Take a technology break!

I admit, I have a little bit of undiagnosed ADD.  I bounce from activity to activity, both online and in real life (watch me clean a room in my house sometime).  I usually end up far from the original task I was working on, all because I decided to bring the dirty laundry downstairs and ended up reorganizing the linen closet on my way to do the dishes!.  When I feel like a windup toy because of all my fluttering about, I don’t really get anything done and that makes me feel even more scattered.  I don’t think I’m unique, I think this happens to most of us during the month of December and our obsession with technology doesn’t help.

So the tip for day 10 of 31 Days of Healthy Ways to Enjoy the Holidays More is to take frequent technology breaks. Don’t get me wrong,technology is so wonderful and I would be lost without it in so many ways but it is not a friend to those of us with ADD potential.

Here are a few ways you can reset your focus:

•  Check email and facebook at set intervals that make sense for your situation (for example: once every 3 hours for work, once a day if email part of your job)
• Unless urgent, respond to emails on specific days or hours of the week so you aren’t responding to email all day long
• Put down the smartphone, ipad or laptop a couple hours before bed
• Try a “technology free” day on a weekend (read books, have tea with a friend, go snowshoeing etc.)
• Dedicate one night a week tech free
• Keep your smartphone in your purse or car when socializing.  Facebook will be there in an hour.

  I feel so much more human when I come back from a break and I’m ready to work hard.  I get more done after these little resets.  If you’re struggling to get done all that you need to this month, take a little breather from Facebook, stop reading this blog (it’ll be here when you come back),  stop spending an hour trying to find something to watch on Netflix.  Take a few minutes to breathe and let focus come back into your life.  You’ll be glad you did and so will everyone around you.