How do you use technology mindfully - as a tool - when you're a founder?

Joan Westenberg
7 replies
Hey folks! I'm currently writing a book about cutting down on the level of interaction we have with technology, being more mindful with it. I was wondering if any makers/creators/founders wanted to share some insights into how you use tech as a tool, and set boundaries on it - rather than being owned by it? Could be around setting limits on phone use, setting limits on online tools etc. Thank you!!!

Replies

Ugo B
Wow! This is a broad topic :) just starting from your last sentence/ setting limit to a use... Well setting limit to tech is like setting limit to sugar or another drugs. Whether a use creates an influx of dopamine or other pleasure molecules, why to limit it if there is no side effect? And regarding tech my gut feeling is that we are at very low tech/ human interaction today if we project ourselves in the next ...Few years :)
Devanand Premkumar
@ugo_buyzooka I agree. Why cut it down when there is no ill effect. When you speak of mindfully, it is already knowing how much to use and how not to use it. If your mindfully using, then your already fine.
Mars Negrette
Uff, I love this topic! I have time limits for Twitter + IG. I use a daily to-do app that remind me to take breaks between tasks, and love to fall sleep listening calming sounds in Spotify.
Reaper
I'm not really a social person so I don't have any social media accounts, I do have set times in the morning that I read through blogs and newsletters for new stuff that's being built, I generally avoid having the phone around me and I get up after a certain task for a few mins to avoid both back pain and give my brain a break. There's music playing 24/7 though.
Sedale Turbovsky
I would love to share some thoughts on this @jonwestenberg! I am doing a gumroad 14 day product challenge right now, writing an short e-book about this subject. I have been working on being mindful and intentional about technology for a few years now, and It really is a wonderful change of pace. IE I dont get any notifications about anything on my phone, ringer is off all of the time, ect...its amazing.
Craig Carlyon
I have the phone on sleep mode from 10pm to 5.30am, I have turned off notifications for almost everything, I have added blocks of time each day to deal with certain types of email (e.g. 4 to 6pm to read all the newsletter and other subscriptions that I have, I can let other things invade that time if needed but the many reading only emails can't invade other times). I keep FB checking to as little as possible (averaging 7 mins per day atm). I also am disciplined at putting the large rocks into my calendar e.g. I write my newsletter every Wednesday morning from 7am to 8am, finish it off and edit Thursday morning from 9 to 10am and then send. I spend far too much time on Twitter but most of that is during down time in the evening. I don't get everything done however productivity starts with calendar discipline and not letting tech or other things destroy the time allocated for the Important not urgent (I use the Covey 4 square matrix when allocating time). After all it is usually the Important not urgent that will shape and create our longer term future. I hope this helps.
Beeptec Engineering
As a DevOps engineer in the field of robotics, automation and intelligent systems in many areas, such as livestock, automotive, and ending with military systems. I have developed my own tool to make my development tasks easier. As a result, I stopped looking for projects and decided to bring my platform to the level of commercialization. In the end, I gave up on further searches for new projects and put all my efforts into popularizing my product. Now this is a full-fledged product that has no analogues and can be used by most specialists, including those who, due to age restrictions in Hi-Tech, are forced to think about their future professional path. My product allows you to literally create businesses from scratch and implement your ideas.