For 24 years now, I’ve worked full-time in the tech sector. My work draws me into the inner workings of digital technology. I love my work. I get absorbed in it. That’s good, but too much of a good thing isn’t good.

Dirt and its derivatives

Early in my career, roughly 20 years ago, I remember taking a customer service training class. Sometimes, IT folks are known for being rude, arrogant, impatient, and disengaged. This class covered the basics of what every IT professional should know about giving their customers good service. Our instructor, George Spalding, gave us one additional ingredient for getting it right: dirt.

He said, “Periodically, you need to stop looking at your screen and start looking at dirt. You can also look at derivatives of dirt, such as plants, trees, etc.”

His point was, we can only do our best work if we effectively relieve our stress. He understood that digital technology takes a toll on the human condition. As parents, we pay attention to how much “screen time” our kids get. As adults, there’s no one checking on us. We must check on ourselves.

Headsets, call queues, computer screens, angry customers, and broken technologies take a piece. That won’t change. That’ll be there all day, every day, for a lifetime. The question is, what do you do to make yourself whole again?

I took George’s advice. I used my breaks at work to go outside. I’ve used remote work flexibility to get out of the city and immerse myself in “derivatives of dirt.” I used my PTO to take epic adventures into the wilderness with my family.

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

Besides George Spalding, I’ve also learned a few things from the historical figure, John Muir. My love for our National Parks caused me to learn more about him since he was so pivotal in their preservation and founding.

If you recognized the name, John Muir, you probably picture a wily mountain man with a spiritual connection to God’s creation. That’s him, but there’s more. In the first part of his career, he worked in a factory in Indianapolis. He was known for being mechanically adept, inventive, and keen on process improvement. His talents got him promoted into management.

In another phase of his life, he lived in the city of San Francisco. He did much of his study and writing there but was often drawn out of the city and back into the wilderness.

I’d like to offer you a few rich John Muir quotes. While he lived before the age of digital technology, I think you’ll find this wisdom has never been truer:

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out until sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

“Everybody needs beauty…places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.”

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”

Wildness is a necessity

I’ve been to a lot of different kinds of wilderness, and have much more to see. One of my favorite retreats is the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. I’m fortunate to have access to a family cabin on Gunflint Lake. I took the sunrise picture above earlier this week. The sun rises pretty early this far north, and this close to the summer solstice, but as you can see, it’s worth getting up for. The sunsets are pretty nice too.

This restores me. It heals me. It dissolves the stress, renews my creativity, and gives me what I need to return to the city, lead my team, and work with digital technology to my maximum potential.

The two are connected. I cannot do my best work without a healthy dose of wildness.

I’d like to end this article with one more John Muir quote. This one brings us back to where we started, in the dirt:

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir

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