0:00:06.966,0:00:12.507
This sculpture by Sophie Ryder[br]in the UK seat of Salisbury

0:00:12.525,0:00:14.083
had to be moved

0:00:14.125,0:00:17.552
because people busy texting[br]on their mobile phones

0:00:17.571,0:00:20.506
kept bumping their heads into it.

0:00:21.257,0:00:26.358
Does it happen to you to text, phone,[br]check your Facebook timeline

0:00:26.383,0:00:28.632
or maybe catch a Pokémon[br]while you're walking?

0:00:30.184,0:00:31.634
And who does that?

0:00:31.674,0:00:34.434
(Laughter)

0:00:34.464,0:00:38.017
How many of these times[br]do you actually have to go on line?

0:00:38.028,0:00:43.416
Well, we check our devices[br]about 221 times per day

0:00:43.450,0:00:44.952
according to Tecmark,

0:00:45.205,0:00:49.981
or about every 4.3 minutes[br]of the time we don't sleep.

0:00:49.994,0:00:51.644
What is going on?

0:00:52.453,0:00:56.006
Well, we live in the economy[br]that is based on distraction.

0:00:56.007,0:00:58.493
The more Internet pages[br]you browse through,

0:00:59.092,0:01:02.777
the more advertising[br]an Internet company can show you,

0:01:02.781,0:01:05.081
and so the more money they make.

0:01:06.822,0:01:08.617
Their success metrics

0:01:08.624,0:01:12.887
are based around how much time[br]you spent using their app

0:01:13.411,0:01:15.196
or you were on their website,

0:01:15.200,0:01:18.912
not on how productive or focused you are.

0:01:22.351,0:01:26.618
Two years ago,[br]around the same time of the year,

0:01:26.977,0:01:29.487
I decided to give up my smartphone,

0:01:30.211,0:01:34.228
and replace it with a very basic[br]no Internet phone.

0:01:35.169,0:01:36.321
At the time,

0:01:36.618,0:01:40.130
I was working in a senior position[br]in digital marketing industry,

0:01:40.573,0:01:44.022
which means that I was connected[br]pretty much 24/7.

0:01:44.869,0:01:46.889
I slept with my phone,

0:01:47.377,0:01:49.586
and I kept checking it all the time,

0:01:49.587,0:01:54.010
and even felt it vibrating in my pockets[br]when I didn't have any pockets.

0:01:56.587,0:01:58.677
Giving up my smartphone

0:01:59.007,0:02:02.940
was one of the best decisions[br]that I have ever made.

0:02:03.867,0:02:06.997
And today, I want to share with you

0:02:07.035,0:02:10.097
my key learnings from the journey

0:02:10.125,0:02:16.421
of taking back control[br]over my time and my life.

0:02:18.839,0:02:23.797
But, before we do that,[br]I want to give you a little challenge.

0:02:24.644,0:02:28.665
Given that we check our devices[br]about every 4.3 minutes,

0:02:28.673,0:02:31.672
this means that you will feel[br]an urge to check your device

0:02:31.673,0:02:34.802
three or four times during my talk.

0:02:35.114,0:02:40.794
So, I want to challenge you[br]to resist this urge

0:02:40.803,0:02:45.429
and count how many times[br]you will succeed in doing that.

0:02:48.877,0:02:52.243
So, lesson No. 1.

0:02:52.868,0:02:56.810
You are more addicted[br]to your device than you think.

0:02:57.670,0:03:00.837
But you're also much more resourceful.

0:03:01.802,0:03:06.799
Now, why can't we go for 5 minutes[br]without our devices?

0:03:07.212,0:03:12.919
A US psychologist, David Greenfield, says[br]the Internet is like a slot machine:

0:03:12.922,0:03:16.435
you never know[br]what you're going to find inside.

0:03:16.770,0:03:20.578
And this variability of the reward[br]releases dopamine,

0:03:20.593,0:03:25.312
the neurohormone of pleasure[br]and anticipation of the reward.

0:03:25.515,0:03:26.716
The problem with dopamine

0:03:26.725,0:03:31.285
is that excessive stimulation[br]of your brain

0:03:31.297,0:03:33.821
that is caused by dopamine[br]creates addiction.

0:03:34.335,0:03:36.425
This is exactly how drugs work.

0:03:37.923,0:03:39.997
They first make you feel excited,

0:03:40.009,0:03:44.063
but then you have to go back[br]and take a new dose,

0:03:44.408,0:03:46.728
to have the same feeling.

0:03:46.971,0:03:51.719
Devices use the same principles.

0:03:51.913,0:03:56.400
You never know what you're going to expect[br]in your mailbox or on social media, right?

