10 small: habits
To handle the digital stress and distractions:
by Henrik Edberg
“If you ask what is the single most
important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry,
stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.”
-George F. Burns
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“Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of
your attention.”-Jim Rohn
Life today is quite different compared to the 80s and early 90s. Back
then we had TV with just a few channels and later on Nintendo
videogames. That was it.
Today many of us have smartphones that we use to browse the internet,
to work and to play games. We spend many hours in front of computers and
a part of our day is often spent online. There is so much information
these days. So many potential distractions and sources that seem to have
made people more stressed and overwhelmed than they were in the past.
Working and living in this age isn’t always easy.
So this week let’s look at the 10 habits that could help you keep
your attention on what truly matters – both at work and in the private
life – and at the same time minimise stress and overwhelm.
Shut off notifications
To find focus the first simple thing to do is to shut off
notifications in:
*Your email client.
*Messaging programs.
*Social media and gaming apps.
Then get back to what truly matters without those pings hanging over
you and distracting you.
Keep your smartphone far away for quality time/work
The simplest way to not be distracted all the time by your smartphone
is to put up small obstacles so you don’t have that easy and tempting
access.
Here’s, for instance, what you can do when you work:
*Put the phone in silent mode.
*Put it in another room at the other end of the house.
*Then check it a few times a day for calls and text messages.
You can do the same thing during the evenings and weekends to make
sure the time you spend together is quality time and not time spent
being distracted.
Unplug or use an app to keep your focus on what matters
When you are working on a computer do so disconnected from the
internet. If that’s not possible for you then try a browser add on like
for example StayFocusd to temporarily block the sites where you know you
tend to procrastinate and waste too much time.
Check email, social media only once a day
Make a conscious choice about when you will handle email, social
media and other such checking and replying, instead of just doing it
anytime when you feel bored, overwhelmed or stressed, or simply because
you are stuck in a habit of doing it 10-20 times a day.
If you feel an urge to check something before your set time then just
pause
Sit or stand still for a minute. The impulse will pass and you can
get back to what you were doing. Instead of getting off track and end up
being distracted for 15-30 minutes.
Stop comparing your life to someone’s high-light reel
When you start comparing yourself and your life to what old
classmates, friends and celebrities share on Instagram or Facebook and
you each day see how perfect and wonderful their homes, kids, work and
lives are then that can create a lot of stress and erode your
self-esteem.
So what can you do if you get stuck in this habit?
*Remember what they share is usually just the high-light reel of
their lives, the most positive moments. The other stuff that is a part
of life happens too, you just don’t see it.
*Focus on comparing yourself to yourself instead. See how far you
have come, what you have learned and what you have overcome.
Disconnect over the weekend
Stay away from work and offline over the weekend. Leave your work
phone at your job.
If that’s not possible keep things to a minimum:
*Leave that work phone in silent mode and check it just every 24
hours over the weekend.
*Do a quick 2-minute check of email once a weekend .
*Reply only to the calls, texts and emails that are very important.
Otherwise, let them wait until Monday.
Keep a very simple workspace
The computer may have access to almost unlimited information and
many, many tasks and emails. To not get dragged into the possible stress
of that zoom out to the next level. To your work space that the computer
is sitting in.
Make it a simple and calming work space to make your mind more
centred too and less susceptible to overwhelm, confusion and stress.
Focus your information inflow
Ask yourself:
*What email newsletters in my inbox have I actually read and gotten
something good out of in the past 30 days?
*What podcasts I have listened to that have given me value in the
past month?
You can ask yourself the same for magazines, blogs and forums and so
on. Then take 5-15 minutes to unsubscribe to the ones that just clutter
up your inbox, smart phone, bookmark list and shelves.
Time is limited. So is your attention.
So use both of them in a way that enriches your life and that focuses
on only the best information sources. This very simple exercise can be
surprisingly effective to get rid of mental clutter too and think more
clearly again.
Remember the 5 little words for sanity: One thing at a time
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tabs open in your browser
or missed messages, when you’re distracted by something while trying to
having quality time with your loved ones and when the stress and
overwhelm is starting to build up remember those 5 little words.
Breathe and let them help you to connect with this moment again and
with simplifying things. Use them to slow down, to find clarity in what
you need to do and to re-sharpen your focus and attention once again.
About the author:
The writer is a 34-year -old journalism major from Sweden, who has
dived into the topic of personal development, which has seen him
learning from him own experiments and experience and figuring out how to
build a better life. This article is one of his building a better life
experiences)
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