7 Small Habits to Help You Handle The Overwhelm of Working and Living in the Digital World

How to Handle the Stress in the Digital World

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.”
George F. Burns

“Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with the gift of your attention.”
Jim Rohn

Life today is quite different compared to when I was a kid in the 80’s and early 90’s. Back then I had a TV with just a few channels and later on a Nintendo videogame. That was it.

Today many of us have smartphones that we use to browse the internet, to work and to play games. We spend a many hours in front of computers and a part of our day is often spent online.

There is so much information these days. So many potential distractions and sources that seem to have made people more stressed, overwhelmed and unhappy than they were in the past.

Working and living in this age isn’t always easy.

So this week I’d like to share 7 habits that help me to keep my attention on what truly matters – both at work and in my private life – and at the same time minimize stress and overwhelm.

1. Shut off notifications.

To find focus the first simple thing to do is to shut off notifications in:

  • Your email client.
  • Messaging programs.
  • Social media and gaming apps.

Then get back to what truly matters without those pings hanging over you and distracting you.

2. Keep your smart phone far away for quality time/work.

The simplest way to not be distracted all the time by your smartphone is to put up small obstacles so you don’t have that easy and tempting access.

Here’s, for instance, what I do when I work:

  • I put the phone in silent mode.
  • I put it in another room at the other end of our home.
  • Then I check it a few times a day for calls and text messages.

We often do the same thing during the evenings and weekends to make sure that the time we spend together is quality time and not time spent being distracted.

3. Unplug or use an app to keep your focus on what matters.

When I write a new article or work on a course then I usually do that disconnected from the internet.

If that’s not possible for you then try a program or browser addon like for example StayFocusd or Cold Turkey Pro to temporarily block the sites where you know you tend to procrastinate and waste too much time.

4. Disconnect over the weekend.

Stay away from work and offline over the weekend. Leave your work phone at your job.

If that’s not possible keep things to a minimum:

  • Leave that work phone in silent mode and check it just every 24 hours over the weekend.
  • Do a quick 2 min check of email once a weekend (that’s what I do).
  • Reply only to the calls, texts and emails that are very important. Otherwise, let them wait until Monday.

5. Focus your information inflow.

Ask yourself:

  • What email newsletters in my inbox have I actually read and gotten something good out of in the past 30 days?
  • What podcasts I have listened to that have given me value in the past month?

You can ask yourself the same questions for magazines, blogs and forums and so on. Then take 5-15 minutes to unsubscribe to the ones that just clutter up your inbox, smart phone, bookmark list and shelves.

Time is limited. So is your attention.

So use both of them in a way that enriches your life and that focuses on only the best information sources. This very simple exercise can be surprisingly effective to get rid of mental clutter too and think more clearly again.

6. Stop comparing your life to someone’s high-light reel.

When you start comparing yourself and your life to what old classmates, friends and celebrities share on Instagram or Facebook and you each day see how perfect and wonderful their homes, kids, work and lives are then that can create a lot of stress and erode your self-esteem.

So what can you do if you get stuck in this habit?

  • Remember that what they share is usually just the high-light reel of their lives, the most positive moments. The other stuff that is a part of life happens too, you just don’t see it.
  • Focus on comparing yourself to yourself instead. See how far you have come, what you have learned and what you have overcome.

7. Remember the 5 little words for sanity: One thing at a time.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tabs open in your browser or missed messages, when you’re distracted by something while trying to have quality time with your loved ones and when the stress is starting to build up remember those 5 little words.

Breathe and let them help you to connect with this moment and with simplifying things. Use them to slow down, to find clarity in what you need to do and to resharpen your focus and attention once again.

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About the Author

Henrik Edberg is the creator of the Positivity Blog and has written weekly articles here since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Gothenburg and has been featured on Lifehacker, HuffPost and Paulo Coelho’s blog. Click here to learn more…

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Anonymous

    It´s the tips for using it. Thank you Sir for them.

  • Awesome reminders. As a 21 year old today I notice that hanging out with my friends a lot of the time is just them on their phone the whole time. It is difficult to connect with people and stay mentally grounded when we are caught up in technology for a majority of the day. AWESOME article :)

  • All 7 habits are useful and i feel like i need to do this. comparing your self to others always make stress and avoiding worry, stress is key to longevity. your article help to living in the digital world.

  • Disconnecting on the weekends is such a great idea. I have both my personal & work emails on the same app – big mistake! Definitely time for me to separate them so it’s not so easy to peek at what’s going on at work.

  • This is very informative, as I still struggle from time to time in maintaining a healthy balance between school, work, family, and side jobs- thanks for the insight!

  • FQL

    Happy you shared these points. Wonderful write up.

  • Nazaninfatemeh

    Im perfectly thankful to u,sharing this nice practical notes with us.im myself do some of these poents. For example put a aide my phone and dont notice to it .as if i have no feeling no love about that.its funny for me but i look at it as if its a staranger.