In this episode of the ‘Making It Count’ podcast, we sit down with Dr Kristy Goodwin who has become the thought leader in the neuro-productivity space. She openly shares with us the moment she realised just how much of a distraction technology can be in our lives and the impact it has on her family. ‘We have to examine our digital behaviours as adults – if we’re honest we’re a slave to our screens.’ says Dr Kristy.
Tech has been designed to tap into our human need for connection. ‘We are hard-wired to be part of a tribe’ says Dr Kristy. Due to the design of tech ‘we no longer have a mar ker of being complete in our tasks’ as the next task is always waiting for us. ‘In the back room of social media platforms there are psychologists and neuroscientists working to make these platforms as captivating and alluring as possible’ says Kristy, ‘there are sneaky mechanics working against us and our better judgement.’ Our digital habits are having a negative impact on our mental health. ‘These are our sleep, physical movement and our relationships’ explains Dr Kristy. ‘Your phone is a deterrent for interaction – just it’s presence has a powerful impact – just by having it in your line of sight makes you 10% less productive.’
So, let’s talk nomophobia. ‘Digital fatigue, and burn-out, is a real threat to our productivity. Yes – we have seen improved and increased output but, it has been at the expense of our health, wellbeing and overall performance’ says Dr Kristy. Her suggestions for taming the digital beast as an employer – ‘We need to upskill our employees to adopt healthy hybrid-workplace habits’. We also need businesses, of all sizes, to articulate their digital guard-rails or tech-expectations, so our people can disconnect.
Dr Kristy shares her three top hacks for taming the digital beast. ‘Do not nibble at your inbox’ she says, ‘it’s really ineffective as we are constantly task-switching.’ Check your emails a limited 2-4 times per day and do this outside of your deep work mode. ‘The second strategy is to control your notifications – both on our personal and professional platforms – and create VIP notifications’. And finally, ‘The basics work if you work the basics – put your phone in a draw where you cannot see it when you want to focus.’ Dr Kristy reminds us that ‘you can, and you need to, tame technology so that you are not a slave to the screen.’
So, sit back and enjoy this episode as Dr Kristy Goodwin Makes It Count as we learn to tame technology.
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Dr Kristy Goodwin
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