Addiction to notifications

Dear notification, I’ve depleted my energy and focus in anticipation of your presence, whether I'm at work or with my family, you keep occupying my mind. The good feeling you gave me was fleeting and inconsistent. I felt great when there were likes on my post. I felt disappointed when no one cared about what I posted. The only part of my body that cares about you is my thumb. Now I'm not sure which one is addicted to you, my thumb or my mind?

If we were, to be honest with ourselves, this is what it would look like and sound like. Unconsciously we spend too much time on our devices and are addicted to the notifications.

This realisation came to me when my partner was talking to me, and my thumb made its way to my phone screen to check the red notification on my facebook. At that point, I realised that I was addicted.

Perhaps you are at the dinner table or sitting at the cafe with your loved ones, as you sit there something is bothering you, you don't know what it is... as a result of this you end up giving no one at the table your undivided attention as you feel restless and bored. Yet your finger slowly makes its way to your phone screen, and two hours later you end up with pictures of your food and smiling faces on facebook with fifty comments.

With unlimited access to the virtual world, we can easily lose ourselves in it. With structure, we can enjoy both worlds. I will share with you the strategies I’ve used to structure my life that allow me to spend more time with my loved ones and get things done. The first strategy; turn everything off before 8pm and when you get up in the morning give an hour to yourself with no devices just you and your note pad to allow you to think clearly.

Second strategy; technology is an amazing tool so use it to your advantage, rather than wasting time surfing social media when you could use that time to create empowering content to inspire others.

I want you to remember this, my friend, we either are the content creator or content consumer, which one are you? Dedy www.dedytien.com