Our Opinion
Fabio tries to disconnect for as along as possible and will maybe “have a good run at the park, as that usually helps me refresh.” Ada says she lost the illusion that she could follow all things tech a long time ago and “adopted the narrow approach of focusing only on these tech developments that are either necessary for my work and/or that are of top interest to me” and just skips the rest. Doing that, it becomes more manageable. She jokes she’d have started hating everything related to tech if she were following more tech niches. Phil meditates every day and believes it helps him a lot. Additionally, he’s really strict about his working hours and tries to not mix business with pleasure and watch TV along with a laptop or tablet. If he needs to look something up outside of his normal working hours, he’ll just use his phone. He also restricts his social media time and doesn’t answer the phone or texts right away unless it seems urgent. He doesn’t use screens at bedtime and uses pen and paper to take notes. “Burnout is caused by unconscious excess screen time,” so he follows all these rules to be sure that it rarely happens.
Miguel also reports that he doesn’t get tech fatigue since he takes “a significant amount of time to prevent it in the first place.” Much of his time outside of work involves non-tech-related things such as cooking, making mead, debating with his significant other, walking the dog, cleaning the house, or trying something new. He notices that the novelty of learning a new skill keeps him “centered.” He believes “the trick is to just get out there and let go of the Internet for a bit each day,” as it “helps us rediscover our human side.” Simon notes that while some time away from the PC helps, “if you’re feeling brave, coming off of the Internet entirely is also good.” Much of his entertainment and media comes from the Internet, so “taking a break and doing something that doesn’t require a WiFi connection helps break the technology fatigue.” He likes to read books and is also looking to start sketching so that he can add to his non-screen hobbies. Ryan tries to have “blackout” times where he doesn’t touch his phone, computer, or tablet, but they aren’t set times. He just believes it’s easier to avoid the temptation when he’s doing non-tech-related things. He also shuts off all “non-essential notifications” on his phone, feeling like some people are constantly checking their phones to respond to those notifications. It also helps he’s not big into social media. “Despite loving technology and using it every day,” a part of him gets “a little freaked out” when he looks around his hometown and sees “how many tech zombies are shambling about.” I’m a napper. I get physical fatigue from an illness frequently, so when I get weary I just shut my eyes and snooze for a little bit. And sometimes it’s unplanned. I just fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and I feel that helps avoid that tech fatigue, despite the fact that I spend my days and nights on my iPad. But when I’m away from home, I am not checking my phone. It’s put away in my wallet and in my purse. It’s not sitting out next to me in the car or on the table. When I’m out, “I’m out!” Unless, of course, I need to check the time or find the need to take a selfie.
Your Opinion
Do you get tech fatigue? Or do you craftily avoid it using some of the above tips like shutting off your devices and setting screen-free times? How do you deal with tech fatigue? Join our conversation in the comments section below.
