Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagram messages, texts…oh my! They are all just GR8 and we end up ROFL, but oh dear – they have taken over our lives!!! And sometimes, they have even proven to be dangerous – look at how many distracted drivers there are out there these days!?
We have become a world of instant. Instant research, instant photography, instant music, instant shopping, instant news, instant friendships. While the constant impressions of our instant world are very real, they have also become distractions to our overall well-being.
While the use of instant information to solve a problem is a wonderful part of this technological world in which we live, too many of us are picking up phones, tablets, etc. constantly, to the detriment of other forms of communication and to the detriment of even our physical wellness. This world of constant and instant has become addictive, to the point where the thought of a dead battery or being out of reach of a cell tower can put the best of us into a manic tailspin!
Giving up social media is tantamount for some to quitting smoking or going on a diet. Some people give it up for Lent instead of chocolate, since they think it is more of a sacrifice!
So how can we break this distraction habit? How can we have a conversation at the dinner table without our phones by our sides? It isn’t easy!
How To Break The Distraction Habit
First – you have to admit you are addicted to distractions. Be aware of how many times you pick up the phone or go online. For some of us, it is so automatic that this attempt at awareness may take time. But, as with any other addition, knowing and admitting that there is a problem is step one!
Next step – look at what your distractions are. Are you just afraid you are missing out on what your bff had for dinner or are you really waiting for an important text/email? Is something important happening in the world that you don’t want to miss or are you just afraid you are missing everything? Time to take the next steps! Focus and act! Here are just a few ideas:
- Get away from all things electronic for a little while. Take a walk, a bike ride, a bath or hot shower.
- Meditate with nothing interfering with your thought processes. Breathe!
- Look at the sites and tabs you have open and close them or bookmark them. This will make you take a break from overload!
- Give yourself a schedule of when you will check emails or social media sites – try to keep to the schedule, and be sure that the times don’t interfere with meal times, school plays, etc.
- Read a book – a real book, not an e-book! Try to remember how good it felt to turn pages and not swipe a screen!
- Put your phone away while you eat! Concentrate on your food and the people with whom you are dining. Eat slowly (don’t rush to get back to the phone!). If you are dining alone, how about reading more of that book?
The TUNG Brush and Gel team wants our readers and customers to have healthy and enriched lives. We certainly don’t want you to give up your social media, email, games or texts, but to use them more wisely – they will provide more value that way, too, and won’t be constant distractions to take you away from things (or people) who provide you with intrinsic joys!
GTG now – TTYL everyone! 😉