I guess you can say over the past 19 years of this century, we are like a frog in hot water. When the frog, or let’s say ourselves, are in the warm water, we don’t think or need to jump out. As the temperature slowly increases, we don’t jump out, until it reaches boiling point and its then too late before we realise. In our hyper connected 21st century world, this is what’s happening, and we are slowly being over wired and consumed by too much connectivity.
Why and how has this become the case, that hyper connectivity and digital noise is starting to control us, and we can’t seem to see the wood for the trees? It seems to be as obvious as the fact that our cell phone usage has changed over the years, from being an occasionally useful tool, to something we can never be apart from.
Think of the days of the Nokia 3310? Even though it was small enough to be in our pockets or handbags, it was seldom perpetually in our hands. Then came the Blackberry. The revolution we knew was now happening, as we were able to start doing so much more with our phone and on a lovely colored screen! A minicomputer we all said and yes it became and is still evolving to become just that! iPhone then took over this space and suddenly we now have a tiny device where we can send emails, receive messages, do video calls, get directions and find out anything on Google, from the comfort and ease of our little computer in our hand i.e. the cell phone. We are not sure when exactly we can say this happened or this launched but it took over our lives and enabled the office to become mobile, accessed from anywhere, at any time, 24/7.
What is interesting is that we are naturally wired for activity, as boredom is not something we humans like to endure. We have always been active species constantly seeking stimulation, consciously or otherwise. So we naturally love what the connected world brings, like a moth to light. If we are not careful though, we can get burnt.
So when asking the question, should we be connected all the time or not, like most things in life, we need a balance. We however have to be conscious of scheduling time for both connectivity and non-connectivity, otherwise connectivity subconsciously bullies out everything else and we will become far too wired.
Connectivity should then be doused with regular doses of solitude. The word solitude may have a negative connotation for some, but what we mean here is freedom from input from other minds. So cooking a meal on your own, taking a walk or run around the block, writing down your thoughts or even driving to work without the radio on, can be considered very healthy and necessary solitude. Solitude is in fact necessary for us to thrive as a human being.
So we then need to live far more deliberately to get the most out of life so we can thrive, as opposed to just survive. We need to be conscious of how connectivity i.e. cell phones, laptops and being available 24/7, can take over our lives like a weed, as we become over connected. We therefore need to actively cultivate our mental health garden by setting boundaries and enjoying the freedom of unwiring our brain, by putting away the cell phone, laptop etc. and forgetting about these for a few hours, even a day. It’s about giving your brain the space to relax and reconnect with your inner self, without the constant noise and demands of the connected, wired world we find ourselves in.
At PelePele Wellness, we understand companies need their staff to be hard working and connected, to get the work done well, reach deadlines and create sustainability and profit. This can sometimes however be at the mercy of the employee, if pressures get too high, the volume never ceases and spills over constantly into their down time. This so often happens in corporate SA, as we equate success with long hours. We can however consult and advise companies to recognize these harmful trends and make the needed changes for happier and more productive staff.
In a nutshell, PelePele Wellness works with companies to address five wellness pillars to help make their staff happier and more productive.
One pillar is that we focus on stress reducing changes, for example we encourage staff to leave their phone in a set place when they get home and only answer important phone calls. They should get out of the habit of always reaching for their phone to check WhatsApp’s, receive emails etc. as this promotes being overwhelmed and over wired. This is one way to help clear the digital noise from people’s lives. There is no surprise then why France recently passed legislation that grants workers a “right to disconnect” outside of working hours, specifically to address the issue of information overload.
Our vision at PelePele Wellness is to tackle these issues and ensure that working South Africans can be healthier so they are able to fulfill their own potential and live their highest quality of life so they can succeed and prosper. We help companies create the right environment and implement sustainable employee wellness programmes to promote this and a culture of wellness. If your company is requiring some guidance on this topic, as we as humans are not wired to be constantly wired, visit www.pelepelewellness and contact us natalie@pelepelewellness.co.za
My inspiration for this was further enhanced when I read Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, and no I am not getting paid to reference this…J it’s a brilliant book for further clarity. Natalie van Blerk, Wellness Expert, PelePele Wellness.