Tech with Intention: Four ideas for how I reduce my technology usage
Many of us have developed a pro-technology bias: if something can be done with technology, it should be done with technology.
Of course, technology often saves us time and effort. Using my maps app, for example, is a lot easier for me than old-fashioned paper maps.
But also, there are costs.
A big one for me? Once I use technology for one thing, I’m likely to stay on and do other things. If I open my calendar app to check my schedule, I’m tempted to check my email. And once I’ve checked my email, why not hop on social media for a few minutes?
As I’ve gotten more intentional about my technology usage, it’s become clear to me that just because you can solve a problem using technology, doesn’t mean that you should.
I wanted to share a couple of things I’ve done to implement this idea in my own life:
1. I use a paper calendar.
Like many people, I have many professional and personal events each day. So I check my calendar frequently, to stay on top of everything.
A few years ago, I realized that every time I opened my online calendar, I was tempted to do something else: check my email, check social media, and quickly “look up” something that didn’t actually have to be looked up right now. Sometimes the distraction was quick, sometimes it was much longer. Either way, it reduced my focus and took my energy.
I also realized that I sometimes avoided checking my calendar as often as I should because I didn’t want to deal with the onslaught of stimulation — including, embarrassingly, once missing a meeting because of it!
Switching to a paper calendar was a big improvement for me. I can check my calendar ten times a day — and often do — without getting sucked into anything else. Of course, it’s not a perfect solution; in some contexts, I will coordinate with others using electronic calendars. I just write down those meetings on my paper calendar, too, since that’s my master planner.
To be fair, many of us wouldn’t be able to do this at work — the flow of how our time gets planned necessitates an electronic calendar there. But many of us, at the very least, would be able to do it in our personal lives.
2. I took email off of my phone
When email was on my phone, I checked my email — unnecessarily — all the time. And, of course, it frequently led me to doing other things on my phone, too.
Taking email off of my phone radically reduced both of those problems. And, in the rare case that I actually do need to check an email, I can use my phone’s internet browser — which is enough of a bother that I rarely do it.
Of course, I not-infrequently need information from my email while I’m out of the house. In those situations, I write down the information or put it in my Notes app (I have a Mac and an iPhone, so Notes syncs between the two devices — a great example of technology making my life better in a way that has no downside — for me, at least).
3. I use an analog to-do list.
In a past Tech With Intention group, one participant shared: I was trying to find the perfect to-do list app when I realized that I might be better off just writing my to-do’s on paper!
I think that’s such a great insight. Sure, to-do list apps have all kinds of fancy features, but what are the downsides? We might spend too much time puttering with all of those fancy features. Or the process of checking our online to-do list results in us doing other, non-useful things online.
4. There’s not much of anything fun on my phone
There’s no email, no games — really, nothing fun to do. I added Instagram to my phone recently, after more than 1.5 years off the platform, because I’ve started sharing about life coaching and eating topics there. (Here’s my account!) But I view that as a professional tool, so I follow very few accounts + try to limit use to working hours.
My phone feels like a useful tool: I can use it for directions, to listen to podcasts, to check the weather for next Thursday, or to call my mom. And, truthfully, I like it that way. For me, just because my phone could be a pleasure-device, doesn’t mean that’s what works best for me.
…
For me, as I’ve gathered the data on myself, there’s a very clear correlation between less time spent in front of a screen and:
A calmer nervous system,
A mind that can focus, prioritize, and do deep work with more ease
A happier life (That sounds cheesy, but it really has been true for me!)
So these tradeoffs make sense for me. Maybe there is some ease to be gained from having email on my phone, for example, but having a calmer nervous system is more important to me.
…
I want to be clear: just because I have made decisions in this way, doesn’t mean you need to. Maybe having email on your phone, a to-do list app, or an electronic personal calendar is truly essential to your life — great!
But I hope, at least, that you might consider asking: is a given technological solution always the best one? What are the pros, and what are the cons?
As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.
Katie
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