Top 10 Tips for Digital Detox
Like most of us, my 2-year-old daughter Mabel is obsessed with the screens in her life. No matter what other tantalizing options might be vying for her attention, the prospect of a “bee-yo” (toddler speak for “video”) will instantly capture her every brain cell and she is FOCUSED. Once the little flash of a screen enters her view, all else is forgotten, and she is on a mission to watch the Moana song for the 137th time. Her single-mindedness became so extreme that at one point this year, we took to regularly hiding our phones so as not to trigger her addiction. (This rarely worked, as she apparently has a sixth sense and can ferret out the nearest digital device like a coonhound on the trail.)
In the last 10 years, humans’ relationship to digital devices has shifted dramatically. When TVs and desktop computers were the primary screens in our lives, couch potato syndrome was a risk, but it required being pretty committed to staying home and under-functioning in nearly every area of life. Now, with phones in pockets and smartwatches on wrists, even the most high-performing, active, and well-rounded individuals are at risk for allowing their digital devices to distract their focus and detract from their potential.
This month in our Leadership Gamechangers Series, we at The People Side are talking about 'Focus'. The best leaders we work with understand that, in a world of information chaos, they must be intentional in shaping their relationship with digital devices. They must choose how they want to use them rather than defaulting to cultural norms which are shaped by the brain’s instinctive response to digital connectivity. Digital alerts and “hits” of info trigger dopamine releases in the brain, which makes us hungry for more. A recent study found that the neurological process of becoming addicted to smartphones shares much in common with opioid addiction, and that the results include depression, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation.
Not good. Toxic, in fact.
So, how can you use the power of digital devices to your advantage while avoiding the potentially toxic pitfalls? If you learn to do this well in the modern world, you will differentiate yourself from the masses with your profound ability to FOCUS in the midst of information chaos. And the impact at work and home will be impossible to miss.
Try these 10 Tips for Digital Detox, and notice the difference:
Turn off alerts. Every good article and book I’ve read on digital distraction proclaims this advice right out of the gate, and yet based on the volume of dings and rings I hear in public, not everyone has gotten the memo. Every time your phone dings or you see a pop-up on your screen, your brain goes through “task-switching”, and “attention residue” is generated. (We’ll be posting a great article on attention residue later this month, so stay tuned.) Check your phone at intentionally chosen times rather than being at its every beck and call.
Respond to messages in chunks. Instead of responding to emails and texts as they arrive, set aside designated times during your day to filter through and respond to messages. This is one of the best ways to minimize task-switching.
Schedule ‘Deep Work’ time. If you’ve been following our Leadership Gamechanger series on Focus this month, you know we’re fans of Cal Newport’s book, ‘Deep Work’. Build in long stretches of uninterrupted time for focused work on a regular basis, and watch your productivity and creativity skyrocket.
When you have a free second, resist the urge to check your phone. You’re stuck in line at the post office, or you’re waiting for a friend to arrive for your coffee date. Seems like the perfect moment to catch up on BuzzFeed, but try this instead. Be still. Breathe for a bit. Grow a little bored. You’ve just given your overtaxed brain a gift.
Ask yourself, “Is this really benefiting me?” Speaking of BuzzFeed…media sites are masterful at creating “clickbait” headlines that are oh-so-hard to resist. But will your life be measurably better if you know the whole story behind headlines like, “You Won’t Believe What Advice Prince William Gave Harry Before He Married Meghan Markle”? And for those who are tempted by more high-minded clickbait about real world and business issues, remember the following.
In the attention economy, less information equals more attention. So limit your consumption of information, including news. I’m not advocating that you cease to stay informed, but be very selective about how much you take in. Those who will win in information chaos are not those who take in more info, but rather those who can hear the “signal in the noise” and take in only what matters most.
Read an eBook instead. One of the best decisions I ever made was to break my nightly habit of web-surfing before bed. I’m old-fashioned and resisted eBooks for years, but right before bed I wanted the lights out and didn’t want to hold a physical book while drifting off. My husband convinced me to download the Kindle app on my phone, and I later discovered the Cloud Library app through my local library system. I’ve been happily reading myself to sleep (with media that actually improves my life) ever since.
Opt for Social Interaction over Social Media. Social media has its place, and I’m not suggesting you unplug altogether. However, there is much evidence that suggests that for many of us, social media creates more loneliness and comparison anxiety than it does joy. If that hits close to home for you, consider pulling back and filling that time and energy with actual human contact.
Try a Media Fast and notice how you feel. First, continue with your normal digital practices for another few days and check in with yourself at 9am, 12pm, 4pm, and 9pm. At each of these checkpoints, write down a few words that describe your quality of attention and emotion. Rate on a scale of 1-10 your mental energy, optimism, and creativity levels. After a few days of this, go on a media fast for the same number of days, silencing alerts on all digital devices (including your email inbox and chat window on your laptop) and only using your phone when absolutely necessary. Do the same “checkpoint” exercise and see what you notice. Then reflect on the whole experiment, and get curious about what your unconscious digital habits might be creating in your life and work, and design a new approach that works to your advantage.
Ask yourself, “What am I really craving right now?” Like most addictive activities, digital compulsions are an attempt to address a deeper longing. We often reach for our phone as an antidote to boredom, anxiety, loneliness, or sadness. This is likely unconscious yet true for many of us. So next time you reach for your phone, check in with yourself about what the real need is and then meet it differently. For example, if “avoiding boredom” is the underlying need, come up with a more fulfilling way to engage your mind.
If these ideas intrigue you, yet you feel a bit overwhelmed by the level of behavior change a true digital detox requires, feel free to take it slow. Here's a final pro-tip: monitor your total weekly screen time and goal yourself to reduce it by a little bit each week.
The territory of digital distraction comes with diverging opinions and even controversy. We’d love to hear your perspective – agree or disagree – on these ideas. What would you add to the conversation on how to focus best in a digitally distracted world?