It occurred to me this morning that everything we do now is instant, or tries to be.
Looking at my desk, I’ve got instant coffee cups, instant noodles and instant messaging.
How depressing is that?
I honestly believe that this new society, where we expect everything to be done instantly, isn’t good for our sanity.
Because the truth is… nothing can be done instantly, and sure as heck nothing can be done well instantly.
And let’s be honest, why do we need everything to be instant anyway?
The biggest issue is communication. There’s simply too many ways to be able to get in touch with someone.
You used to phone up the landline and if someone wasn’t available you’d leave a message. Now you try their mobile, then… text, Skype, Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email and a bunch of other communication methods.
But if you turn all those off, here’s the truth…
There’s almost nothing that can’t wait.
How do I know, because I’ve done it, and I’ve implemented it for many people.
The simple tactic of turning off all your notifications and not answering anything. The changing of your mobile number so only a few key people have it can be life-changing!
What happens?
Your life instantly becomes less stressful.
Is it difficult?
Nope. What’s difficult is the psychological understanding that you’re not going to miss something urgent, because we’ve taught ourselves to think that if we don’t answer immediately, we’re going to miss an opportunity, or something bad will happen.
99.99999999999% of the time this isn’t true!
Technology may have made our lives easier in a lot of ways, but it’s sure as hell also made it more stressful.
Remember the days when you went home after work and physically couldn’t do any more because everything was in your office?
Now people go home from a job and continue working.
It’s great for employers, they’re still only paying you for an eight hour day, but they’re expecting you to work in your own time to get things done.
If you don’t, there’s always someone behind you who’s willing to.
Here’s my thought…
Let them.
Life’s too short to be getting stressed about things that, generally speaking, really don’t matter whether they’re done today or tomorrow.
It’s certainly too short to be spending your personal time working without compensation.
If you want to find out how I go about making my work life as stress free as possible, check out these blog posts.
Ciao,
Michael
What do you think?