WEBVTT - Boost your digital wellness, with Larz May 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:09.320 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:15.200 This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:17.759 episode is going to be a longer one part of 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:20.640 the series where I interview fascinating people about how they 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:23.320 take their days from great to awesome and any. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:24.880 Advice they have for the rest of us. 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.040 So today I am delighted to welcome Lars May to 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:28.920 Before Breakfast. 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:31.160 Lars is a leader in the digital. 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.199 Wellness movement, something I know a lot of people here 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:36.280 are thinking about and about our relationship with technology. 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:37.600 So Lars, welcome to the show. 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:39.960 Good morning, and thank you for having me. 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:42.520 Yeah, I'm delighted to have you here. So why don't 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.400 you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself. 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:48.160 My name is Lars. I am one of the founders 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:51.320 of the Digital Wellness movement, and I believe in building 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:54.279 a life where we can find harmony with technology as 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.639 opposed to allowing technology to take control of our senses. 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.280 What inspired me to get involved in this space was 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.360 ten years ago after almost losing my life to technology 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:07.360 as a young person, and that led me to start 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.119 Half the Story, which is a nonprofit and a mission 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:14.520 to empower the next generation's relationship with technology and now Ginko, 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.800 a new business that aims at bringing parents closer to 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.360 their kids and using tech as a way to give 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:24.560 them signals about what's really going on beneath the surface 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:25.440 of screen time. 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.280 Absolutely well with screen time. 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:29.800 I mean, I know a lot of the headlines are 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:31.800 about things with you know, mental health, and I know 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.760 you've had a journey with that as well, But beyond 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.000 even that, I mean, on a fundamental level, I think 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:40.839 what gets at a lot of people about the screen 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:44.080 time issue is that it's a sheer volume of time, right, 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:48.160 Like that people are spending so much time engage with 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.880 their screens and it winds up being a significant chunk 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:52.400 of the day. I mean, I know you've done research 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:55.080 into this, like how much time are we talking here? 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.760 Well, the average teenager will spend thirty years of their 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.760 life behind a screen. Most of you that are listening 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.760 to this right now probably picked up your phone within 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.960 three minutes of waking up, and most people are picking 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.720 up their phone ninety six times a day. But what 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.520 we don't talk about is that screen time is just 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:18.919 the surface. Screens are really symptoms for what we're experiencing 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:20.960 or what our needs are that need to be met. 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.440 Oftentimes are reaching for screens because we're feeling anxious, or 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.240 we're bored, or we're feeling disconnected from our partners. So 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.320 I really think we need to flip the script on 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.760 screen time and really start thinking about digital wellness as 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.400 brain health and a larger movement, but really with actions 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:39.000 that help us get better at it. 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.040 Yeah, I mean I'm sure people think about it. Okay, Yeah, 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:43.799 past three minutes, I've probably picked up my phone. I 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:47.280 mean people are listening to this podcasts, probably on their phone, 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.680 so they may have forwarded through an ad or something 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.560 like that. But you know, I don't know that many people, 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:55.240 if they sat and thought about it, be like, yes, 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:57.280 I would love to spend thirty years of my life 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.079 on a phone, or yes, I would love to pick 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:00.360 up my phone ninety six time to day. 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:03.560 I mean it's kind of unintentional, right, absolutely, It's then 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.400 our subconscious and what we have to do is retrain 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:09.040 our brain quite literally, think of this as a new 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.160 wellness so that we can preserve our cognition and memory. 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:15.000 Because the moment that we're in right now, the question 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.120 is not how much screen time do we have that's 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.720 been the issue of the last thirty years. Now the 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:24.640 question is is how is screens or technology at large, 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:28.119 with open AI now creating wearables, how is that going 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.960 to change the way that humans interact with themselves? But ultimately, 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.360 how do we preserve humanity the things that make us 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.160 us on a daily basis? And it sounds crazy, but 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:43.360 for many of us how we start our day can 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.760 be very human and those small practices can actually change 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.080 our outcomes and help us go from good to great 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:53.000 from an emotional baseline a social baseline. And that's why 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.760 I believe screen time is a symptom and that we 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:59.120 ultimately can't be thinking about all screen time is the 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.720 same but really more about like food and to be 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:06.360 really conscious about one are we creating online versus one 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:10.360 are we consuming in order to preserve our emotional baseline? 