Ep 223 Digital Detox: Breaking Free from Digital Distractions

Introduction: 

Welcome to the bold goal crusher podcast for anyone looking to stop letting life get in the way and start crushing bold goals. I'm your host, Sara Mayer, and I'm thrilled to navigate this journey with you because it's time to start boldly achieving without working double time. So let's dive in. 

Body: 

The Digital Distraction Epidemic 

Hello, bold goal crushers. Today, we're going to talk about taking a digital detox, breaking free from digital distractions. And I don't know about you, but I am ready to break up with all these things. I actually have already broken up with many of them, but I find that being attached to a phone or device keeps me from achieving my goals. 

These devices are designed to be per, like intrusive and they're designed to grab our attention. The sheer definition of notification equals attention grab. So there are a lot of statistics on screen time and I don't need to go into that. We know that people these days are spending more and more time on their phone. 

The Impact on Productivity and Well-being 

And there's an impact on productivity, but there's also this impact on well-being. And so I think it's important to address digital distractions when we're thinking about achieving our goals. So first up, a lot of people call this the digital distraction epidemic. And there's various forms of digital distractions, including social media, email notifications, online entertainment, but there's also psychological effects to constant digital connectivity on focus and attention. 

And I know when I'm. Looking at my phone often or I'm on the tick tock scroll tick tock is my platform of choice because I have a dog on tick tock. If you don't follow her Parker, the boxer pub, and her tick tock feed is very positive because it's all dogs. So I really love when I'm trying to just. Zone out to jump on her Tik TOK, but I know that I can end up spending hours there. 

And I know from talking to clients that they also have this challenge as well. And everyone wants to feel productive. Everybody wants to feel like they're working towards their goals or something, but the digital overload takes over. And so there's this impact on productivity and therefore an impact on goal achievement. 

And that's because. There's this constant overwhelm of when you do get on social media, you're sucked in, and there's lots of studies that really correlate screen time to decreased efficiency. So the more you're online, the less efficient you are. And I think one of the things to remember is that while you're receiving all these notifications, it's adding one more thing that you are adding to your mental load. 

Taking Control of your Digital Technology 

Oh, I need to go check all my Facebook notifications and clear those out. I need to check all my Instagram notifications and clear those out. I need to look at all the incoming notifications on all these apps. And so those. Do take a toll on our mental load because it's one more thing that we feel we need to do on a regular basis. 

So I think it's important to really take a look at your digital technology, your iPad, your phone, even your computer, and really address notifications. Do you really need a notification on every single one of those apps? And I would. I actually would say no and turn them all off, but what apps can you turn notifications off on? 

Which apps do you need notifications on? And which ones can you simply let go? I know many people get anxiety when they look at their phone and there's all these apps with like numbers next to them or emails. And so if you can turn that off, I highly suggest you turn it off. The other one that has become a digital distraction is email and email overload, and I've done entire episodes on how to manage your email. 

But I think one of the things that we need to remember is email is a communication tool, but many people use it as a task list. And so really using the tools for what they are like social media is for. Social it may be for promoting your business, but asking yourself, why do I get on social media? What's the purpose? 

Why do I use email? And email is a communication tool and having a process to truly manage email is important. So there is a concept of a zero inbox and many people are like, that is not achievable. But the reality is it is achievable when you use it as a communication tool rather than a to do list. Using that as a communication tool would mean when a task comes through your email, you add it to some type of task tracker, a planner, or something like that. And then you remove it from your email because you've already added it to the system that's going to get it done. 

Managing email on a regular basis. Now, many people are in email all day and it's popping up and all that stuff. I don't operate that way. I go into my email at certain intervals during the day, and then I handle those things, but. That's what allows me to work productively. And we talked about social media and I want you to really think about how social media and email can impact your mental health. 

If you're trying to achieve a goal and it's a little difficult, you have a mindset barrier that you need to get through and you have social media that can distract you to take that. Barrier away or to allow you to mindlessly scroll, or you have email, which you're viewing as something you need to do. 

That's pressing your goal. No longer becomes the priority because you have these other two things that have taken over. So it's really important to be mindful of your tech when it comes to goal achievement. For example, you can create tech free zones, like for example, work time can be a tech free zone. 

And when you're in your office, it's tech free, or when you're in your bed, it's tech free, or you can create times during the day where your tech or social could be a reward. If I get this done, then I can spend 15 minutes looking at my dog's friends on TikTok. And that's really important to send them the signals to your brain that, okay, when I'm working on this, I'm not looking at that, or I'm not doing that. 

And it allows you to truly focus. I've also had clients and I've done this myself that have done like digital detoxes. So they've successfully implemented like a detox day or they've implemented detox. Times of the month, and they've reported that it's really helped their mental wellbeing and really had them think about their attachment to social. 

So I would love to hear more about your own experience with digital distractions and how you manage them and things that you found effective. I also know that. Many times we manage technology differently than others. And so some other people may be texting all the time and some people may be emailing, but it's important to really set that boundary and that line of how you communicate and how you work best. 

That's important. And it's hard when you may have conflicting. Methods of communication. So technology is a, is ever evolving and I think it's important to create your own plan for how you are going to handle tech. We all, if you have an Apple phone, we get an email once a week or like a, it might be even be a notification. 

I have to look about screen time and I think it's important that we take a look at that and really evaluate ourselves and see if it's in line with our. Goals for the week when we're doing our weekly goal reflection. Now, I'm not saying to get rid of completely of screen time. It is okay to binge watch Netflix. 

It is okay to have days where you're like, I'm going to unplug and not do work. And I'm going to enjoy my favorite Hallmark movies, but it's. Making sure that you're in control of what that technology is doing, rather than the technology being in control of you. So technology is a, is an ever growing beast and whatever we can do to take steps. 

To ensure that technology is not intruding on us, achieving our goals is important. So I encourage you to take some time today and really think about your relationship with technology and come up with a plan on how you might be able to set the tone for how you want technology to be in your life. 

Conclusion: 

All right, bold goal crushers, it's time to crush your goal and everything that gets in the way so you don't have to work double time. Let's get to it. Thank you for tuning into the Bold Goal Crusher podcast where we crush goals and everything that gets in the way. I always love to support my community. I look forward to seeing you crush your goals this year. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences with digital distractions and how you manage them. Let's take control of our technology and ensure that it's not hindering our goal achievement. Here's to a mindful and productive relationship with our devices.