adminwith each other.
3G networks and WiFi have meant that we move through a world of different network addresses and hotspots allowing almost constant access to information.
The flip side is that people always have access to us. Unless you live in an area with poor connectivity (and those are shrinking rapidly) leaving your cellphone on is an open invitation to be contacted.
There was a time when if your teenager went out and failed to return by curfew and you panicked.
Now you just give them a ring, then when they fail to pick up you can devolve into a state of nervousness, but at least they will see your missed call.
Letters could take a week to arrive, now emails are almost instant and somewhere in the back of your mind you cannot seem to shake the idea that they demand an instant reply (probably because you will forget about them due to the influx of traffic into your account).
Is this excessive communication bad for us as humans? Is it really good for business?
The effect of interruption on human thought has been well investigated and the results, well they are not great when it comes to sustained patterns of thought.
You are much more productive if you can sit and focus on a task for an extended period of time without breaking the chain of thought that goes with it — looking at your phone every time it vibrates is not conducive for productivity.
Then there is the time sapping effect of multiple emails to be sifted through, analysed and responded to.
It is not uncommon for people to get 40-50 emails a day, especially if you are well known or have your fingers in many pies.
There are all the carbon copies that you want to be aware of, the spam that makes it through your filter, and the weekly devotional that you signed up for a year ago and never bother to read.
What about the aspect of relationships? If you think that accepting a friend request on Facebook counts as developing a relationship then you are sorely mistaken.
Go on, suggest to your other half that you go for a week with your sole means of communication being wall posts on a social media site and see how far that gets you.
Face to face, real time, human contact counts for much, coffee, dinner, lunch, family excursions are forgotten yet important arts.
So here are a few tips to decongest your life. Invest some time in setting down email rules.
Unsubscribe to lists you no longer read. Inform Auntie Edna that as much as you love her weekly updates could she rather just send you one a month.
Delegate someone to go through your account, with strict guidelines on what is important.
Inform key people that if something needs your immediate attention to flag it as “Urgent” or “Signature required” or “Action needed”, whatever the case may be.
Then unless there is something-fantastic happening that you need to stay on top of, check your mail twice a day.
As for your phone — switch it off or hand it to your receptionist when you are about to work on a significant project or meeting.
Landlines were invented before cellphones and once upon a time worked rather well thank you very much, if someone needs to find you they can use that.
At lunch with a friend do them the courtesy of turning your phone on silent and not answering it (if there really is an important call coming through be polite enough
to warn them and keep the call short).
Make time for people who are important in your life, and learn their timetables and when they may appreciate a catch up call after hours.
Go for drinks or coffee once in a while, make an appointment and stick to it. And not just a “we should do dinner sometime”, that means that you will never call them to make an appointment — set the date there and then or do not make an attempt at all.
Invest in people face-to-face; it counts. Now if you will excuse me my phone is rin . . .
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