4. Every moment has become a blackberry moment
Mobile technology now enables us to stay connected with colleagues, customers, friends, information sources, news, data streams 24 hours a day.
This is neither a good thing, nor a bad thing. It’s just a thing.
When the unspoken story in our heads is “I’m so busy”, “I’ve got so much to do, to fit in”, then unsurprisingly we create a habit of turning to our phones, mobiles in every gap, convincing ourselves that this is an extension of our effectiveness. It is almost laughable that, when I have caught myself in this state, I am synchronising my mobile, even though it does it on its own every 15 minutes. I’m hurrying up new info, rather than appreciating and enjoying a moment of silence!
This has become unhelpful, we are confusing this constant connection with inspired action. It is NOT inspired, it is expired, in that the motivation for action comes from outside of us.
You are not your phone, it is not an extension of you, even though you may have been acting like it for some time.
I have developed a Top 10 Tips for Email Mastery, which I will publish on the blog soon (if you need it now, email me), but they include noticing that we are treating all emails as urgent. Eventually our sense of urgency becomes so overloaded we have no time for, and cannot even recognise the important stuff (particularly the important, non-urgent stuff).
A Pause is needed in your proceedings – things are not going to change for you, until something does. Sounds obvious but it’s true. Any change will feel uncomfortable as you shift an ingrained habit, it will pull you back to your mobile, know this and be strong.
Here’s a few changes for you to consider:
- Extend the download frequency to 4 times as long as currently.
- Leave your phone on its own, away from you, for 24 hours.
- Trial a TLA – “Technology Liberation Alternator” – an hour fully connected, an hour without, an hour on, an hour off (do each hour brilliantly).
- Become a single task master, by switching it off when you are in a meeting, working on an assignment, whatever. Then turn it on and become the master communicator again.
Find the strength and see it through.
Good luck and keep me informed.
S