Are you fed up with “always on”? Do you find that you’re checking email when you get up, before you go to bed and multiple times in between. Are you responding as soon as a new email pings or whenever a text or new call comes in? Is this a good thing? Are you actually getting more done and are you being in greater control of your life? Probably not.
Research by the University of London suggests that being “always on” has an impact on your short term IQ of up to 15 points for men and 5 points for women – an affect equivalent to missing a night’s sleep*. And if you’ve done that lately, or even just had a few hours sleep then you’ll know how that feels and the impact it can have on your whole day!
The good news is that there are ways around this:
- Turn off push email on your mobile (if your phone or IT systems allow it)
- Turn off new message alerts on your desktop email programme
- Decide when you will check email and establish a new discipline
- Leave work at work
Implementing any (and ideally all) of these will have an immediate benefit not just to your mental capacity but also to those with whom you spend your life. And there’s even more I want to tell you about.
You see, sometimes we can achieve even more by not just turning off technology for a while but actually switching our whole selves off every now and again:
Just recently I’ve been spending some time up in Glasgow and in the past I would have always made good use of my time on the flight – because that’s what we’re supposed to do aren’t we? But rather than “fill the time” I decided instead to just enjoy the time and rediscovered a habit that’s been out of my mind and practise for some time.
I rediscovered the beauty and space of my own mind. Sometimes whilst listening to music and sometimes just closing my eyes, I awoke again to the time to reflect, the time to ponder, the time to dream, the time to think about how best to deal with things around me, the time to think again about how great life is.
At the end of every flight I’ve been ready for the next step – whether joining a meeting, delivering a workshop, facilitating an event or even just driving home. My mind is full of new ideas and approaches that I’ve captured in written form whether business ideas, articles or just about enjoying the weekend more. I’m alive, relaxed and ready.
But so what? I bet that some of you haven’t taken real time out for years. I bet that for some of you switching everything off for 5 minutes will seem like an eternity. I bet some of you think that it’s impossible. Well if you don’t give it a try, you may well miss out on discovering some new and fascinating insights into the challenges you’ve been facing lately. You may find a solution to the problem that’s been bugging you for months. You may uncover just the next step that you need to take to put your relationships back on an even keel. You may just realise that life is actually great! But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to; you can just continue to do what you always do and get the results that you’ve always got.
But if that’s not what you want, if you want something different then try it. Just do it. You’ll soon rediscover some of the relaxation, creativity, joy and innovation that you’ve not been paying attention to for some time!
And if you want some more tips on how to do it then please get in touch.
Live and love your life!
*See David Rock, “Your Brain at Work”, p36