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Speaker 1: Pushkin ry. Hey Amy, how's it going good?

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Speaker 2: How are you guys doing?

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Speaker 3: If you told me when I was a kid that

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Speaker 3: I would one day be making free video calls to

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Speaker 3: friends and colleagues all over the planet, I'd probably have

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Speaker 3: said that you'd seen Star Wars one too many times.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for taking the time for this.

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Speaker 2: So happy to join you guys. This is exciting.

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Speaker 3: But today, in twenty twenty four, we use video calls

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Speaker 3: and so many other amazing technologies all the time.

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Speaker 1: We totally take them for granted.

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Speaker 2: How is the audio sounding? Are we good?

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Speaker 1: I think so?

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Speaker 3: I mean I can share my photos instantly with hundreds

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Speaker 3: of relatives. I can find any existing recipe or song

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Speaker 3: lyric and seconds and yes, I can now even watch.

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Speaker 1: Star Wars on my phone.

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Speaker 2: Sounds great, awesome?

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Speaker 1: Your recording is so you have headphones?

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Speaker 2: Thank you?

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Speaker 1: And are you able to record your side?

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Speaker 3: Modern technology is amazing, but it does have a downside.

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Speaker 3: Research shows that our screens and apps and devices are

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Speaker 3: making us less social, less present, and even less happy.

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Speaker 3: And that's why I'm jumping on zoom with Amy Blankson.

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Speaker 4: I am the chief evangelist for the Digital Wellness Institute Masa,

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Speaker 4: the best selling author of the Future of Happiness and

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Speaker 4: I Am thrilled to be here.

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Speaker 3: Amy is at the forefront of a new holiday known

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Speaker 3: as Digital Wellness Day, which falls on May third. In

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Speaker 3: honor of Digital Wellness Day, I've asked Amy to share

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Speaker 3: her favorite ten tips that we can all use to

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Speaker 3: bring more balance to the way we use our devices well.

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Speaker 1: First off, what is.

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Speaker 2: Digital Wellness Day?

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Speaker 3: So?

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Speaker 4: Digital Wellness Day is a global holiday where we literally

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Speaker 4: just pause to think about how we interact with our technology.

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Speaker 2: When, where, why?

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Speaker 1: How?

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Speaker 4: We know that some individuals really need that quiet space

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Speaker 4: in the morning to be mindful. Others need to get

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Speaker 4: through the slog of the day and then have time

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Speaker 4: at the end of the day to reflect on their habits.

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Speaker 4: But wherever you're coming from, there's an opportunity to learn

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Speaker 4: more about the ways that we interact with our technology.

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Speaker 4: Because it has become such a dominant force in our lives.

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Speaker 3: Why is this something we need to get intentional about.

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Speaker 3: What's the problem with our digital technologies and why it's

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Speaker 3: negatively affecting our happiness?

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Speaker 4: So I would say that technology is not necessarily negatively

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Speaker 4: impacting our happiness. That was actually my assumption when I

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Speaker 4: started my book and as I got into the research,

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Speaker 4: that was actually not the case. The big differentiation here

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Speaker 4: is that it's the way that we're using our technology,

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Speaker 4: and the truth is that when we're not mindful about

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Speaker 4: how we're interacting, we wind up falling prey to the

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Speaker 4: snowball effect, which is that the snowball starts at the

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Speaker 4: top of a mountain very slowly and gain steam and

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Speaker 4: by the end it's.

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Speaker 2: Going such a velocity that it's hard to keep up with.

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Speaker 4: We know that with our digital technology that fifty percent

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Speaker 4: of the time we pick up our phone, nobody's actually

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Speaker 4: called or messaged us. We're picking it up because the

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Speaker 4: need to be needed is actually highly addictive. And follow

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Speaker 4: that up by the fact that the second time you

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Speaker 4: reach for your phone, fifty percent of the time, it's

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Speaker 4: within two minutes of picking it up the first time.

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Speaker 4: So as the day rolls on, we are literally reaching

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Speaker 4: for our devices constantly, and the downside of that is

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Speaker 4: that we're a little bit less connected with other people

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Speaker 4: in our lives. We're less productive, we're making more errors,

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Speaker 4: we're feeling less happy about the way that we interact

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Speaker 4: with the world around us, and how tuned in we

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Speaker 4: are to ourselves and other people as well, and so

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Speaker 4: we know that has ripple effects and to burn out

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Speaker 4: mental health issues as well as physical problems like our backs,

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Speaker 4: our eyes, our necks. And so without really contemplating the

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Speaker 4: importance of this topic, I think it's hard to make

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Speaker 4: a difference in it change until you can actually see it.

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Speaker 3: And so this year, the particular theme of Digital Wellness

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Speaker 3: Day is digital balance. What is digital balance and why

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Speaker 3: is it so important to achieve?

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Speaker 4: So digital balance is really finding that sweet spot we

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Speaker 4: call it a spot of digital flourishing where it's not

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Speaker 4: that you are a dicted to technology and it's not

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Speaker 4: that you're swearing it off either. It's really that you're

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Speaker 4: finding that happy medium where technology is working for you,

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Speaker 4: not the other way around. And so the idea of

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Speaker 4: digital balance is that each one of us has the

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Speaker 4: capacity to find a better sense of balance, no matter

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Speaker 4: where your baseline is today, we all can do a

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Speaker 4: better job of being more thoughtful and really getting control

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Speaker 4: of the way that we're interacting with our technology.

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Speaker 3: And so today we're going to walk through some of

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Speaker 3: your top ten tips for achieving digital balance in the

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Speaker 3: complicated spot we find ourselves in in twenty twenty four

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Speaker 3: right now. And one of the tips that you talk

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Speaker 3: about a lot, which I think is really relevant for

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Speaker 3: finding digital balance in our home lives, is finding ways

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Speaker 3: that we could become more intentional with our technology. Why

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Speaker 3: is kind of our intent so important there?

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Speaker 4: So our intent is important because when you set your intention,

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Speaker 4: you are forty percent more likely to follow through on actions.

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Speaker 4: So intent, for me actually starts with data. It starts

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Speaker 4: with being able to get a real gauge of what

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Speaker 4: are your behaviors today, and then you can set an

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Speaker 4: intention so that moving forward you have an idea of

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Speaker 4: exactly what you'd like to see.

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Speaker 2: Change in your life.

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Speaker 4: I'm a bit of a data geek, so maybe that

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Speaker 4: doesn't work for everyone, but I do find that that

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Speaker 4: moment where I have people in an audience pull out

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Speaker 4: their phone and look at their screen time is always

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Speaker 4: an AHA moment, even if you've done it before. I

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Speaker 4: think these numbers sneak up on us, and when we

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Speaker 4: bring our awareness back to the numbers, then we can

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Speaker 4: set an intention to go forward.

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Speaker 3: And so one of the ways we can get intentional

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Speaker 3: is to really learn about those numbers. Do you have

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Speaker 3: particular techniques that you suggest to the people you work

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Speaker 3: with for how to do that better.

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Speaker 4: I do so when I have people go look into

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Speaker 4: their phones before they ever touch their phone, I want

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Speaker 4: them to think in their minds about how much time

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Speaker 4: they think they're spending online and what are the top

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Speaker 4: three apps they think they're using. And I want them

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Speaker 4: to think about what are their top three values in

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Speaker 4: their life? Is it success? Is it fame? Is it fortune?

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Speaker 4: Is it family? Is it friends? Is it faith? Whatever

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Speaker 4: it is for you, those things should be the anchoring

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Speaker 4: things that determine how you use your time. Then I

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Speaker 4: have people guesstimate how long they're think that they're spending

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Speaker 4: on those three apps, and then we go look and

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Speaker 4: we get the real gut check in that moment of

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Speaker 4: how accurate were you? And I would say about ten

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Speaker 4: percent of the time people are accurate and ninety percent

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Speaker 4: of the time you hear a few guesps in the

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Speaker 4: audience as they realize, oh my gosh, I had no idea,

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Speaker 4: could this even be possible? And it's that moment, it's

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Speaker 4: that light bulb moment that suddenly people are inspired to

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Speaker 4: create change. And you know this as well, Doctor Santos,

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Speaker 4: that with all of the behavioral of modifications that we

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Speaker 4: are trying to create through positive psychology. That awareness is

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Speaker 4: that first step, and then comes the recognition that you

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Speaker 4: need to do something on the back end.

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Speaker 3: And one of the things you suggests that people do

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Speaker 3: is it kind of little hack that I really like,

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Speaker 3: which is you call it a really rule?

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Speaker 1: What's the really rule? And how can that make us

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Speaker 1: more intentional?

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Speaker 4: The really rule comes from my brother when he was

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Speaker 4: helping me downsize my house and we were about to move,

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Speaker 4: and as he walked around the house with me, he

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Speaker 4: literally was following me around, going, Amy, do.

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Speaker 2: You really need this? Come on?

