The iPad could get me kicked out of bed. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

As a business owner, I am a self-confessed workaholic and so I make a big effort to divide my attention equally between my partner and my work. My partner and I have always had a very clear rule about what we do in bed. It is a no go area for work. That means no phones or computers ever enter the bedroom. I have happily complied with this rule as I like to read before going to sleep anyway.

But the iPad is a game changer for our bedroom. Last night I was reading SmartCompany on the iPad in bed and my partner went nuts. He says it is an electronic device and I am doing work. I said it was no different to him lying there reading the newspaper and that he had better get used to it. He said that when he reads the newspaper he can still talk to me but when I am reading the iPad I don’t even hear him speak (which is crap!).

He also says I can get emails on the iPad which proves it is an instrument of work.

He says that he finishes the newspaper quickly whereas I am going to keep reading the iPad because there is so much more to read (says a lot about newspapers).

This morning he made a new rule: that the iPad must stay downstairs. I got so cross I told him I would rather sleep with the iPad.

Aunty, I love my iPad. How can I keep reading you in bed and keep my partner happy?

Not the boss in the bedroom

Dear not the boss in the bedroom,

And you call yourself a business owner. What do you do in difficult negotiations? You don’t back yourself into a corner with guns blazing, yelling about highways and no ways.

You are smarter than that. Here is the plan. Read a book in bed for the next few days and let him calm down. But whenever you would read a news site – either a newspaper or website, do it on the iPad.

Make sure whenever he is around that you only read news sites. Pass him the iPad at every opportunity – like you would a newspaper – and ask for his thoughts on things. Once he gets used to you reading on the iPad, subtly reintroduce it back into the bedroom. Make sure that whenever he opens his mouth you pay attention – even if you are engrossed in my latest missives. I suggest in a few weeks you will be happily reading on the iPad and he will be thinking of buying one.

But stick to your rules: no work under the covers. It’s a good one!

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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