Are You "Always On"?

If You’re Always On, Who Are You When You Power Down?

When was the last time you truly powered down?

I don’t mean closing your laptop at midnight.
I mean turning off the phone.
Stepping away from the notifications.
Letting the silence stretch long enough to notice what you’re feeling.

For many high achievers, that question feels terrifying.

Why We Stay “On”

I used to think being available made me indispensable.

Every late-night email, every weekend call, every message on vacation—it was proof that I mattered.
Proof that I was needed.
Proof that I belonged.

The truth?
It wasn’t proof. It was panic.

I was afraid of being forgotten.
Afraid that if I wasn’t always available, I’d be replaced.

So I equated responsiveness with relevance.
But what I really built was a cage.

The Hidden Cost of Responsiveness

A recent survey showed 70% of professionals check email within 15 minutes of waking up.
That’s not strategy—it’s survival.

Being “always on” has a cost:

·        Relationships that get the scraps of our attention.

·        A nervous system that never resets.

·        Leaders so drained from reacting that they have no energy left to truly create.

It looks like commitment.
But it feels like compulsion.

Availability ≠ Leadership

Here’s the shift I had to learn the hard way:
👉 Being available isn’t the same as being valuable.

Leadership isn’t measured by how fast you respond to pings.
It’s measured by the quality of presence you bring when you do show up.

When you’re always “on,” you’re not leading—you’re leaking.

The Courage to Power Down

The world won’t end if you turn your phone off.
The inbox will still be there tomorrow.
The team won’t collapse if you’re unreachable for a few hours.

But here’s the deeper question:
👉 Can you survive the silence?

Because that’s where the real work begins.

When you’re no longer defined by responsiveness, you start leading from presence instead of panic.

A Reflection for You

Could you power down for 24 hours and still feel safe?

That’s not just a productivity hack.
It’s the next frontier of liberated leadership.

I just powered down for a whole 10 day silent meditation retreat...for the second time in as many years. Whew! I needed that...