Linda Stone2013-05-22T01:20:45-04:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=linda-stoneCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Linda StoneGood old fashioned elbow grease.The Connected Life: From Email Apnea To Conscious Computingtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.14765542012-05-07T08:20:33-04:002012-07-07T05:12:01-04:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/story about it in early 2008 on the Huffington Post, and called the phenomenon, "email apnea." Later in 2008, in talks and interviews, I referred to it interchangeably as "email apnea" and also, as "screen apnea."
Definition: Shallow breathing or breath holding while doing email, or while working or playing in front of a screen.
While we have a greater tendency toward email apnea or screen apnea, while doing email and texting on laptops and smartphones, we are at risk for breath holding or shallow breathing in front of any screen, any time. Not only does this increase stress levels, it impacts our attitude, our sense of emotional well-being, and our ability to work effectively.
In 2007, I noticed this in myself, and then placed heart rate variability ear clips (HRV is often used to measure stress) on visiting friends while I observed them doing email and texting. I observed and interviewed people in cafes, offices, and on the street. At the same time, I contacted and interviewed physicians, psychologists, cardiologists, neuroscientists, and others, to learn about the implications of breath holding and shallow breathing, especially when it's chronic and cumulative -- day after day, hour after hour.
Recently, researchers, Gloria Mark, Stephen Voida, and Anthony Cardello, have made headway into formally validating the impact of email, using HRV.
Why are we doing this? Our posture is often compromised, especially when we use laptops and smartphones. Arms forward, shoulders forward, we sit in a position where it's impossible to get a healthy and full inhale and exhale. Further, anticipation is generally accompanied by an inhale -- and email, texting, and viewing television shows generally includes a significant dose of anticipation. Meanwhile, the full exhale rarely follows. The stress-related physiology of email apnea or screen apnea is described in some detail in my 2008 post, linked to above.
What's the remedy? A new way of interacting with technologies that I call: Conscious Computing. Technologies like the Heartmath emWave2, Huffington Post's GPS for the Soul, and a variety of optimal breathing techniques, can support us in using technologies in healthier ways. Instead of sending an email, call or walk over to your colleague's office. And there's always that other possibility: every now and then, just turn everything off.
When you text or use email on your smartphone, when you check and respond to your email, are you breathing or do you hold your breath? Is it worse when you're using a laptop vs. an iPad? How might you incorporate some of the remedies?
More on Conscious Computing, Email Apnea/Screen Apnea, Attention, Technology and Health at http://lindastone.net]]>When a Video Game Is More Than a Video Gametag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.7569822010-10-12T15:56:00-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
"Good morning," I offered, "what's up?" waiting to see if it was all right for me to enter the room.
"I'm pretending to play Lego Harry Potter™. It's a video game." My friend's fourth grade son invited me in. "We don't have electricity, so I have to pretend."
"What would you be seeing and doing now if you could see the screen?" I asked.
"You know what dementors are? Well, I would be killing them and I am really, really good at killing them. At first, I wasn't and they would get me. Now, I'm really good at it." He described the challenges at each level, the colors and sounds of the game. "When you destroy them, they break apart like Legos!"
What are the enabling conditions for flourishing? Marty has an easy acronym: PERMA. PERMA stands for Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. He describes this in detail in his talks that can be found on YouTube.com.
Listening to my friend's young son describe his experience with a video game was a "PERMA moment." He had a sense of accomplishment and mastery, engagement so total that he could summon it even when the power was out, positive emotions, and while it's a stretch, for him, there was meaning to what he was doing -- he was cleaning up a world of dementors. I was riveted as he brought his experience to life for me.
My friend's son was playing, what was for him, a PERMA game -- a game that activated PERMA, or flourishing for him. For this boy, this video game could transport him to such a rich and happy place that he could get there by just thinking about the game. For me, even witnessing him was a PERMA moment.
Do you play video games? How are the video games or any games a positive force in your life?
Do your children play games? How are the games a positive force in their lives?
What PERMA games do you play? If you hosted a PERMA party, what activities and experiences would you include?
Do different generations experience PERMA power from different types of activities and experiences? What have you noticed?
]]>The End of the PC?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.5984662010-06-03T13:28:25-04:002011-05-25T16:40:24-04:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/Wall Street Journal D Conference. It's a sea of iPads and I have a MacBook Air in my lap. Steve Jobs is talking about the end of the PC era.
