I’ve seen a fair bit written about the benefits of either purposefully digitally disconnecting yourself or working every waking hour.
It got me thinking about what sort of indicators I use to know when to reach for technology, and when to walk away from it.
Time to disconnect
- I’m with my kids.
- I’m with my wife.
- I’m avoiding doing something important and/or time sensitive.
- I’m mindlessly scrolling through stuff.
- I’m searching for an answer to an ill defined problem.
- I feel tired or otherwise frazzled.
Time to get connected
- I’d like help.
- I’ve got help to offer.
- I need inspiration.
- I’d like challenge.
- I’d like confirmation.
This seems to work for me… although I occasionally forget to follow my own sage advice. Do you know what works for you?
I think having some self-awareness about this stuff is important because we’re at a point where the demarcation of life and work are becoming ever more blurry. That’s not necessarily all bad as it offers some opportunities in terms of flexibility rather than trying to enforce hard boundaries. And I think most people would dearly love more flexibility if given the choice.
Rather than mandating how people should or shouldn’t work, perhaps we’d be better off developing an awareness of where our unique tipping points are in terms productivity, mental & physical health and personal relationships. We’ve never had so many brilliant tools to get things done — we just need to learn when to pick them up and when to put them down.