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Speaker 4: Like we had our sorting piles, and we had our

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Speaker 4: giving away piles and selling piles and literally everything he

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Speaker 4: would say really, but his voice got.

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Speaker 2: In my head. And so now when I'm thinking about my.

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Speaker 4: Digital habits, I use what's called the really rule. Thank

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Speaker 4: you Shanni Koor for that, which is that moment where

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Speaker 4: you can think about how necessary it is to pick

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Speaker 4: up your phone to use that app, to play that game,

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Speaker 4: to read that extra book when you have other things

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Speaker 4: you might need to be doing. Because we all have

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Speaker 4: some distractions that are good for us, right that are

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Speaker 4: actually helpful. One cat video can be fantastic for boosting

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Speaker 4: your mood. Twenty cat videos is when you start to

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Speaker 4: have an issue, right, and so there's that point of

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Speaker 4: maximum utility and then a.

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Speaker 2: Steep drop off point.

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Speaker 4: We want to be able to be so mindful and

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Speaker 4: aware thoughtful that we can say, really, do I really

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Speaker 4: need to watch another cat video? Or is this enough

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Speaker 4: for today? And that gut check is very helpful.

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Speaker 3: I love this rule because it can really allow you

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Speaker 3: to say no, no right now. Actually that engagement with

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Speaker 3: my technology feels fun. Like I've been in this period

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Speaker 3: where I've been traveling a lot, so I find myself

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Speaker 3: spending a lot more time than usual in like airport

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Speaker 3: waiting lounges and just kind of sitting around. And sometimes

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Speaker 3: when I use the really rule, it's like, you know,

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Speaker 3: should I really be checking my email or looking at

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Speaker 3: you know, goofy things on Reddit? And it's like, I've

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Speaker 3: got four minutes to get on this plane. I'm just

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Speaker 3: killing time. Yeah, this makes sense. But then sometimes I

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Speaker 3: realize like, oh, actually, is there something else I could

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Speaker 3: be doing?

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Speaker 1: Is this really the best use of my time?

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Speaker 3: And then I'll think back to all the research on

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Speaker 3: social connection and say, oh, maybe I should talk to

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Speaker 3: the person sitting next to me, or maybe I should

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Speaker 3: you know, text a friend.

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Speaker 1: And so it was a really useful rule when I

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Speaker 1: heard you talk about.

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Speaker 3: It, because it was like, it's just like kind of

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Speaker 3: a gut check or like a reminder of like is

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Speaker 3: this is this the best use of my time right now?

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Speaker 1: Really?

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Speaker 3: And it was really powerful for me. No, no, no

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Speaker 3: pun intended. I guess another great tip you give is

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Speaker 3: the power of finding a stopping queue. What do you

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Speaker 3: mean by a stopping queue? And how can we build

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Speaker 3: more of those into our kind of digital activities online?

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Speaker 4: So stopping cues are those moments where you have something

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Speaker 4: that helps queue you visually or even an auditory signal

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Speaker 4: that says this is a moment that maybe is a

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Speaker 4: time to step back or pause. For some people who

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Speaker 4: are familiar with the Pomodoro technique. There's some fantastic apps

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Speaker 4: online and yes I'm talking about using fire to fight

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Speaker 4: fire here, but I like to use one called the

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Speaker 4: Insight timer, and it is literally a timer that counts

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Speaker 4: down and then it dings at the end. So what

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Speaker 4: that's doing is number one is giving me a visual

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Speaker 4: cue Amy, it's time to focus, and it's only going

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Speaker 4: to be twenty minutes. And then the sound cueue reminds

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Speaker 4: me to come back out of that and say, Okay,

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Speaker 4: you've been.

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Speaker 2: Working for a good, deep chunk of time.

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Speaker 4: Now it's time to take a moment to stand up

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Speaker 4: and take a breather. And as long as the science

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Speaker 4: of distraction has been emerging since the early seventies, this

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Speaker 4: has been a very helpful strategy to help to signal

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Speaker 4: our brains this is deep work, this is a little

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Speaker 4: bit lighter work. And when you can bounce back and

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Speaker 4: forth between the two of them, you actually boost your

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Speaker 4: productivity by giving your brain many breaks and deeper focus breaks.

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Speaker 3: But I found the stopping cues even more relevant for like,

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Speaker 3: I'm just scrolling through Reddit, and my brain, I'm just

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Speaker 3: going to do that for like two seconds. I'm just

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Speaker 3: going to go through a couple TikTok videos, But without

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Speaker 3: the stopping cue, I could be there for much more

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Speaker 3: time than, you know, a couple minutes, sadly, embarrassingly, So,

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Speaker 3: how can we use these stopping queues kind of for

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Speaker 3: leisure that we might want to get a little kind

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Speaker 3: of digital distraction in, but not to get stuck there.

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Speaker 4: So and this is such a great call out there

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Speaker 4: as well, because the way that our technology is designed

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Speaker 4: is actually based on certain techniques that are designed to

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Speaker 4: keep our brains interacting and highly attuned to the content.

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Speaker 4: And so what the stopping technique does in that sense

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Speaker 4: is it takes what's been designed in an app as

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Speaker 4: what's called the bottomless bowl, meaning that if you scroll

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Speaker 4: on TikTok, you will scroll and scroll and scroll, and

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Speaker 4: you will never reach the bottom.

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Speaker 2: And so there is no signal to you saying it's

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Speaker 2: time to stop.

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Speaker 4: More apps that are being focused on human centered design

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Speaker 4: are starting to create a limit the number of videos

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Speaker 4: that they post at a given time because it's a

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Speaker 4: healthier way to consume content. So if you look on Pinterest,

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Speaker 4: or if you look on some of the news media apps,

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Speaker 4: you'll scroll down maybe for a couple minutes, and then

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Speaker 4: it will stop. It's not that the content stops, it's

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Speaker 4: just design feature that helps you to know, okay, time

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Speaker 4: to stop. When you don't have that in an app.

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Speaker 4: Those are the apps that are the most dangerous for us,

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Speaker 4: the ones that suck us in the most, and the

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Speaker 4: ones that require us as individuals to be stronger and

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Speaker 4: more intentional about setting boundaries for ourselves so that we

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Speaker 4: don't get sucked in.

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Speaker 3: And so these are some ways that we can be

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Speaker 3: a little bit more intentional about our technology use. But

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Speaker 3: the next tip that you give us is that we

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Speaker 3: also have to manage our technological distraction. You know, how

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Speaker 3: does technologies steal our attention away? And how are even

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Speaker 3: simple things like the technology we have around us messing

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Speaker 3: with what we get to think about.

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Speaker 4: So if you want to experience this firsthand, one of

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Speaker 4: the most interesting ways to see exactly how technology is

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Speaker 4: arresting our attention is by switching your phone into grayscale mode.

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Speaker 4: So if you don't know how to do this, just

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Speaker 4: google how do I turn my phone into grayscale. It's

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Speaker 4: a very simple three or four step process. But essentially

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Speaker 4: what it does is it takes all of the color

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Speaker 4: off of your screen, all the flashing lights, and sometimes

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Speaker 4: you can even turn off all the sounds.

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Speaker 2: You get this very blank canvas. And I've had people.

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Speaker 4: Who've been able to do the gray scale for maybe

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Speaker 4: a day, two days, three days, and then it will

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Speaker 4: drive you nuts because it's so boring.

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Speaker 2: You don't want to look at it anymore.

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Speaker 4: So that just shows you just how much the interplay

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Speaker 4: of color, light, sound flashing does to stimulate our visual

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Speaker 4: cortex and how effective it is at keeping our attention

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Speaker 4: focused on whatever is put in front of us. And

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Speaker 4: that's why pop ups are so effective, is because they

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Speaker 4: literally come into your space and they take your attention

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Speaker 4: away from what you were doing before, and so this

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Speaker 4: is not by accident. Tristan Harris, who's the former Google

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Speaker 4: design ethicist, will often talk about how our phones were

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Speaker 4: designed like slot machines and that they were designed to

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Speaker 4: hijack our attention. And I love that message, but I

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Speaker 4: also want to call out that I think we as

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Speaker 4: human beings are stronger than these companies are designing for.

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Speaker 4: I think that we have the power to control our minds.

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Speaker 4: We just have to set our attention that this is

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Speaker 4: something that we care about, that we want to do,

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Speaker 4: and that we're going to get better at because our

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Speaker 4: attention is so important and so vital to our life.

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Speaker 3: So it's simple. Just use a bit of willpower and

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Speaker 3: you can resist the urge to pick.

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Speaker 1: Up your phone so often. Well as you might have guessed,

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Speaker 1: it's not really that easy.

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Speaker 3: You'll hear why when the happiness lad returns in a moment.

