Don’t assume I’m not working because I’m on my phone

But when he started to get into specifics, I noticed that other people were pulling out their laptops and notepads. I knew I had better take notes, so I reached for my phone. That’s what I like to use. The next presentation was even more intense and detailed, and I typed out as much as I could and thought I was keeping up pretty well.

Before I knew it, it was time for a break. Two hours had gone by, and I realized that I could get through eight hours of this. My thumbs would be sore from all the note taking, but I didn’t think I had looked like an idiot, which was my main concern.

…

Uh-oh.

“Many board members noticed that you were on your phone a lot,” he said. “If you can hold out on texting friends or checking your Twitter feed until the breaks, that would be great.”

Mission failed. Now I did feel like an idiot

Source: I’m Not Texting. I’m Taking Notes. – The New York Times
Via: Output or compliance? – The Principal of Change

It’s amazing to me what others perceive as work. If I have a command line window open, it’s viewed as more difficult work than if I have Google Docs open.

I purposely bring a laptop instead of taking notes on my phone specifically because of the story in the article. A lot of people view phone use as not “real” work.