Keep Your Tech In Check!

Laura Willis joins Mark to help you to Keep Your Tech in Check!

Are you the master of … or slave to … your phone? How often do you check your messages? Are you one of the 80% of people who never turn their phone off and take it to bed every night?

We’re delighted to introduce Laura Willis from Shine Offline, who shares her experience of the negative impact of our 24/7 connectivity on your wellbeing and what to do about it.

The lovely Laura shares simple strategies to help you to have a healthy relationship with your phone.

You’ll discover:

  • How to transform your relationship with your tech so it helps your wellbeing rather than sabotaging it
  • How to achieve your work life balance 
  • How to be more present and connected with the people you love most
  • How to be more productive

As well as how small changes can make a huge difference!

We’d love to learn what you found most useful, please share your comments with us below.  

We look forward to seeing you soon and in the meantime..

Be well and thrive

PS  It was mighty craic filming this with Laura, there is an embarrassing outtake at the end  😆

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21 Comments

  1. Mark Mulligan-Reply
    3rd March 2020 at 6:16 pm

    I’m really curious what you found most useful about this interview with Laura?

    How is your relationship with your phone currently?

    What action are you going to take?

  2. Sarah Bridges-Reply
    4th March 2020 at 10:47 pm

    I found the whole video engaging and useful.

    I am guilty of checking my phone too much. I love my phone!
    I resisted investing in technology for so many years. I always just had a work phone. I said “When there is something that does everything… then I’ll buy it!”
    Camera, communications, entertainment, travel/maps, work, personal planning/lists, now I am fully IN, iPhone hooked.
    Laura is so right – this video (along with sarcastic comments from Mr Bridges) have helped me to realise that I am a more of a slave to, than a master of the technology I have at my fingertips.

    I will reduce my screen time and use the great tips in this video to look at my phone less often. Thank you Laura.

  3. Evan-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 9:44 am

    Great video, unfortunately I am one of the 80% of people who never turn their phone off and take it to bed every night.

  4. Della Judd-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 10:23 am

    Great video – loved how Laura talks so clearly and with pragmatic advice.
    I am an advocate for flexible working – but often people don’t put boundaries in place. What works for me (checking and emailing late at night) might not work for you. So I always encourage people to talk to each other about how they work, use the delay email send function, and ensure leaders are telling their team that they are not expected to be checking emails all hours of the day.
    I love the digital fairy dying story too!
    For me – all phones in our house stay down stairs over night, we have a no phones at the dinner table rule and I try v hard to put my phone somewhere else when watching TV because I simply cannot stop myself looking at it. Great advice!

    • Mark-Reply
      5th March 2020 at 12:49 pm

      Della, having household rules is such a good idea not just for your personal wellbeing but for family connection. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Mike-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 10:46 am

    I am so glad to hear affirming messages around the use of devices in a healthy way – I get very frustrated in meetings when others are on their phones and not focussing on the content being discussed. Not only is it disrespectful to the presenter but undermines the leader of the agenda item being discussed. It also affects the profile of the user.

    Same thing for me in the social aspect of not using devices at the dinner table or when out with friends.

    Close, efficient (deep in a social environment) relationships with work colleagues and friends is essential for our wellbeing. Your phone is not your friend, but can help nuture and develop relationships if utilised healthily.

    Thanks for sharing – embracing tech but in a positive way.

    Mike

  6. Mark-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 12:50 pm

    Hey Mike, I love your comment ‘our phone is not your friend, but can help nuture and develop relationships if utilised healthily’. I might borrow that one.

  7. Kirsty Mulligan-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 2:47 pm

    Some really excellent stuff in here, I especially love the tip about getting an alarm clock! I think it makes a huge difference if I wake up in the middle of the night and don’t have my phone nearby, so can’t check it even if I want to.

