The notification appears on the cell phone screen and you stop what you are doing to take a quick look. Next thing you know, you’ve spent half an hour on social media. You also need to deal with emails from work, notices from your child’s school, reminders on your calendar to go grocery shopping and other tasks related to the home.
Spending so many hours connected to your cell phone causes exhaustion that we call digital overload. But how do you know if you are suffering from this condition?
According to psychologist Andréa Krug, leadership consultant and author of the book “Vai Encarar? The Definitive Guide to Survival in Leadership” (Literare Books International), one way to find out is by observing how much time you spend on your cell phone.
“There are still eight hours in the day for you to sleep and eight hours for work. How are you spending the remaining time? If you spend four hours on social media, games and WhatsApp, something is wrong.”
One of the most important tips for those who want to avoid digital overload is to turn off cell phone notifications.
“Each interruption (the moment you see the notification) will require a new effort of attention and, often, the feeling of overload comes from this frequency of interruptions and multiple tasks at the same time”, says organizational psychologist Patrícia Ansarah, founder of the International Institute for Psychological Safety.
Practices related to sleep hygiene are also valuable, such as the recommendation to turn off your cell phone at least half an hour before bed. Stimuli – both the light from the screen and the content of news sites and social networks, which generate different feelings – bring anxiety and take away focus, making it difficult to fall asleep.
It’s also worth reflecting on the need to respond to messages instantly. “The culture of urgency makes everything seem so important that it needs an immediate response, when, in reality, few situations are truly urgent”, says Patrícia.
One way to achieve this is by setting limits, even if this means telling family and friends that they will often have to wait a while for your answers.
To conclude, Patrícia suggests a life further away from digital. “Go for a walk, talk in person, read a book, be quiet or listen to music. These are actions that help the brain recover its attention capacity and reduce mental fatigue.”