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:13.520 Yeah? Well, I like that food analogy because I mean, 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.400 much as with food, there's a lot that is within 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:18.800 your control. You cannot give it up one hundred percent, 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.840 And in the modern world it's probably the same with screens, correct. 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.200 Absolutely, And so how would. 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:25.920 You define sort of digital wellness? 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.360 I mean, if we're looking for a way of thinking 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.040 about this, what is digital wellness. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.120 Digital wellness is the ability to practice and cultivate a 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:38.080 positive relationship with technology that supports your life rather than 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.640 hurts it. So what that really is is small practices 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.000 which I think we'll get into in a minute, that 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.080 over time move big doors. 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:48.240 Well, let's go ahead and start with this. 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.640 I know you have some ideas if people are setting 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.320 kind of digital wellness resolutions, much as we might set 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:57.680 resolutions to eat more healthily or get to the gym 0:04:57.760 --> 0:04:58.400 more often. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.680 We talked through a few of this. What's one of 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:02.880 the first ones you'd recommend. 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.160 The first one is to intentionally go AI free one 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.039 day a week. I think we talk a lot about 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:11.680 tech detoxes, which is great, but the reality is is 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:14.720 that every time we're using AI, we're not actively engaging 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:17.840 our brain, and so making that small shift one day 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.200 a week can be incredible for your cognition. The second 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:25.960 thing is actually taking handwritten notes during meetings. Research shows 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:29.920 us that ultimately handwriting will help you with memory and cognition, 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.159 and that when you leave a meeting, mostly in the 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:36.080 digital world now, that you'll actually have better recall and process. 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.800 So many of us already have AI note takers, and 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.800 I think it's easy to go into autopilot, but handwriting 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:43.320 actually slows us down. 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:45.760 I love that actually, you know, because. 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.400 It's not just having a record of the meeting, it's 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.279 the note taking process about getting it into your brain 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:54.320 where you can actually use it. 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:57.200 Yeah, and we've lost that. I'm not sure if you 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.960 saw the article about middle schoolers trying to bring back 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:04.080 cursive in school, and we've seen stationary shops are booming now, 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:08.920 but humans are craving the need to communicate. Our ability 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:11.520 to emote and to connect with others is something that 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:15.640 defines us from technology. We have to know when to 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:21.040 swap screens with scripts, when to swap emails for snail mail. 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:24.560 And I ultimately believe from my own experience that to 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.320 go from good to great in a day, to really 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:31.440 feel like you're sitting and processing a tough interaction or 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.560 even a creative brainstorm, you have to go beyond the 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.280 screen and into the script or the notebook, which I 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.479 have a bunch of them on my desk. And that's 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.200 another tip I like to say, which is everyone's talking 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:45.599 about the analog bag, what about the analog desk? On 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.000 my desk, I have beads to make friendship bracelets that 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:49.600 I don't multitask in meetings. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:50.560 We need to. 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:54.080 Break the scroll cycle by having things to actually engage 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.159 us when we feel the need to multitask, which isn't 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:58.880 even really something that humans can do. 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:01.160 All right, So we're going to take one quick ad 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.239 break and then we'll be back with more on digital 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:04.719 wellness from Lars may. 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:11.920 Well. 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:12.960 I am back. 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:15.600 Talking with Lars may who's a leader in the digital 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.880 wellness movement, and I love the idea that you just said. 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.960 You have friendship bracelet making kits on your desk. You're 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:22.800 holding it up. I wish our listeners could see that. 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.200 And you mentioned that's about not multitasking when you're doing 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:29.760 I mean, are you doing that to keep your hands 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.240 occupied while you're listening to things or just as a 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:32.880 total break. 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:34.360 I'm curious how you incorporate that. 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:38.320 Absolutely, I believe that in the world that we're living in, 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:40.840 if you're a CEO or you're on the other side 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:44.040 of the screen, I would bet that nine times out 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.800 of ten, the person you're meeting with is probably checking 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.280 their phone or their email during that meeting. You are 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:53.400 not getting undivided attention. And so for me, by having 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:57.120 a friendship bracelet or knitting, or even just a notebook 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.800 to jop down my notes is my commitment to undivided 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:03.320 an attention, and I oftentimes share at. 