Look at the world we live in. We've got every gadget, app, widget, and doodad we could ever imagine — and plenty we couldn't have dreamed up — all designed to make us more productive. And if we dig deeper, we have to ask: does technology really make us more productive? While certainly there are some time-saving features we glean from many of the tools we use, there are still instances where technology holds us back or saps us of our time. Being aware of how technology rules us is important in taking back that time.
1. It Makes It Less Appealing to Be Disconnected
Remember the days when you could drive to the store in relative peace (save the screaming kids in the back seat)? There were no pings coming from your smartphone telling you that someone desperately needed an answer via text. Heck, we didn't even have phones in our cars to distract us. Vacations, too, have become just another place for us to check work and personal email, browse our Facebook pages, and otherwise stay in contact with the rest of the world.
Technology has given us this sense of urgency we didn't used to have. We feel like it's important for us to stay connected. To respond instantly to that text, despite the person sitting across the dinner table from us. To check work email even when we're supposed to be relaxing on a beach.
Take Back Your Life: It's a challenge to disconnect (and I'm just as guilty of it as you), but well worth it. Realize that nothing is as important as you think it is, and that email or text can wait until later to get a response. You'll find that if you go on a technology-free diet for even a day, you feel more connected to yourself and the people around you. I promise there won't be any fires to put out.
2. It Distracts Us
Stop me if you've heard this one before. You log into Facebook to update your business page and get sucked into a vortex of kitties on Roombas and invites to play Candy Crush. Before you know it, you've spent an hour on the site and haven't gotten a lick of updates written for your own business. It's visual crack, people. I like oohing and aahing over photos of delicious food as much as the next person, but you've got to shake off the fog and focus.
Take Back Your Life: Don't even try to pretend you don't want to see what's happening on Facebook. Get it over with first thing in the morning. Spend 15 minutes mindlessly, then get back to work. If you need to get on social sites for your business, have a goal (schedule 3 updates), accomplish them, then get the heck out of there!
3. It Makes Us Stupider
When's the last time you actually memorized a friend's phone number? Right. You don't have to. You can just plug it into your phone and forget it. Save that brain power for Words with Friends! Sometimes I panic and wonder what I'll do if my phone dies and I need to call someone from another phone. How will I get in touch?? We've also got calculators, analytics, and other tools that, while giving us plenty of information, make it entirely unnecessary for us to do our own thinking.
Take Back Your Life: Stay sharp. Test yourself and memorize a phone number or two. Do activities analog rather than relying on technology. You'll feel smarter, I guarantee it.
Technology is truly a wonderful tool to help us do more ... most of the time. Just know when it's taking away from you, and step back from it.