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Speaker 3: Author in digital wellness evangelist Amy Blankson already shared some

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Speaker 3: quick strategies we can use to prevent our screens from

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Speaker 3: taking over our limited attention, simple things like switching our

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Speaker 3: phones to grayscale or asking the question do I really

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Speaker 3: need to be checking this AUP right now? But she

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Speaker 3: also thinks we need to think a bit more radically.

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Speaker 4: So there was a study called the Mirror Present Study

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Speaker 4: that found that the simply having your phone in your

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Speaker 4: line of sight decreases your attention, your focus, your connection

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Speaker 4: to the person or the task at hand, and that

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Speaker 4: by simply hiding your phone you can actually reclaim ten

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Speaker 4: percent of your brain power. So what this means to

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Speaker 4: me is that literally, when I'm working, I'll tuck my

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Speaker 4: phone behind my laptop or desktop screen, or I'll put

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Speaker 4: it in my back pocket, or I'll put it in

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Speaker 4: a bag. So it's not that it's not there. I'm

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Speaker 4: not walking away from it because sometimes people are uncomfortable

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Speaker 4: with that. All I'm doing is getting out of my

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Speaker 4: line of site. And the reason why this works is

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Speaker 4: because of that factor that the need to be needed

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Speaker 4: is so strong that our eyes are actually flickering back

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Speaker 4: and forth between our screen and our task or the

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Speaker 4: person we're.

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Speaker 2: With because we might be needed.

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Speaker 4: And that leads to another factor that I am on

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Speaker 4: a soapbox lately about the importance of not fubbing our

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Speaker 4: friends and fubbing. For those of you who've never heard

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Speaker 4: of this term, I apologize in advance for introducing you

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Speaker 4: to it because you might hate me later. But fubbing

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Speaker 4: is phone snubbing, and it is that moment where you're

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Speaker 4: having an awesome conversation with someone when all of a

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Speaker 4: sudden they get a notification.

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Speaker 2: On their phone.

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Speaker 4: They look down, and it's not that notification that gets them,

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Speaker 4: it's the one that pops up after that that they're

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Speaker 4: suddenly lost. And then by the time they come back

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Speaker 4: to you, they say, oh, I'm so sorry about that.

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Speaker 2: What were we talking about again? That's fubbing.

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Speaker 4: You are now going to see it everywhere, and I

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Speaker 4: think that that is the kind of impact that we're

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Speaker 4: trying to eliminate when we're focusing on the mere presence

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Speaker 4: of a device on our line of site. By having

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Speaker 4: out of our line of site, there's nothing to go check,

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Speaker 4: there's nothing to interrupt us. And that's us taking control

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Speaker 4: of our physical space as well as our mental space

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Speaker 4: there as well.

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Speaker 3: So this is a nice transition to your third tip

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Speaker 3: that we need to engage with if we want to

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Speaker 3: find more digital balance, which is that we need to

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Speaker 3: be protecting our in real life social connections from digital

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Speaker 3: distraction and so many kind of digital challenges. You know,

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Speaker 3: I know that we've talked a lot on this podcast

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Speaker 3: about the importance of social relationships, but talk about how technology,

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Speaker 3: beyond just fubbing, can kind of mess with our kind

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Speaker 3: of social connection that we experience in real life.

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Speaker 4: Well, we've certainly seen the rise of mental health concerns,

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Speaker 4: not just in the United States but across the globe,

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Speaker 4: and especially for our young people. And it's no accident

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Speaker 4: that this is a topic that comes back time and

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Speaker 4: time again to not just social.

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Speaker 2: Media, but also our devices.

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Speaker 4: We see it with gaming, we see it with getting

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Speaker 4: lost in work for some of our hyper responsible young people.

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Speaker 4: We see it and the ways that we interact with

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Speaker 4: one another and feel less connected because we're not making.

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Speaker 2: As much eye contact.

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Speaker 4: We know that the brain has what's called mirror neurons,

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Speaker 4: which means that there's an emotional contagion effect that happens

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Speaker 4: between individuals.

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Speaker 2: You see this all the time.

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Speaker 4: When one person yawns, the next person yawns, Well, imagine

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Speaker 4: if they can't see each other, you don't get that connection.

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Speaker 4: The same thing happens not just with yawning, but also

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Speaker 4: with positive mood effect as well as negative affect. So

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Speaker 4: if we're not seeing one another, we literally can't have

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Speaker 4: that hardwired connection that we've had for all of human

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Speaker 4: existence before now.

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Speaker 2: And so by getting the.

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Speaker 4: Devices out of our way, by reconnecting with our eyes,

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Speaker 4: with our bodies, with our attention, that's what really helps

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Speaker 4: us to form those bonds. And that's so important, as

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Speaker 4: we know, to social capital and bridging and bonding as well.

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Speaker 3: Another one of those strategies you suggest for how we

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Speaker 3: can kind of get back to kind of engaging with

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Speaker 3: each other socially away from our technology is to find

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Speaker 3: some screen free activities. I love this because I feel

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Speaker 3: like so much of my social connection unfortunately involves screens.

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Speaker 3: Like I'm gonna hang out with my husband, but we're

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Speaker 3: going to watch a movie together, watch Netflix, or you know,

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Speaker 3: we're gonna kind of get together with friends, but we

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Speaker 3: all have our phones, right beside us, and whenever that

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Speaker 3: lull in the conversation comes, we pull them out. What

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Speaker 3: are some good ideas for non screen social activities that

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Speaker 3: we can engage in, and what are some rules that

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Speaker 3: we can put in place around our technology when we're

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Speaker 3: engaging in those new activities.

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Speaker 4: I like that question, and I think that it is

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Speaker 4: interesting because there are so many activities that exist that

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Speaker 4: we have done for years and years, but we're beginning

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Speaker 4: to kind of forget what the options are get.

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Speaker 3: I know, it's like so sad, right, Like it's like, well,

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Speaker 3: what can we do tonight? Like I guess we'll do

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Speaker 3: something with the screen because we just like aren't creative

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Speaker 3: enough to come up with these other ideas.

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Speaker 4: Right is our creativity leaving us because of a lack

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Speaker 4: of use. It's like a muscle that we're forgetting. But

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Speaker 4: there's all sorts of activities from playing games outside playing

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Speaker 4: board games, from playing games, like for my children, they

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Speaker 4: still love Hide and go Seek, or there's art, there's music,

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Speaker 4: there's just sitting and being still and noticing the world

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Speaker 4: around you, just trying new foods and cooking. I really

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Speaker 4: liked it encourage people when they're trying to think of

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Speaker 4: this list is to actually write it down somewhere so

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Speaker 4: that when you hit that moment of what should I do? Now,

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Speaker 4: you have a go to list of all the other

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Speaker 4: things that you also enjoy that you can pick something

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Speaker 4: off the list.

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Speaker 2: And we see this some people.

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Speaker 4: Have like a little jar of popsicle so you randomly

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Speaker 4: pull out a popsicle stick that has an idea for

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Speaker 4: something to do. But what's essentially happening here is you're

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Speaker 4: creating a different opportunity. Cost right, you could do this,

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Speaker 4: but you also get a lot of joy out of that.

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Speaker 4: So we're going to try to balance and as you

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Speaker 4: said earlier, it's not an either or, it's an and

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Speaker 4: it's an opportunity that you can have time to watch

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Speaker 4: a movie and really enjoy that, and we can do

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Speaker 4: some other things to balance out that time as well.

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Speaker 3: And so those are some ways that we can kind

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Speaker 3: of boost up our in real life social connection. But

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Speaker 3: there's a second in real life thing we need to

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Speaker 3: pay attention to it if we're trying to achieve digital balance,

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Speaker 3: which is like our bodies and how they're affected by

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Speaker 3: our digital world. And so I think this is something

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Speaker 3: we often forget when it comes to kind of thinking

442
00:20:06,556 --> 00:20:09,316
Speaker 3: about how our technology can make us happier. But tell

443
00:20:09,356 --> 00:20:11,436
Speaker 3: me a little bit about the challenges that our bodies

444
00:20:11,476 --> 00:20:14,676
Speaker 3: face as we become more digital natives and interact with

445
00:20:14,716 --> 00:20:15,836
Speaker 3: screens more often.

446
00:20:16,076 --> 00:20:19,836
Speaker 4: The physical challenge that we experience with being on screens

447
00:20:19,916 --> 00:20:24,156
Speaker 4: more is obviously the sedentary nature of sitting in front

448
00:20:24,156 --> 00:20:27,196
Speaker 4: of a screen creates less activity in our bodies, which

449
00:20:27,276 --> 00:20:28,276
Speaker 4: makes it harder to.

450
00:20:28,236 --> 00:20:29,636
Speaker 2: Regulate our metabolism.

