Smartphones and computers are major sources of distraction, but they are indispensable to most of us — and they’re not going away anytime soon. So how can we use technology for good in our own lives?
Lidia Zylowska, MD, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and author of The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD, suggests paying attention to your attention — and observing how your devices pull or fragment it. Then create rules for yourself, such as putting in a certain amount of uninterrupted work time first or keeping the phone face-down and muted when meeting with others. (Get more advice on mindful tech use at “Use Technology More Mindfully With “Contemplative Computing.”)
“Of course, devices have an addictive quality, so managing the urge to reach for them is also an important skill,” Zylowska says. “Mindfulness practice is about noticing what is happening to us and in us in the moment, and having an opportunity to make a different choice. It is about being aware in the moment, not lost in it.”
Mindful Tech Tips:
When you pick up your phone, use that impulse as a cue into mindfulness.
- Create a gatha — from Sanskrit, meaning “song” or “verse” — for sitting down at your computer, such as, “My screen lights up. I partner with my computer to do my best work.”
- Make your computer password an inspiring word or phrase that reminds you to stay present.
- Follow mindful social media accounts so the algorithm drives more uplifting moments to your feed.
- Use apps, like Chill, to provide mindfulness reminders.
Seeking More Mindful Moments?
Practice awareness with the ideas at “4 Tips for Finding Mindfulness During Mindless Moments,” from which this article was excerpted.
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