signal free saturday

A few weeks ago, I declared June 26 "Signal Free Saturday," an opportunity to put down our cell phones, laptops, PDAs, and iPads and look our loved ones directly in the eye for the first time in weeks, months, or years. I was excited for the excuse to give my wife my full attention, rather than the usual 50 percent. I was excited to play with my kids without wondering if something more interesting was in my email. Work be damned, I was going to be free!

Only it turns out that giving up the phone is more complicated than that - or at least that's how it felt to me. Here's how it went:

I spend a lot of time connected - my job as partner at Simple, Good, and Tasty requires it. When I'm home, my laptop sits on the buffet beside the dining room table so I can easily check traffic numbers, research important facts (like what's on the menu at Lucia's this week), and search for my own name on Twitter. I check my iPhone every five minutes or so, whether I'm in the car (only at stop lights, natch), at the park with my kids, or making dinner.