Theres just one problem I cant put my technology down.
I ritually check email when I wake up in the morning.
If Im out to lunch, Ill sneak a peek on my way to the restroom.
I even look at my email when stopped at a red light.
Most troubling, I catch myself emailing instead of being fully present with the people I love most.
I didnt have a good answer.
I wish I could say Im in full control of my habits, but Im not.
Its not that email is bad per se; its a tool like any other.
Of course, you pick your compulsion.
What one person finds engrossing is utterly boring to someone else.
Video games, spectator sports, social media, television, and email compel some and repel others.
Here are a few ways Im tackling my problem, using what I know about the psychology of habits.
The impulse to use these products attaches to what I call an internal trigger.
Internal triggers are cues informed by mental associations and memories.
Certain places, situations, routines, and most frequently, uncomfortable emotions all act as internal triggers.
When were lonely, we check Facebook.
When were uncertain, we Google.
In my case, my unconscious email checking coincides with a particularly uncomfortable sensation.
The urge to check is hardest to resist whenever I feel I should be elsewhere.
This cognitive itch comes in barely perceptible waves of anxiety prompted by unanswered questions.
Is there something important waiting for me in my inbox?
Maybe a quick response would scratch the itch to check?
Even as I write this I feel the urge to check email.
The holidays didnt help.
The extended time away from work meant emails piled up unanswered.
Furthermore, the potent mix of uncomfortable small talk with rarely seen relatives created a cocktail of dull disquietude.
Recognizing the internal trigger prompting the habit helped me confront the urge.
Simply acknowledging the sensation can be a way of disarming the power of the trigger.
Burying the triggers
I have been looking for practical ways to put my mind at ease.
For one, I have designatedtime on my calendarfor email.
External triggers prompt action by telling the user what to do next.
Sometimes these notifications are helpful, other times they are not.
These digital tidbits can needlessly distract us.
I knew what I had to do remove the external triggers prompting me to check email.
However, actually doing what I knew had to be done was harder than I expected.
Id stopped charging my phone by my bed for some time, so that was no longer a problem.
But to go a step further, I turned off email notifications on my phone.
Unfortunately, that idea backfired.
I have something special for you!
it seemed to scream.
I looked for ways to make opening email more difficult.
Surprisingly, I found just adding a few extra steps makes me less likely to check my email.
Remarkably, adding just two more steps actually makes a difference.
Ebbing the flow
Finally, I looked for ways to reduce the number of incoming messages.
The fewer messages that come in, the less tempted I am to respond.
My immediate return message includes a list of answers to questions I frequently receive.
A work in progress
This is uncharted territory for me.
However, in this case, I want to be free of the urge to overuse technology.
What I do know is that Id like to change this aspect of my life.
What we all want is to control our habits, rather than allow them to control us.