451
00:20:29,836 --> 00:20:32,876
Speaker 4: It changes our sleep habits, and it also makes us

452
00:20:32,916 --> 00:20:36,276
Speaker 4: even sometimes forget to eat or to mindlessly eat because

453
00:20:36,276 --> 00:20:38,876
Speaker 4: you're so busy watching something. So we know the mind

454
00:20:38,876 --> 00:20:42,076
Speaker 4: body connection here is really strong, and it's something that

455
00:20:42,116 --> 00:20:44,196
Speaker 4: we could be paying more attention to you. This is

456
00:20:44,236 --> 00:20:46,156
Speaker 4: another one of those moments, though, where I think that

457
00:20:46,196 --> 00:20:48,796
Speaker 4: we can fight fire with fire. We know fitbits have

458
00:20:48,876 --> 00:20:51,796
Speaker 4: been amazing or the Apple Watch has been incredible for

459
00:20:51,916 --> 00:20:56,196
Speaker 4: helping motivate individuals with data to change their behavior or

460
00:20:56,276 --> 00:20:59,196
Speaker 4: track their behaviors, been known to raise your mindfulness. So

461
00:20:59,436 --> 00:21:01,636
Speaker 4: I wouldn't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater,

462
00:21:01,756 --> 00:21:03,796
Speaker 4: but I do think that there is a balance.

463
00:21:03,956 --> 00:21:06,316
Speaker 2: We also hear a lot of individuals who.

464
00:21:06,436 --> 00:21:10,196
Speaker 4: Get lost in tracking data. They are so concerned about

465
00:21:10,196 --> 00:21:13,116
Speaker 4: their streaks, that they lose track of the fact that

466
00:21:13,156 --> 00:21:17,396
Speaker 4: the whole purpose was to do other things besides being online.

467
00:21:17,516 --> 00:21:19,796
Speaker 4: And so again we come back to this place of

468
00:21:19,956 --> 00:21:22,836
Speaker 4: let's make technology work for us, not us work for

469
00:21:22,876 --> 00:21:24,916
Speaker 4: our technology, and any other.

470
00:21:24,796 --> 00:21:27,116
Speaker 3: Tips for how we can use technology a bit more

471
00:21:27,196 --> 00:21:30,436
Speaker 3: ergonomically in ways that really support our posture and the

472
00:21:30,516 --> 00:21:32,196
Speaker 3: kinds of ways we want to hold our body.

473
00:21:32,516 --> 00:21:33,716
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely so.

474
00:21:34,036 --> 00:21:36,596
Speaker 4: Having a screen that is at your line of sight

475
00:21:36,876 --> 00:21:39,076
Speaker 4: is so important for those of you out there who

476
00:21:39,116 --> 00:21:42,036
Speaker 4: have been spending a lot of time on a laptop.

477
00:21:42,196 --> 00:21:45,356
Speaker 4: Because the screens are smaller, we tend to hunch down

478
00:21:45,396 --> 00:21:48,156
Speaker 4: because the table height is not set out a line

479
00:21:48,156 --> 00:21:50,476
Speaker 4: of sight for a laptop, and so the idea might

480
00:21:50,516 --> 00:21:53,116
Speaker 4: be to either put your laptop higher on a stack

481
00:21:53,156 --> 00:21:55,876
Speaker 4: of books, or it might be to have a desk

482
00:21:55,916 --> 00:21:59,036
Speaker 4: that raises some lowers depending on where you're looking into

483
00:21:59,076 --> 00:22:01,516
Speaker 4: your camera. You would not believe they kind of impact

484
00:22:01,516 --> 00:22:04,876
Speaker 4: this makes on back pain, on neck pain and posture

485
00:22:04,916 --> 00:22:07,836
Speaker 4: as well. It took me writing a book about digital

486
00:22:07,876 --> 00:22:10,516
Speaker 4: wellness to pay attention to the factor, and once I did,

487
00:22:10,716 --> 00:22:13,356
Speaker 4: I wasn't visiting the chiropractor all the time. I was

488
00:22:13,436 --> 00:22:15,956
Speaker 4: able to go through a day and not feel like

489
00:22:15,996 --> 00:22:18,676
Speaker 4: my whole body hurt just from sitting at work, and

490
00:22:18,756 --> 00:22:19,676
Speaker 4: it's really important.

491
00:22:19,716 --> 00:22:21,996
Speaker 3: Another thing that's really important, which gets us to tip

492
00:22:22,076 --> 00:22:24,716
Speaker 3: number five, is that we need to kind of navigate

493
00:22:24,716 --> 00:22:27,516
Speaker 3: our technology use in the bedroom in order to protect

494
00:22:27,596 --> 00:22:31,356
Speaker 3: our sleep. How has technology been affecting sleep and what

495
00:22:31,396 --> 00:22:34,596
Speaker 3: are some best practices we can do to allow ourselves

496
00:22:34,636 --> 00:22:37,316
Speaker 3: to protect our sleep while still enjoying the screens that

497
00:22:37,356 --> 00:22:38,436
Speaker 3: we enjoy so much.

498
00:22:38,916 --> 00:22:40,916
Speaker 2: So there is some debate on this topic.

499
00:22:40,956 --> 00:22:44,236
Speaker 4: Actually, we've heard a lot about the importance of keeping

500
00:22:44,276 --> 00:22:47,636
Speaker 4: your phone out of the bedroom, and that specifically because

501
00:22:47,836 --> 00:22:50,476
Speaker 4: the blue light that's emitted from your screen has been

502
00:22:50,516 --> 00:22:54,516
Speaker 4: known to mess with your circadian rhythms, which makes it

503
00:22:54,556 --> 00:22:56,676
Speaker 4: harder for you to fall asleep, makes it harder for

504
00:22:56,716 --> 00:22:58,396
Speaker 4: you to have good sleep and then wake up at

505
00:22:58,396 --> 00:23:01,316
Speaker 4: it at a decent hour. And the second reason why

506
00:23:01,436 --> 00:23:03,476
Speaker 4: it's advised to keep your phone out of the bedroom

507
00:23:03,556 --> 00:23:06,876
Speaker 4: is because it's really tempting to check that email right

508
00:23:06,916 --> 00:23:10,436
Speaker 4: before bed, or to stay up watching something on your screen,

509
00:23:10,596 --> 00:23:12,836
Speaker 4: or to mess around, you know, playing a game or whatever.

510
00:23:13,076 --> 00:23:16,036
Speaker 4: And so the temptation is so high, I will tell

511
00:23:16,116 --> 00:23:18,956
Speaker 4: you truthfully, and I think it's important as a digital

512
00:23:18,956 --> 00:23:21,996
Speaker 4: wellness expert to be as authentic as possible. I do

513
00:23:22,036 --> 00:23:24,396
Speaker 4: sleep with my phone right beside my bed, and there's

514
00:23:24,436 --> 00:23:27,956
Speaker 4: two reasons why. Number one is because there's now the

515
00:23:27,956 --> 00:23:30,396
Speaker 4: ability to change the amount of blue light emitted on

516
00:23:30,436 --> 00:23:32,956
Speaker 4: your phone, so you can actually decrease the brightness if

517
00:23:32,996 --> 00:23:35,836
Speaker 4: it's not as impactful. Too, is I still use it

518
00:23:35,876 --> 00:23:38,916
Speaker 4: as my alarm calendar. That helps me feel more at peace,

519
00:23:39,036 --> 00:23:40,676
Speaker 4: and so if we're just going to be really real

520
00:23:40,716 --> 00:23:43,476
Speaker 4: here right now, that's important for me. The third reason

521
00:23:43,516 --> 00:23:45,756
Speaker 4: is I actually like to read myself to sleep, and

522
00:23:46,036 --> 00:23:48,116
Speaker 4: I find that is the number one thing that helps

523
00:23:48,156 --> 00:23:50,276
Speaker 4: me to naturally wind my brain down at the end

524
00:23:50,276 --> 00:23:52,156
Speaker 4: of the day. And so if I can have the

525
00:23:52,196 --> 00:23:55,516
Speaker 4: self control enough to not check that email right before bed,

526
00:23:55,636 --> 00:23:58,276
Speaker 4: then it works. If we don't have that self control,

527
00:23:58,396 --> 00:24:00,956
Speaker 4: then it can become a problem. And so it comes

528
00:24:00,996 --> 00:24:04,596
Speaker 4: back to evaluating for yourself, what are your triggers, what

529
00:24:04,636 --> 00:24:07,556
Speaker 4: are your boundaries, what works for you, And if there's

530
00:24:07,556 --> 00:24:09,876
Speaker 4: a way that you can keep your phone great, if

531
00:24:09,876 --> 00:24:12,236
Speaker 4: it feels better or you think that it will help

532
00:24:12,276 --> 00:24:14,316
Speaker 4: you to reach your goals by keeping it out of

533
00:24:14,316 --> 00:24:15,836
Speaker 4: the bedroom, that I highly suggest it.