0:03:56.793,0:03:59.980
One day you get a "Like"[br]and then the next day 50 "Likes".

0:04:00.311,0:04:03.007
Bam! Dopamine releases. You feel great!

0:04:03.392,0:04:06.224
But then the excitement[br]fades pretty quickly,

0:04:08.113,0:04:11.900
and you need to go back[br]to your device to feel good again.

0:04:12.984,0:04:15.624
Technology is purposefully designed

0:04:15.639,0:04:19.583
the way to make you use it[br]over and over again.

0:04:21.437,0:04:24.500
We also feel dependent on our gadgets

0:04:24.650,0:04:28.493
because we have outsourced[br]too many important functions to them.

0:04:29.313,0:04:33.709
Has it happened to you[br]to go to Google maps

0:04:33.721,0:04:35.882
or any other kind of online maps,

0:04:35.891,0:04:39.837
and look up your way even though[br]you kind of knew how to get there?

0:04:41.271,0:04:43.098
This is exactly what I mean,

0:04:43.106,0:04:48.034
we easily get into the habit[br]of not trusting ourselves.

0:04:48.872,0:04:50.282
Well, you know what?

0:04:51.062,0:04:54.512
I discovered it's not actually[br]very easy to get lost in London.

0:04:54.702,0:04:56.804
There are maps all around,

0:04:56.818,0:05:00.833
and all I needed to do[br]was to look up my way once

0:05:00.834,0:05:02.359
before leaving the house,

0:05:02.360,0:05:06.294
and then I could always ask[br]people in the streets.

0:05:08.218,0:05:11.677
I realize that I have[br]outsourced to technology

0:05:11.932,0:05:15.902
too many things that were important to me,[br]that made me human,

0:05:16.518,0:05:20.216
like my sense[br]of orientation and direction,

0:05:20.670,0:05:24.489
my memories of spaces and certain events,

0:05:25.126,0:05:27.816
and it felt great to gain them back.

0:05:29.621,0:05:33.369
All I wanted, when I was[br]giving up my smartphone,

0:05:33.599,0:05:36.252
was to have a little bit[br]more clarity in my brain

0:05:36.253,0:05:38.254
and not to feel so overwhelmed.

0:05:38.785,0:05:41.544
What I unexpectedly gain

0:05:42.032,0:05:46.737
is the feeling that I will find[br]my way no matter what

0:05:46.889,0:05:49.525
both physically and metaphorically,

0:05:49.968,0:05:53.477
and, of course, a great chat up line[br]to make new connections.

0:05:53.903,0:05:57.285
"Sorry, I don't have a smartphone,[br]could you please help?"

0:05:59.227,0:06:00.757
Lesson No. 2.

0:06:01.615,0:06:07.832
If you want to change your digital habits,[br]do not rely on your willpower.

0:06:08.518,0:06:13.252
Instead, create structures around you[br]to support you in that.

0:06:15.101,0:06:17.571
Our brain is very lazy.

0:06:18.211,0:06:22.112
So when we repeat a certain action[br]over and over again,

0:06:22.459,0:06:25.790
it starts organizing[br]our brain cells, neurons,

0:06:26.142,0:06:28.194
into particular chains

0:06:29.554,0:06:34.902
so that it is easier to pass[br]the information through those chains.

0:06:36.790,0:06:41.183
This makes our behaviour[br]automatic and unconscious.

0:06:42.061,0:06:45.311
And this is exactly what notifications do.

0:06:46.016,0:06:48.875
They prompt you to come back[br]to your device

0:06:48.888,0:06:51.008
over and over and over again,

0:06:51.193,0:06:55.385
up until your behaviour[br]becomes automatic and unconscious.

0:06:56.641,0:06:58.826
According to Kahuna report,

0:06:59.315,0:07:05.826
87% of Android users and 48% of iOS users

0:07:06.089,0:07:11.116
opt in for receiving[br]app notifications on their devices,

0:07:11.660,0:07:14.570
or, in other words, all these people

0:07:14.684,0:07:18.849
allow their devices[br]to decide how they will behave.

0:07:22.250,0:07:24.650
Once these chains are formed,

0:07:24.654,0:07:28.507
it takes quite a long time[br]and effort to undo them,

0:07:29.733,0:07:32.099
and relying on your willpower[br]doesn't help.

0:07:33.101,0:07:35.570
I certainly learned it twice.

0:07:35.957,0:07:39.889
The first time,[br]when it took me five months

0:07:39.901,0:07:44.547
from the decision of giving up[br]my smartphone to actually doing it.

