spark digital: digital distractions by gary webb
TRANSCRIPT
How to get back in 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.
DIGITALDISTRACTIONS
Technology is developing at an exponential rate.
FASTER THAN WE REALISECHANGE IS COMING
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
COSTBUT IT
AT ACOMES
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
PERFORMANCE
IT‘SON OUR
TAKINGA TOLL
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)
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)
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.
ADDICTEDARE YOUTO 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
Source: Gallup Panel survey, April 17 – May 18, 2015
81% of us keep devices with us all the time.
72% check smartphones every hour, and young adults look every few minutes.
Source: Gallup Panel survey, April 17 – May 18, 2015
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.
CONTROL?
WHATGET BACK INCAN YOU
DO TO
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
How to get back in controlFor further articles, opinions and industry insights, see sparkdigital.co.nz/insights
DIGITALDISTRACTIONS