534
00:24:16,196 --> 00:24:18,636
Speaker 3: Another strategy you've mentioned, which I think is a nice

535
00:24:18,636 --> 00:24:21,316
Speaker 3: balance when maybe keeping your phone there but not kind

536
00:24:21,316 --> 00:24:23,716
Speaker 3: of going to it as much, is this idea of

537
00:24:23,756 --> 00:24:27,316
Speaker 3: a screen free morning practice, so that your first moments

538
00:24:27,316 --> 00:24:31,276
Speaker 3: of wakefulness aren't interacting with that screen. Any good ideas

539
00:24:31,316 --> 00:24:33,796
Speaker 3: for how to engage with that screen free morning practice.

540
00:24:33,836 --> 00:24:36,276
Speaker 4: I'm a huge advocate of the screen free morning practice,

541
00:24:36,316 --> 00:24:39,396
Speaker 4: and I'm still working on this practice myself, but I

542
00:24:39,396 --> 00:24:43,196
Speaker 4: think starting with baby steps is really important and understanding

543
00:24:43,236 --> 00:24:45,396
Speaker 4: the rationale for why would you not look at your

544
00:24:45,396 --> 00:24:47,516
Speaker 4: phone first thing in the morning, And the reason is

545
00:24:47,796 --> 00:24:51,196
Speaker 4: that when we open our phone, we have I think

546
00:24:51,276 --> 00:24:54,236
Speaker 4: the average number of notifications per day is three hundred

547
00:24:54,316 --> 00:24:57,556
Speaker 4: and twenty three notifications that are pinging at us throughout

548
00:24:57,556 --> 00:25:00,156
Speaker 4: the day my gosh, right, so including I'm sure a

549
00:25:00,196 --> 00:25:00,876
Speaker 4: bunch at night.

550
00:25:01,036 --> 00:25:02,756
Speaker 3: So as soon as you wake up, there's like a

551
00:25:02,796 --> 00:25:04,196
Speaker 3: whole host of them just sitting there.

552
00:25:04,236 --> 00:25:06,396
Speaker 4: They are all waiting for you, and they will be

553
00:25:06,476 --> 00:25:08,916
Speaker 4: there still even a little bit later in the morning.

554
00:25:09,316 --> 00:25:12,036
Speaker 4: So the thought is that rather than wake up to

555
00:25:12,196 --> 00:25:15,396
Speaker 4: the tyranny of the urgent, why not give yourself that

556
00:25:15,556 --> 00:25:18,996
Speaker 4: headspace where you control the course of your day where

557
00:25:19,076 --> 00:25:22,116
Speaker 4: you allow other people's thoughts and when you're ready. Most

558
00:25:22,116 --> 00:25:25,076
Speaker 4: of us don't want to wake up to a fire alarm.

559
00:25:25,156 --> 00:25:27,796
Speaker 4: And that's the equivalent of what's happening when we open

560
00:25:27,796 --> 00:25:30,236
Speaker 4: our phone and you think, Oh, this bill needs to

561
00:25:30,276 --> 00:25:32,156
Speaker 4: get paid, Oh, this person needs to go there, the

562
00:25:32,196 --> 00:25:34,956
Speaker 4: dog needs to get groomed. This project you forgot, you

563
00:25:34,996 --> 00:25:37,996
Speaker 4: didn't do ten tasks yesterday. Oh my gosh, my stress

564
00:25:38,076 --> 00:25:41,596
Speaker 4: levels rising. Right, So do yourself a solid keep that

565
00:25:41,716 --> 00:25:43,756
Speaker 4: for as long as you can to have that morning

566
00:25:43,796 --> 00:25:46,396
Speaker 4: mindfulness space, and even if it's five minutes for the

567
00:25:46,396 --> 00:25:48,636
Speaker 4: start of the day, that's a great place to start.

568
00:25:48,756 --> 00:25:50,996
Speaker 3: And if you are using your phone even in the

569
00:25:51,036 --> 00:25:54,276
Speaker 3: mornings or however, one other tip, tip number six is

570
00:25:54,316 --> 00:25:56,596
Speaker 3: to find ways to use your technology to make sure

571
00:25:56,636 --> 00:25:59,276
Speaker 3: you're doing the kinds of happiness hacks that you've heard

572
00:25:59,316 --> 00:26:02,796
Speaker 3: about on this podcast and elsewhere. When I think about

573
00:26:02,796 --> 00:26:05,076
Speaker 3: my morning's screen practice, one of the things I like

574
00:26:05,116 --> 00:26:07,316
Speaker 3: to do is to kind of quickly scribble in a

575
00:26:07,356 --> 00:26:10,356
Speaker 3: gratitude journal or maybe to open up a screen, maybe

576
00:26:10,356 --> 00:26:13,596
Speaker 3: my laptop, and do a quick journaling practice. How can

577
00:26:13,676 --> 00:26:17,116
Speaker 3: we kind of maybe incorporate more technology into the healthier

578
00:26:17,276 --> 00:26:20,436
Speaker 3: side of practices and maybe what are some other examples

579
00:26:20,436 --> 00:26:22,596
Speaker 3: that people could think about in their own lives.

580
00:26:23,076 --> 00:26:24,756
Speaker 4: So one of the things that I love to talk

581
00:26:24,796 --> 00:26:27,076
Speaker 4: to audiences about is what's called the J game. And

582
00:26:27,116 --> 00:26:30,756
Speaker 4: these are the five most well researched habits, positive habits

583
00:26:30,796 --> 00:26:33,436
Speaker 4: that can help raise your baseline for happiness. You know

584
00:26:33,476 --> 00:26:36,516
Speaker 4: these well, Doctor Santos, But these would be J for journaling,

585
00:26:36,676 --> 00:26:40,156
Speaker 4: G for gratitude, A for acts of kindness, IN for meditation,

586
00:26:40,436 --> 00:26:43,676
Speaker 4: and E for exercise. And while these are all potentially

587
00:26:43,716 --> 00:26:46,076
Speaker 4: offline habits, I think there's also a way to do

588
00:26:46,196 --> 00:26:49,076
Speaker 4: all five of them online. For instance, I know that

589
00:26:49,156 --> 00:26:51,716
Speaker 4: iPhone now has a new journal app and it'll ping

590
00:26:51,796 --> 00:26:54,036
Speaker 4: you at the evening to remind you, Hey, write down

591
00:26:54,076 --> 00:26:56,236
Speaker 4: two or three things that happened today so you didn't forget.

592
00:26:56,316 --> 00:26:59,156
Speaker 4: There's a gratitude app I love. It's called Gratitude, and

593
00:26:59,196 --> 00:27:01,636
Speaker 4: it just gives you three blinks to write your gratitudes

594
00:27:01,636 --> 00:27:03,596
Speaker 4: and it keeps tracks so you can look back at.

595
00:27:03,476 --> 00:27:04,156
Speaker 2: Them over time.

596
00:27:04,436 --> 00:27:06,636
Speaker 4: For acts of kindness, I like to send a text

597
00:27:06,716 --> 00:27:09,916
Speaker 4: message once a day to somebody in my social support

598
00:27:09,956 --> 00:27:12,716
Speaker 4: network just saying hey, I'm thinking about you or thanks

599
00:27:12,716 --> 00:27:15,476
Speaker 4: for something you did meditation, Check out.

600
00:27:15,316 --> 00:27:16,876
Speaker 2: Headspace, check out YouTube.

601
00:27:16,956 --> 00:27:20,396
Speaker 4: Lots of great resources and of course, exercise tying in

602
00:27:20,436 --> 00:27:22,236
Speaker 4: some of the ways that we can be inspired to

603
00:27:22,316 --> 00:27:25,036
Speaker 4: keep track of our health and fitness. These are always

604
00:27:25,076 --> 00:27:27,956
Speaker 4: that if you have an intention to raise your happiness,

605
00:27:28,396 --> 00:27:31,676
Speaker 4: you can use technology to do it or not. Either way,

606
00:27:31,956 --> 00:27:34,436
Speaker 4: but whatever works best for you, you will need to

607
00:27:34,436 --> 00:27:36,756
Speaker 4: find that so that you can stick with it over time.

608
00:27:37,596 --> 00:27:40,836
Speaker 3: Finding digital balance during your leisure time is hugely important,

609
00:27:41,356 --> 00:27:43,396
Speaker 3: but many of us spend the majority of our waking

610
00:27:43,396 --> 00:27:46,116
Speaker 3: hours at work. How do we make sure our phones

611
00:27:46,156 --> 00:27:49,636
Speaker 3: and screens don't boss us around there? The Happiness Lab

612
00:27:49,716 --> 00:28:00,196
Speaker 3: will be back in a moment. All my good intentions

613
00:28:00,196 --> 00:28:02,996
Speaker 3: about finding a healthy digital balance fall by the wayside

614
00:28:02,996 --> 00:28:05,236
Speaker 3: when it comes to work. I know I should be

615
00:28:05,236 --> 00:28:07,996
Speaker 3: avoiding screens and Reddit rabbit holes in my free time,

616
00:28:08,396 --> 00:28:11,516
Speaker 3: but as a profession with so many responsibilities, shouldn't I

617
00:28:11,596 --> 00:28:14,636
Speaker 3: be responding to email at all hours or checking social

618
00:28:14,676 --> 00:28:17,876
Speaker 3: media for the latest psychology news. It kind of feels

619
00:28:17,956 --> 00:28:21,836
Speaker 3: like my duty. Author and digital wellness expert Amy Blankson

620
00:28:22,036 --> 00:28:22,756
Speaker 3: isn't so sure.

