We live in a hyper-connected internet age where the instant rewards we receive while using technology make self-regulation difficult. If you find yourself glued to your phone, or constantly following new technology developments, you may be a victim of technostress – and it can have a serious impact on your mental health. Here’s what you need to know about technostress – and how you can manage it.
Scientists have already expanded the list of symptoms (concentration and focus problems, productivity challenges, body posture and muscle tension, insomnia) to include panic attacks, chronic fatigue, depressive disorders and general burnouts.
However, there are a few things we can do to deal with technostress:
Set time for breaks and stick with them. This requires you to track the time you are in front of a screen. It’s a win-win situation. You schedule for connectivity breaks while you become more aware of the time you spend connected.
Set time for social media. If you need to use social media daily, make sure you block notifications on your phone. For a more drastic effect, erase the social media apps from your mobile devices.
Turn off your personal device. Block unnecessary distractions when at work, when taking a break, and when going to bed. Practice switching off your phone multiple times during the day.
Reduce unnecessary communication. Filter out non-urgent messages and set time aside to answer once you have the time. This applies to both work and personal communication.
Write things down on paper. If you don’t want to engage with yet another application or system to organise your tasks and thoughts, try the old-fashioned way of writing things down on paper.
Concentrate on one task at a time. Stop tech multitasking, close the multiple windows and focus on the task at hand. If you are working on Slack or another online project management group, create clear boundaries about when you will be reachable.
For more information on how to manage technostress, follow the link to the reference below:
https://www.adeccogroup.com/future-of-work/latest-insights/what-is-technostress-and-how-you-can-manage-it/
