality dependent. Everything about that first paragraph runs against the fiber of my being as an ISFJ. Each phrase left me feeling a little like gasping for breath.
That emotional response I had also helped me understand why I have never seemed to fit well into that kind of lifestyle and working style that charges up other people, increasing their productivity and sharpness and acuity, and leaves me looking and feeling increasingly less competent and functional.
I hope you all enjoy your time away
How do you like your neurotransmitters? « Eclexia // April 30, 2008 at 2:06 pm
[...] it for the endorphin rush in exchange. (This new information I heard makes sense in connection with Lingamish’s post on the new nomads and how nomadism can increase productivity and also become a type of [...]
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