Technology is meant to enrich our lives, but it can often complicate them. If that’s you, it’s time to make a change. How can you do so? How can you approach technology with more mindfulness and intention? How do you decide what goals to set and which habits to track?
Let’s consider three easy steps when deciding what goals to set and habits to track around your technology use. They are:
- Reflecting on both your current state and what you hope to achieve
- Setting your intention (in writing)
- Creating commitment and accountability
(These steps are covered in our Digital Wellness Goal-Setting and Habit-Tracking Workbook, which you can download here.)
Let’s Reflect
Take a few minutes and reflect on how technology affects your life today.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being negative and 10 being positive), how is technology affecting:
- your health
- your relationships
- your financial habits
- your career or business
- your personal growth?
Write this down. It’s one thing to think about, but seeing it laid out in writing can help you see the massive impact of technology on your life.
Now, imagine you built healthier habits around technology. Instead of it controlling you, you managed it. What would that mean for your life and the areas we discussed above? How would your life change? What could you do with the time and energy you now have?
Again, write these down. This can help you stay motivated because you are clear on why you want to change your digital habits.
Set Your Intention
Now that we understand the “why,” let’s answer the “what.” What do we need to do to move towards that goal?
Pick one digital habit that you would like to act upon. One habit – sometimes, we get overly excited and want to change everything at once. However, that’s a surefire way to get overwhelmed and not get anything done.
Pick a SMART goal. This means a goal that is Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Relevant; Time-Based. For example, “I will turn my phone off at 8:00 p.m. every night.” This is a SMART goal because you can look back and see how you are achieving this goal.
Now that you have your goal clearly in mind, write it down and put it somewhere visible. This is a significant step. Research has shown that simply writing your goals down makes you 42% more likely to achieve them!
Overcoming Challenges
Now that you’ve started working on your goals, here are some challenges you may face.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism kills the motivation of even the most motivated goal-setter. If we are focused on hitting our goals every single time, we might become overly disheartened when we make a mistake. Remember, it’s okay to fumble! It’s part of the learning process, which doesn’t make you less capable.
Give yourself some space to be human, and when you slip on your goals, use them as learning opportunities.
Remember progress over perfection. Speaking of progress…
Failing to See Your Progress
When scaling a mountain (or a mountain of a goal), we always look forward. This is great for motivation but terrible for celebrating our progress.
Take a moment each time you reach your goal to congratulate yourself. You can even say an affirmation as you do, such as “I am doing great!” or “I took care of myself today!”.
Look back down the mountain every now and then. See how far you’ve come and reflect on how your life has changed since you started your journey. This will help you stay motivated and keep on going!
(Our workbook has an exercise that we love to help you with both of these challenges.)
Commitment & Accountability
Helen Keller said it best: “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”
When people come together for a common goal, they become a powerful, unstoppable team. This is just as true for digital wellness as for any other goal. If you have the support of a like-minded group in your corner, you are more likely to reach your goals.
Science proves it: People have a 65 percent chance of reaching a goal if they have an accountability partner.
So where can you find an accountability partner? By joining our Digital Declutter Community!
The Digital Declutter Community is a free, welcoming, collaborative space that provides accountability, focus, connection, and positivity. We exchange tips and inspiration and celebrate each other as we go on this journey together! Most importantly, we focus on progress over perfection.
Join today and begin your journey to digital wellness.