October is Mental Health Awareness month and if you follow us on social media, you would have seen that we shared a few posts throughout the month about the relationship between tech and mental health.
Tech is the present and the future.
As a technology company, we live and breathe all things tech – but, we are aware that using it too much can lead one to lose connection with their physical surroundings, loved ones and in some ways, the real world.
Off the back of the articles and insights we shared, we’ve written some tips on how you can create a healthy balance with tech.
Turn off your mobile notifications
Notifications can be distracting and before you know it, you may find that you’ve spent one hour scrolling through Facebook when you could have used that time more wisely.
If you’re the type of person to be distracted by notifications on your phone, you can always turn them off in your phone settings or the settings on the app you use. If you need to check certain apps for professional or personal reasons, schedule a time slot, or a few if necessary, each day where you check your notifications and stick to that time slot.
You can stop receiving notifications from your phone’s app by turning off the notifications in settings.
Put your mobile in another room
If you put your phone in another room (or leave it in your bag), chances are you’ll be less tempted to mindlessly check your phone. Before you know it, you’ll be paying more attention to those in the room and your physical surroundings.
Turn off your mobile on weekends
If possible, turn your phone off on the weekend. You’d be surprised how much this leads you to naturally be aware of your environment. Just try not to make up for your absence by using your laptop or iPad to do the things you’d usually do on your phone, or spending 2 hours on social media, checking emails, scrolling through BuzzFeed etc. when you turn your phone back on.
Utilise helpful tech
Ironically, tech can be making some of us feel less connected, more stressed and distracted, but it can help us get back on track.
When used consistently and over a period of time, meditation apps such as Headspace and Calm can help those affected re-train their brain so that they are more mindful, or in other words, in touch with our surroundings and the present.
The meditation app Headspace helps users train their mind to have a better relationship with distractions. Image source: Headspace Instagram.
Final words
Psychologist Larr D. Rosen says,
“We are sacrificing our Humanware as we overuse our hardware and software.”
Technology isn’t going anywhere – by creating a healthy relation with it, you can use it to its full potential, without sacrificing your mind, your mental and physical health and your relationships.