  8. Sarah Beadsmoore-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 2:48 pm

    Really interesting to reflect on the impact of not being fully present when we have our devices to hand. Also powerful to consider the messages we give to children about the importance this bit of tech has in our lives. We need to lead by example and dial down the constant noise. Very thought provoking piece thanks

  9. Jalpa Lai-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 2:52 pm

    This is a great common sense video that would be an enormous help if you are open to the fact that your screen time may be connected with your stress levels. I know a few people who wouldn’t want to admit their phone can be their nemesis – but a 2 phone policy and totally investing in a face to face conversation without one eye on the phone would massively improve their stress levels. We can insist our children can improve their phone behaviour but unfortunately some adults are harder to convince Great, thought provoking video , will bring up at the dinner table.

  10. Patrick-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 3:59 pm

    I was of the opinion that my relationship with my smart-phone was ok, perhaps I should call it stupid-phone and give us both some space! Really informative discussion and lots of little tips to take away from this.

  11. Harri Davies-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 9:46 pm

    Continuous partial attention – finally a name for it!

    While we’re all on the treadmill with phone in hand, it’s easy to convince yourself that this behaviour is the pinnacle of productivity.

    Sadly the reality is you disenfranchise yourself and others. The ‘magical’ super computer in your pocket isn’t without its uses, so Laura’s 4 behaviours are a great grounding for a healthier relationship with tech.

  12. Liosa O’Sullivan-Reply
    5th March 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Like many others I very much identified with my difficulty in giving my children 100% of of my attention. I find it much much easier to focus 100% on work or other outside interests and yet it is my children that are the most important part of my life. This video has made me reflect on what this means for me and also how my kids see my behaviour and indeed what I want them to learn for themselves. Changes needed…urgently! Thank you both.

  13. Julie Martin-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 12:33 am

    The Alarm clock! I’ve been thinking about this lately as I also use my phone to wake me up and it’s just too easy to be checking social media “for a sec” before bedtime. Making sure the phone is out of the bedroom is going to be my priority. And human connection is so important. We need these reminders that Laura has presented so clearly. Everyone needs to see this!

    • Mark-Reply
      6th March 2020 at 9:49 am

      Hey Julie, I bought an alarm clock after speaking to Laura and it’s made such a huge difference. My bedroom is designed for 2 things that begin with ‘s’ … and one of them is not screen time.

  14. Chirag-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 8:36 am

    Great advice – I’ve recently started to set some boundaries with my work emails: put them on a second phone, and switch that phone off well before I go to bed, so that the last thing I do before I sleep is not check my work emails. Staying away from the blue light is incredibly important!

  15. Laura Willis-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 10:45 am

    How exciting to get such a positive response to the video! Thank you to Mark for inviting me to chat about it with him. We’re all in this boat and with some small adjustments we really can make sure our tech plays an enhancing role in our lives. Keep shining everyone!

  16. Paula Rawlinson-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 4:00 pm

    Thanks for sharing this through Mark I found it really interesting. The 2 phones idea is something I do and my work phone is switched off by 7:00 each evening and I usually don’t switch it on at the weekends. I also don’t check emails both personal or work until I’m on the train on the way to work. Really liked the idea of no screens allowed in the meeting room/training room and am going to try this. Also good reminder regarding emails and something I mention when talking about time management is about switching off email notifications as these can pull us away from what we are working on and distract us.
    Looking forward to the next video.

  17. Vijay Reed-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 4:49 pm

    Very interesting and engaging discussion. Thanks for sharing Mark and Laura! I have a healthy relationship with my phone…next level is going to be leaving the phone at home when I go on holiday – eek! Here’s to keeping the thrive alive 🙂

  18. Vijay Reed-Reply
    6th March 2020 at 4:51 pm

    Very interesting and engaging discussion – thank you Mark and Laura! I have a healthy relationship with my phone (on silent all the time!). Next challenge is going to be leaving my phone at home when I go away…Here’s to keeping my thrive alive 🙂

  19. Ben-Reply
    11th March 2020 at 7:46 am

    Great video Mark & Laura!
    I’m going to time restrict certain apps again after recently getting a new phone and neglecting my digital relationship.
    And it’s also a reminder to leave my phone at home at least once a week whether it’s going to the gym or a food shop etc. which feels so liberating. Thanks for the great content again!

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