After reading the article, I might have jokingly suggested I should do an experiment where I give up email for a week to see what happens. I didn’t think my editor would think it was a good idea. But when she came back with a “Yeah, you should do that,” my stomach flip-flopped. I was intrigued and nervous. Could I really take a week off from checking email? Would my world stop?

I told Ken about the no email idea during dinner that night. He was immediately against it. Ken might no longer send me daily emails, but he’s a writer, and he frequently sends me drafts of his stories to read. And, like most couples, we communicate on Gchat throughout the day. It’s not the most thrilling of conversations — mostly centered around what to have for dinner, who’s going to the grocery store, and what time I’m leaving the office. Since we both typically work 10-plus-hour days, it is nice to be able to communicate with him so easily, and I was a little worried about missing him if I didn’t have access to Gmail.

But missing Ken wasn’t going to stop me from trying the experiment. I did a little prep: I learned my voicemail password and set up an away message. I told my boss’s bosses what was up. And I emailed a few people to give them a heads up. I bookmarked my Google calendar for easy access. (Forget email — I can’t live without my calendar.) And then, on Sunday, December 6, I woke up early and frantically began checking and sending emails before I was supposed to meet my friend for a run. I managed to get my inbox to zero. I set up an elaborate out-of-office auto-responder explaining the experiment, and sharing my office and cell phone numbers in case people needed to get in touch with me.

Then I took a deep breath, took Gmail off my phone, and went for a run.

It was so liberating that Sunday to be without email. I went shopping with my dad and didn’t pull out my phone once (he wasn’t so disciplined). I had a nice quiet evening with Ken and didn’t really think about work. I could really get into this whole no email thing — especially on the weekends.

But Monday morning, when the alarm went off, I instinctively rolled over to check my email. I was less than 24 hours into the no email experiment, and I was already missing my morning ritual. I watched TV, sipped some coffee, chatted with my mom, and agonized over what to wear. Everything was normal, except I wasn’t pausing every 10 minutes to refresh Gmail. I listened to a podcast as I walked to the subway. And it was super weird not to stop to check my email to make sure there was nothing pressing before I descended into the depths of the 2/3 station for the 30-minute ride into the city. I brought a book to read because I wasn’t going to use my commute to sift through the emails that came in overnight. My daily subway ride is one of my most productive times for dealing with emails. It felt sort of indulgent to read a book instead of working on my way into the office.