By Carl Phillips
We live in a technology and information driven age. We’re constantly striving for the latest gadget or looking to read the latest tweet on Twitter or latest post on the 20 or 30 blogs we scan on a daily basis. Keeping on top of this stuff is a full time job in itself so we don’t always make the time we should for friends, family and our own hobbies. Perhaps it’s time to re-examine how and why we use technology. Perhaps it’s time to simplify. Perhaps it’s time to disconnect from the online world a little so we can reconnect with the world around us.
If the online world feels like it’s impacting your offline world and general stress levels maybe it’s time to redress the balance. Maybe it’s time for a different approach so we spend more time disconnecting. Try the list below to get you started in a new direction.
1) Simplify Your Information Sources
The simplest way to make the process of disconnecting easier is to start reducing your information flows. Do you really need three different email accounts and to have the inbox’s of those accounts open all day? Do you really need a Twitter and Facebook account? Do you really need to be subscribed to thirty blogs when you get most of the benefit and enjoyment from two of them?
You get the idea. Simplify your information sources and how information flows to you and you won’t have so much to keep on top of. This alone can have a positive impact on your stress levels.
2) Let Go of Needing to Stay on Top
Here’s a little secret, you can’t know it all and you can’t expect to know it all so why try? There’s only a finite amount of information our brains can absorb and actually do something constructive with. We’re living in an age of distraction attraction where people have access to more information than ever but are not necessarily retaining information of any real substance along the way. Maybe our time would be better spent out in the fresh air letting our own thinking processes kick in and giving our own ideas room to grow and develop.
3) Set Online Limits
No need to go cold turkey on internet usage but limiting your personal use of the online world can help set you free. For example, limit your blog reading or social media time to two 20 minute bursts throughout the day. Or one half hour hit before you start work for the day.
4) Be Bold, Be Different
Technology, as wonderful and amazing as it can be, is there to serve us, not the other way around. Don’t become a slave to the online world or urge to check your smartphone every 5 minutes when you have real people and a real world around you to engage with. Disconnect to reconnect!