This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Google, and as part of the Forward Influence Network . The text and opinions are all mine. Please read our disclosure policy for more information
Have you been noticing a trend? Is it getting harder to disconnect? Do you hear the beep of your phone and feel the urge to jump to it? Do you need to check your phone even when no notifications pop up? Are you finding yourself, your spouse, or kids, staring at their phone while having a conversation? Or even worse, dinner?
Technology has become such an integral part of our lives and I personally find it hard to balance my social life when I am so hung to my phone. I get upset when I see my husband using his devices to game or read boards while we are trying to talk. He gets annoyed when I work on social media every second of the day.
So we decided to take a Technology Test on Wellbeing.Google to see how distracted we really are from what matters to us most. We feel like we are doing really well with the kids being disconnected (and I will share how in a minute). But we, as parents, are not walking the talk and the kids will eventually catch up on it.
We want to be better role models and enjoy our time as a family more consciously. We need to disconnect more often and we are so impressed with Google’s mission to improve people’s lives and all of the tools and resources they have created to encourage digital wellbeing!
Let’s take a quick look at everything Google made available to help us refocus and live a more balanced life! They believe that technology should play a helpful role in our lives and recognize that it is not always the case. The products and digital wellbeing tools they provide, are a wonderful addition to our lives, and help us stay in control.
Here are 3 steps to get us all started:
1- Take The Test
Do what we did and take the test. Scroll down a bit and click on “Start The Experience”.
It made me realize that I have that terrible urge to look at my phone when I hear a notification come through. It’s not something I had ever paid much attention to, but it became very obvious that my dependence is real!
Take a moment to self-reflect.
What did you learn from the test? What are some areas you can improve on?
2- Understand How You Can Improve
Once you have a good grasp on what you want to focus on, understand which small steps can help make a big impact on you and your family. You will want to find a balance that feels right for you!
We recognize, as a family, that my role as a blogger and influencer, involves a large amount of time connecting on social media. But the tools I found on Google’s digital wellbeing site and the conversations they sparked, helped our family find more balance and feel good about our plan!
3- Take Action
Remember that you can take small actions and gradually work your way up to your goals. Here is what our family has committed to:
a. Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner No-Electronic Zone
Eating time is a sacred family affair in our family. One of our biggest areas for digital frustration revolves around the use of cell phones at the table.
This action impacts only Christian and I, and we have made the kitchen table a no-electronic zone. Not even when a notification beeps!! That all comes on top of our golden rule of no-TV during meals!
b. Temporarily Hiding Notifications
Most phones have a Do Not Disturb mode, which is easily activated and hides notifications. We are turning our Do Not Disturb mode on while watching nighttime TV. We find it distracting when the other partner stares at his/her phone during a movie and we want to consciously enjoy our time together at night!
A small variant you could consider in case you need some notifications to come through, is the pausing of select distracting apps. You could choose to only silence Gmail or YouTube for example!
c. Set Daily Timers On Apps
My use of social media can get out of hands and I can feel overwhelmed with wanting to be present…
While my limit won’t look like yours, I am setting a 2.5-hour daily timer on Instagram. Once I hit the limit, my phone pauses the app for the rest of the day. As I said, it is ok to take small steps!
The timer works on all apps and is a great way to limit gaming times for the kids if they use devices to play!
d. No TV Until 6 PM
This is something we have been doing for years. We realized early on, that our kids were watching too much TV / iPad… so we went cold turkey on them and turned all screens off for over a year, to help them reconnect with their childhood.
When we re-introduced TV, we set a start time of 6PM at the earliest. With homework and after-school activities, there are many TV-free nights in our household. But setting a limit on TV is a great way to get the kids used to technology limitations.
Related: My Biggest Parenting Failure
e. Meditation / Winding Down
Christian still needs to hop on that bandwagon 🙂 but the kids and I go to sleep with a 5-minute guided meditation track. We all find it comforting to unwind with a routine and 5 minutes to clear our heads before a good night of sleep!
But Google has tools to help with unwinding as well! If you have an Android phone, use the Wind Down or Do Not Disturb mode. If you are an iOS user, turn on Do Not Disturb.
Useful Resources
Wellbeing.Google: Make sure to check out Google’s main resource to learn more about ways to improve your relationship with technology! Click on Start Experience to test how much technology affects your life, and receive immediate ideas on how to improve your technology / life balance!
This was our first food-for-thoughts. We’ve known for a while that technology was getting out of hands, but never wanted to face reality. This was a wonderful grounding tool to get us started on a better balance!
Digital Wellbeing Family Guide: Google created this guide to help you answer your family’s hardest questions and make your transition to healthy habits, a little easier! This guide has helped us remove the emotions from the discussions by providing ways to work together, reflect on our own use and give us actionable tools and “try it at home” activities.
Christian and I have found it so useful to remove the emotions from our discussions. With 6 topics from deciding when and how to use devices to determining when our kids will be ready for a device, we loved being walked through some difficult topics with a bright and easy approach!
Family Guide Poster: Print and start making a plan today. Decide on which rooms and times should be device-free, discuss positive things you can do as a family on social media, and which offline activities you can enjoy as a family!
We used this poster to lead a fun family activity. Our kids really don’t spend much time with electronics but we know that they see us. This was an easy way to help them understand our commitment to our family’s digital wellbeing!
What did you find useful? What will you be applying at home?
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Related articles you will enjoy:
My Biggest Parenting Failure
5 Tips To Living Your Perfect Unbalanced Life
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