621
00:28:23,356 --> 00:28:26,556
Speaker 4: The greatest challenge in the workplace for finding digital balance

622
00:28:26,716 --> 00:28:29,196
Speaker 4: is being able to carve out digital boundaries in a

623
00:28:29,236 --> 00:28:33,756
Speaker 4: way that you feel will be seen and respected, especially

624
00:28:33,916 --> 00:28:36,076
Speaker 4: by those who are more senior to you. I talk

625
00:28:36,156 --> 00:28:38,596
Speaker 4: to employees all the time who are worried that if

626
00:28:38,636 --> 00:28:40,956
Speaker 4: they don't respond to that email at eleven PM and

627
00:28:41,076 --> 00:28:43,356
Speaker 4: all of their colleagues do, that they'll be seen as

628
00:28:43,476 --> 00:28:46,716
Speaker 4: non responsive and this creates sort of a slippery slope

629
00:28:46,796 --> 00:28:50,636
Speaker 4: of negative habits and round the clock, always on connectivity.

630
00:28:50,676 --> 00:28:52,076
Speaker 2: That's not helping anyone.

631
00:28:52,436 --> 00:28:56,556
Speaker 4: So really beginning to have those conversations at work is

632
00:28:56,596 --> 00:28:59,836
Speaker 4: an important next step in terms of figuring out what

633
00:29:00,116 --> 00:29:02,276
Speaker 4: is allowed, what kind of latitude do you have to

634
00:29:02,316 --> 00:29:05,676
Speaker 4: make choices? And then for those who are junior to you,

635
00:29:06,116 --> 00:29:08,796
Speaker 4: how can you impact their lives with what power you

636
00:29:08,836 --> 00:29:12,316
Speaker 4: do have to set some policies or set some behaviors

637
00:29:12,716 --> 00:29:15,116
Speaker 4: or even just social scripts in the workplace that help

638
00:29:15,196 --> 00:29:18,716
Speaker 4: reinforce positive digital balance and a more positive digital culture.

639
00:29:19,196 --> 00:29:20,876
Speaker 3: And so that was sort of tips umber seven how

640
00:29:20,876 --> 00:29:24,076
Speaker 3: we can fight our hyperconnectivity. Your tip number eight is

641
00:29:24,076 --> 00:29:26,916
Speaker 3: that we should think more about screen fatigue and how

642
00:29:26,916 --> 00:29:27,636
Speaker 3: to deal with it.

643
00:29:27,756 --> 00:29:29,836
Speaker 1: I think I know very very well what this is,

644
00:29:29,876 --> 00:29:30,436
Speaker 1: but I want.

645
00:29:30,276 --> 00:29:32,916
Speaker 3: To hear your definition of screen fatigue and I definitely

646
00:29:32,956 --> 00:29:34,556
Speaker 3: want to hear all your tips that we can use

647
00:29:34,596 --> 00:29:36,516
Speaker 3: to kind of deal with it and make it better.

648
00:29:36,756 --> 00:29:40,796
Speaker 4: Screen fatigue is essentially when you get tired of looking

649
00:29:40,876 --> 00:29:43,276
Speaker 4: at screens. A lot of times it is prompted by

650
00:29:43,436 --> 00:29:46,876
Speaker 4: zoom fatigue, or team's fatigue, or even slack fatigue, but

651
00:29:47,316 --> 00:29:51,116
Speaker 4: there is a general sense of malaise and even irritability

652
00:29:51,156 --> 00:29:53,276
Speaker 4: that emerges when you're on a screen for too long.

653
00:29:53,436 --> 00:29:55,516
Speaker 4: It could show up physically, like your eyes start to

654
00:29:55,596 --> 00:29:57,716
Speaker 4: dry out or you start to get headaches, but for

655
00:29:57,796 --> 00:30:00,036
Speaker 4: a lot of people, it's a lot more subtle than that.

656
00:30:00,196 --> 00:30:04,316
Speaker 4: It's just that general sense of unrest that you're frustrated

657
00:30:04,356 --> 00:30:06,956
Speaker 4: and you don't know why that comes from a screen fatigue.

658
00:30:07,036 --> 00:30:10,316
Speaker 4: And we've had some interesting studies emerge now since the

659
00:30:10,316 --> 00:30:14,476
Speaker 4: pandemic around why this happens specifically with zoom fatigue, and

660
00:30:14,516 --> 00:30:17,356
Speaker 4: it's often called the Brady Bunch effect. And the idea is,

661
00:30:17,476 --> 00:30:19,516
Speaker 4: like the Brady Bunch, you have all these different small

662
00:30:19,556 --> 00:30:22,796
Speaker 4: screens and pictures of individuals that might be on the

663
00:30:22,836 --> 00:30:25,716
Speaker 4: call with you, and your brain is spending so much

664
00:30:25,836 --> 00:30:29,156
Speaker 4: energy flickering between all the other faces on the screen

665
00:30:29,356 --> 00:30:32,796
Speaker 4: the chat. What you're looking like you're managing for your background,

666
00:30:32,956 --> 00:30:36,796
Speaker 4: and so the amount of mental energy that it takes

667
00:30:36,836 --> 00:30:39,756
Speaker 4: to manage all of that actually drains you way faster

668
00:30:39,996 --> 00:30:42,796
Speaker 4: than an in person interaction would. And so as we

669
00:30:42,836 --> 00:30:45,996
Speaker 4: are adults and professionals being mindful of our screen fatigue,

670
00:30:46,036 --> 00:30:49,556
Speaker 4: it's really important to both plan for short breaks in

671
00:30:49,596 --> 00:30:53,796
Speaker 4: between different screen activities and to give others that same

672
00:30:53,836 --> 00:30:56,796
Speaker 4: sort of break when we're planning and scheduling activities. Because

673
00:30:56,796 --> 00:30:59,596
Speaker 4: we know that this plays an important factor in burnout.

674
00:30:59,716 --> 00:31:01,276
Speaker 3: It also seems that we just need to be a

675
00:31:01,276 --> 00:31:03,676
Speaker 3: little bit more intentional about noticing it. I loved your

676
00:31:03,716 --> 00:31:06,676
Speaker 3: comment about sometimes the screen fatigue isn't that I've developed

677
00:31:06,716 --> 00:31:08,676
Speaker 3: some sort of mind grade or a headache. It's really

678
00:31:08,716 --> 00:31:11,956
Speaker 3: just that, like, I'm incredibly frustrated on my last nerve,

679
00:31:11,996 --> 00:31:13,836
Speaker 3: but that actually comes from the fact that I'm kind

680
00:31:13,836 --> 00:31:16,036
Speaker 3: of a little bit more depleted because I've been on

681
00:31:16,156 --> 00:31:19,076
Speaker 3: zoom calls all day. So any kind of tips for

682
00:31:19,156 --> 00:31:22,196
Speaker 3: kind of noticing that and allowing it to I.

683
00:31:22,076 --> 00:31:24,476
Speaker 4: Think that you'll notice it. Now that you've heard it,

684
00:31:24,516 --> 00:31:27,036
Speaker 4: you think about it, you'll notice it more often. The

685
00:31:27,156 --> 00:31:29,156
Speaker 4: harder question is what do you do on the back end?

686
00:31:29,196 --> 00:31:31,556
Speaker 4: Once you notice it and you're required to be on

687
00:31:31,676 --> 00:31:32,996
Speaker 4: Zoom all day for work.

688
00:31:33,156 --> 00:31:35,756
Speaker 2: And there are a few hacks that I'm finding.

