By Holland Haiis (*)
Ever heard of a “digital detox”? It means staying away from your devices for an extended period — maybe a day, a weekend, or perhaps a week.
Screen fatigue is real. While digital tools help us accomplish more than we ever imagined, we’re also recognising it’s time to strike a bit of a technological balance, with the help of some non-tech tools.
Paper is a powerful tool for nurturing productivity and thinking. Consider pairing analogue tools with some digital techniques, and use both throughout the day — whether you’re working remotely or in an office setting — and watch your productivity increase.
The Power of Planning
Most of us start the day with our heads down, scrolling through emails — before we know it, we’re stuck in brain fog without having accomplished anything.
Instead of opening your email right away, start your workday by using a notebook or work journal to prioritise the top three goals or projects you need to start, prepare or finish that day. Choose a notebook or journal that’s fun, flashy, or one you imagine sitting on a CEO’s desk.
Did you know that the physical act of writing enhances learning and goal achievement? Writing stimulates your RAS (reticular activating system), a group of cells at the base of your brain. When you write something down, it activates and deepens your focus. So grab your work journal and start tracking your daily progress.
Time Blocking
After planning your top three goals for the day, add them to your calendar. Learning to time-block your goals is a way to make sure there’s time in the day for more than just meetings. Without the discipline of time blocking, we can fall down the rabbit hole of answering emails for hours and lose the momentum our projects need.
Choose the time of day when you’re most productive, and dedicate that time to your goals and projects. Prioritise your needs and block off your time.
Turn Off Notifications
Our brains constantly seek pleasure and love being surprised. Our phones buzz, ring and chime with every new email, message and tweet, sending us into a dopamine-seeking loop like Pavlov’s dog.
We get a stimulus or cue, and we keep seeking the reward. What can we accomplish if we’re constantly checking our devices for something new and exciting? We can’t. And that leads to a bigger problem: it destroys your focus, causes brain fog, and raises your cortisol levels. Turn off notifications and watch your productivity grow.
Tech-Free Meetings
At your next meeting, leave your device at the door or on your desk, and instead bring your favourite coloured pen or pencil, paper, or work journal.
Ever heard of the smartphone effect? Even the mere presence of a phone on a table is distracting. Research tells us our conversations become less deep as a result — meaning we don’t build trust.
Meetings are a valuable resource for face-to-face connection, and devices cause us to look down and avoid eye contact. It’s well established that higher levels of eye contact increase likeability, trust and perceived competence. At your next meeting, set your device aside, and gently ask your teammates to do the same.
Device-Free Zones
If we spend time on screens all day, we forget how to imagine, produce and collaborate. We’re social by nature, yet we consult Google, Siri or Alexa instead of asking another person. Let’s train our brains to seek out and search for our colleagues’ advice.
Conversation builds trust, friendship and greater sociability in the workplace. That, in turn, creates a healthier, happier and more productive workplace. When we spend time talking and collaborating with our colleagues, we connect, build trust, and boost our oxytocin levels.
Create a device-free zone in your personal office — this could be a couple of chairs and a table, or a spot in a break room you’ve designated as device-free, stocked with coloured paper, sketchbooks and felt-tip pens — and start sketching, doodling and drafting your ideas. Invite your colleagues in, and tell them that doodling reduces stress, boosts productivity, and — according to psychologist Jackie Andrade — even improves listening. Why not make time for doodling?
Take a Break, and Go Green… Visually
Our eyes need a rest from our devices. We’re getting more headaches, blinking less, and experiencing more dry eyes. Here’s the good news: the Mayo Clinic tells us that nature nourishes and relaxes the brain, reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), and helps us see alternative options when it comes to problem-solving.
Have you ever gone for a walk in the park and suddenly seen the answer to your biggest problem? Device-induced brain fog is real, and clearing it is vital to more fully formed thinking.
Whether it’s a micro-break or something a little longer, employees who take a break every 90 minutes report higher levels of focus and productivity. Take a break every hour.
(*) Holland Haiis is an expert in digital detox and human connection. Visit her website at HollandHaiis.com to learn more about Holland.
Source: https://www.howlifeunfolds.com/business-success/digital-detox