100 Business Days Out: Day 19 - Linus Syndrome

Today we flew to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby and today was the first time since I can remember that had I chosen, I would have been able to go out of town without my briefcase and my laptop. Every since 1991 when I got my first laptop, I have lugged around one on every trip whether for business or leisure. The good news about this is that since 1991 they have dropped in poundage from 20lbs to less than 3 lbs. Good thing too that I was younger when that Dell was 20 lbs. So, last night, I went through my briefcase (a MountainSmith Office Backpack) and took out all of the stuff I didn’t need for the trip to the Derby. The one thing left on the desk was my laptop. I sat and stared at my laptop for at least 10 minutes weighing the pros and cons of leaving my laptop behind. In actuality, I really didn’t need it. All of my emails could be reviewed and responded to on my phone. And if I was going to do any serious writing (like keeping up my Bolts of Thinking Blog) I could handwrite and post on Sunday when I get back. Even if I needed to reference my calendar or the internet I could do so in other ways. But as I stared there and looked at the laptop, I could hear it saying to me, “yeah but, what about all of the time you are going to have on the plane…four hours each way…don’t you want to use me for something during that time...we always go on trips together…all around the world…don’t you love me anymore....you can’t leave me”! I succumbed. My laptop is like an appendage. I swear sometimes I think it wants to graft to the top of my thighs. It wants to be there for me. Leaving it at home would feel like losing my wallet or leaving my phone. I packed it in my briefcase but gave it a sharp warning that the next trip it should be prepared to stay home in its’ docking station. But I know me, and it knows me too. Come my next trip, I will start to think about what could be done and how much time I would lose out on if I missed the chance to do some “work”. And there it will be, snugly tucked in between my accessory pouch and the magazines and books that while I want to read, I probably won’t get to. The Linus Syndrome is real…I keep my little D420 Dell Latitude security blanket right here with me at all times.