"When we were an agrarian nation, all cars, were trucks. But as people moved more towards urban centers, people started to get into cars. I think PCs are going to be like trucks. Less people will need them. And this is going to make some people uneasy."
One of the people most responsible for giving birth to PC's and to the personal computer industry, was saying: "It's over." I texted my friend, John: "Jobs is saying that iPads will replace PC's. What about for us? For people who write a lot."
That question was answered a few hours later. I ran into Chris Sacca at a conference party.
"I've switched to the iPad. Everything. I have a 3 book contract. I'm doing everything on the iPad now. Spreadsheets. Writing. Everything."
Incredulously, I asked, "You can type an entire book on an iPad??!"
"Watch me!" Sacca proceeded to demonstrate astonishing typing speed, using only his (two) thumbs.
In the morning, Katzenberg took the stage, and enthusiastically proclaimed that he'd given up his laptop and was only using an iPad. Speaker after speaker has confessed to Walt and Kara, "I just don't use my laptop anymore, now that I have an iPad."
In Walt Mossberg's March 31, 2010, Apple iPad Review, he predicts: "...this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades."
A million iPads sold in the first thirty days. Not such a big deal since enthusiasts, developers, and competitors all raced out to get one. The bigger deal is that, in the second thirty days, another million iPads sold. Apple can hardly keep up with demand.
Lisa Gold, a Seattle-based researcher familiar with my work on email apnea, told me recently, "With my iPad, I don't have email apnea. I sit anywhere, comfortably, doing whatever I want to do. And I breathe."
Children have a natural ease with it. Louis Swisher, age 9, loves his iPad so much I wondered if he was going to eat it. He lives in it: playing both actively and passively with youtube, music, racing games, reading and more.
In the early days of computing, both Steve Jobs and Jeff Raskin had visions of an information appliance. The iPad appears to express that vision from decades ago.
At D, you know someone is talking about the iPad when you hear the words: "It's magical."
]]>Are We at War With Technology?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.5978422010-06-02T15:38:00-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
Excuse me, the web is giving us a brain? Can we really be so certain about cause and effect?
When we attribute blame to technology, we are implying that we're powerless in this equation, that it's "us against it." That it's war. Your technology or your brain? Can we really be sure we're asking the right questions?
Alan Kay, an inspiration in my life and work at Apple in the 1980's and early 90's was known for saying, "Point of view is worth 80 IQ points." Is the web shattering focus and re-wiring our brains or is something else happening that we haven't thought to notice, and to measure?
The Web and technology are the WHAT. There's also a HOW. How are we sitting? How does our physiology shift when we're "on technology?" Are we breathing? Does our heart rate variability change on technology? Does our pulse rise?
Mine does.
Using a device with an ear clip that measured pulse and heart rate variability (HRV) and displayed the data on the screen, I watched my pulse go up 15 beats per minute when I moved from reading to email. For a couple of weeks, I tested everyone who walked through my front door. I learned that I'm not alone. Many of those I measured showed similar shifts.
Only athletes, musicians, dancers and those with a consistent, long-term breathing/meditation practice showed no change in HRV or pulse when doing email.
More recently, in playing with a variety of biofeedback-based technologies, I discovered a lightweight device that isn't tied into a computer or mobile device. The ear clip collects HRV and pulse data and a small display box uses light and color feedback to provide ambient, non-invasive feedback. When I'm at the computer writing for long stretches, I attach the ear clip and set the little device on the table, now more aware of breathing and embodiment.
This reminds me of what I think is so effective about the Toyota Prius. It gives ambient, non-invasive feedback and leaves the choice regarding behavior to the driver. This same approach can be effective in enabling a healthier relationship between us and our computing and communication devices. In the Prius, the driver sees a display and has total control as to whether to pay attention to the display or not. The Prius doesn't stop the car in the middle of the highway and say, "You gas guzzling idiot. This car isn't moving another inch until you change your ways." The locus of control is with the driver who implicitly learns to shift driving behavior.
Technologies like these offer this type of support in computing and communication contexts. We can know: Are we "embodied?" Breathing? Are posture and breathing compromised? Are we chronically in fight or flight "on technology?" Or, are we learning a new "how," a new way of being when "on technology?"
