I originally wrote this in 2018 when I was grappling with running a complex organisation with multiple demands on my time and energy. Since then there has been a great deal of attention given to this issue and the potential damage overusing technology can do to us, our personal lives and the organizations we work for. It is republished here as it seems even more relevant in early 2024.
I recently went cold turkey, appropriately over Christmas. I turned off my phone, shut down my laptop and no longer existed. My thoughts were published here.
1.But, of course, I have a job, family and friends. I can’t disappear forever. So, during my digital detox I thought about how I might manage my connectivity in the future. Here are 12 things I am trying to make work for me. It’s personal. They may not work for you. We have different lives and different challenges.
2. Turn off the phone and internet at least an hour before sleeping. Read. Talk. Think. Listen. This has proved remarkably easy and I am resisting the urge to quickly check the headlines, the exchange rate, or my email. I can do that in the morning.
But now I wait at least 30 minutes, sometimes a full hour, before switching on the phone or the laptop when I wake up. I walk the dogs without focusing on the phone. There is a little guilty feeling about emails. Quite a lot of my inbox comes from North America, so they tend to pile up at night. But I can do it. So far.
Some have gone further. @whatsamadder turned his phone off for a whole 30 days. Simon Cowell has given up his phone entirely, perhaps with help from this book. One day. Perhaps.
3. Don’t have an email app on the mobile. I did this a while ago. There is always webmail in an emergency.
4. Stop those irritating noises from your phone whenever there is any notification. Focus on what you are doing. It’s annoying in the office and in public places, so you help yourself and others.
5. I now limit email sessions to 3 times a day on the laptop. That 2.5 hours a day has now been reduced to about an hour. And I am trying hard to implement what I know to be good practice. Reply, delete, or park. Immediately. I also need to keep reminding my team about how to write and (not) reply to emails. Every two weeks we have a ‘no email day.’ It’s been interesting.
6. I’m a news junkie. The internet was amazing for me. I could flip around the world and back several times a day. Now I am again reading the physical paper (yes they still exist) from where I happen to be. Then I check 5 others online. Once a day. Luckily, I can do this while commuting to the office.
7. I read a fair bit. In the past, I often interrupted whatever I was reading by searching for a term or an idea that appears in the text. Of course, it’s fatal. It quickly turns into an hour of following leads, becoming distracted and unfocused. Now I make a note and search later, or not at all. So I am reading a lot more. And have time to look at paintings.
8. I’m on Twitter and, of course, Linkedin. I’ve never been on other social media but in my worst stage would spend a long time on my twitter, @gwoodthinks. Now, with both, a burst twice a day max. I am also addicted to online chess. At 6 minutes a game, there were times when I played 10 games a day. Now I’m down to 3 and surviving, although still not very good.
9. For at least 4 hours a day while working I switch off the internet. And work. At work.
10. I subscribe to 2 biweekly, and 2 weekly magazines. From this year I will only read the more time sensitive Economist on line and wait for the print version of the others to find me.
11. At least once a month I will switch everything off for a weekend. There will be an emergency contact as my work requires but I won’t be calling or emailing you.
12. And finally, another new rule. Only watch films online which I would actually go out to watch. So have more time for looking at art.
So that’s my new regime. As I said, it’s personal and for me. But now in the second week, it is truly liberating. Like all addicts, I just need to remind myself why I am doing it.
I have just had sixth annual #digitaldetox. Each year has been deeply energising, creative and transformational. The lessons from the first remain. What are your thoughts?
Paintings thanks to Mbugua Kimani
No comment yet, add your voice below!