A Guide On How To Maintain Your Digital Well-Being.

Severally we find ourselves caught up in the challenges posed by the use of digital technology, some of which include cyber-bullying, online security, racism, among others. Without doubts, digitalization has made our lives easier and a little bit more exciting; we keep up with virtually every news as it breaks and always want to know what’s trending. The advancement in modern technology has led to an increase in the time we spend using our digital devices. One minute we are on social media scrolling endlessly, the next we find ourselves having to surf the internet in search for information needed to close a major deal at work; yet we also need to stream our favourite TV series. Sometimes you just want to scream for help.

Regardless of how stressful the entire process might be, we still believe in our ability to multitask and get the work done in good time. How about living a more productive lifestyle and being cautious of our digital well-being in the same way we care for our general health? Apart from sight-related issues and bad posture as a result of sitting for long hours using our devices, our relationship with the people we care about is gradually dying out why we are busy scrolling. The developers of these applications are not making it easy for us to ensure our digital well-being is perfect because the more we spend time on their platform, the more money they make. This makes it necessary for us to intentionally break free and get hold of our lives. We cannot address the issue of digital well-being without speaking of self-discipline and time management.

Previously, people would shut down their desktop after work and call it a day, but with the advent of smartphones, you never seem to have a closing time at work. Apps for mobile devices are created with special attention to user experience, ease of navigation and aesthetics, which makes it almost impossible to resist the urge to log out. Your digital well-being is dependent on how in control you feel when using technology in a digital environment.

So, how can we save ourselves from spending all our productive hours scrolling and swiping from one platform to another all in an attempt to remain updated and relevant? Google believes that technology should improve life, not distract from it.

Ways to Maintain Your Digital Well-Being

Understand How You Use Your Device.

To get on the right track of maintaining your digital well-being, you need to find out how long you spend on your device, which platforms you spend the most time, how long you spend there, how many notifications you receive, set reminders to go to bed or wake up, and more. This basic information will help you regulate your device use. There are several tools you can use to monitor your digital habits and put some restrictions on your use of applications. We strongly recommend Google Digital Well-Being app; you should try using it.

Decongest Your Home Screen

It’s easier to get distracted when your most frequently used apps are placed within your reach. You could create a folder on another page of your menu to place these types of apps so that you do not keep sneaking in and out of them. Usually, I am distracted by Whatsapp Messenger even after turning off my notification so now I just freeze the app till I need to use it.

Get Your Device(s) Out of Your Sight

Having your smart phone close by could be very distracting. You unconsciously will find yourself checking if you have a new message or just roaming around aimlessly. To be more productive while attending to other things, you could do yourself some good by stay away from your mobile device(s). Adam Gazzaley M.D. Ph.D. says, just keeping your phone out of your line of sight can improve your concentration, your ability to retain information, and help reduce stress.

Focus On One Rather Than More

Some people admire the ability to multitask, but I don’t because it’s more impressive to get one thing completely done rather than having so many uncompleted pieces of work. Like we said in an earlier post, being busy doesn’t determine productivity.

Make Your Apps Accessible on Multiple Devices

With the flow of constant information and interaction, using one device is overwhelming not to talk of using multiple digital tools. Syncing your apps to make them accessible on multiple devices is a smart and easy way to pick up from where you stopped on any device you are signed in to. The need to always have all your devices at hand will be reduced or completely removed.

You should never feel obliged to respond to all notifications, calls and online engagement; these smartphones were invented for your convenience so take things easy on yourself. Stop signing up to applications or subscribing to the information you do not need; this is some extra burden. Create time for more offline interaction with people and sometimes just put away your digital devices, you deserve a break.