Even when you want to disconnect from the world, the pressure of keeping up with the latest information always looms large in this fast-paced world.
Whether it's emails, social media, news alerts, or smartphone notifications, they all keep you informed while also inhibiting your productivity. So, it is important to attain performance through updated information while staying disconnected at the same time.
1. Limit the Time You Spend Online
Restricting the time you spend online will give you a boost in performance and motivation. If you start your day being online, you will eventually be online the entire day. Make a rule that you will not have any screen time before 9 am or when your workday starts.
Instead, spend that time doing something interesting and useful, like making breakfast and going for a run. Even for the evening, cut off the screen time after 9 pm to protect your eyes from harmful blue-light emitting screens. Thus, you will be able to sleep better and have better productivity the next day.
2. Spend 30 Minutes Every Day Catching Up
Keep up with the news by spending 30 minutes each morning catching up. You can spend this time checking out your emails.
Delete any bulk or spam emails to have a neat inbox so that you can easily find out the necessary emails. You can also use this time to accept or decline any calendar event. It is also a good time to set aside newsletters that you may want to read later.
3. Scan Through Your Social Accounts
Completely avoiding social media may not be possible as you need to maintain your network and stay connected with your friends and family. For maximum unplugging effect, catch up on those who matter to you at the moment.
Skip checking every Tweet or Facebook post. Visit only the accounts of specific people and check their posts. For LinkedIn, update the settings to view only the profile updates. You can check out and respond to only significant changes like job change and promotion while staying away from the rest.
4. Turn Off Notifications
A certain degree of connectivity is required when you are at work, but you need minimum distractions to actually get things done. Stop immediately reacting to all the emails, text messages, or phone calls. The best way to do this is to turn off the notification.
You can either mute the phone or remove all the social media apps from the phone. It allows you to devote your time, concentration, and energy to mission-critical tasks. You can also accomplish a lot more tasks this way. You can start small if your job requires you to be active and responsive 24/7.
5. Visit Only the Trusted News Sites
Social media has made everyone a journalist and an activist. Though it has inspired social journalism, it has also become a breeding ground for fake news. Staying up-to-date on social media is not a good habit. Quit right away!
Get objective, factual information only from reputable news organizations. Subscribe to your local newspaper for local news coverage. You can also stay unplugged from social media with unbiased podcasts and newsletters.
6. Improve Interpersonal Relationship
You can use social media platforms to retain relationships between family and friends, but they can also make you lonely and envious of others. Social media has been responsible for numerous incidents of mental health issues. Spend some time away from social media and enjoy the beauty of everyday life.
You should also step away from social media and work on building interpersonal relationships. You will benefit from improved in-person communication. Communicate with your loved ones face-to-face rather than using social media. Thus, you can have a better bond with your friends.
7. Avoid Doomscrolling & Aimless Scrolling
Remember how many times you opened your social media newsfeed or news website to check out only one thing but ended up spending 30 minutes without even realizing it?
That's right—you have been the victim of doomscrolling. This relatively new term refers to the habit of scrolling through sad and disheartening news. To increase your productivity, you have to get rid of this habit.
Apart from this, mindlessly scrolling or surfing through the internet is another obsessive practice that has a negative impact on your mind. Having a strict screen time routine and control over impulse can assist you in avoiding such things.
8. The Best Way to Unplug Is to Plug-In Efficiently
In order to truly live an unplugged life at home, you must leverage the times you are connected. To be as productive as possible, you need to stay focused and avoid distractions as much as possible. During office hours, if you are on the phone with a friend, you should use the time to collect all necessary information.
9. Subscribe to Newsletters
To stay informed and up-to-date with the least screen time, you need to stop searching for the news and let the information come to you. When you have your daily or weekly dose of news, your mind will not scream to scroll through social media either.
Subscribe to newsletters of trustworthy news websites or other work-related websites. They will keep sending you the headlines right to your inbox.
10. Avoid Sending Business Emails After Work Hours
Despite leaving the office physically, the work may follow you through the email application installed on your laptop or smartphone. Although you may not find anything wrong with checking your office email at home, responding could send the message that you are readily available at all times. Ultimately, you become exhausted, and your productivity suffers.
Always set email boundaries no matter how challenging they may seem to achieve truly unplugged time. Ask your colleagues and clients to call you during work emergencies and leave the rest for the emails.
Finding the Right Balance Between Staying Informed and Unplugged
Life is all about balance, and only the perfect work-life balance can ensure optimum productivity. Staying informed and unplugged at the same time is a difficult goal that requires time and effort.
Follow these hacks and find out which ones work for you and bring you one step closer to achieve greater productivity.