When is it time to turn off the smartphone, place the tablet in your desk drawer and shut the lid on the laptop? A recent column in the New York Times suggests we could all use the occasional tech break.
The reason? Far too much tech – text messages, Tweets, Facebook postings, Angry Birds – might be distracting us so much that we are struggling to concentrate. When we can’t concentrate, we can’t be as productive as we ought to be.
Even the techies shut down
The answer, according to the Times: Yes. And the idea of a tech break has some unlikely supporters: high-use tech fans. For instance, the Times profiles a former Twitter employee who, while writing a book, found that he struggled to concentrate amid the constant ringing and beeping of his iPhone. So the author took the big step of ditching his tech. The result? His productivity, and creativity, significantly improved.
Growing support
This techie is far from alone. The author of the Times column shines a spotlight on himself. Today, when he and his friends get together for dinner, they immediately toss their smartphones in the middle of the table. The first one that reaches for a phone has to pay the price: That person covers the bill for dinner.
Your turn?
Is it your turn to follow these examples? Should you go on a technology break? Have a look at your days: Do you spend hours playing games (Words with Friends, Candy Crush or Angry Birds anyone) or internet shopping? Can you pass an hour without logging into Facebook? Do you text more than you talk? Starting with iOS9 you can easily see how much time you spend in all of your iPhone apps – just go to the Settings menu, scroll down to select Battery and tap the clock icon to the right of the last 24 hours / last 7 days.
If so, you, too, might benefit from a technology break. And you could be a bit surprised at how productive you will be.
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