How to Get Away: Finding Balance in our Overworked, Overcrowded, Always-On World

$14.95

We are always on. We never turn off. In How to Get Away, Jon Staff and Pete Davis consider our troubled relationship with technology, urbanization, and work.

About How to Get Away

In How to Get Away, Jon Staff and Pete Davis consider our troubled relationship with technology, urbanization, and work. When and why have we become so dependent on our cell phones? How do green spaces—and the lack of them—affect our minds, bodies, and relationships? Why is it so hard for us to set aside our work and take a real vacation?

Blending cultural history with contemporary research and insights from scholars and trend-watchers, Staff and Davis present a compelling case for restoring balance between technology and disconnection, city and nature, and work and leisure. Along the way, the authors draw on their own experience, the lives of pioneers and innovators like landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and conservationist Margaret Murie, lifestyle trends like homesteading and hygge, and the wisdom of philosophers, poets, and scientists from Aristotle to Oliver Sacks. How to Get Away offers a nuanced perspective on our past, a clarion call for our present, and a hopeful vision for a more balanced future.

About the Authors

Jon Staff and Pete Davis founded Getaway in 2015 after becoming friends at college. Both have a self-proclaimed love for “projects” and between them have helped start a social network for towns, a frozen yogurt shop, an LGBT rights nonprofit, a Democratic Party reform effort, and a breathable foods company. Jon grew up in northern Minnesota and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Pete grew up and lives in Falls Church, Virginia.

Praise for How to Get Away

Arianna Huffington

Founder and CEO, Thrive Global, and founder, HuffPost

“Jon Staff and Pete Davis take us on a guided tour through American history, identify all the ways our always-on culture is wearing us down, and offer practical, easy-to-integrate strategies for how to thrive in today’s world. How to Get Away is a history lesson, a clarion call, and a practical toolkit rolled into one.”

Youngme Moon

Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration at HBS

“Staff and Davis remind us of what we already know: The world has gotten away from us as a result of changes in technology, work, and culture. But unlike so many others, their message isn’t that the sky is unstoppably falling. In fact, their conclusions are strikingly optimistic—they remind us we are in control of our lives, and give us actionable tips."

Donna Freitas

Author of The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost

“The founders of Getaway ask readers not simply to unplug, but to become critical thinkers about the role and use of technology in our lives—the essential first step toward self-awareness and ultimately, ideally, balance."

Linda Stone

Former senior executive, Apple and Microsoft

“Drawing broadly on research and the work of experts across multiple fields, Staff and Davis have compiled one of the best books yet on information overload and how to reclaim our attention and a higher quality of life in a digital device-saturated world. Technology both enslaves us and sets us free. How to Get Away is the ultimate guide for those of us choosing the healthiest possible relationship with technology and with each other.”

Kate Unsworth

Founder and CEO, VINAYA

"Studies show that when we disconnect from our devices and reconnect with ourselves, each other, and nature we’re happier, we sleep better, and we allow our brains to flush out the destructive stress hormone, cortisol, which is said to be responsible for up to eighty percent of all illness. This is why Getaway’s mission is such an important one. The founders’ book, How to Get Away, provides much-needed insight into how to design a balanced life in today’s ‘always-on’ world of ever-present technology.”

Sep Kamvar

Founder, Mosaic; founder, Celo; and former professor at the MIT Media Lab

“Weaving history, science, art, and culture, How to Get Away makes a convincing case that we lack balance in our lives but also that we can do something about it as individuals, bosses, organizations, and companies. A timely read both for those who care about balance in their own lives and for those who want to promote a more balanced society.”

The Getaway Shop