689
00:31:35,876 --> 00:31:38,756
Speaker 4: My number one most favorite hack so far as that

690
00:31:39,116 --> 00:31:41,516
Speaker 4: when people book meetings with me on my calendar, I

691
00:31:41,676 --> 00:31:44,796
Speaker 4: made a new option that's called the walk and talk option,

692
00:31:45,036 --> 00:31:46,716
Speaker 4: So you can meet with me. They're thirty minutes or

693
00:31:46,716 --> 00:31:49,476
Speaker 4: an hour, or you could have a walk and talk

694
00:31:49,516 --> 00:31:51,276
Speaker 4: and we could put on tennis shoes and walk in

695
00:31:51,316 --> 00:31:53,836
Speaker 4: the sunshine and be aware that there might be when

696
00:31:53,956 --> 00:31:55,996
Speaker 4: there might be noise, but we're both just going to

697
00:31:56,036 --> 00:31:58,396
Speaker 4: embrace it and love the fact that we can get

698
00:31:58,436 --> 00:32:00,756
Speaker 4: away from the desk for a little bit. People have

699
00:32:00,996 --> 00:32:04,236
Speaker 4: been loving this option, so I think there's some ways

700
00:32:04,236 --> 00:32:07,236
Speaker 4: that we can reclaim that. I also really recommend that

701
00:32:07,716 --> 00:32:12,276
Speaker 4: when you feel like that frustration rising up within yourself

702
00:32:12,316 --> 00:32:15,836
Speaker 4: with screen fatigue, is to step away, step away from

703
00:32:15,876 --> 00:32:18,756
Speaker 4: the computer, and then do something really manual. So if

704
00:32:18,796 --> 00:32:21,316
Speaker 4: you happen to have the luxury to work from home,

705
00:32:21,476 --> 00:32:24,236
Speaker 4: maybe it's washing dishes or folding laundry. If you're in

706
00:32:24,276 --> 00:32:27,436
Speaker 4: the office, maybe it's going to take a walk, could

707
00:32:27,476 --> 00:32:29,396
Speaker 4: be talking to a colleague for a minute or two.

708
00:32:29,756 --> 00:32:31,996
Speaker 4: It could mean taking a trip to the bathroom just

709
00:32:32,036 --> 00:32:33,956
Speaker 4: to have a change of scenery for a minute. But

710
00:32:34,036 --> 00:32:37,396
Speaker 4: whatever it is, having that break is absolutely essential so

711
00:32:37,436 --> 00:32:40,596
Speaker 4: that you don't send yourself into a mental decline over

712
00:32:40,636 --> 00:32:41,236
Speaker 4: a frustration.

713
00:32:41,796 --> 00:32:44,236
Speaker 3: I love exactly this tip because I literally just did

714
00:32:44,236 --> 00:32:46,876
Speaker 3: this just before we're having this conversation, not in a

715
00:32:46,916 --> 00:32:49,556
Speaker 3: studio together, but over Zoom, as many of my podcast

716
00:32:49,636 --> 00:32:53,196
Speaker 3: interviews are, and I was on Zoom a bunch today

717
00:32:53,276 --> 00:32:56,076
Speaker 3: and I just took time to just go do some laundry.

718
00:32:56,116 --> 00:32:58,556
Speaker 3: Not necessarily because there was like an urgent laundry need,

719
00:32:58,596 --> 00:33:01,276
Speaker 3: but just because like I needed something physical to do.

720
00:33:01,356 --> 00:33:03,636
Speaker 1: I needed something that was like away from the screens.

721
00:33:03,676 --> 00:33:06,116
Speaker 1: And I think it did help right just to kind

722
00:33:06,116 --> 00:33:07,196
Speaker 1: of get that time away.

723
00:33:08,036 --> 00:33:11,036
Speaker 3: But the laundry the idea sort of fits with your

724
00:33:11,116 --> 00:33:13,716
Speaker 3: tip number nine of how to kind of get digital

725
00:33:13,716 --> 00:33:16,836
Speaker 3: balance at work, especially when we're working remotely, which is

726
00:33:16,836 --> 00:33:19,316
Speaker 3: to think really critically about the spaces that we're working

727
00:33:19,356 --> 00:33:22,236
Speaker 3: from and how we can set up some separations between

728
00:33:22,276 --> 00:33:24,756
Speaker 3: the digital world and the in real life world. You've

729
00:33:24,756 --> 00:33:27,676
Speaker 3: talked about this idea of an invisible fence. What is

730
00:33:27,716 --> 00:33:30,116
Speaker 3: that and how can it impact our home office?

731
00:33:30,436 --> 00:33:33,876
Speaker 4: So an invisible fence is literally just a digital boundary

732
00:33:33,956 --> 00:33:36,356
Speaker 4: that you set for yourself. But a lot of times

733
00:33:36,356 --> 00:33:39,156
Speaker 4: what happens is that when we set a boundary, say okay,

734
00:33:39,236 --> 00:33:41,476
Speaker 4: I don't want to have phones at the dinner table.

735
00:33:41,716 --> 00:33:45,756
Speaker 4: If you don't ever tell anybody that is your invisible fence,

736
00:33:45,796 --> 00:33:48,076
Speaker 4: they will literally cross over it all the time. But

737
00:33:48,116 --> 00:33:50,476
Speaker 4: there are ways that we can set up boundaries for

738
00:33:50,516 --> 00:33:54,036
Speaker 4: ourselves and communicate them or post them that help others

739
00:33:54,076 --> 00:33:57,156
Speaker 4: to help us to keep those boundaries together. The idea

740
00:33:57,156 --> 00:34:00,076
Speaker 4: of the invisible fence initially came from trying to train

741
00:34:00,196 --> 00:34:03,716
Speaker 4: my dog to stay in my yard in Virginia, so

742
00:34:03,716 --> 00:34:05,436
Speaker 4: the first house I'd ever lived in where there were

743
00:34:05,476 --> 00:34:08,276
Speaker 4: no fences, and I discovered that it wasn't just that

744
00:34:08,316 --> 00:34:11,836
Speaker 4: all Virginia were so well behaved, all the houses had

745
00:34:11,956 --> 00:34:15,436
Speaker 4: invisible fences. And what was even more amazing is that

746
00:34:15,516 --> 00:34:18,556
Speaker 4: when we got consultation for our invisible fence for our dog,

747
00:34:18,636 --> 00:34:21,076
Speaker 4: we learned that eighty percent of the fences are not

748
00:34:21,236 --> 00:34:24,036
Speaker 4: turned on, that the dogs learn the boundaries and once

749
00:34:24,076 --> 00:34:26,476
Speaker 4: they learn them, they don't cross over them again. And

750
00:34:26,516 --> 00:34:30,356
Speaker 4: so it really is about a training process. And while

751
00:34:30,356 --> 00:34:32,556
Speaker 4: we're not dogs, I do think there's certain ways that

752
00:34:32,596 --> 00:34:35,836
Speaker 4: we as humans can train ourselves, but it starts with

753
00:34:35,996 --> 00:34:38,476
Speaker 4: a recognizing this is a boundary I want to have,

754
00:34:38,596 --> 00:34:41,476
Speaker 4: and then be working with people around us to respect

755
00:34:41,556 --> 00:34:44,796
Speaker 4: those boundaries so that they're not unconsciously tripping over them

756
00:34:44,876 --> 00:34:47,196
Speaker 4: and the pandemic. For me, this was a moment where

757
00:34:47,276 --> 00:34:49,276
Speaker 4: I had to put a sign on my office door

758
00:34:49,276 --> 00:34:52,116
Speaker 4: for my children that said I am in a podcast,

759
00:34:52,236 --> 00:34:52,796
Speaker 4: or I am.

760
00:34:52,716 --> 00:34:55,116
Speaker 2: Recording, or I am doing deep work right now.

761
00:34:55,316 --> 00:34:59,356
Speaker 4: And beyond that, it wasn't just about posting the note.

762
00:34:59,436 --> 00:35:00,836
Speaker 2: It was about telling them.

763
00:35:00,916 --> 00:35:03,836
Speaker 4: When I was going to be available again, because they

764
00:35:03,876 --> 00:35:07,396
Speaker 4: didn't actually want to know what my schedule was. They

765
00:35:07,476 --> 00:35:09,076
Speaker 4: just wanted to know when they could have my attention.

766
00:35:09,476 --> 00:35:12,356
Speaker 4: And a lot of times that happens with colleagues with emails.

767
00:35:12,476 --> 00:35:15,036
Speaker 4: They don't necessarily need your response right now, They just

768
00:35:15,076 --> 00:35:17,236
Speaker 4: want to know when they're going to get your response.

769
00:35:17,436 --> 00:35:19,556
Speaker 4: And so when you put a footer in your email

770
00:35:19,596 --> 00:35:22,716
Speaker 4: that says I do not respond to messages on the weekend,

771
00:35:22,716 --> 00:35:24,676
Speaker 4: but I look forward to getting back to you on Monday,

772
00:35:24,876 --> 00:35:26,636
Speaker 4: it gives them a sense of calm that they know

773
00:35:26,636 --> 00:35:28,396
Speaker 4: where they're going to hear from you, and it gives

774
00:35:28,436 --> 00:35:31,676
Speaker 4: you that digital space to be able to flourish yourself.

775
00:35:31,636 --> 00:35:33,916
Speaker 3: And so any other good examples of kind of invisible

776
00:35:33,996 --> 00:35:35,796
Speaker 3: fences that you've set up in your home to kind

777
00:35:35,796 --> 00:35:38,356
Speaker 3: of protect your remote work or maybe to protect your

778
00:35:38,396 --> 00:35:39,156
Speaker 3: home life from.

779
00:35:39,036 --> 00:35:41,236
Speaker 1: The remote work seeping into your home life.

