You wouldn’t use your phone all day, every day with all the apps open and expect it to keep working for days on end. The same goes for the mind.
We charge our phone; we need to charge our mind. Taking breaks during the day, managing digital and other distractions, and finding time to neurologically ‘reset’ is fundamental in maintaining mental fitness and keeping us physically healthy.
Here are 3 tips to try today:
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Carve out tech-free time each day. A good start is to avoid technology for the first 30-minutes and the last 90-minutes of the day. If that doesn’t seem feasible then build in at least 30-minutes of time when you don’t your use your phone, tablet or computer. Some people find it easier to do this by having tech free zones in their house, perhaps no tech in the bedroom or at the dining table. Turning off unnecessary notifications on your phone and computer is going to help you to commit to this.
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Plan in breaks in your day and use them wisely. Research indicates that when we plan breaks with an allocated time and activity, we get the best of our breaks. Doing so means that we can get a huge benefit from just 3 to 10 minutes. Being tech free, moving our body, laughing and learning new things are all great activities to do in this time.
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Use your community. Any habit is harder when you do it alone. If you want to build more positive habits around switching off and taking breaks, find an accountability buddy. Perhaps you and your team commit to going for a walk at lunch without their phones once a week or you can book a phone call with a friend as a morning break to force you to stop work for a moment. Be creative and use your connections.
It is time to take back control of our time, moving from ‘reactive mode’ into ‘proactive mode’ so we can take ownership of our productivity, our mindset and our health.