Technology has changed our life for good and bad. Electronics devices have made our lives easier and better in many ways, including keeping us in touch with loved ones around the world. But at the same time, they can prevent us from passing quality time with those we love and even ourselves. How many times have you mindlessly strolled on Facebook? Or finally catching-up with that friend while constantly picking up your mobile? Or watching a movie in Netflix while answering emails and going through your Instagram?
1. Why to start these conscious habits?
The benefits are far-reaching. People who have taken a break from technology report feeling more closely connected to those around them. When we are tied to our technological devices, our priorities shift from spending time with our loved ones in person and can easily disrupt our well-being. Stress can easily increase. We may feel more depressed and more alone in general when we spend an excessive amount of time using electronics to communicate with others, rather than communicating face to face.
2. Where to start?
You can start taking baby steps towards using digital devices moreconsciously and listening to your body and mind more. Do not be misled by the word more, it actually means using them less!
Here are a few conscious tech habits:
- Have your digital and non-digital priorities well defined.
Your priorities should be you (self-care is important), family, friends and of course work (within a time framework and a healthy balance). Try to spend more time enjoying quality time doing activities that involve these important people. In your digital life, turn-off all the alarms for all the apps and set a specific time within the day, that you will be checking your social media (see below).
When you are out of work, you are out of work! That means that early morning, lunch, evening and weekends you need to turn-off your work mobile or your job emails alerts. Somehow, we are under the impression that we should start working (checking emails and answering to WhatsApp messages) the moment we open our eyes and finish when closing them. That is so wrong! Even lunch time is your pause time! Seriously, how many of those “emergencies” are real? Unless you are a doctor, a nurse or work in the humanitarian field, most probably no one is dying.
- Purge yourself of unnecessary electronic equipment.
This means get rid of devices you do not use, I have a tablet that I never use, and it is just there collecting dust. Every time I see it, I just stress about what to do about it – so mental note to me, get rid of it!
What about all those apps on your phone? Do you really use them? Or they only make more difficult for you to find the ones you actually use? Take time to be critical about which ones you use with regularity. Even eliminating half of the apps on your phone narrows down your electronic clutter. It can lighten your mental load, even if you don’t stop using your phone altogether.
-Set some time aside for checking and posting in social media.
I know, this sounds like OCD to the extreme, but be honest, there’s no need to update the world about every minute of your life. If you have a business in which you need to produce content it will help you use your time more efficiently.
It will free time in your schedule and help you use it to spend quality-time with the people you love, do some sport, or in activities you enjoy. Not kidding! According to broadband search in 2018 we spent daily on average around 2 h and 20 minutes only on social media. That is a Zumba class and a good 50 pages read or a catch-up with a friend!
-Ask yourself, why do I pullout my phone?
No one is denying the incredible tool that our phones are for finding information, therefore learning, and staying in touch with friends and family. They also are our watches, pedometer, news source, etc.
One of the reasons we are so attached to our phones and we find difficult to put them down is because they make our lives easier in some many ways. When I was a poor PhD student my phone and laptop were my work tool, my communication device (specially with my friends and family in Mexico), my gym (all my work-out videos where there), my entrainment system (I could not afford a TV). I would have “died” if something had happened to them. But more often than not, we use our phones to distract, to avoid, or to ignore whatever is happening right in front of us.
Think over before you pull -out your phone, do I really need to get that information right now? Can I just enjoy the moment and being ignorant for a while? Do I need to see my phone just to avoid being alone?
-Take some “breaks”
Start small. Turn off your devices for g
ood in the evening and for sure stop looking at it at least 30 min before sleep. Then move to Sunday and eventually to a full weekend! Over time, you may even find these breaks to be addictive!
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