780
00:35:41,476 --> 00:35:44,996
Speaker 4: Yes, I mean one of the most familiar invisible fences

781
00:35:45,036 --> 00:35:47,876
Speaker 4: that many people use is some sort of filter. If

782
00:35:47,876 --> 00:35:50,036
Speaker 4: you're a parent, it's a filter for your children on

783
00:35:50,076 --> 00:35:51,316
Speaker 4: what they can see on the internet.

784
00:35:51,396 --> 00:35:53,476
Speaker 2: We can have them as adults as well. We can

785
00:35:53,516 --> 00:35:54,236
Speaker 2: also have them.

786
00:35:54,556 --> 00:35:56,676
Speaker 4: I know my husband is a gamer, and so he

787
00:35:56,756 --> 00:35:59,836
Speaker 4: will put screen limits for himself so that when he's

788
00:35:59,876 --> 00:36:01,716
Speaker 4: been on the screen for too long, it'll have a

789
00:36:01,716 --> 00:36:04,236
Speaker 4: message say, hey, it's time for a break. That's an

790
00:36:04,276 --> 00:36:08,076
Speaker 4: invisible fence he set up for himself. I think for

791
00:36:08,196 --> 00:36:11,716
Speaker 4: my children, one of the invisible fences that I'm trying

792
00:36:11,756 --> 00:36:15,236
Speaker 4: to create is a mantra in their head. It's literally like,

793
00:36:15,476 --> 00:36:17,836
Speaker 4: I want to be more mindful, I want to be

794
00:36:17,956 --> 00:36:18,596
Speaker 4: more digitally.

795
00:36:18,636 --> 00:36:19,716
Speaker 2: Well, this is a good thing.

796
00:36:19,916 --> 00:36:22,956
Speaker 4: So we can even use our own mental game as

797
00:36:22,996 --> 00:36:25,396
Speaker 4: an invisible fence to help us to stay on task.

798
00:36:26,116 --> 00:36:28,196
Speaker 3: And so that's some ways we can set better boundaries

799
00:36:28,276 --> 00:36:30,676
Speaker 3: using these invisible fences. But now we're going to get

800
00:36:30,716 --> 00:36:32,756
Speaker 3: to the tenth and final tip that I think is

801
00:36:32,796 --> 00:36:35,716
Speaker 3: specifically about digital balance at work, which is how we

802
00:36:35,756 --> 00:36:38,676
Speaker 3: can get some in real life social connection at work,

803
00:36:38,956 --> 00:36:41,476
Speaker 3: even given the fact that we might be working remotely.

804
00:36:41,996 --> 00:36:44,316
Speaker 3: I know that there's so many studies that have shown

805
00:36:44,436 --> 00:36:46,796
Speaker 3: that belonging at work and having friends at work is

806
00:36:46,836 --> 00:36:49,476
Speaker 3: so important for our happiness at work, but that can

807
00:36:49,516 --> 00:36:52,276
Speaker 3: be so tricky when we're engaged in remote work, and

808
00:36:52,316 --> 00:36:54,436
Speaker 3: so any specific tips for how we can kind of

809
00:36:54,516 --> 00:36:57,996
Speaker 3: be better about connecting socially even if we're connecting on

810
00:36:58,116 --> 00:36:59,516
Speaker 3: Zoom or Slack and the like.

811
00:37:00,236 --> 00:37:03,956
Speaker 4: So I actually watched Mark McConnell, who is a senior

812
00:37:04,116 --> 00:37:08,316
Speaker 4: wellness specialist at ATV Financial, literally give up masterclass on

813
00:37:08,356 --> 00:37:10,716
Speaker 4: how to do this. My jaw was just dropped as

814
00:37:10,716 --> 00:37:12,956
Speaker 4: I watched him lead a session and it was a

815
00:37:13,036 --> 00:37:16,796
Speaker 4: forty five minute webinar, and he packed so much social

816
00:37:16,796 --> 00:37:19,916
Speaker 4: connection into this forty five minutes. He started off with

817
00:37:20,036 --> 00:37:23,396
Speaker 4: three minutes of chat and get to know you, Then

818
00:37:23,436 --> 00:37:27,196
Speaker 4: he led one minute meditation where he brought people together,

819
00:37:27,756 --> 00:37:30,596
Speaker 4: one minute of reflection, got right into the task, and

820
00:37:30,716 --> 00:37:32,276
Speaker 4: all through the webinar.

821
00:37:32,476 --> 00:37:34,196
Speaker 2: There was opportunity for.

822
00:37:34,196 --> 00:37:36,836
Speaker 4: Both chat where he would call out people's names in

823
00:37:36,876 --> 00:37:39,036
Speaker 4: the chat so that he could have some back and

824
00:37:39,076 --> 00:37:41,596
Speaker 4: forth with colleagues, and there's some banter, and there's some

825
00:37:41,636 --> 00:37:44,916
Speaker 4: official work, and then of course the emoticons and emojis

826
00:37:45,396 --> 00:37:48,316
Speaker 4: when we're virtually connecting, and then at the end wrapping

827
00:37:48,396 --> 00:37:51,716
Speaker 4: up by talking about gratitudes. So what he was essentially

828
00:37:51,756 --> 00:37:54,556
Speaker 4: doing is weaving together some of the best practices that

829
00:37:54,596 --> 00:37:58,836
Speaker 4: we've seen in terms of recognition of gratitude and meditation.

830
00:37:59,156 --> 00:38:02,716
Speaker 4: But he was so focused and timely about it and personable.

831
00:38:02,876 --> 00:38:04,796
Speaker 4: And what I like about that, and when I think

832
00:38:04,796 --> 00:38:06,716
Speaker 4: we can pull from it, even if you're not at

833
00:38:06,716 --> 00:38:10,156
Speaker 4: ATB is to recreate a little bit of that in

834
00:38:10,196 --> 00:38:12,676
Speaker 4: our sessions. I think sometimes we think, oh, we got

835
00:38:12,716 --> 00:38:15,156
Speaker 4: to get straight to work, or this is a business meeting,

836
00:38:15,236 --> 00:38:17,876
Speaker 4: so we need to jump right into the tasks and

837
00:38:17,916 --> 00:38:21,596
Speaker 4: be very official. And I've seen a massive shift in

838
00:38:21,636 --> 00:38:24,676
Speaker 4: what's happened in the workplace since the pandemic. Less and

839
00:38:24,756 --> 00:38:27,236
Speaker 4: less are we focus so much on task and more

840
00:38:27,436 --> 00:38:31,796
Speaker 4: about this cross between personal and work at the same time,

841
00:38:32,036 --> 00:38:34,476
Speaker 4: and more interest in one another's lives. So I want

842
00:38:34,476 --> 00:38:37,596
Speaker 4: to encourage individuals. If you haven't been doing that, it's okay.

843
00:38:37,716 --> 00:38:40,076
Speaker 4: It's okay to ask how your colleagues are doing. It's

844
00:38:40,116 --> 00:38:42,836
Speaker 4: okay to take a minute to play around as long

845
00:38:42,876 --> 00:38:45,236
Speaker 4: as you work hard and play hard. And it's also

846
00:38:45,316 --> 00:38:49,516
Speaker 4: a great opportunity to really tune in and ask questions

847
00:38:49,556 --> 00:38:52,596
Speaker 4: about people's lives, to send them an encouraging message, to

848
00:38:52,596 --> 00:38:54,716
Speaker 4: say thank you for something they've done. These are the

849
00:38:54,716 --> 00:38:57,916
Speaker 4: little things that actually deeply matter. Whether you're in person

850
00:38:58,036 --> 00:39:00,516
Speaker 4: or virtual, we can still find ways to connect together.

851
00:39:01,116 --> 00:39:02,316
Speaker 1: Work hard, play hard.

852
00:39:02,996 --> 00:39:06,276
Speaker 3: I really love Amy's message about Digital Wellness Day because

853
00:39:06,276 --> 00:39:08,116
Speaker 3: she's not telling us to break up with our phones

854
00:39:08,196 --> 00:39:10,996
Speaker 3: or delete all our apps. Yes, May Third's new holiday

855
00:39:11,156 --> 00:39:14,836
Speaker 3: is all about finding balance. It's about embracing the digital good,

856
00:39:15,116 --> 00:39:17,596
Speaker 3: but also noticing what we might be missing out.

857
00:39:17,396 --> 00:39:18,996
Speaker 1: On in real life.

858
00:39:19,036 --> 00:39:21,516
Speaker 3: Whatever you do on Digital Wellness Day, I hope these

859
00:39:21,516 --> 00:39:24,396
Speaker 3: strategies will help you find a bit more balance, and

860
00:39:24,436 --> 00:39:26,556
Speaker 3: I hope you'll join us again for the next episode

861
00:39:26,596 --> 00:39:31,636
Speaker 3: of the Happiness Lab with me Doctor Laurie Santos