Technology Balance

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We live in an era of unprecedented technological growth. Every day it seems there is another application or device that promises to make work better, life easier, and us happier.

There is some truth in this; if used right, technology can greatly increase our productivity, and help build new connections and skills. Yet we must remember, it actually is designed to be addictive. There are books, courses and conferences dedicated to getting you hooked.

To be effective in our work, we must be purposeful in how we use technology. As someone in the tech industry, I have been aware of this for years, but I still struggle with it daily.

Not to be overcome, I have adopted a number of strategies to manage and balance my tech usage. I hope they can be of benefit to you as well.

• Engage with others. Communication at work is so important. Making a call, doing a video conference, or meeting face to face is so much better than an email or IM for important discussions.
• Moderate your use. As I mentioned in the email post, limiting your time online in the morning and evening is a great way to keep the balance. Don’t check your phone first thing, or bring a device to bed.
• Say no to notifications. Don’t become a slave to the pings. Most alerts can be turned off without any impact on your work. For example, I have only urgent notifications on (like if a server goes down – hopefully never).
• Pause. Just as we are to sabbath from work, taking a regular break from technology is a good idea too. Digitalsabbath.io is a great resource to remind you to unplug.
• Disconnect if necessary. I have found some services too hard to self-regulate, and in this case decided disconnecting completely was the best option.
• Block the worst offenders. Although many of us can’t turn off the internet, as we need it for work, we can block the most distracting sites. Tools like freedom.to can help with this.

Again, technology is not bad, it’s simply a tool. Make sure you are using it, and it isn’t using you. Don’t let tech distract you from our greater call to do good work and engage with others.

~ Sean