I am amazed at how much technology is taking over our lives. While there is much good, I truly believe that it is robbing us of our ability to be present, and to make sense of what is going on around us. It constantly interrupts and derails our focus. Why do we let it do this to us?
I Am Important
I was an early adaptor of the cell phone craze. I got my first phone in 1989. In those days, very few people had one. The cost was too high for most people to justify. We were billed by the minute on both incoming and outgoing calls. The phones were expensive and my monthly bill was rarely under $700.00.
This extreme cost made us limit the way we used it. We never wasted time on the phone, because we knew the price would be high. Only the top producers in the office had a phone. Very few of my competitors or customers had one, and none of my friends did. It was not uncommon for somebody to say, "he has a phone in his car." I remember feeling very important.
The experience of owning a phone is obviously much more common now, but ownership still carries with it a feeling of importance. How else would you explain the frequency in which we allow ourselves to be interrupted our most unimportant, insignificant and mundane requests.
It's For You
Many of us have become like Pavlov's dog. If it rings or vibrates we must respond. It doesn't matter if we are in the bathroom or the boardroom. I can't get over how urgent we have made the phone, the text, the email, the tweet, and the wall post. For some reason, many of us feel that if we don't respond instantly to this instant message, we will become irrelevant. Can that be true? Of course not.
These technological advances were invented for our convenience. They were never intended to inconvenience us. I remember being told that the invention of these devices would unburden us, make our jobs easier, and give us more free time. How is that working out for you?
What boundaries have you set for the use of technology in your life?
Are you confident enough to let it ring?
What would happen if you purposefully chose to take periodic breaks from it?
Several years ago, I made a decision to limit my use of my phone, even though I had an unlimited calling plan. At first, I physically shut it off, but then I began establishing the boundaries with clients and friends. In the beginning, going back on line was a terrifying experience. The amount of calls and emails to answer was nearly unbearable, but I learned to manage it. My business actually increased from this decision, and my circle of influence learned my behavior pattern and respected it.
Now I shut down my phone and my activity in the social networking realms on a regular basis. I use it for my advantage, it does not rule my life. I want the same for you. I dare you to begin setting boundaries in the way you use it. I dare you to resolve to turn it off when enter a meeting. If it is important enough for you to physically be there, then be there! You will be surprised at how valuable you become to the people around you.
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