Attention, time and balance

Thoughts on a big busy fourth of July
Yesterday was a busy day! In the morning, I mean early in the morning, six am early! I had to be at the bike club for our annual pancake breakfast. The breakfast is at 8am and it is the board of the club that is responsible for preparing breakfast for two hundred in the wee hours of the morning. After that I went on a short 26 mile bike ride that included about 49 club members. After I got home from that Sue and I went shopping. Then, last night we went to Deb Wade's house for a party and a very impressive fireworks show. It was a very full day. I fell right to sleep after getting home.

This was not the first busy day I have had lately with friends and family lately. I have felt bad because my Internet life has fallen behind. I have not been posting or following all the blogs I like to.

Balancing these real world relationships with the kind of global relationships enabled by the Internet and Web 2.0 technology is a real challenge. The truth is that while the Internet allows us to have global conversations and engage in global collaboration, it does not give us more hours in the day. Balancing our physical lives and our second virtual lives in going to always mean some sacrafice of something somewhere. Time is a zero sum game.

When I look at the posting times of some folks I can see some sacrafice their sleeping time. Other's use time at work. Some have to take time away from families and friends. Wherever it comes from this time cannot be recovered. The most prolific bloggers may not be the best people to have as employees, friends and/or lovers unless you know how they are going to give the due attention the real world relationships require.