How does technology impact our daily lives? How do we use technology without even realizing it? Is our addiction to technology hurting our social relationships?
In the age of instant gratification and access to knowledge 24/7, I believe that we're missing something essential about ourselves if we're disconnected from our devices.
In this post, I'll share how technology is impacting me personally and explain some of the strategies I've developed to reconnect with myself.
- I Don't Let My Cellphone Turn Me Into A Distraction
I was once told that technology was a distraction that robbed us of our capacity for thought. That statement is completely false.
Every time you pull out your cellphone, you are engaged in a thought process that requires focus, planning and execution.
I've found it helpful to stop checking my cellphone when I need to concentrate on a task and return to my desk only after completing that task.
The same applies to email. Every time you check email while working, you're taking your eyes off of the task at hand. It's a similar principle to not reading your text messages until you finish an important email or not answering phone calls while you're driving.
The more we disconnect ourselves from technology, the more control we have over it. If you're constantly being distracted, chances are you'll find yourself constantly wanting to return to your phone.
- I Use My Smartphone More For Socializing Than For Making Phone Calls
When I was younger, I used to love watching the local news with my family. We'd watch it together, discuss it, then talk about the issues raised by the show.
Fast forward to today, and I don't watch the local news very often. The main reason why is because there's so much information available to us on our smartphones and online. It's easy to get news alerts whenever something happens.
I try to limit myself to only checking the news for 5 minutes each day. If there are breaking news alerts, I'll read through them quickly, and if they're uninteresting, I'll move on to other things.
Similarly, Facebook and Twitter are great for staying up to date on what's going on around the world, but they're also great sources for connecting with people, both old friends and new connections.
- I Check Email on Weekends
This is another strategy I learned from Steve Jobs. He made it clear that he didn't want his employees checking email on the weekends. This isn't the case for everyone, but I've adopted this habit as well.
I don't know why, but I feel like my productivity drops during the weekend. Perhaps it's because of the extra time I have to spend with my family or perhaps because there are fewer distractions around.
I have a rule that I won't open my emails before 9am on weekdays. If I don't have anything urgent to reply to, I'll wait until the afternoon to check.
It’s good to unplug