If we shift our focus to the how, we can find new options. This is a call to action, not a call to a war of technology vs. humans. In our relationship with technology, we are powerful. The HOW is up to us.]]>What Is Dying To Be Born?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.4901682010-03-09T10:40:00-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/Lianne Raymond, a coach and writer, living on Vancouver Island. An excerpt from her email:
I am asking you, as one of the women I look to for thought leadership, to contribute your idea of "what is dying to be born" in the world right now. Maybe it is already in the process of happening and you will shine the light on it -- it doesn't matter: whatever way you want to interpret the phrase is welcomed and encouraged, as part of the beauty of the end product will be our multi-faceted ways of viewing the world, with each view reflecting others.
Contributions to Lianne's ebook ranged from sustainability (what the world needs now) to courage, and from compassion to mischief. I made it personal: What is dying to be born, in me, right now?
The answer came back loud and clear, and as it happens, it is as relevant to all of us as it is to me: presence. Together, in this moment in history, both personally and collectively, we have tremendous opportunities and staggering challenges. Past history and projections into the future offer some insights. Resting in the present moment, with a receptive, "I don't know, spacious mind," enables a kind of vision, all too rare, in our always-on, 24/7 lives.
My contribution and a few questions for you, are below:
PRESENCE
I am vigilant. I value competence. I strive to be on top of everything. I am a woman who has climbed the corporate ladder at two Fortune 100 companies. I am a woman who had to advocate for myself through a serious illness. Vigilance was my ally. Or was it?
Even as my steel-toed boots vigilance has navigated life's land mines, it is also blinding, lacking peripheral vision, lacking in any real sight. Vigilance shows us only what we think we'll find. People can only be who we know them to be. No possibility. No surprise. The knowing of vigilance strangles.
Presence is dying to be born. A universe unknown, right here, in this moment, is dying to be born to me, to you, to all of us.
A letting go, as if in totally restful sleep, yet all the while fully awake - there is nothing to do, no one to be, no effort, senses engaged. A moment is an eternity - it's all there is.
Presence is where the world meets us - where we are. Without pushing, without striving.
Presence is where we can welcome another, with love, present fro whoever they may be, opening us to a journey into new landscapes.
Vigilance has its place. Presence is dying to be born.
How do you experience vigilance and presence? What do you think is "dying to be born?"
]]>Mind and Body, War and Peacetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.4800492010-03-01T15:49:00-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
I'm given Vicodan. I hold the bottle in my hands, then set it down on the counter. Drained from the pain, yet I prefer it to the foggy head and constipation of Vicodan. I will hold the bottle, then place it back on the counter and just breathe. Slowly. Deeply. Inhale. Exhale.
My imperfect body, once a source of frustration and brutal self-criticism, is now my love. I love this body that has so generously served my ambitions, my passions, and my steely persistent will.
This body that takes me for walks along the glistening lake, in the crisp air, breeze on my face, arms swinging freely, nourished by the trees and the water.
This body that is always willing to dance, to sing, to cook a meal for friends. This body that experiences the pleasure of a tender touch and the trembling ecstasy of intimacy.
I have grown weary of this American dialog, a dialog of mind at war with body. Mind always right, of course. Mind, the dictator. Mind, the jailer. Body, the servant. Body, the victim, of mind, the bully.
Will declaring war on our bodies bring us into the fullness of health? How's that working out? Maybe, a momentary victory here or there; but an enduring peace -- not so much.
My friend, Amanda, taught me that the imperfect Barbie dolls, the ones missing patches of hair, the ones with an odd pigmentation here and there, are the most collected, most rare and most valuable. They are perfect.
I have come to see my imperfect body as my greatest teacher. My mind is finally learning it's not the only game in town. Empowered, my wise body knows whom to trust, knows what to do, and brings sensing and feeling to my world of doing. My perfectly imperfect body teaches me that war has no winners. Love conquers all.]]>Has the Internet Changed the Way We Think?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2010:/theblog//3.4160342010-01-09T15:22:00-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
Answers this year range from explorations into gray matter, to personal musings. My answer explores the tension involved in navigating my physical and virtual lives. Other essays can be found here.
Navigating Physical and Virtual Lives
Before the Internet, I made more trips to the library and more phone calls. I read more books and my point of view was narrower and less informed. I walked more, biked more, hiked more, and played more. I made love more often.
