Could you benefit from a digital detox as a coach?
As coaches and business owners, we spend over half our lives with technology; on laptops and mobiles. A figure recently put out by Forbes suggest we touch our phones over 80 times a day. Even though we all know that sometimes we need to get away from it all, it can be difficult to switch off.
The idea behind the Digital Detox is that you basically walk away from all things digital; laptops, smartphones, social media. Some may only detox for a day whereas others, months.
Obviously, digital devices have their upsides. They connect us to the world and open our services to a wider audience and can enhance efficiency and communication. However, the more time we spend on them, the less time we spend in the ‘real world’, less time on getting active, and sometimes less time seeing people and spending time with people in person.
Very often as a coach, you may opt to converse with your clients online. The benefits being you can do it from anywhere and neither party spend time travelling. However, meeting in person can result in better working relationships. In one meeting or conversation you can cover as many topics and questions as 100 emails, and miscommunication is minimised. You also have the ability to convey emotion, which you just can’t do using technology, and this helps to build trust more quickly allowing for transparency between you and your client.
Walking away from technology could give you back time in your day. The average adult spends over 8 hours a day on a computer, 1.72 of which is spent on social media*. Clearly, you cannot switch off from your computer every day for 8 hours, your work depends on it. However, by balancing the time you do spend on it, or switching your notifications off for your social platforms will certainly give you more time in your day, whether you spend it meeting more clients or maybe doing something active like taking the dog for a walk, you can use these extra hours to do something positive for you.
Speaking of switching off notifications, by digitally detoxing, your attention span is likely to improve. How often are you in the middle of doing a piece of work and your email notification pops up, or your Facebook pings? Next thing you know, you’ve left the original work and are reading and replying to an email or scrolling through your social media feed. Physically removing your phone from your person will help to retrain your brain to focus on the current situation.
There are many studies which show links between depression and anxiety and social media and technology. By digitally detoxing once in a while you’re actually more likely to be happier. The theory behind this is that online we see how ‘perfect’ other people’s lives are or how ‘great’ their businesses are doing, and we compare ourselves. It’s believed that heavy online users are 5 x more likely to suffer from depression*.
Walking away from technology can also reduce your stress. Banning all digital related work at home means you can’t log in to your emails and means you’ll get an actual break. You’ll be able to enjoy your personal time and build stronger and more meaningful relationships outside of work, and if you have children, actually get to spend quality time with them. By switching off and keeping work where it belongs, you’ll be more prepared to tackle the next day.
You might be thinking in theory this sounds fab, but I’m a small coaching business. If I switch off, what happens? Well, that’s where we come in. Successful digital detoxing means creating a strategy where business activities still continue even if you’re not around. Instructing a Virtual Assistant will allow you to take time away from technology knowing that your business and clients won’t be affected. Get in touch to see how we can help on 07977 640119 or email emma@theumbrellatree.co.uk.
*information from it’stimetologoff.com