Do you have a phone strategy?
This is a conscious plan for how you will use your phone in the evenings and weekends.
Most people we interviewed for our burnout vs thriving research had no strategy. This results in them checking their phone constantly. They look at their phone at the family dinner table, check emails while watching tv and scroll social media in bed.
But, when we interviewed people who assessed at very low burnout risk we found they'd all made a conscious choice to drastically reduce phone time.
This was hard-won wisdom based on past suffering.
“I used to doom scroll through social media a lot. I just saw how addictive it was and how miserable it would make me feel.”
They all shared that a key ritual was putting their phone out of sight when arriving home. Most put it in their bag and never looked at it at night.
But what about work emergencies? Nearly everyone told colleagues to call them if there was an emergency or anything urgent. They'd answer.
But they wouldn't check emails.
“I’m a cog in a larger system. The company is not going to fall over if I don’t respond to an email until tomorrow morning.”
Was this hard to maintain? Yes, at first. But soon they all reported how much better they felt. My favourite story came from a stressed manager, Drew, who wanted to save some money, but discovered something more valuable.
"We went to New Caledonia for a 12-day vacation. I planned to use my phone, but when I saw the data rates I said that there is no way I was going to pay that.
I told my wife that I was not going to look at my phone. She laughed and said, “You’ve got no shot.”
The first 3 days felt like quitting cigarettes. I’d done that before and all the symptoms were the same.
I thought, “My god, I am addicted.”
It got easier after the first few days and I lasted the whole 12-days. When I came back I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. So I deleted all my social media and turned off notifications.
Until I did this I never realised how much time of my life I was wasting.
How did others respond?
No one has said a word - I don’t think anyone even noticed. I had heard about mindfulness, but it took me doing this to actually experience it. It re-engaged the creative side of my brain which had gone dormant. I have seen that come back in force
What has the impact been?
My energy is way higher than it used to be. I used to get to the end of the week and be absolutely drained. I had nothing left in the tank. Now I finish the week with lots of energy. I bounce out of bed on Saturday morning and am on the golf course with friends at 8am.
My focus levels have changed. Because I am not looking at stuff all the time, I've stopped wasting mental energy. I now apply that energy to my work tasks and projects. I focus better and get more done. The difference is really quite amazing
This is a key lesson from our research on high performers with stress. They have a phone strategy. What's yours?
