We all connect too much
Who can’t reach you these days?
I don’t know a single person that doesn’t have at least 3 different ways to contact them at any given time. Whether its your Blackberry, Slack, Twitter, or your iPhone, everyone can reach anyone.
We lose our edge because of it. We get trapped in a world of availability, so the boundaries that used to serve us don’t exist any more.
It’s hard to turn away, but I would posit to you that you miss out on your best work because of it. So, to get some of that space back, I recommend something really simple.
Turn off your notifications.
It took me some time to understand this concept of “denotifiying”, and it started from something you wouldn’t expect – decluttering my apartment.
Losing my keys for the last time.
I had enough. I lived in a one bedroom apartment, and it took me almost 20 minutes to find my keys. After flipping over the foot massager and the ‘other’ winter jacket, I came to the realization that I had way to much stuff.
I decided, right then and there, that I needed to get rid of the stuff, and I needed to do it permanently. A clean up wouldn’t do, I needed space.
So I decided to take all my stuff, and do a full audit. Everything I had been accounted for, down to the last sock. I realized that I didn’t use 80% of the stuff I owned, so I got some boxes together and just put them away.
Freedom
I didn’t notice much change at first – the biggest change was cleaning my apartment now took minutes instead of an hour.
Stemming from that change – I’ve started to see fluff, and realizing that its easier to toss fluff then think about it. I didn’t miss my concert tee-shirt nor did I miss that damned foot massager.
I took away instead of adding, and I got a huge boost in my life. It planted the seeds of disconnection to me.
How did we get there?
So, I lived this clutter free life physically. Keeping my apartment clean became easy. I never lost my keys again. Getting dressed in the morning was quick. Washing dishes is a ton easier when you don’t have 10 plates.
It then occurred to me, if my physical life is so clear, why can’t my digital one be as well?
For a place I spend so much time in, (I had three cell phones,Twitter,Slack,Facebook, and all the other ding apps) I constantly got distracted. It was the mental equal to losing my keys, every time I looked at my phone.
So I cut my notifications off
Bam. Done. Someone just dropped their phone as they read this. I did it as a test. I put my phone in my pocket, and after a few tempting pocket grabs, I settled.
The first day I did this, I didn’t notice any change, and then a few more went by. I soon realized I didn’t miss anything.
I still got to my email,Facebook,Twitter, and all things Adam in plenty of time. No one even knew, and I am better people still don’t know until they read this, that I have done it for months.
How did it help?
I’ve made the best decisions I’ve made in my life over the last few months. I listen more intently. I walk around more present. Its been a superpower for me over the last few months because I don’t feel that attachment to notifications I used to have.
Think about it? If you were able to not look at your cell phone, how many blog posts could you do, deep work you could do, LinkedIn Pulse posts you could make?
I’ve blogged consistently ever since I made that decision, and my personal network and blog have both been at personal peaks.
No one is saying go into the woods
Although it’s an option. I’ve experimented with the idea of leaving my phone at home all day, cutting it off for an hour, and hiding it in a drawer. All these things work, and improved my output. Don’t be afraid of it.
We have too much connection sometimes. It’s great that I have a cell phone and look up who my next network connection is, but a lot of time, we spend time looking over, waiting for, and ultimately wasting away out time.
Spend some time trying turning off the notifications on your phone, and notice a change. It’s the opportunity to have a superpower in 2016.
This is a post I created over at LinkedIn. I write these, every Wednesday. Let’s connect – Find it and other posts here.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 