4 ms·

A couple of years ago I felt the same way. The first major annoyance I had was the constant flow of 'breaking news'. I uninstalled my news apps, and instead I

A couple of years ago I felt the same way. The first major annoyance I had was the constant flow of 'breaking news'. I uninstalled my news apps, and instead I actively browse to a news site whenever I want to read the news. In the years following more apps got uninstalled, and I down scaled my phone contract. Nowadays I never use mobile data, and my WiFi I always off. It became a habit to always actively get my information. So if I want to check my whatsapp messages, I sit down, turn WiFi on, read messages, and turn it off. I don't even think about it anymore, it's the normal way of handling my phone for years now. This week I read people on average take between 2 and 3 hours a DAY on there phones. That sounds like alien to me, just can't imagine.

namanyayg 7y ago
That is interesting. I have uninstalled many apps and would like to go the full route of turning off WiFi, but my team does regular communication on slack. Do you have a different communication style or would you just use desktop in that case?
- r3bl 7y ago
  Why would you agree to have work communications on your phone in the first place? Assuming you work at a desk job (like a programmer), keep work-related items off of your phone. If your superiors complain, tell them you don't want to be responsible for leaking company secrets if you happen to lose your phone. If there's an emergency, your teammates could signal you that your help is necessary via SMS, and you can use a separate device to help them out. Don't sell your soul to your employer. I always establish this limit when starting a new position. My phone is for personal use only, and no work-related communication (business email, Slack etc.) would ever go near it.
  - Freak_NL 7y ago
    This. Just open a browsertab with Slack (or MatterMost if you want a self-hosted alternative) when you're working on your laptop or desktop computer. Close it when you're done working. No one is asking you to be active on chat on your personal devices all the time.
  - dkersten 7y ago
    I used to have work email and slack on my phone, but, yeah, I now only read work communications on my laptop, during work hours. If there's something urgent that needs to get to me after hours, they can call me instead. I don't work outside of work hours anymore unless its really urgent and I try to not think about work much outside of work hours. The rest of the time is my time, not theirs.
  - deanmoriarty 7y ago
    Call me disfunctional or workaholic, but after I tried the strategy you are suggesting I wasn't happier at all. Specifically, I personally am able to keep my work stress level in balance just if I have all work communications (especially emails and slack) on my phone, so that I can take a quick look at what's happening even when I'm not working. This doesn't mean I actually end up working after hours: in fact, 99% of the times I just skim over the push notifications in a few seconds and go back to what I was doing. I found it to be much less stressful than having to wake up in the morning and see the massive burst of activity that happened between 5pm and 8am (especially if your team is distributed across different time zones like mine). And God forbid if I did that when I go on a 2 weeks vacation, I actually wouldn't be able to enjoy the vacation at all because I would always be thinking about the mayhem that's waiting for me on my return. If I am able to glance at the notifications a few times a day instead and occasionally reply on some really high priority stuff, it calms me down because I can get an idea of what has been happening. I'm not sure this is healthy, but I tried your strategy several times and it never worked for me, and this is also in different contexts (e.g. different teams and/or employers). It might also be because I have always held a position of tech lead/manager, so in general there is always a stream of people who are asking for my input on something (that being said, I heavily rely on delegation and people are fully responsible for their own decisions, but they just end up pinging me regardless because I have significant contexts about the projects).
