Tech & No Stress: Digital Free-for-all vs. Intentional Use
In the age of digital everything, everywhere, companies in some parts of the world—such as France—are at least giving lip service to the idea of disconnecting. France’s labor code includes the right to disconnect. I would prefer to promote intentional connection, because the real problem is not the technology itself, but what we do with it, the relationship we have with our tools, and how we perceive their function.
For my part, I have no desire to disconnect from my devices. I like Netflix keeping me company when I can’t sleep, Alexa turning the light on when I ask her to in the morning, and boosting boosting my morning meditation with the binaural beats created by recordings that I download. I like to check my heart-rate variability calculated by my Oura ring to determine if after meditation I do tai chi or if I open an app to find an intense, optimized seven-minute workout. I like reading a few pages on my Kindle while drinking my Bulletproof coffee (of course) and reviewing my goals and the habits I am creating, all thanks to various devices and apps. That’s all before starting my day of work.
Okay, okay, the right to disconnect has nothing to do with digital detox (cutting yourself off all devices for a specific period). That said, you will notice that the morning routine described above does not make any mention of Facebook, Instagram, emails, or text messages. I start from the premise that to master my day, I must begin with priorities that are mine alone and not dictated by others.
We all know that our devices and all their functions have the annoying habit of tearing down the boundaries of time and space, and blurring the lines between work and private life. Disconnecting allows you to recreate boundaries in order to better reconnect, intentionally.
The Right to Disconnect
One response to this intermingling of work and private spheres is to define clear limits, which is certainly the spirit of the law in France. According to one French labor union, the right to disconnect is defined as follows:
Digital tools require new protection to ensure the respect of employee working hours, rest and health. The challenge is to guarantee a real right to disconnect from work in order to preserve privacy and health.
The law, on the other hand, does not provide for a more precise definition, leaving companies free to define their own terms and conditions. There are many ways to go about it:
Reduce the workload
Provide a clear framework for the use of digital tools
Define guidelines concerning communication such as emails (remember that the exchange of emails is an asynchronous means of communication which, therefore, does not require an immediate response).
The Off Button
How can we reduce our connection time? How can we optimize device usage? We don’t need to wait for guidelines. We, as thinking human beings, can decide to set our own limits.
Yes, we risk ridicule, criticism, questioning, and even isolation. At least, that was my experience before I even had a cellphone—that dates me a little. At the time, I chose not to answer the landline after 7pm—for anybody, professional or personal. After a while, people who really wanted to join me learned to call me before (or show up at my door).
Do you set your own limits? Whether you are an employee or a company manager, it is worthwhile to do so. It helps avoid exhaustion. Opt for intentional connection and a chosen disconnection—the OFF button is a device’s most important feature.
Digital Minimalism
I invite you to discover digital minimalism, a philosophy that encourages you to ask yourself what digital tools (and related behaviors) add value to your life. This line of thought, promoted by Cal Newport and others, is motivated by the belief that intentional and aggressive suppression of low-value digital noise combined with optimizing the use of truly useful tools can dramatically improve your life. In general, he applies it to the private sphere, but it seems to me just as relevant in the professional context.
Here are a few steps to get started:
Take a break from "non-essential technologies."
Identify what really matters to you. What do you want to spend your time on? At work, you can formulate the question differently: What is really related to my job?
Reintroduce technologies that add value to your life or add value to your work.