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:04.200 The beginning of the meeting. 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.360 I want you to know I'm making a friendship bracelet 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:10.160 or I'm coloring my pug coloring book because I don't 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.440 want to be tempted to multitask and to pick up 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:16.000 my phone. And it's something that I think we've just 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:20.760 normalized multitasking, but it's actually not true. What you're doing 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:24.280 is switch tasking, and you're giving everything ten percent or 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.840 fifteen percent as opposed to one hundred percent. 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:29.400 Because it's like you need that one little thing to 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:29.840 do that. 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:31.880 People have a slight bit of nervous energy, and I 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.599 guess the friendship bracelet making is a way to capture that, 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:37.720 or maybe something like walking while you are having a meeting. 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:39.880 I've got my walking treadmill down here. 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.320 I wasn't going to do that for this, but really 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.880 getting out of our heads and into our bodies in 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.040 order to get into the present in the digital world. 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.200 And there's a new concept that I've been hanging my 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.319 hat on, which is really digital attunement, which is how 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:58.520 can we use digital technologies to convene and actually better 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.160 attune to our own needs and others to lead to 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:04.120 more human and better outcomes. And I believe that the 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.640 way that we're designing technology, but ultimately our lives needs 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.280 to be thinking about those nuances as opposed to just 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.000 checklists and how we're spending our time, but really adding 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.560 that intention, because the difference between a minute and a 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:17.800 moment is that intention. 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:19.000 Yeah. 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.679 Well, we've been going through some of these digital wellness resolutions. 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:25.800 I know we had go AI free one day a week. 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.760 Maybe just on a practical level, I mean, I guess 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.800 you have to be careful about what you're doing with 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.160 your browser, even if that because a lot of it's automatic. 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.559 Right, Well, what I really mean is that do not 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:39.480 go on claud or open AI. 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:39.960 For a day. 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.840 And what that forces you to do is actually write 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:49.199 every email, actually take handwritten notes from the meeting. Sometimes 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.440 what I'll do is I'll actually capture notes on my 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.319 notebook and I'll take photos and upload them to AI 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:56.800 to then translate them to the digital world, which I 0:09:56.880 --> 0:09:58.960 think is a really phenomenal practice. 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:00.920 When the world We'll started. 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.520 Using Google maps, and we moved on a map quest. 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.400 I think we all probably remember our parents printed that 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:08.160 out and it was like, we need to make a 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.560 guide for the road. You didn't have to think about 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:14.240 that anymore because you started going into autopilot. What happens 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:16.080 in the digital world is that when we go to 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:20.400 AI for every single answer, or to write every single email, 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:24.959 even personal emails or texts, our brain is going into autopilot. 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.800 So you have to make that choice to rev up 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:32.079 the engine that is your brain and strengthen that muscle 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:36.720 in order to really preserve your brain health. And I think, yes, 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:40.920 this is about digital wellness or revolution resolution, but digital 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:45.000 wellness is brain health. And my hypothesis is that based 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.839 on what we're seeing with kids, how their brains are 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:52.160 literally changing because of technology, if we don't do these things, 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:56.439 we're going to start seeing earlier onset dementia and Alzheimer's 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:58.760 because our brains are weakening over time. 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:01.400 All right, well, that's a scary thought. 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.640 And we've all laughed at the people who are putting 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.440 on a map, you know, software in order to get 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:09.320 somewhere that clearly've been to a dozen times before. Is like, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:11.640 did you not think about this like your brain is 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:17.280 not even even operating in a you know, an engaged form. Okay, 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:21.120 so number two was to take our notes by hand. 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:23.000 What's number three? 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:28.000 Number three is to ultimately use the digital world to 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.120 maximize your time in the real world. So what I do, 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.440 for example, is every Sunday, I love to look up 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.360 recipes on the Internet. One of the best ways to 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.120 waste your time is running around a grocery store for 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.800 three hours trying to find all the things. What I 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.240 do is I come up with my theme for the week. 