National Day of Unplugging: Time To Turn it Off

Your cellphone is driving you crazy. A notification here, a notification there, and suddenly you’re totally stressed out.

Perhaps it’s time to unplug. That and more in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Take a break from your devices: Need an excuse to shut off your cellphone for a little while? Take a cue from the Jewish-focused nonprofit organization Reboot  (opens in a new tab), which has declared the period between sunset on March 1 and sunset on March 2 to be the National Day of Unplugging  (opens in a new tab). The site, which none of the people participating (including Arianna Huffington) will be able to read for at least half of the weekend, includes photos of people getting involved and putting their faces out there in support of the event. It’s a pretty tech-friendly event with many lessons for associations to learn from, but it’s one that’ll be lights out for a little while … on purpose. (Oh, and if you need some ideas for what to do when you’re unplugged, look to The Daily Beast  (opens in a new tab).)

Speaking of burnout … Looking to avoid it during the work week? Take some advice from Rosetta Thurman  (opens in a new tab), who offers suggestions for preventing burnout from your nonprofit work. It starts with lunch. “Nonprofit work can get very hectic, no matter if you’re in the fundraising department or helping clients on the program side,” she explains. “It’s easy to ignore your growling stomach when there’s so much work to do in so little time. But you have to remember that everyone works better when they are adequately nourished.” Other tips: Don’t take work home with you, and don’t take on too much work.

Why Microsoft is pushing Office subscriptions: Microsoft’s model for its super-popular Office software has stayed mostly the same over the years—until now, thanks to its new Office365 subscription model. In a ComputerWorld article, consultant Paul DeGroot lays out exactly what’s happening here: “What they’re facing is a lot of Office revenue potentially dropping off the books as customers stick with their perpetual licenses but stop further payments to Software Assurance,” he told the magazine’s Gregg Keizer  (opens in a new tab). (Software Assurance, by the way, refers to the maintenance fee that firms pay for upgraded software. This is especially problematic for Microsoft because many firms often skip a version of Office before upgrading.) When you’re facing changes in your industry, could a shift in business model, similar to Microsoft’s, help you stay competitive?

What’s on your reading list today? Tell us about it in the comments.

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