13 Ways to Create a Healthy Tech-life Balance
In today's connected world, where our digital devices are an integral part of our daily lives, establishing a health-promoting tech-life balance is an investment that will impact one's personal and professional life in a lasting way. Technology offers a door to work and educational opportunities. It enables the nurturing of social relationships and facilitates a series of day-to-day activities. The advantages we enjoy today because of digitisation are undeniable. At the same time, our growing dependence on our digital devices poses a series of challenges.
We’re not made for this
Studies show that a poor tech-life balance can lead to a decrease in the quality of our social relationships, increased loneliness, poorer sleep quality, lower productivity, and increased stress and anxiety. It can cause digital overwhelm, distraction, cognitive overload and negatively impact a series of fundamental cognitive processes, from memory processing, to self-control, critical thinking and goal-directed behaviour. The importance of finding a healthy balance with technology has never been more apparent.
An increasing amount of studies attest to the positive effects of a balanced relationship with technology in both a personal and professional context. A study done in Germany showed that reducing smartphone use by as little as one hour increased participants' sense of wellbeing in just a few months. (Brailovskaia et al., 2022) A more mindful use of technology has been linked to increased empathy in relationships (Turkle 2015), improved functioning of essential cognitive processes such as memory, better focus, and improved sleep quality.
What now?
While a sustainable solution needs to happen on an individual, organisational and societal level, what digital wellbeing offers is actionable practices that can be implemented today and that have been scientifically shown to positively act towards mental, physical social, and occupational wellbeing.
Practised consistently, establishing a tech-life balance can have a lasting impact on the way we live and work in a digital world. Below are a few habits to get you started today:
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #1: Device-free bedtime
An increasing number of studies suggest that exposure to blue light before bed inhibits the release of melatonin, a hormone essential to getting a good night's sleep. Limiting your screen exposure before bed can help avoid this and prepare the body for a restful snooze.
In his book "Think like a Monk," Jay Shetty points out that most of us think of the morning as the beginning of a new day. Shetty believes that a new day really starts with the night before: we carry the thoughts from the night before and the quality of our sleep through the rest of the day. By putting away your digital devices, you create an environment where you can wind down from the last 18 or so hours, and prepare for a night of quality sleep. You allow yourself to slow down, consciously conclude this day and welcome a new one.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #2: Check in with yourself first…
Statistics show that 69% of smartphone users check their phones within the first 5 minutes of waking up. A great majority of users check their smartphones during the night. We could list the benefits of not grabbing your phone first thing - like interrupting the elegant process of your brainwaves changing as you wake up from deep sleep - but indeed, the most significant testimony will be your own experience. By spending the first 15-30 minutes without devices, you say yes to yourself before checking on the world. Spend this time meditating, journaling, exercising, or having a mindful device-free breakfast. Using a tool like the digital mindfulness pouch in our Self-care Box can help with your digital mindfulness habits in the morning, serving as a visual and behavioural tool to consolidate your new routine.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #3: Establish and respect device-free zones in your home
Adopting a new habit can be challenging, so you want as much support as possible. Motivation and discipline can only go so far, especially on hectic days when work and personal commitments come together. Your environment can support you in sticking to your new habits. Habit experts suggest that your environment may be one of the determining factors of whether you can stick to the desired routine or not. One of the simplest ways to get started on your journey to more digital mindfulness every day is by establishing device-free zones in your home - think bedroom, bathroom, or dining table. Make these spaces your sanctuaries - for sleeping, eating, or bathing - and enjoy the calm thoroughly.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #4: If you need to focus, have your phone out of sight
Studies show that a phone out of sight is a phone out of mind. Researchers found that simply seeing our phone leaves us in anticipation of potential incoming messages, thereby preventing us from focusing intensely. So next time you're looking to focus on the task in front of you, take your phone and put it in a purse or a different room. The QSC Offline Pouch takes you entirely offline within seconds, blocking phone and wifi signals, thus enabling you to be undistracted and unreachable within seconds.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #5: Eat your meals device-free
Mealtimes are a time to be sociable, and if enjoyed alone, they are a time to reconnect to the present moment through your senses. Eating device-free changes the way we eat. As we focus more on each bite, we are more aware of how much and how fast we eat, which also has physical health benefits. Over time, making time to eat mindfully and without distractions can have a series of benefits, such as lowered stress levels, more awareness of when you feel hungry, and generally higher energy levels. Check out our mindful eating guided meditation for an introduction and guided experience for your first mindful meal.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #6: Spend quality time with friends (without your phone present)
