Find Balance In A Wired World

Tech was supposed to make life easier, but have our days got more, not less, pressured? Here’s how to reclaim your time and your sanity by managing your online habits

- Fiona Wright

It’s happened to us all. One minute you’re doing a quick Facebook check, the next, three hours have passed and you’re deep in someone’s online photo album, with no idea where the time has gone. No wonder there aren’t enough hours in the day and we feel permanently frazzled. Digital detox expert Frances Booth has all the advice on how you can finally get on top of emails and social media, deepen your concentration, and get your non-digital life in balance.

KNOW YOUR TRIGGERS

Boredom is often a key reason to go online. After all, it’s far simpler to check emails than tackle a tough report. There’s also an easy blurring between your private life and work. It’s hard to resist friends contacting us with gossip and a link to a pic on social media, or seeing your phone light up with a tweet.

WHY ARE WE SO IN LOVE WITH OUR SCREENS?

Social media is incredibly seductive. It gives a great reward (information and stimulation) for very little effort but, unlike television, you’re an active participant and it allows you to skip what bores you and zone in on what gives you a buzz. But it can mean that we have fewer real-time conversations with friends and family, and less time for experiences. Plus, it doesn’t take much for all that on-screen buzz to tip over into a feeling of stress, and the sheer time that we spend online can throw our life off balance completely.