Friday Feature: Life Unplugged

Want to be calmer, more productive and more creative?

Turn off your phone.

In her article, "Stop Letting Modern Distractions Steal Your Attention," Anna Goldfarb discusses the benefits of being inaccessible -- at least from time to time -- in a world that increasingly values 24-7 access. And, as someone who gets her best ideas in the shower, I found myself nodding along with the piece (which includes an explanation of why we get our best ideas in the shower).

Don't get me wrong. I love my phone. Ditto my MacBook and my iPad. Yet every week, when the usage statistics update, I cringe a little. I can't help but wonder what else I could have been accomplishing in all of those hours spent scrolling through social media or playing silly games late at night on my iPad.

Some of my online time is legitimate. I post six blogs a week and the courses I teach not only have an online interface but also require email contact with students and other staff members.

And yet....

A few semesters ago, I required my students to unplug fully -- not only no cell phones, but no laptops, tablets or other electronic devices -- during class unless we were using electronics for an in-class activity. I do the same, keeping my phone tucked in my bag most days or, if I've pulled it out to check campus emails for attendance purposes, face down on the podium. I'm not thoroughly unplugged, I guess, since I use PowerPoints in class, but during the time I'm teaching, my focus is fully on the material and at the students sitting in front of me and I ask the same from them in return.

And a funny thing happened. Discussions improved. More questions were asked. I actually saw the whites of their eyes, even during those weeks when the whites of their eyes were a bit bloodshot from lack of sleep.

Does every student comply 100% of the time? Of course not. But do I have fewer students whose eyes dart to a classmate's laptop screen to see what they're watching on Netflix while I'm teaching?

Yep.

japyassu via Pixabay

Our electronics are a marvelous tool, but it's so easy for them to train our brains to seek out patterns that short circuit critical thinking, creativity and long-term focus, not to mention social interaction. While I'm not ready to give up my phone for days at a time, short-term unplugging sounds like good thing to try, especially with so much evidence for the benefits of doing just that.

And perhaps a weekend is the perfect time to give this experiment a try.

Friday Feature: Distractions and Productivity

Yesterday, I had a project to do -- one that defied completion, leaving me to get creative. Other days, I settle in and get on a roll, excited by what I can accomplish with an idea and sufficient time.

Whether distractions come from the inside or the outside, they can be incredibly frustrating. But do they mess with our productivity? This article in The Economist takes a look at that, reaffirming that the few seconds or minutes we lose to distractions can actually take up a lot more of our time than we realize. And, it takes the discussion one step further, considering the effect digital distractions, in particular, have on our happiness.

I know that reading the article made me happier -- it was nice to know that there's a reason I get so cranky when I get interrupted incessantly -- and it was nice to know that maybe, from a productivity perspective, my frustration in those situations is justified.

Now, if you'll excuse me, the house is quiet, so I'm putting my cell phone on mute and getting some work done.

Dealing With Distractions

theguardian.com

There are many advantages to working from home. Flexible hours. Casual attire. The ability to take a break (nap) when you need one.

Unfortunately, there are drawbacks as well. It's far too easy to develop tunnel vision, pulling up a chair and staying in one place, glued to the task at hand, and oblivious to the fact that there's a whole world outside the "office." And on other days, it's just as easy to do nothing at all.

But the biggest challenge is dealing with distractions. When home and work are separated, most of the distractions at work tend to be somewhat work-related. You can't exactly slip out of the office to run home and throw in a load of laundry.

But when the office is at home, each one pollutes the other. Distractions in the form of phone calls, household chores and family members abound, making it increasingly more likely that the "nothing at all" scenario will be the best description of what I accomplished that day.

For me, the temptations toward human contact (e-mails, Facebook, ringing phone) are the hardest ones to ignore. Having worked outside the home for most of my working life, I have a clear line between home and work when it comes to division of tasks. But having worked in a people-intensive profession, I'm sometimes a sucker for human interaction, even when I'm supposed to be working.

There are all sorts of high-tech fixes and productivity apps out there that promise to make it more likely I end my day closer to the "glued to the task at hand" end of the productivity continuum, but the easiest and most helpful fix is a simple piece of advice I read years ago (before e-mail and Facebook and Twitter and cell phones) and a very low-tech solution.

http://tech-kid.com

Just because the phone rings, that doesn't mean I have to answer it.

My husband remains befuddled by this guideline, but I swear by it, which brings me to my low-tech solution.

Caller ID.

Yes, I screen. And I do so because the very same article that taught me that I don't have to answer a ringing phone explained that doing so is allowing someone else's priorities to usurp my own.

Now, there are a number of people who've earned the right to usurp my priorities, even when I'm working -- which is why I love caller ID. When the phone rings, and it's one of these people, I answer it. When the phone rings, and it's not one of these people, but rather a telemarketer, an automated appointment reminder (an entire blog post in and of itself) or a wrong number, there is no good reason for me to drop what I'm doing and relinquish my train of thought, which, these days, may derail permanently after only one brief, unscheduled stop. I am supposed to be working after all.

So whether my office du jour is my home office, my living room sofa or my local Starbucks, when the phone rings, I look before answering.

It's the best way I know the make sure the mental trains are running on time.

freepik.com