Smartphones harm your productivity more than you think …
Original material
Believe me, your constant companion, from whom you read this material, is not your friend at all.
Even if you are reading from a PC or laptop, I have a question for you: how important is your device to you?
The strange statistics of the answers shocked me. An experiment conducted by the universities of Würzburg and Nottingham Trent showed that 37.4% of those surveyed rated their phone as important as their close friends. Freaks.
Seriously, what's going on with people? 29.4% even indicated that their smartphone is as important or more important to them than their parents! Or is there something wrong with me? Am I just old-fashioned and reading books all day, have a few close friends, and really appreciate family members?
Look, I'm not kidding. Smartphones are dangerous. Not because they cause stress, anxiety, or even depression, but because they change your behavior. We can't seem to focus on something for more than five seconds. Why? Well, because something is constantly coming to the smartphone. And these are not calls from people (although people now seem to be afraid to call, but that's another story), but a constant stream of notifications about all sorts of nonsense.
Smartphone communication model
The above study also revealed the following features:
The researchers asked participants to test their concentration in four situations: a smartphone in a pocket, a smartphone on a table, a smartphone locked in a drawer, and a smartphone in another room. The results are significant: the lowest score was recorded in the first situation, but each additional 'obstacle' improved the level of test performance; the score was 26% higher when there was no smartphone in the room. '
Of course, this is just research. And you don't have to believe everything you read. But in this case, I can illustrate everything with my own example. Over the past two years, I have significantly changed my model of communicating with a smartphone. Namely:
• I've turned off all notifications except messages and calls.
• Removed from all WhatsApp groups, except those where I communicate with my closest friends.
• All new applications have been removed (if something important happens, you will hear it from others)
• Through my smartphone, I listen to music, read paid journalistic content and publications of specific authors to whom I subscribe, watch videos on YouTube for education and partly entertainment (yes, I am not a robot), read and listen to books.
• For the rest, I use the phone for calls, SMS, notes, photos and videos.
I also stopped responding to notifications instantly. This does not mean that I do not value other people who are trying to contact me. This means that I refuse to be a slave to the telephone. I control him. For many of us, this approach is diametrically opposed to what is actually happening. Previously, my mind was controlled by Facebook, Instagram, Apple, Google, etc. Of course, they did not stop doing this, because the only way to escape this control would be to cut the wires and escape into the forest. Let's be realistic.
I like my phone. But I don't need him.
Since I changed my behavior, my life has become much better. Over the past two years, I have done more than ever. And I have time for daily training, meeting friends, dinner with my family and communication with a lady. But you and I have the same 24 hours at your disposal. The difference is how you spend those 1,440 minutes. Honestly, I think there are still ways to improve my performance. No one reaches their peak performance levels. And becoming the most productive person in the world is not particularly important.
You know better how to spend your time. But don't tell me you wouldn't want to be 26% more productive by changing only one unimportant part of your life – your smartphone behavior. And if you are wondering why so few people tell you to get rid of the influence of the smartphone, then understand that their goal is your wallet. The same is done by people on social networks, who, as they themselves believe, can conduct business from a smartphone without losing efficiency. They need you to consume their content. Yes, that's right – on your smartphone.
Apple will never say, 'Don't worry that buying a new iPhone will negate your performance.' Of course he won't, they are trying to convey the idea of the opposite process. And yes, smartphones can improve efficiency and productivity. You may be reading this on your phone. It's great. I also read from the phone. But the main plus is that you and I use devices in order to become smarter.
Phone makers and app developers are smarter than us. Their goal is to lure us into their networks. So I often remind myself not to be completely dependent on smartphones, attention is more important than productivity. It's time to get your attention back. And then become the master of your life. It's worth it.
Author – Darius Forum
On average, a modern user checks their smartphone for new notifications every four minutes. Thus, a person falls into a vicious circle and begins to feel discomfort if for some reason he could not 'update the tape'. Of course, we are not talking about attention in this case.
Productivity undoubtedly suffers, I feel it myself. Therefore, when translating large texts, I try not to use my smartphone as much as possible: I use Telegram, Spotify on my laptop, I answer calls and SMS after the tracker vibrates. For the rest of my scenarios, the problem of 'digital distraction' does not affect, probably for the best.
As for the scenarios of 'behavior with a smartphone' given by the author: it's great that the author is able to control himself and filter out unwanted content. But not everyone can boast of this, and that is why web resources catch us in 'clickbait' traps, after which the awareness of wasted time comes more acute.
Do you follow similar rules? Or are you a self-discipline guru? Or maybe the author is planning everything?