Managing Digital Fatigue

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Effective ways of managing digital fatigue to derive positive physical and mental happiness

Managing Digital Fatigue

With the pandemic sweeping the globe, patterns across businesses are experiencing radical change, with everyone attempting to devise new ways to complete duties while maintaining business as usual. The new work rules include risks and have a negative impact on both physiological and psychological wellbeing.

Our routine is under great stress, from visual fatigue and cabin fever and back problems and poor dietary habits. The majority of us grumble about mental exhaustion and an overworked lifestyle. Working remotely is becoming a little too much for all of us who generally work in a hybrid mode.

We are mentally and physically exhausted as we add up and down the minutes until we can actually leave our desk at six o’clock in the evening, usually wearing the most comfortable (yet professional) attire we own in the coziness of our own home.

Nevertheless, while our calendar is full of work tasks, such is our real-life to-do list, which includes having children, a life partner, a mansion, a dog, and much more. Stress, anxiety, tiredness, and mental fatigue can all be exacerbated by digital information overload.

We are struggling with isolation, a lack of connection, loneliness, and the presence we are currently living as we sit at our workstations the whole day, unsure of the hours clocking by, as we collaborate through our to-do lists (which we are thankful for).

Across the industry sectors, everyone is talking about the new problem to deal with, the nuances of the ‘new normal’. So, who is the most responsible for this? The answer is ‘digital fatigue’.

What is the concept of digital fatigue?

Digital fatigue is a new type of negative mental and physical state in which people experience mental depletion and disengagement as a result of having to use multiple digital tools and applications simultaneously and on a regular basis.

Digital weariness manifests itself in a variety of ways, including: 

  • Lack of energy 
  • Mental clarity 
  • Burnout
  • Physical side effects 
  • Psychological side effects
  • Reduced productivity 
  • Inability to focus 
  • Tired shoulders, neck, and back 
  • Lack of concentration 
  • Being irritable or irritability
  • Exhausted by the monotony of your day

What is the antidote, then?

Managing Digital Fatigue when you are suffering from digital exhaustion, there are a number of powerful, yet doable, techniques to reduce burnout. There are a few ways to motivate you to find proven methods and include them into your daily routine.

1. A Meeting in Transition

Is a video call required for a one-on-one internal meeting? Assume it is a telephone conversation, and both sides go outdoors to discuss. You are not just upwards and from your workstation, but you are also exercising your body and enjoying fresh air – all of which are essential factors in releasing happy hormones!

2. Adopting Good Habits to Manage Digital Fatigue

Managing Digital Fatigue, Healthy eating and maintaining healthy behavior are critical to avoid falling into a confinement trap and develop difficult-to-break bad habits. In addition to your lunch break, try taking 10–15-minute intervals throughout the day to get away from the computer and walk outside.

Take a walk during your lunch hour to disconnect from technology and reconnect to yourself and environment (if possible). Maintaining these healthy practices will maintain your brain and nervous system to be active and engaged, reducing the sensation of monotony in your daily routine.

3. Manage Digital Fatigue By Minimising The Use of Digital Devices

Choose one mode of communication – mails, Teams, Whatsapp, or phone calls – keeping the number of online tools you use each day to a minimum gives your brain more room to focus and concentrate on the tasks at hand. It also helps to alleviate anxiety of missing an email reminder or assignment because you are concentrating too hard.

4. Take a vacation to Manage Digital Fatigue

Recognize and accept that it is acceptable to take a short break. It is sometimes just what you need to get back on track. Take a day off and treat yourself to something special. Simply taking a psychological work break, pressure, video-conferencing, and everything that work-from-home can ensure that you return relaxed, refreshed, and with a sense of purpose.

Just keep in mind that being kind and compassionate to yourself is critical right now. Make sure you get enough rest, exercise often, eat healthily, and talk to your friends and family about things apart from work, COVID, or lockdown. Positive mental health can be obtained by activities that provide you joy and tranquility, therefore positive thinking can help you achieve better work performance.

With these simple yet easy to follow tips, you will notice a significant shift in your mentality, and prevent burnout.

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