The seductive online sages, scholars, and muses that joyfully take my curious mind wherever it needs to go, wherever it can imagine going, whenever it wants, are beguiling. All my beloved screens offer infinite, charming, playful, powerful, informative, social windows into the global human experience.
The Internet, the online virtual universe, is my jungle gym and I swing from bar to bar: learning about: how writing can be either isolating or social; DIY Drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) at a Maker Faire; where to find a quantified self meetup; or how to make Sach moan sngo num pachok. I can use image search to look up hope or success or play. I can find a video on virtually anything; I learned how to safely open a young Thai coconut from this Internet of wonder.
As I stare out my window, at the unusually beautiful Seattle weather, I realize, I haven't been out to walk yet today -- sweet Internet juices still dripping down my chin. I'll mind the clock now, so I can emerge back into the physical world.
The physical world is where I not only see, I also feel -- a friend's loving gaze in conversation; the movement of my arms and legs and the breeze on my face as I walk outside; and the company of friends for a game night and potluck dinner. The Internet supports my thinking and the physical world supports that, as well as, rich sensing and feeling experiences.
It's no accident we're a culture increasingly obsessed with the Food Network and Farmer's Markets -- they engage our senses and bring us together with others.
How has the Internet changed my thinking? The more I've loved and known it, the clearer the contrast, the more intense the tension between a physical life and a virtual life. The Internet stole my body, now a lifeless form hunched in front of a glowing screen. My senses dulled as my greedy mind became one with the global brain we call the Internet.
I am confident that I can find out about nearly anything online and also confident that in my time offline, I can be more fully alive. The only tool I've found for this balancing act is intention.
The sense of contrast between my online and offline lives has turned me back toward prizing the pleasures of the physical world. I now move with more resolve between each of these worlds, choosing one, then the other -- surrendering neither.
How has the internet changed the way you think?]]>Life in Front of a Screen: Finding Your Rhythmtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.3815822009-12-07T10:34:27-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
My response is always the same: How do you feel? Your body is wiser than your mind in these matters.
The challenge is, most of us, especially those engaged with technology in some way, tend to favor the inclinations of the mind. The mind, for many of us, is often tyrannical towards the body. "Just stay up 3 more hours. One more all-nighter. A Red Bull or two and I'll meet this deadline! No walking until this paper is done..."
Our always-on lifestyle has favored thinking and doing. As we move toward a lifestyle that seeks quality of life, we'll find ourselves valuing sensing and feeling. We see the first signs of this in the various food related movements that are gaining popularity: slow foods, Farmer's Markets, and preferences for artisanal and local organic foods.
Check in: How do I feel? What would feel better? These questions can help create a flexible, flowing sensibility that will enable the wisdom of both body and mind to come through in everything we do.
Share your stories. When you stop to check in with your feelings, what do you learn? Does it shift your behavior? How do you tune in to the wisdom of your body?]]>Why Email Can Be Habit-Formingtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.3247812009-10-19T14:54:39-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
Information over-consumption. That gets us to the heart of it. It's a twisty and dark tale of chronic stress, the autonomic nervous system and breathing.
Chronic stress causes us to fall back on familiar routines. The part of our brain associated with decision-making and goal-directed behaviors shrinks and the brain regions associated with habit formation grow when we're under chronic stress, according to researchers at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute in Portugal.
Stressed rats will compulsively press a bar for food pellets, even when they have no intention of eating. Sound familiar?
Over-consuming comes naturally. Our bodies are tuned to consume when we're in fight or flight. We're also tuned to be impulsive and compulsive in a fight or flight state. Resources are plentiful around us, and our bodies are screaming for us to consume, compulsively. In this state, humans are less aware of when we're hungry and when we're sated. We reach for every available resource as if it's our last opportunity.
One of the most significant lifestyle changes to happen over the last twenty years is screen time: time in front of a television, video game, computer, or mobile device. By some accounts, adults spend over eight hours a day in front of a screen.
How does screen time contribute to chronic stress? In February 2008, I wrote about email apnea. It's the term I coined for the temporary cessation of breath or shallow breathing humans tend to do while at ANY screen: computer, mobile device, video game or television. Our screen posture is generally compromised, making it challenging to get a diaphragmatic breath. The emotion of anticipation, accompanied by an inhale, is a natural response to a flood of email or a tense moment in a video game.
