Should we worry about how digital our lives are? March 3, 2019 02:35 2 Comments
Peter Korn, carpenter and Author of "Why We Make Things and Why It Matters", says he worries that that society is starting to understand humanity in digital rather than physical terms. And let's face it, you're probably reading this craft-focused email on your phone.
But is the digital side of our lives always a problem? The world of craft is full of stories of communities built on Instagram, and for many of us social media is a giving and supportive environment. There's a lot that is wonderful about the digital world - try listening to the Digital Human podcast for some great examples. And although there is plenty of research, as a lay-person it's very hard to cut through the headlines and understand what's being said. In short, we are a the first humans to have the internet and to have it at our finger tips all the time and no-one knows what it's doing to us
However, I have a strong feeling that my phone and my laptop are not bringing me my best life at the moment! I expect, like radio and TV in the past, the idea that the internet is melting our brains is not true. But there is an element of the digital age that I think is incredibly destructive, and it's multitasking, and the demand to be constantly On.
Up until I got my first smart phone, I could start something and work on it for days sometimes, zoning in intensely. Not now. Even if I turn off my phone, my powers of concentration have been eroded and my thoughts flit about horrifically. Sometimes there is such a flood of information and demands for responses that it is overwhelming. And the expectation that I can arrange a party, pay a bill and respond to a query in the digital world at the same time as I cook dinner and field questions about Lego IRL is ridiculous. The convenience of it is my undoing.
So - I think the world can cope if I go back to doing one thing at a time, and here's my plan.
Step One - Assess the Problem. I have an app called Toggle, which I'm using to track what I do. Actually, just tracking is changing what I do as feel compelled to stay on task just to make it easier to track! So far, an annoyingly large pie slice is devoted to "Dicking about on my phone" and I also see that I often spent less than ten minutes on a task before flitting to another.
Step Two - Streamline. I've taken all my emails off my phone. In fact you may notice a new Auto-Response on our emails now. I can only check them in working hours (although you can always call our mobile if need help urgently) and I check them just 3 time a day. I think that's reasonable! The kids are getting used to hearing me say "Just wait a moment, I can only do one thing at a time". Social media is next...
Step Three - Motivate Myself. I love a challenge, so I'm using Forest to keep me on task. I'm still new to it but basically you grow virtual and real trees the more you stay on task!
Step Four - Train! I'm going to practice doing things for a long time again. I'm going on a sewing retreat in two weeks time to kick start myself and I plan to re-learn the art of two hour focused sessions when I'm back.
And frankly that's it. Less is more in this case.
Am I the only one with the goal of doing less? Anyone else trying to kick the habit of constantly doing and doing and not getting much done? If you've got tips I'd love to hear them (thanks Amber for the Forest one!)
Comments
Charlotte on March 23, 2019 09:44
I love thie idea of the Forest app, thank you for sharing! I started reflecting on my tendency to multitask too when I read ‘the little book of calm and focus’ (it is a little booklet given with the last issue of ‘In the moment’magazine, highly recommended!) They mention the concept of Continuous Partial Attention which means that we live in a constant state of alertness ‘that scans the world without giving it our full attention’, basically we are never fully ON but never fully OFF either and I thought it was, sadly, spot on! Even if I wouldn’t call myself a tech addict at all, I definitely always have my email box open while doing other things at work and will systematically stop whatever I am doing when I receive something and immediately reply (why?!) or checking my phone for no reason in the middle of a movie or while cooking is definitely something I do on a daily basis without even realising. I have been wondering for a while why I suddenly struggled to sleep a couple of years ago and blamed it on my age but then because a lot of my students in secondary school always talk about the bad quality of their sleep I started thinking it might be a London thing? Now, I think this CPA might be the real problem and the plan that you describe sounds like a great idea to do less and more mindfully, thanks for inspiring me!
Maryam Sadiq on March 6, 2019 11:54
Hi
I agree with you that is happening and that takes us to forget all our heritage and there work methods they follow it .
in fact I feel sad and sorry when I see how they look at handcrafts with little respect .