don't turn off technology -- turn off your bad habits - digital screen

Thurston and others who recently talked about their inability to keep up with the influx of digital inputs may have missed a bigger point: this is the inevitable result of success.
All this is not a technical fault.
All of this is our fault because we allow technology to manage us, not the other way around.
Don't blame technology for our unhealthy relationship with technology.
Last week I went through the magazine newsstand on my flight to New York and was thrilled to see the latest version of Fast Company being sold.
I was even more excited to see Baratunde Thurston on the cover.
Most people know that Thurston is the digital director of onion.
Then he continued to become a best-selling author (How Black)
A well-recognized speaker, regular contributors to Fast Company, and more.
In short, he is riding the wave of digital connectivity to global success while developing a trusted personal brand (
More than 140,000 followers on Twitter, multiple appearances in mainstream media, etc).
My heart sank when I saw the name of the cover story: Unplug
My life was so crazy that I was cut off for 25 days. You Should Too.
Next: Siren-
When your life stops, it will sound your voice.
There's a simple fact here that people don't want to admit: it's not technology, it's not all these things that interact with each other.
This is the problem. . . it's us.
Pulling out the plug can make your pain worse.
How many notifications do you set up in your life, think about your smartphone.
When does it notify you of anything voice call SMS voice mail message Facebook update Twitter direct message someone wants to set up when you have a scheduled appointment-
Notice of an appointment meeting about to happen warns you that your flight may delay your computer? A new email, a Skype chat Request received to connect your favorite blogger on Huffington Post via a Google link has just posted a new article, this is the special price buzz you would like to stay on the list of hotels and more to continue.
Recently, Thurston was not the only one to talk about a much stricter social media and technical diet.
The enthusiasm expressed by many to create these digital bankruptcies supports a bigger problem: finding a healthy balance in our lives.
Don't blame potato chips.
Thurston and others who recently talked about their inability to keep up with the influx of digital inputs (
Chris Brogan and Seth Godin often discuss these issues)
More importantly, this is the inevitable result of success.
If you are doing everything right in building a platform or something that people want to focus on, you will never be ready or able to handle this success.
The same is true for brands looking to get viral gold.
Often, when it actually works, they are not ready or struggling.
It is very difficult to measure a person's personality.
All in all, we are the victims of success.
No one will cry for Thurston, Godin, Brogan, me or you.
The biggest problem in our lives is that we can't keep up with everyone who wants to consume our media and connect with us.
Make our email a big, unwinnable Tetris game, all we do is move these messages from inbox to folder when trying to reply, the inbox only keeps increasing when the click is getting faster and faster until: The game is over.
How to get your life back
Unblocked).
When people are with me in my protein form, they are often shocked.
There is no notification on my smartphone, laptop and tablet. Zero.
There is only one notification set and when my spouse calls and/or text me there is a custom vibration tone on my iPhone. That's it.
Otherwise, I will look at my device when I have time.
It looks simple. Over time (
I have been using these technologies since the initial stage)
Those who contacted me no longer expect an immediate response.
The goal is simple: never put yourself in the position of Thurston so your life takes a little time to unplug.
Start managing your technology and notifications instead of having the technology and its notifications manage you.
The result will surprise you.
You won't find me banging the iPhone while pushing my kids swing in the park because there's no information to inform me.
So unless I take a break on a park bench and decide to pick up the device myself, I don't need to play life judge or figure out if email is more important than swing --set.
The key is: the notice is not clear.
They don't tell you what's important anymore, they just tell you there's something new to see.
Like we are Pavlov creatures, we can't help but take a look at what this information might mean.
Over time, this situation has exhausted our judgment and confused us about the importance of our work.
Many people attack the last message that comes in, not the important one.
Many people attack information that responds quickly and wait more time in the day to attack information that needs more work.
All this is not a technical fault.
All of this is our fault because we allow technology to manage us, not the other way around. Take a break.
Instead of taking a break at any time, start to deactivate the notice.
Block specific moments during the day when you check your social messages (
Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. . . ).
Decide how much time you will allocate to respond to emails.
Many back and forth emails can be used with 30-
The second call, but we are used to it for a week.
Looks more like a badminton game than a long email chain to solve work-related issue.
Agree that you will proactively define what you are doing here before you grab any deviceand-
Now it's more substantial than what's on the digital screen in your pocket.
You see, if you unplug, you end up re-inserting.
It's not technology that you're going to plug in.
You're starting to get into bad habits again.
These habits are facilitated by the way technology works, but they are not necessarily the case.
Next time you want to pull the plug out of all this, take a step back and ask yourself, what exactly is it, you are getting free from the process, how do you best manage the process, the vast majority of us will never receive as much attention as Bharat Thurston did.
The vast majority of us are less involved in all these digital channels and social networks than Balaton Thurston.
Still, all of us can do a better job of turning off beeps, blips, lights, vibrations and ringtones in our lives.
This behavior itself has nothing to do with unplugging, but with everything that has to do with plugging in the most important things in our lives.
Mitch Joel is the president of the distorted image company.
One of the largest independent digital marketing organizations in North America.
His first book, six pixels of separation, named after his very successful blog and podcast of the same name, is a best-selling business and marketing book.
His new book, ctrl alt Delete, is now published.