    - namanyayg 7y ago
      I'm a tech manager too and my experience mirrors yours. Most of the time I don't even have to reply, but some times a single message from me can help move things forward. Cannot imagine not being in touch via phone during vacation.
      - slfnflctd 7y ago
        'Taking a vacation' is, to me, something of an outdated concept. It usually boils down to a lot of stress and expense for a string of experiences-on-rails which don't meaningfully connect you to anyone or provide you with anything of lasting value. You're better off staying closer to home and making the most of your time off to bolster your relationships and living situation. I see zero problem with including some more relaxed interactions with your workplace in this. If you need to 'get away', for real, what you really need is a sabbatical, and to hand off all your work responsibilities to other people. Then you can unplug more fully and might actually stand a chance at finding true value and connections with other people in a more extended trip to a part of the world you've never visited.
- FrankyHollywood 7y ago
  It's not so much about which apps you are using, you don't want to isolate yourself. You use whatever communication channel your friends/colleagues use. For me turning off Wifi, and consciously turning it on a couple of times a day is the big difference. Just like checking mail 15 years ago. You decided when to open Eudora or Hotmail, checked mail, en closed it again. For me any app I use is like old school mail checking. I decide when to check. My friends know it can take a couple of hours or sometimes days for me to respond. If something is really urgent, they call me :)
speedplane 7y ago
> The first major annoyance I had was the constant flow of 'breaking news'. I uninstalled my news apps, ... I don't even think about it anymore... This week I read people on average take between 2 and 3 hours a DAY on there phones. That sounds like alien to me News isn't just "information" anymore, it's a signal of social norms. If you stop thinking of breaking news as "this is important", and rather that "this is what people want me to think is important", it is far easier to dismiss in substance, but still value as contributing to your understanding of what constitutes common knowledge.
- Loughla 7y ago
  Also, at least in my part of the US, it's become (and pardon the crudeness) just another societal dick-measuring contest. So now it's 1. What's your job, is that good enough for Mr. Jones to judge? 2. What's your house look like, and do you have curb appeal? 3. Do you have the proper level of outrage over the latest news stories? It's fascinating. Watching societal norms take hold. Honestly.
  - speedplane 7y ago
    > [Social norms have] ... become (and pardon the crudeness) just another societal dick-measuring contest ... It's fascinating. Watching societal norms take hold. It is fascinating, but these norms are crucial to meeting and interacting with new people. Even if you disagree with some social norms, if you don't understand them and the positions behind them, then you can't effectively communicate with new people you interact with. Saying, "you heard X today, total BS" is far superior than saying "what is X?" Social norms allow folks who have never met to still know each other to some degree. They are not terribly helpful with building meaningful relationships (eg close friends, etc), which is why so many dislike them as they seem superficial, which they are. However, they are instrumental in building early relationships and trust with someone who is unfamiliar. If you think of norms more as a tool to help you connect with folks that would otherwise be strangers, and less as a "dick-measure contest", they seem lest distasteful, even beneficial.
- Communitivity 7y ago
  I think it may always have been a signalling of social norms and expectations. I also think many people view it as 'this is what people like me (or that I want to be like) want me to think is important', which makes it harder to dismiss.