In her book Reclaiming Conversation, Sherry Turkle tells us about the phone’s distractive powers in conversations: “If we think we might be interrupted, we keep conversations light, on topics of little controversy or consequence”, citing research by Andrew Przybyliski and Netta Weinstein published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships to elaborate that “The very sight of a phone on the landscape leaves us feeling less connected to each other, less invested in each other.” A phone on the table when we're with friends is a barrier to allowing the conversation to go deeper. Studies done at the University of British Columbia showed another downside of having our phones present when we’re with company: we feel less empathetic towards our conversation partners when our phones are in the room, and empathy is crucial in our interpersonal relationships.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #7: Take walks (in nature) device-free
Nature has healing qualities and lends itself well to practising mindfulness and in the moment presence. Similar to mindful meals, nature walks are some of the rare times that we can experience the world through our senses and practise our ability to stay in the present moment. So next time you go for a walk - alone, with friends, your partner, or your child - leave your phone at home and enjoy the experience fully. Take time to appreciate the nature around you. The colour green is also said to have a replenishing effect on your mental facilities and mood.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #8: Media-monotask
In 2022, multiple screens are the norm. Today, tablet, phone, TV, and Laptop screens all come together to create an environment where our minds and senses rarely get to rest and relax. An increasing number of studies show how regular media multi-tasking reduces our ability to ignore distractions and distinguish important from unimportant information. Regularly, multi-media tasking has also been shown to reduce working memory capacity, task-switching ability, and our brain's information processing ability. By using one digital device at a time and staying present for the task at hand, we can avoid the consequences of regular media multi-tasking.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #9: Monitor the data
It's hard to improve what you don't know. These days, most phones offer screen-time functionality, giving you insights into where and how you spend your time on your device. Set yourself a weekly/monthly target of where you want to be and try to stick to it. Observe how you spend your time and ask yourself: "Is this time spent in a way that nourishes me?", "Is this making me happy?", "Is this allowing me to achieve my goals and dreams"? If not, create some mechanisms to reduce your screen time. Establishing app limits (see next point) or removing the apps you feel you use too frequently can help with this step.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #10: Set App Limits
Like device-free zones in your home, app limits are a great way to let your environment support your digital mindfulness habits. Set your app limits to help your device-free time goals - i.e., in the morning and evening and on the weekends. You can set limits for certain types of apps, and you can adjust the limits according to the day of the week.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #11: Declutter your phone
These days, our phones are packed with photos, contacts, messages, and applications. The average smartphone user has 80 apps on their phone, yet the number of apps they will use per day is rarely more than 10. Decluttering your phone is the first step to creating an environment for focus and calm. In addition, researchers found that batching notifications has a significant impact on wellbeing. According to a study conducted by Duke University, the average smartphone user receives 65-80 notifications per day. This is 65-80 times a distraction to your focus which can easily be avoided with “Do not disturb”, Airplane mode or a tool like the QSC Offline Pouch. You can check out our Digital Mindfulness Workbook for the perfect start to turning your phone into a sanctuary. In the workbook, you find actionable tips on how to turn your phone into a space that fosters creativity, focus, and calm.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #12: Delete Apps that don’t bring you joy
Perhaps you have found that certain apps leave you feeling anxious, stressed, or dissatisfied every time you use them. If this is something you haven't considered or paid attention to in the past, but you often find yourself feeling worse after using your phone for a while, it's a good idea to keep a journal and monitor your feelings more actively. Just like Marie Kondo did for the home in her book “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up”, your phone has the potential to be your happy space, full of things/applications that serve you in your relationships, your work, or your health and that make you feel joy.
Tech-Life Balance Ritual #13: Try out a one-day digital detox
Suppose you feel like you need more than a gradual shift towards a new relationship with technology, and you want to experience complete mental and sensory replenishment. In that case, a 24-hour digital detox might be what you are looking for. In this period, you refrain from using your digital devices, like phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs - this is a period to check in with yourself, get back to basics, and make space for the things that normally make up the end of your to-do list.
Allow us to end this list with one disclaimer: Making a change is an energy expended, and it can sometimes feel uncomfortable. Yes, there will be days when you want to scroll on social media instead of following your app limits. All of this is normal, and we all do it. The habits in this list are not intended to be death sentences to your social media life. Instead, they are small swaps that have been shown to improve mood focus and generally add hours to your day.
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