Disconnect to Reconnect
Finding balance in a hyper-connected world
There’s no doubt that technology has its benefits but can there be too much of a good thing? Most of us are hyper-connected and have difficulty creating space between us and our devices so that we can unwind. This can lead to feelings of burnout, stress and exhaustion. So what do we need to do so that we use our tech wisely, rather than our tech using US?
A 2018 Harvard University study showed that about 73% of people claim to have experienced a mild state of panic if they misplaced their phone. That was over five years ago and now our phones are more advanced, used for multiple tasks and fill the void of connection for so many. Most of us have become so intimately entwined with our digital lives that we sometimes feel our phones vibrating in our pockets when they aren’t even there.
In fact, 35% of employees at work spend time in digital distraction, picking up their phone for non-related work tasks and to scroll social media - that’s a third of the workforce focusing on things that don’t matter. This leads to us getting wound up in comparison with what’s real and what isn’t, adds tension to our lives on a subtle but ongoing basis, and can lead to feelings of uselessness when we don’t experience a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day because we’ve been distracted by technology. What a vicious cycle! So what can we do to mindfully put some healthy boundaries around our technology and ensure we are using IT rather than IT using us:
Turn off the notifications on your devices regularly. You can create customised “focus” settings on your phone to sync to all other devices and this will turn off all pings, rings and distractions (ONLY allowing people you nominate as a priority to get through). We personally love using the ‘work’ and ‘sleep’ focus modes as well as ‘do not disturb’!
Put your phone in another room when needing to concentrate and focus on a particular task. You can get up and check it after 50 minutes (this is when the brain will require a reset anyway). Having your phone beside you, even with notifications off, can feel like having another presence sitting there asking for your attention. Out of sight is out of mind.
Let go of the “I must keep up” mentality and prioritize what’s important in your day. If you need to scroll social media set a timer and do it for a small block (like 10 minutes a couple of times per day). Once the timer is up, it’s time to get back to the task at hand.
Technology is here to stay. But it’s not for the bedroom.
Studies have found that those who use digital devices right before bed are more likely to have anxiety, insomnia, mood dysfunction, and a shorter duration of sleep. Overuse of screen time has been shown to negatively impact mental health.
So if you’re often tired, not sleeping well, or feeling overwhelmed in your business, here are a couple of tips for better sleep in our over-connected age:
Invest in a separate alarm clock
If you need to wake up to an alarm each day, try using an old-fashioned one - a clock that is separate to your phone. This way you can leave your phone in the other room overnight and that presence won’t be sleeping beside you asking for a cuddle at 2am!Have a regular sleep and wake pattern
Sleep studies have shown going to bed and getting up at the same time each day (within an hour or so) helps with your circadian rhythms and allows the mind to settle into a pattern of expectancy, which leads to better overall sleep quality and quantity.Finish eating three hours before bed
On average, a person uses about 10% of their daily energy expenditure digesting and absorbing food and this percentage changes depending on the type of food. To clear out the toxins from the day and give you a much needed restful nights’ sleep, keeping a three-hour window helps ensure a healthier body when you wake. Your body is more sensitive in the morning to insulin on purpose so that you can get moving. Insulin resistance heightens at night, so the result is that those extra calories coming from your late-night meal or snack are stored as fat while you sleep instead of being burned throughout the day. Another reason to eat less before bed.
Making Technology Your Friend
When you set boundaries around your device usage so that you aren’t abusing it, making it your enemy or treating it like a second cousin, you will personally function better. When you personally function better everyone wins. If you create and promote better sleep hygiene in your business you will have the energy to:
distance yourself regularly from your digital distractions
put more focus into spending time on the planning and executing of important tasks for better returns
do more for your customers and staff - better service leads to better results
create a sense of well-being and promote a healthy workplace culture
become a conscious business leader.
When you put in boundaries, you effectively create better willpower because you aren’t as tired so can say NO with more ease. Keeping those boundaries will help you and your business in the long run. Email us to update us on your digital journey.
