T is for Technology

 I am not a Luddite. I love my technology.

Except when it doesn’t love me back. And this semester, the learning management system we use at school is getting on my last nerve.

It’s not the software. It’s me. And that’s why the situation annoys me so much.

I'm aware that I make mistakes (and not just with technology). I can usually brush them off or even laugh about them, even when I’m less sanguine about them internally. But when they pile up publicly and in a situation where I’m supposed to look like I know what I’m doing, my sense of humor fades fast.

Don't get me wrong, these mistakes aren't enormous, nor do they have grade-crushing repercussions for my students. They are, instead, the same old same old. Forgetting to check a box. Uploading a document incorrectly. Neglecting to check a link to see if it goes where it's supposed to. Small, persistent details that annoy me and, I suspect, my students.

So, if they aren't the end of the world, why do they bother me so much?

Well, the public nature is part of it. I don't think anyone likes looking foolish in front of an audience. 

But, it goes a little deeper. 

The apparent ineptitude on display in front of my students stands in sharp contrast to my aptitude with most of the technology I use on a regular basis. Despite this, however, I find myself wondering if age is a factor here. Is this the beginning of an inevitable slow-down? Does it only get worse from here?

Luckily, some of my recent reads, including a great book I'm listening to right how have helped to allay these fears a bit, and unearthed some of the issues at the root of this. And, ironically, technology itself is likely one of the culprits. 

Accustomed to working at the pace of our phone processors, we have a need for speed that can contribute to us getting in our own way. Layer that on top of a seemingly endless to-do list and a false sense of my own mastery of the software and, before I know it, I'm making silly mistakes not just once, but repeatedly. Sprinkle my global personality atop this confection, and you have someone who's not detail-oriented to begin with, wielding her false sense of technological security as she races through her to-do list, not fully focused on the task at hand.

Well, that I can fix. Checklists to the rescue! Whether mental or physical, they can help me troubleshoot before I step away from the computer, unaware that my work is flawed. Add a few deep breaths and a reminder to check my work like I used to do on high school math tests and I might just solve the problem. 

Still, there's a nagging little voice in the back of my mind that insists that this would all be easier if I were younger. It's probably right. But, as I see it, I have a choice. I can acknowledge that and use the tools at my disposal to make up the difference, or I can sit in a corner and feel sorry for myself. 

Most days, I'll choose the former. 

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.

4 Signs That You're Overextended

sprypub.com

As I sat down to work on a last Friday's blog post at close to noon on Friday (about 12 hours after it's usually posted), I decided it was safe to say I was feeling a tad overextended. Summer vacation had barely begun, yet everywhere I looked, someone or something beckoned.

I should've seen it coming. The signs were all there:

• Decline in motivation, which I chalked up to laziness and/or the start-stop-start again nature of most days last week;
• A growing feeling of panic as I surveyed my office, which had been trending toward neatness, but was now falling off the organization wagon;
• The inability to select a task, focus on it and see it through to completion. I was great at both selecting and focusing on the wrong tasks (low priority, low yield), while the others piled up around me and eventually engulfed me; and
• Rampant procrastination in everything from getting out of bed in the morning to even making a list, let alone tackling it.

In retrospect, all of the above had one thing in common: avoidance. And my inability to sit, settle and start was exacerbated by trying to flex my schedule around everyone else's.

It was time to take charge. To just. Start. Somewhere.

freepik.com

I threw a load of clothes in the washer and started with the little things that nagged at me and sapped my energy: the phone calls and appointments that needed to be taken care of. Since it was close to noon on a Friday, I met with limited success, but that was enough to get me started on one of the things I'd been avoiding all week.

Making a list. Two, actually.

The first was a favorite motivational tool: the backwards to-do list. The second was a list of things to
do on Monday when offices re-opened and I could take care of the appointments and phone calls that had yielded dead ends just hours before the weekend began (timing was never my strong suit).

From there, it got easier because, after all, getting started is always the hardest part. By just starting somewhere, I moved forward. Progress generated momentum, which led me to another baby step.

As an I need to see it person, one of my favorite little games to play with myself is "pick up one thing." When I'm overwhelmed, even the thought of clearing the piles amassing on the dining room table (and in other locations) makes me want to curl up and take a nap, but tackling it a little at a time by picking up one thing as I go by and putting it away -- well, that I can do. I rarely grab just one thing, but by giving myself permission to start small, the burden is lifted. Once again, all I needed was an entry point. From there, progress was in my sights. 

One of the tough things about being a writer is that my primary tools -- my mind and my creativity -- rent out space to other tenants. Even when I know I should be focusing on writing and editing, there are necessary mundane tasks that also require a chunk of that mental energy, whether I do them right away or not. Strangely enough, not doing them right away is often a bigger drain on my mental energy than simply gritting my teeth and getting started. The less mental energy I have, the less creative I feel, and the more likely I am to fall into traps like the bullet points above.

Photo: lisasolonynko via Morguefile

As long as we are members of society, we're never truly in control of our all our time. There will always be competing demands; chief among them is the clash between logic (do it now!) and emotion (I'd rather do this/someone else wants me to do that). And the sooner we come to terms with the inevitability of this clash, the less mental energy we'll waste fighting it. 

Easier said than done.