Rebooting Myself

Occasionally, roughly once every 3 months, my internal server goes down. And I have to leave it down for a bit before trying to reboot it.

It's like the advice I got from a systems analyst friend when I got my first PC back in the 80's. Although I had used a computer at my school, I had never had to bring one back to life on my own. So one morning my new PC came up with a black startup screen where it sat frozen. My friend, when I reached him at work, suggested that I should shut down the PC, count to 10, and then reboot. I asked him the sort of question many novice computer users have asked me over the years. "What could have caused this?"

His response: "Just a hiccup."

This morning, my server was down. My brain and my body were frozen. I don't have the hiccups, but the day is like a spasmodic contraction. I've got cold symptoms, but I'm guessing that those are just...symptoms. The real, underlying issue is a reduction of processing power, overloaded circuits, fragmentation.

Working in schools is intense. Directing a program is intense. Putting one's faith in digital devices, software code, and global networks of wires and devices adds strain to a person's ability to continue to operate at an optimum level.

Add to that the modern layers of communications devices, frequent interruptions, and demands for optimum productivity--it's not surprising that a person needs time to recharge now and then.

I think I've got a mild case of NEDS--New Economy Depression Syndrome. Yahoo! executive Tim Sanders has shared this phrase, coined by one of his readers, to describe the symptoms I'm feeling.

So I'm taking today to count to 10 before I reboot. The process will help me restore my correct system settings. It will reconnect me to files my system database has lost track of. It will allow me to rest my overworked CPU, weary from two much multi-tasking. It will restore my random access to the resources I need to complete a given day of work. I'll be defragged.

So what will cure my case of NEDS? Some quiet. Slowly reading one newspaper. Listening to the rain. Reflecting quietly. Not turning on my phone. I'm reminding myself that I'll be back at work tomorrow; remembering the many days that I've worked long and late; recognizing how much I multi-task, work from home, email, voice mail, web publish, face-to-face--all this helps me rest today.

Later, I'll reboot. For now...

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