How to Deal With Digital Overload
How do you start your morning? Do you check your phone for the latest game scores or to see if there are any Facebook posts you need to like? Do you scroll Instagram or catch up on texts and emails that may have come in overnight? Maybe you just turn on the TV for a little background noise or to listen to the latest news. Perhaps you spend a few quiet moments taking in deep breaths or some other meditative activity.
When you have a day off do you spend it catching up on email messages or Facebook feed or binging the latest Netflix series or doing something like playing a local sight see-er?
If you find yourself with a spare five or ten minutes, do you watch a funny YouTube video or do you take a walk or stretch or knock something off of your to-do list? Or are you responding to this question with "Hah! I wish I had five or ten spare minutes!"
Undoubtedly, our digital and electronic lives have expanded substantially. In the 1970s, families probably had a single TV in the living room. Now, most households have several TVs, monitors, iPads, Kindles, phones. There are millions of apps available to us In the US, adults spend an average of approximately four hours a day connected to our mobile devices.
Ask yourself these questions:
Do I get to spend enough time with my friends and my family?
Do I take some downtime or quiet time each day?
Do I move from my desk or spend time outside in nature?
Do I get to nurture hobbies and activities that bring me joy?
If you find that you aren't spending as much time in your non-digital world as you would like, these strategies may help you:
Bring awareness to how you spend your time
Take a guess as to how much time you spend on your phone. Now use your phone's built-in usage tracking app or a program like Rescue Time. The goal is to bring awareness to how you are spending your time, As you do this, be kind to yourself and say "how fascinating" rather than things like "I can't believe how much time I spent watching YouTube videos".