We forget to exhale. It's the exhale that contributes to the reduction of the stress response and the heightening of the relaxation response. More breathing, less chronic stress and less compulsive consuming.
Breathing, in and out through the nose, with an exhale twice as long as the inhale, is an antidote to email apnea. Check it out for yourself and let me know how it works.
Our brains are resilient. Our nervous system can be our ally. Technology is a partner in co-creation .... as long as we keep breathing.
]]>TED: A Celebration of Ideas Worth Spreadingtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.1650522009-02-10T11:40:12-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/TED Conference. Founded by Richard Wurman, TED, stands for Techonology, Entertainment, Design. In 2002, Chris Anderson, a successful entrepreneur, used his Sapling Foundation to purchase TED. While there are still threads of Technology, Entertainment and Design, many attendees this year suggested that the trend was more toward Technology, Environment and Democracy. Chris' passion for solving some of the world's toughest problems, influences the TED agenda.
This is a conference like no other. Speakers are asked to speak from the heart, to share their passions and their knowledge, in eighteen minute segments, which can be viewed by anyone at ted.com. On this site, viewers can enjoy talks from past years by Jane Goodall, Jill Bolte-Taylor, Dave Gallo, Phil Zimbardo, Majora Carter, Dan Gilbert, and a host of others. High School teachers report using TED talks to spark curiosity and expose students to world-class authors, artists, scientists, activists and thought leaders. Friends gather in small groups all over the world to watch talks together and discuss.
I began attending the TED Conference twenty years ago. The passion of the speakers is contagious and the audience is comprised of fascinating people from all over the world. Every aspect of this conference, from the intellectual stimulation, the opportunity to learn, and the chance meetings with remarkable people, opens one's eyes and feeds one's spirit.
Talks from TED 2009 are being posted now. For starters, be sure to check out: Elizabeth Gilbert, Willie Smits, Dan Ariely, Sylvia Earle, Sarah Jones, and Lena Maria Klingvall.
What's your favorite TED talk? What's your favorite idea worth spreading?
]]>Blackberry One: The World has Changed and We Must Change With ittag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.1626712009-02-01T12:32:19-05:002011-05-25T13:00:22-04:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
The Blackberry is a communication prosthetic and our new President, throughout his campaign and continuing now, has shown himself to be a Great Communicator. The Blackberry is a symbol of technological sophistication. It says, "I use the latest tools available for anytime, anywhere, any place access to information." President Obama's campaign effectively used a wide range of technologies to reach the American people, to keep its volunteers connected and up to date, and to create a sense of community and a spirit of activism.
When I see Obama using his Blackberry, the message I get is, "I'm on the job. Right now. And I'm using today's tools."
Are we concerned about security issues? Is it the legal issues -- the Freedom of Information Act and the Presidential Records Act? These issues can be addressed through technology advances and protocols.
So what are we worried about? For some of us, using a Blackberry helps us stay on top of things at the expense of getting to the bottom of things. It becomes a distraction and an addiction -- instead of taking a moment to reflect, we hit the Blackberry for an email or SMS fix.
Peter, a retired Fortune 500 CEO, told me, "I gave up my Blackberry when I became CEO. I needed to trust my assistant to screen and forward things to me. I was afraid that if I didn't do that, I wouldn't have time to reflect, to consider and plan for the future of the company. There would have been a much greater risk of getting consumed by the day to day."
I've written about continuous partial attention and email apnea. I've studied what happens to our brains and bodies "on technology." I've also witnessed our cool, calm, and collected, thoughtful, basketball-playing, family guy, looks us in the eye, forty-fourth President. He loves his Blackberry and he appears to use it in a disciplined and thoughtful way. He breathes. He gets to the bottom of things. He reflects. I have a hunch he even puts it away when he sits down to dinner with his family.
We have a twenty-first century President using twenty-first century technology. Could we all learn something from the way Obama uses his Blackberry?
Eileen Gunn, an author and blogger, when asked whether Obama should keep his Blackberry, answered with a smile, "Let's see how it goes."
What do you think?]]>What Will Change Everything?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.1547092009-01-02T11:15:35-05:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
The Internet, television, antibiotics, automobiles, electricity, nuclear power, space travel, and cloning -- these inventions were born out of dreams, persistence, and imagination. What game-changing ideas can we expect to see in our lifetime?