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:48.480 I take my recipes, I drop them into chat GBT 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.440 and say, pull out everything I'm going to need for 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:55.400 a party of two, and organize every recipe and item 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.040 I need by aisle to maximize my time. 0:11:57.800 --> 0:11:58.400 At the store. 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.200 What that does is reduces the amount of time I 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.280 have to actually think about getting the materials and optimize 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:05.760 my time for the creative thinking. 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:08.360 Excellent, All right, what's the next one? 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.880 So the next one is swap email for snail mail. 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:14.679 One of the best ways that you can actually rewire 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.360 your brain is through gratitude. I always have a box 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:22.360 of stationary with me, and it's very easy to write 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.520 an email or a text but when you actually show 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.000 up to a meeting or you send a letter in 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.720 the mail, it shows that you cared, and you cared 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:34.120 enough to stop, drop and write instead of just throwing 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.560 in a prompt to open AI. And that's what goes 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:41.160 from a digital transaction into a human transformation and relationship. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:42.520 I love that one. 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.360 Yeah. I think a lot of young people these days 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.920 don't even know how you address and stamp an envelope. 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:48.680 I had a conversation with one of my kids about 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:49.800 the purchasing of stamps. 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:51.160 It had never come up before. 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.040 I mean, if they're not being taught cursive in school, 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.080 how would they know how to put a stamp on 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:56.559 a letter. 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.640 It's true, it's true. It's not something we think about. 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:01.400 But a great tip for people here too. 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:05.840 Carry cards and your pursor backpack and take a few 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.320 minutes if you've got some downtime to do it, and 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:09.600 then you've got a fifth one as well. 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.520 Yeah, brick your phone. I have a brick. 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.400 It's an incredible tool. I'm sure you've been seeing it 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.240 all over the internet. What I love about it is 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.520 that it's actually the physical act of tapping your phone 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.760 and tapping you out of the digital world. 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:24.920 I spend all. 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.440 Of my weekends now completely social media free and the 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:31.800 spirit of handwritten notes. I've actually decided to master the 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.760 art of calligraphy, and that's something that I'm now spending 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.240 my weekends on and swapping my scrolling doing that. If 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.480 you think about it, if you're spending eight hours a 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:45.040 day online and on the weekends you're spending eight hours 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.520 a day, and they say it takes ten thousand hours 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:51.040 to master something, you should really just find an art 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:51.920 and go after it. 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.520 That is the best thing you can do for. 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.800 Your productivity, for your mental health, and it also gives 0:13:57.840 --> 0:13:59.680 you something to focus on besides work. 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.760 Yeah, And with that, it's really a two step process then, 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:07.920 because you're saying first you make sure that the technology 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.280 is not necessarily an option, like it's not an easy 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:12.960 option for you. You can get around the brick if 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.760 you need to, but it's not an easy option. And 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:19.200 then you also have to think of what sort of analog, 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.240 fun whatever would fill your time otherwise I. 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:26.240 Always say swap screens with fun. So yes, and I 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.480 think when you're just getting on your digital wellness journey, 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.600 and the same way that when you're on a diet, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.360 you want to make it harder. The access ice cream, 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.240 maybe you're not putting it in the freezer, and maybe 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:38.880 you're not buying the family size chips. Some people are 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.040 hiding them or putting them in their kids launch boxes 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:43.680 to take at school. You have to do the same 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:46.480 with tech. Delete the things that you know are bad 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:48.760 for you. That's the junk food of the digital world. 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.360 Bite size and focus on the positive consumption. I would 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:56.040 argue that your podcast is a phenomenal way to actively 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.720 consume technology and walk away with real skill sets that 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:02.640 are to take your life from good to great. Listening 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:06.600 to you versus mindlessly scrolling on TikTok and feeling hopeless 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.160 are both time spent in the digital world, but the 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.520 outcomes are drastically different. So we need to start thinking 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:17.240 about our inputs, how it makes us feel, and spend 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.560 more time in the active state of consumption, the apples 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:22.840 and the banana of the digital world, as opposed to 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:24.920 the passive, which might be the fast food. 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.160 And so someone listening to this might be like, well, Lars, 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:29.840 that sounds great. What do I do if the people 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.320 around me are still kind of on screens? Like, how 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.920 can I broach this with you know friends or family members, like, Hey, 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.800 I'd love to have you know, a screen free dinner 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.520 with you guys, or I'd love to hang out and 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:43.360 not be checking our phones for things. 