This episode we have digital wellbeing expert Dr Kristy Goodwin back on the show to discuss the research-based micro-habits that you can develop to claim back your time, attention and arguably your health.
One of the subjects we get into is burnout, something very close to my heart that I’ve personally struggled with, and I think this work that Dr Kristy is doing is a crucial piece of the puzzle for navigating times that are seemingly indexed towards burning us out if we’re not careful.
Whilst the pandemic has been somewhat of a forced recalibration on our priorities and values in a good way, there is a bit of a digital hangover that we’ve carried into our returning to normal lives that we have yet to adjust to.
As humans, we are designed to deal with stress, just in short intense bursts and then we need to re-settle and recoup. What our current digital environment is seeming to do is keep us wired constantly and that is not good for our health or wellbeing.
Dr Kristy’s research indicates in Australia that a staggering 62% of employees are self-reporting as burnt out, as well as 68% of managers. Dr Kristy terms it being OUSTED: (Overwhelmed, Under the pump, Stressed, Time poor, Exhausted and Distracted).
Dr Kristy talks to four pillars of the digital age that we need to master.
Establish digital borders and boundaries (set guardrails for our digital device use)
Start to work in alignment with how our brain and body is designed (incorporating rest away from alerts is critical)
Manage our digital distractions (maximise your browser window when you want to concentrate on something)
Digital disconnection (unplugging from devices at certain times).
One of the things I’ve found really useful is bundling WhatsApp notifications. With WhatsApp I used to get distracted by alerts all the time. Once I set a particular time of day to receive those messages, I could process them all at once, or at least stay up to date without being constantly interrupted.
Dr Kristy’s book Dear Digital, We need to talk…
If you’d like to find out more about Dr Kristy, her website is here, her Linkedin profile is here and her Instagram account is here.
Big Hug
Rich
Avoiding burnout in a digital landscape