I love my smartphone—a Samsung Galaxy 3—for its convenience and functionality. The phone lets me read websites, magazines, and books, and it fits into my pocket. I can stream an ever-increasing amount of personally relevant and compelling content on its small, but serviceable, screen. And of course, I can email, text, and surf the Internet whenever and wherever I want.
But as a communication consultant, I’m acutely aware of the dysfunctional ways that we sometimes use our smart phones and other digital devices. We often pick the easiest communication channel available: a text trumps a call, and an email replaces a face-to-face conversation. Digital consumption can make us more like observers than participants in life. And screen immersion can steal away time from the kinds of synchronous interactions, like in-person conversations and phone calls, which are critical for establishing, maintaining, and deepening our most important relationships.
Because our digital devices are getting smarter, more powerful, and more alluring every day, we need a strategy to protect us from the hedonistic hazards of the digital superhighway. Three ideas can help:
- Periodically disable the most distracting parts of your devices. I can dumb down my digital devices—and make them a whole lot less distracting—in two seconds by disabling mobile data access or by turning off my router. Provide and protect, at a minimum, your most creative times for work and your most important times for personal connection by reducing or eliminating the digital distractions in your environment.
- Step away from the screen when someone complains. We tolerate a lot of screen time from the people around us today. So when someone indicates that your digital immersion is bothering them, take the feedback seriously. The person in front of you is more important than the screen that’s enticing you.
- Create and safeguard uninterrupted time for your most important relationships. At work and at home, establish times when you won’t multitask, won’t stare at a screen, and won’t reply to incoming messages. Gradually, expand these distraction-free zones to encompass all of your synchronous (face-to-face and phone) communication. Focusing on one conversation at a time—as old-fashioned as it may sound—is a tried and true way to improve your communication.
Question: What do you do to make sure that you maintain enough distraction-free time with the most important people in your life? Please leave a comment to continue the discussion.
Originally posted on mouthpeaceconsulting.com.