As each year winds to a close, John Brockman, a literary agent representing some of the finest minds in science and technology and the founder of www.edge.org (a 501c3), poses a provocative question to an international community of physicists, psychologists, futurists, thought leaders and dreamers.
Brockman is a master convener, both online and in real life. This year's annual Edge question, What will change everything?, generated responses from Freeman Dyson, Danny Hillis, Martin Seligman, Craig Venter, and Juan Enriquez, to name a few. Here are a few highlights.
Venter imagines creating life from synthetic materials and expects that our view of life itself will be transformed.
Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek believes everything will continue to become smaller, faster, cooler, and cheaper -- with its implications of an Internet on steroids and exciting new designer materials.
Several neuroscientists wrote about everything from direct communication of feelings and thoughts from brain to brain to electrical brain stimulation for the treatment of mood disorders to cheap cryonic suspension of brains, to ways to control brain plasticity.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Verena Huber-Dyson see science evolving beyond analytical focus and including a sense of synthesis. Huber-Dyson envisions the end of fragmentation of knowledge.
George Dyson, science historian, author, kayak-designer and builder, looks toward the stars -- or here on earth, suggesting, "the detection of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial intelligence or extraterrestrial technology will change everything."
Discover Magazine editor in chief, Corey S. Powell, offers a list of possibilities from synthetic telepathy to genetically engineered kids.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people." Tap your greatness as we welcome 2009! Check out the responses to the Edge annual question.
I hope you'll take a moment to comment on the question yourself: What will change everything? What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?
]]>When Distraction is Goodtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2008:/theblog//3.1119152008-07-10T12:33:46-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
This past month, I've been heads down on a few projects and noticing something I'd not been very conscious of before now. When I get "stuck" or when I reach a natural break point on a piece of work, the menu of potential distracters includes everything from email and telephone calls to getting food, socializing and more.
I did an informal audit. Sometimes I would check email. Other times, I would pace, get a glass of iced-tea, or walk outside for a few minutes. When I did the latter -- any activity that was quiet, reflective and receptive, I would feel refreshed. I was open to receiving an insight and to being in the moment. When I returned to the project that had momentarily stumped me, I would enjoy new energy. I started calling this receptive distraction. Receptive distraction is any sort of distraction that creates mental space.
When I went to email, however, I would "spin out." That is, I would completely lose track of what I had been working on and get immersed in all sorts of other issues. I started calling this deceptive distraction. I thought I could take a short break and crank out a few emails, but it took longer to do the emails than I thought, and longer to get back into my project afterward.
I asked friends about their experiences with receptive distraction.
Don, a retired judge, related that he had always had a shower available in his chambers. On one occasion, during a twenty-minute recess at a custody case, Don took a five-minute shower. "I let the water roll over me and let my mind go. Things that were subtle, that I'd heard but that had not sunk in -- body language and other impressions -- drifted through my mind, and surfaced. When I got out of the shower, I had a decision."
Receptive distraction. "It's like a palate cleanser," commented Walt, a journalist.
Are your distracters receptive or deceptive?]]>Phone in the Toilet?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2008:/theblog//3.1076192008-06-17T14:58:10-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
We live in a world where phones can fall into toilets because our phones are following us everywhere. Untethered. Free. Free to fall into the toilet.
Last week, a high school sophomore told me that she brings her phone into the shower with her -- in a Ziploc bag. She didn't want to miss an incoming text message. When I asked her if, in her sleep, she had missed life-altering messages, she looked at me blankly.
We are better at rationalizing what we do than being rational about what we're doing.
Untethered technology gives us the freedom to do nearly anything, anytime, anywhere. It can also enslave us when we feel compelled to use it wherever it is. Technology is neutral. How, when and where we use it is up to us.
When I recently visited an old high school friend in Ipswitch, Mass., I witnessed something unusual for most families today. Everything had a place. Cell phones were used at people's desks. Computers were used at desks. The kitchen was a place for meals and family fellowship. Family members were fully present for conversations -- enjoying eye contact, listening and a meaningful exchange.
I mentioned this to a friend living in the Silicon Valley area, a former high-tech executive. She approved. "I moved the computer out of my kitchen. Now it's in the office. The office is an office, and the kitchen is a kitchen. I love it."
