Whoever created fidget spinners is belly laughing at the world on their yacht right now. What a brilliant idea to transform ball bearings into time wasters! My kids have a few of these, and I’ve been known to a grab a few spins each week. Don’t judge me. This worldwide phenomenon has slightly troubled me, because it says something about our culture at large.
We are sucked into distraction.
Screens dictate much of our lives today; email, apps, notifications, texts, streaming music. I confess, I wrote these words while looking at a screen. Guilty. The ping and the buzz are everywhere successfully preventing us from enjoying the precious now. My best guess says most Americans check their texts, emails or both before brushing their teeth or saying hello to their spouse. Netflix now lets you download your favorite show straight to your device so you will never be bored when riding on a chair at 30,000 feet ever again.
I’ve been concerned about this plague of distraction for some time now. My wife and I talk about this regularly. There’s no mongering fear, only asking how we can respond appropriately. During my vacation I enjoyed having a longer leash from my phone and having a vacation responder on my email. With the help of Cal Newport and his brilliant book Deep Work I took a few more steps to manage the distractions in my life. Thanks to the wisdom of my wife we’ve gone screen-less as a family this summer. Now two TVs are lonely in the corner of our basement. It’s been awesome! Andy Crouch’s book The Tech-wise Family is on my reading list.
I came to these much needed conclusions:
I have a choice.
I am not technology’s slave.
My phone will not dictate my life.
These realizations have been the compass for a journey toward smaller choices. Here are some small, but crucial, decisions you can make to fight the technology battle…
Put your phone in inconvenient places. Sometimes when I get home from work and my mind is still spinning I give my wife custody of my phone so she can hide it. Then I play with my kids. You can put it a step away from your desk at work or leave it in the car when you go into a store.
Stay away from screens one day a week. Screens are a reality for life, but we need to learn to practice tech sabbaths. I have no reason to look at my phone more than a few times on Fridays. For some time now I’ve been in the discipline of not checking work emails on the weekend. This allows me to recharge, nap, have fun and be present with my family.
Turn off your notifications. You don’t need to know every time someone comments, likes or checks in. Doesn’t change your life, check it later.
Use airplane mode. When you are diving deep into a project where you need serious concentration put your phone on airplane mode and turn off wifi on your computer. The interruptions every five minutes will hijack your concentration.
Take your phone away from your bed. I decided to put my phone on the other side of the room and get an alarm clock. It’s vintage 90s, I love it! I don’t find myself lying in bed looking at my phone anymore, because I don’t care enough to walk five steps to look at it.
I don’t write this as a master of my world, but a committed struggler inside of it. I’m committed to the battle of putting technology in the right box in my life. Technology should compliment your life, not rob your life.
Questions to ask about distraction…
Why must I fight distraction? Yup, gotta start with why.
What are you fighting for? Relationships? Creativity? Sanity? Freedom?
What steps will you take to battle distraction? Put a plan in place and do it!