namanyayg 7y ago

That is interesting. I have uninstalled many apps and would like to go the full route of turning off WiFi, but my team does regular communication on slack. Do you have a different communication style or would you just use desktop in that case?

r3bl 7y ago
Why would you agree to have work communications on your phone in the first place? Assuming you work at a desk job (like a programmer), keep work-related items off of your phone. If your superiors complain, tell them you don't want to be responsible for leaking company secrets if you happen to lose your phone. If there's an emergency, your teammates could signal you that your help is necessary via SMS, and you can use a separate device to help them out. Don't sell your soul to your employer. I always establish this limit when starting a new position. My phone is for personal use only, and no work-related communication (business email, Slack etc.) would ever go near it.
- Freak_NL 7y ago
  This. Just open a browsertab with Slack (or MatterMost if you want a self-hosted alternative) when you're working on your laptop or desktop computer. Close it when you're done working. No one is asking you to be active on chat on your personal devices all the time.
- dkersten 7y ago
  I used to have work email and slack on my phone, but, yeah, I now only read work communications on my laptop, during work hours. If there's something urgent that needs to get to me after hours, they can call me instead. I don't work outside of work hours anymore unless its really urgent and I try to not think about work much outside of work hours. The rest of the time is my time, not theirs.
- deanmoriarty 7y ago
  Call me disfunctional or workaholic, but after I tried the strategy you are suggesting I wasn't happier at all. Specifically, I personally am able to keep my work stress level in balance just if I have all work communications (especially emails and slack) on my phone, so that I can take a quick look at what's happening even when I'm not working. This doesn't mean I actually end up working after hours: in fact, 99% of the times I just skim over the push notifications in a few seconds and go back to what I was doing. I found it to be much less stressful than having to wake up in the morning and see the massive burst of activity that happened between 5pm and 8am (especially if your team is distributed across different time zones like mine). And God forbid if I did that when I go on a 2 weeks vacation, I actually wouldn't be able to enjoy the vacation at all because I would always be thinking about the mayhem that's waiting for me on my return. If I am able to glance at the notifications a few times a day instead and occasionally reply on some really high priority stuff, it calms me down because I can get an idea of what has been happening. I'm not sure this is healthy, but I tried your strategy several times and it never worked for me, and this is also in different contexts (e.g. different teams and/or employers). It might also be because I have always held a position of tech lead/manager, so in general there is always a stream of people who are asking for my input on something (that being said, I heavily rely on delegation and people are fully responsible for their own decisions, but they just end up pinging me regardless because I have significant contexts about the projects).
  - namanyayg 7y ago
    I'm a tech manager too and my experience mirrors yours. Most of the time I don't even have to reply, but some times a single message from me can help move things forward. Cannot imagine not being in touch via phone during vacation.
    - slfnflctd 7y ago
      'Taking a vacation' is, to me, something of an outdated concept. It usually boils down to a lot of stress and expense for a string of experiences-on-rails which don't meaningfully connect you to anyone or provide you with anything of lasting value. You're better off staying closer to home and making the most of your time off to bolster your relationships and living situation. I see zero problem with including some more relaxed interactions with your workplace in this. If you need to 'get away', for real, what you really need is a sabbatical, and to hand off all your work responsibilities to other people. Then you can unplug more fully and might actually stand a chance at finding true value and connections with other people in a more extended trip to a part of the world you've never visited.
FrankyHollywood 7y ago
It's not so much about which apps you are using, you don't want to isolate yourself. You use whatever communication channel your friends/colleagues use. For me turning off Wifi, and consciously turning it on a couple of times a day is the big difference. Just like checking mail 15 years ago. You decided when to open Eudora or Hotmail, checked mail, en closed it again. For me any app I use is like old school mail checking. I decide when to check. My friends know it can take a couple of hours or sometimes days for me to respond. If something is really urgent, they call me :)

speedplane 7y ago

> The first major annoyance I had was the constant flow of 'breaking news'. I uninstalled my news apps, ... I don't even think about it anymore... This week I read people on average take between 2 and 3 hours a DAY on there phones. That sounds like alien to me News isn't just "information" anymore, it's a signal of social norms. If you stop thinking of breaking news as "this is important", and rather that "this is what people want me to think is important", it is far easier to dismiss in substance, but still value as contributing to your understanding of what constitutes common knowledge.

Loughla 7y ago
Also, at least in my part of the US, it's become (and pardon the crudeness) just another societal dick-measuring contest. So now it's 1. What's your job, is that good enough for Mr. Jones to judge? 2. What's your house look like, and do you have curb appeal? 3. Do you have the proper level of outrage over the latest news stories? It's fascinating. Watching societal norms take hold. Honestly.
- speedplane 7y ago
  > [Social norms have] ... become (and pardon the crudeness) just another societal dick-measuring contest ... It's fascinating. Watching societal norms take hold. It is fascinating, but these norms are crucial to meeting and interacting with new people. Even if you disagree with some social norms, if you don't understand them and the positions behind them, then you can't effectively communicate with new people you interact with. Saying, "you heard X today, total BS" is far superior than saying "what is X?" Social norms allow folks who have never met to still know each other to some degree. They are not terribly helpful with building meaningful relationships (eg close friends, etc), which is why so many dislike them as they seem superficial, which they are. However, they are instrumental in building early relationships and trust with someone who is unfamiliar. If you think of norms more as a tool to help you connect with folks that would otherwise be strangers, and less as a "dick-measure contest", they seem lest distasteful, even beneficial.
Communitivity 7y ago
I think it may always have been a signalling of social norms and expectations. I also think many people view it as 'this is what people like me (or that I want to be like) want me to think is important', which makes it harder to dismiss.