spark digital: digital distractions by gary webb

Digital Distractions – how to get backin controlNew technologies promise to make us more productive, but also make us feel overloaded, overworked and overcommitted. Here’s how to moderate the distractions to take greater control of our lives.

Gary Webb, Coach, Spark Digital

Technology is developing at an exponential rate and change is coming faster than we realise.

40% of the world’s population has internet access.Back in 1995, it was only 1%.

Source: www.internetlivestats.com

Mobile phones are a million times cheaper, a million times smaller and a thousand times more powerful than a $60 million supercomputer from the 1960s.

In 20 years, there will be blood cell-sized devices interfacing with our bodies in real time.

We now have access to everything we want at a keystroke.

But it comes at a cost.

You know the problem . . . . . . swarms of distractions and interruptions from alerts, texts and emails.

We do the tasks but we don’t get the work done.

of workers are frequently

distracted.

of these workers can effectively get

on with work.

55% 33%

Source: Employerbility Workplace Productivity Report

of workers feel overwhelmed or frustrated.

80%

Source: Employerbility Workplace Productivity Report

We’re interrupted every 3 minutes and it can take us up to 25 minutes to get back on track.

Source: Gloria Marks, University of California

It’s taking a toll on our performance.

Lost productivity costs...

... per person per year.Source: harmon.ie Distraction Survey

$10,375

We are forever juggling multiple tasks and trying to make complex decisions.

The ongoing mental traffic jam means some days feel like our thoughts are gridlocked and it’s always rush hour.

Our brains aren’t developing at the same exponential

rate as technology, so we struggle to keep pace.

Our brain is 2% of our body weight but uses up to 20% of our metabolic

resources each day.

Technology overloads the brain. It provides mental stimulus like nothing else.

Our brain gets hit with 11 million bits of information per second from

the environment – but it can only process 40 bits per second.

Source: Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious (Belknap Press, 2004)

Source: Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious (Belknap Press, 2004)

Our brain gets hit with 11 million bits of information per second from

the environment – but it can only process 40 bits per second.

It’s like trying to find that needle

in a haystack every second.

To help us cope, we outsource our thinking to our computers and smartphones.

We no longer remember trivial information because everything we need is on Google.

Are you addicted to your smartphone?

Our mobile is now our life companion – we spend 119 minutes on our

phones each day vs 97 minutes with a significant other.

Source: Mobile Life report, O2 & Samsung

81% of us keep devices with us all the time.

Source: Gallup Panel survey, April 17 – May 18, 2015

Source: Gallup Panel survey, April 17 – May 18, 2015

72% check smartphones every hour, and young adults look every few minutes.

No one truly experiences anything anymore...

... because we are all too busy recording it on our phones.

This picture went viral - the elderly lady stands out

for simply taking in the moment, with no camera or smartphone in hand.

Source: Boston Globe via Getty Images

We need to reset our brains to give ourselves a mental break, time to think and process information and

be in the moment.

We need to reset our brains to give ourselves a mental break, time to think and process information and

be in the moment.

It’s just like computers that lock up every so often

when we try to run too many applications at the

same time…

STOP multi-tasking.

START mono-tasking.

Multi-tasking is a myth.

Each time we switch tasks, we use up our body’s resources.

We can’t process more than one thing at a time.

IQ drops by

10% Productivity levels

drop by up to

40%Source: University of London & researchers Meyer, Evans and Rubinstein

IQ drops by

10% Productivity levels

drop by up to

40%Source: University of London & researchers Meyer, Evans and Rubinstein

That’s more than twice the impact of smoking marijuana.

What can you do to get back in control?

3 things productive people do at work.

Pause more often to speed up and learn to

breathe correctly.

When working on a task, set

yourself a fixed amount of time to complete it.

Breathe

Resist the urge to work on other

things at the same time.

Go for a walk, get fresh air

and eat outside during your lunch break.

Take up yoga, exercise or meditation.

Reset

Leave technology

behind.

Check your emails at set times during

the day.

Turn off all alerts.

Turn off

Unplug if you need to get things done.

3 things smart people do at home.

Turn off devices when out with friends

and family, and at night.

Filter out the blue light with BluBlocker

sunglasses or software such as f.lux that adjusts the hue

of your screen.

Turn off

Stop using devices 1 hour before sleep.

OFFON

Do things that bring you pleasure . . .

. . . listen to music, have a hot bath, laugh aloud, look at art, have a rich social life, learn a language, play an instrument,

make love, practise yoga, draw, paint or even colour in.

Reset

The best thing you can do to improve your performance in all areas of your

life is to sleep.

Sleep

Digital Distractions – how to get backin controlThis is Gary’s first contribution to our FWD_ programme. For further articles, opinions and industry insights, see sparkdigital.co.nz/insights or follow Gary on LinkedIn.

Gary Webb, Coach, Spark Digital