Is Technology Really Helping Us to Get More Done?

Generally speaking, it is counterproductive to limit the use of technology for a business, but at the same time, it is absolutely valid to limit your use of technology, personally, to increase productivity. It’s a big pill to swallow for most people today, but to put down technology such as your smartphone at times will actually help you, strange as it seems, to get more done because it’s not helping you as much as you think it is. This is why.

Looking away from the screen breeds original ideas and creativity.

One thing that is indispensable to a business of any kind is originality and creative ideas. Author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek points out in one of his most famous speeches that, as soon as we encounter any idle time or break in conversation, we go straight for our smartphones, instead of just simply looking around and thinking, or talking to the people who are 2 feet away from us.

As all of our faces spend more and more time glued to screens, that means that all the moments of free minutes that we get throughout the day, the open spaces in between tasks which allow for spontaneous thought and contemplation, are increasingly diminished because we immediately fill in those spaces with our phone’s screen.

Although it seems harmless, this instance of over-using technology, in particular, is one of the most dangerous enemies to inspiration and the valuable ideas that result.

Should we sacrifice quality & attention for speed?

All of us are sold on the idea that smartphones and other mobile, web-connected devices have revolutionized the way we do business and communicate, in general; however, there is a problem with this. What this technology does for us is to give us the ability to manage things faster.

The other side of that coin is the diminished focus and attention, and therefore quality, of everything we’re doing from a phone while we’re on the run. You will rush through emails without thoughtfully composing your response; you’ll accept or approve things that you may not have otherwise, if you were sitting at a desk without any distractions; you’ll miss things that required your attention because your phone is constantly invading the screen with notification messages.

The inherent mobile nature of that device guarantees that there will almost always be distractions while you are using it, from your surrounding environment, as well as from the device, itself.

It’s an addiction. Addictions are not exactly conducive to productivity.

Here is the truth about how we interact with our smartphones now. As many people already know, you get a micro-dose of Dopamine every time you get a notification on your phone, which makes it habit-forming and addictive.

The problem with mingling this with running a business is that addictions tend to take precedence over the user’s other pursuits, which means we’re not being as productive as we could be.

All of us across the world are now attempting to figure out how to manage or eradicate this addiction because it isn’t something we’ve ever faced before, and if it goes unchecked, our devices end up interfering with our lives in a potentially negative way. It’s important to be aware of it and keep it in check, so that all of our inspiration and attention to detail does not suffer as a result.