How to Thrive in the Digital Age

I had a mini obsession with the School of Life books recently, and read 5 of 6 of the first series of books in quick succession. Then I convinced a good friend to ask for the whole set for her upcoming birthday (handy, because they weren't all available at my local library - thanks Alex!).  I haven't managed to blog about them all yet...but given some of my recent ramblings about technology it seemed like a good time to write about "How to Thrive in the Digital Age" by Tom Chatfield.

I picked up this book purely because it was in the School of Life series, I didn't have any particularly strong views on technology or the digital age, so wouldn't have chosen to read it based on the subject alone. I haven't got an iphone or an ipad (I know, how do I survive!), but I've got a Facebook account, this blog, a work email account, 2 personal email accounts, a mobile, a Blackberry and an insulin pump (I'm type 1 diabetic). That's enough technology for me.

Chatfield makes some interesting observations in the book. Since technology has become mobile, we've experienced a huge increase in media consumption.  We don't need to set aside special time to use it, we can be "plugged in" all the time and multi task with technology while doing other things.  Despite all the advances in technology, we have not found a way of increasing the amount of time we have available in a day.  Obviously technology has enabled us to use the time we do have more efficiently and be more productive, but it has also created lots of new ways to waste time.  It also means we are more available to others, more of the time, and can be more easily interrupted.  

Chatfield argues that we need to be more mindful about how we use technology, and makes the case for carving out plugged and unplugged time.  He remarks on the fact that people are becoming more interested in holidays where they can venture "off the grid" to places with no mobile phone reception - being uncontactable is our ultimate idea of luxury.  One of the best holidays I've had in the last few years was when I was pregnant with my first child - my husband and I drove around Tasmania and over the course of 8 days I only had mobile and blackberry reception on 2 of them (in the main towns, Hobart and Launceston). Once the reception bars disappeared it was utter bliss being totally present in the moment, watching what was going on around us, talking to each other, and not being bothered by anyone. It wasn't a luxurious holiday by any stretch but we relaxed completely, and being unplugged was a big factor. We couldn't google things to do in whatever area we were in, we had to talk to people and ask for recommendations and write things down!  It was no surprise to me to read in this month's Elle magazine that e-tox breaks are being offered at an upmarket resort in Tasmania, although at astronomical cost!  Although it costs nothing to switch off your own devices and stick them in a drawer, some people clearly need a bit of help and encouragement to do so.

So if you're not going on a cold turkey break like this, how do you build unplugged time into your every day life?  For a long time, I was the sort of person who would check my blackberry last thing at night and first thing in the morning.  Not anymore. Earlier this year I read an article (Is There Life After Work?) by Erin Callan who said she realised only after losing her high powered job in finance that she had slipped into this habit (along with various other workaholic tendencies), to the detriment of all her other relationships, and when the work was gone she realised there wasn't much else left in her life.  As a working mother, time in the morning with my kids is precious (even though it's hectic and messy getting everyone out the door sometimes) and I have imposed a rule on myself that I won't check my blackberry until my kids are up, dressed, breakfasted and ready to go.  It's about priorities I guess. I don't always manage to stick to this rule but I'm trying hard.