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:45.600 Are there good ways to have that conversation? 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.920 The conversation is one thing, The action is another. Get 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.400 a box, put it at your front door and say 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.360 we're screen free tonight. And if you really need to 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.320 call someone or text someone, you can get outside this room. 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:02.280 But I think it's a about containing spaces for socialization. 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:05.720 All right, Well, we're going to take one more quick 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:07.320 ad break and then I will be back with more 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:08.320 from Lars may. 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:15.760 Well. 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:16.920 I am back talking with. 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:20.840 Lars may who is a leader in the digital wellness movement. 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.640 We've been comparing digital wellness resolutions to some of the 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:28.120 physical wellness resolutions we might set, like you know, making 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:29.800 it harder to do things that we don't want to do, 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.120 making it easier to do more of things that we 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:34.680 do wish to have in our lives. So, Lars, I'd 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:36.560 like to pivot a little bit more to your schedule. 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:39.960 You've been talking about having time off screens on weekends. 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:41.880 I'm wondering what a what a work day tends to 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:42.640 look like for you. 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:46.800 Well, I sleep from nine to five or four forty 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.520 five am. The first thing I do is wake up. 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.880 I like to put on gospel music. I immediately flip 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:58.000 the switch of multiple senses, one being sent, so I 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.400 always like incense. And I actually the first thirty minutes 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.080 of my day free writing, completely screen free. And what 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.879 that allows me to do is all of my creative processing. 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.160 And then what I actually do is make a bulleted 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.240 list of what are the three rocks that I actually 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.800 want to achieve today before I even get into technology, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:21.520 because digital overload has a really great way of making 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.840 you think that one hundred things are important when usually 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.080 it's only three things that are going to move your 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:31.840 business forward. In my workday, I really try to implement 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:35.720 digital wellness into my team culture. So what that looks 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.120 like is one hundred and eight seconds of silence before 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.640 we start an internal meeting. It allows people to attune 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:45.640 and drop in. It's actually something that Bob Leary used 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.639 to do, and he would say that it's enough time 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.760 to make you feel uncomfortable but comfortable, and to also 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:55.520 recognize people that have gone into other realms. And I 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.280 know that silence can feel weird, but it's actually one 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.159 of the most powerful ways to create vulnerability and connection. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.920 I incorporate walk and talk, so a lot of times 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:06.800 when people want to meet with me, if I'm not 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.359 looking at a screen, I say, sorry, I'm putting on 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:11.639 my headphones and I'm going to walk my pugs and 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:13.639 I hope that's okay with you, But you're going to 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.800 get the best of me if I'm fully present and 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.360 out in the world. I think that we don't talk 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.680 about that a lot as leaders, but we should be 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.920 asking for more screen free connection. And there's even some 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.160 research that shows when you're speaking in audio and you're 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.560 fully present there that you can actually get deeper and 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:34.320 you have better ideas. A lot of my day is 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:36.720 on Zoom when I'm not on the ground or meeting 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.560 with my team in person. So finding that healthy harmony 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:45.880 I think balance is honestly made up completely. It allows 0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.600 me to still feel like I have enough cognitive fuel 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:52.800 for creativity. I typically stack my Zoom meetings in the 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:57.000 afternoon because the morning from about five am till noon 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:01.000 is my most productive and creative time. Try to optimize 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:04.720 my day for that output. At the end of every day, 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:07.400 I write one or two letters either to people I've 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:12.119 met with that day, investors, young people I've impacted, politicians, 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:15.439 and I mail them And it's one of the best 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:20.240 practices of gratitude to really seal my day literally and figuratively, 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:25.080 but also brings that tactile moment for processing instead of 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.760 just constantly going from screens into more screens into bed, 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:31.040 which I think was the vicious cycle that we're all 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.439 trying to break free from that the pandemic put us in. 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:35.879 Well, speaking of which I know a lot of my 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:38.000 listeners are still doing a lot of their meetings on 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:40.679 Zoom or teams or other related programs. 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:42.760