"Freedom" [free-d uhm] is the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc. The promise of a phone that could go anywhere was and is the promise of freedom -- freedom from being tethered to a place.
"Enslave" means to bring into servitude. Our phones have enslaved us even as they set us free.
How is this also true? Because we can, we do! Because we can, the phone accompanies us to the toilet, to the shower and to bed. Because it rings, we feel compelled to see who is calling and, often, to pick up. Because we can be accessible, we feel we must be accessible.
Is "freedom" just another word for nothing left to lose? Let the phone keep ringing the next time someone calls and you're in the midst of something else. When the caller later asks you why you didn't answer or where you were, you can smile and say: "I'm free. Free. I'm free to enjoy being in the moment."
And that's when you will become more powerful than any gadget on the planet.
This post originally appeared on Forbes.com.]]>Is it Time to Retire the Never-Ending List?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2008:/theblog//3.1066242008-06-11T18:21:25-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Linda Stonehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-stone/
I met some friends for dinner and put the question out: "Do you have a never-ending list? Do you manage your time? Do you manage minutes, tasks, and lists? Do you start each day with a list that has more on it at the end of the day than it did at the beginning of the day, in spite of how many items are completed and crossed off?
Or do you manage your attention? Do you manage emotions, intention, and make choices about what will and will not get done? What are your favorite ways to do this?"
I got such an interesting set of answers, that, these last few months, I made a point of asking a variety of people: office workers, surgeons, physicians, artists, parents, and CEOs. Here's what I've learned.
In the cases where people reported managing their time, they more often reported experiencing burn-out, they didn't know how much longer they could go on at their particular job or lifestyle. There was often a sense of helplessness and overwhelm. The endless list, the one that gets added to and never completed, at the center of it all, left them with a heavy heart and a burdened sense of tomorrow. There was no celebration of what had been accomplished, no kick back and enjoy after a day well done. Office workers with schedules packed with meetings, projects, and overflowing email boxes reported best efforts to manage time; best efforts that left them breathless. Physicians, rapidly cycling through appointments and report writing, focused on time and efficiency. Time. Efficiency. Lists. Tasks.
What did surgeons, artists, and CEO's have in common? Most of them reported that they managed both their time and their attention. In surgery, in the studio, and in the time carved out to think through strategies and issues, these professionals reported shutting down the devices and endless inputs (email, phone, interruptions), at scheduled times, and claiming those moments to focus. In almost every case, these professionals reported experiencing "flow" (a la Csikszentmihalyi) in their work.
We think we know what attention is. In fact, today's dictionary will tell us it's the "concentration of the mental powers upon an object." This definition assumes our attention can effectively be everywhere, all the time. We haven't always thought of attention this way.
In 1890, when the psychologist, William James, gave a definition of attention, he described it as, "taking possession by the mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought... It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others."
How to switch from managing time to managing attention? Here are some of the suggestions I've collected so far and I hope you'll comment to let me know your suggestions:
1. Each evening or morning before you start your day, make a short list of your intentions (the result and feeling of something you want) for the day and by each, write the related to do's for that day. Try to keep your list to 5 intentions. Consciously choose what you will do and what you will not do. Keep a different list of what you will review for inclusion on other days.
2. List only what you really expect to do that day. As other things come to mind, write them on a separate list. By putting these items on a separate list, you are creating the space to be in the moment with each of your day's priorities. Review that list as you plan for the next day and determine how they fit in to your plans. Give yourself some down time, enjoy your successes at the end of the day.
3. Give yourself meaningful blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on each intention. Turn OFF technology each day during those blocks and focus on your intentions.
4. At home, be clear about what technology you'll use and where. Computer in the kitchen? Maybe not. A friend of mine just removed the computer from her kitchen and said she is now far less likely to stop to constantly check email or news. In the kitchen, she pays attention to her family and prepares food. Sometimes they do group family activities at the kitchen table. When she heads into her office to work on her computer, her children know not to disturb her while she works.
Untethered technology gives us the freedom to do nearly anything, anytime, anywhere. It can also enslave us - we feel compelled to use it where ever it is. Technology is neutral. How, when and where we use it is up to us.
How about you? Do you manage your time? Your attention? Or both? How? What advice would you offer?
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