0:07:46.250,0:07:47.880
The second time,

0:07:48.105,0:07:52.303
when after about a year[br]of not owning any smartphone

0:07:52.858,0:07:54.358
I got one back,

0:07:56.034,0:07:59.613
which, I thought, I would only use[br]as a spare device

0:07:59.955,0:08:03.871
in case my laptop breaks down[br]and I need to talk to clients over Skype.

0:08:04.682,0:08:09.171
In no time, I found myself[br]using it all the time.

0:08:09.437,0:08:11.907
The neural path was still there.

0:08:12.515,0:08:16.778
Now, it felt incredibly embarrassing,

0:08:16.783,0:08:20.263
because at the time I was already[br]conducting digital detox trainings.

0:08:20.420,0:08:21.636
(Laughter)

0:08:22.020,0:08:25.368
I obviously was not walking my talk,

0:08:25.528,0:08:30.277
but it also gave me great insights[br]into the real challenges

0:08:30.278,0:08:34.775
that people who do not want[br]to give up their devices altogether face.

0:08:35.638,0:08:37.969
So I developed four principles

0:08:38.725,0:08:43.494
that help me take back control[br]over my time and my life,

0:08:43.496,0:08:45.724
and I want to share[br]those principles with you.

0:08:46.093,0:08:47.093
These are:

0:08:47.469,0:08:50.961
time management, space management,

0:08:52.122,0:08:53.998
relationship management

0:08:54.517,0:08:55.767
and self-management.

0:08:57.164,0:09:01.292
These principles help[br]reestablish the boundaries

0:09:01.603,0:09:05.796
that technology removes[br]between our work and private life,

0:09:06.220,0:09:09.560
or between our public and private lives.

0:09:10.082,0:09:12.104
So, let's talk about them.

0:09:15.277,0:09:16.857
Time management.

0:09:18.467,0:09:20.821
We need to give up on the idea

0:09:20.836,0:09:24.366
that we have to be[br]connected or accessible 24/7.

0:09:24.808,0:09:27.223
Now, of course, developers[br]will try to convince you

0:09:27.224,0:09:29.204
that everything is very important.

0:09:30.193,0:09:33.015
The truth is very few things are.

0:09:33.451,0:09:35.361
Remember what we said before.

0:09:36.114,0:09:40.600
It is your attention

0:09:40.609,0:09:44.465
that is a real scarcity[br]in the information age.

0:09:45.126,0:09:47.597
It is a little bit like with food.

0:09:47.607,0:09:51.170
You can have all the food[br]you may want to have in your fridge,

0:09:51.181,0:09:55.155
but this does not mean[br]that you need to eat it all, all the time.

0:09:59.504,0:10:04.510
So my top tip is to disable[br]all notifications on your devices,

0:10:04.750,0:10:09.916
use delayed email function[br]to avoid being distracted by emails,

0:10:10.212,0:10:15.188
and use blocking apps to make sure[br]that you're accessing certain websites

0:10:15.192,0:10:16.608
only at a certain time

0:10:16.618,0:10:20.198
and not being distracted[br]by them at other times.

0:10:20.658,0:10:25.719
This way, you are in charge[br]of where you're getting information,

0:10:25.724,0:10:28.190
as opposed to being[br]dictated by technology.

0:10:29.209,0:10:30.991
To give an example,

0:10:31.274,0:10:32.646
Eric Schmidt,

0:10:32.654,0:10:35.892
who is Executive Chairman of Alphabet,[br]the Google company,

0:10:36.105,0:10:41.798
switches off both of his smartphones[br]on most evenings during dinner time.

0:10:42.352,0:10:45.620
And, believe me, he's a much[br]busier guy than most of us.

0:10:49.169,0:10:52.379
Also, do not multitask online.

0:10:52.384,0:10:56.618
So, do not switch between different tabs[br]or between different devices.

0:10:57.732,0:11:00.230
A Stanford experiment proves

0:11:00.238,0:11:04.535
that the more we multitask,[br]the worse we become at it,

0:11:04.548,0:11:07.368
we unlearn our brain to do that.

0:11:08.537,0:11:11.445
Well, you will still likely[br]get distracted,

0:11:11.889,0:11:13.389
but you can plan for it.

0:11:14.327,0:11:19.571
So incorporate five minutes[br]of distraction time every now and then

0:11:19.595,0:11:21.334
in your work routine,

0:11:21.362,0:11:26.060
but only after you're done[br]with a chunk of work and as a reward only.

0:11:26.085,0:11:30.698
Again, this way, you are taking back[br]control over your time.

0:11:34.823,0:11:36.545
Space management

0:11:37.099,0:11:41.293
is all about where you want[br]to have connection,

0:11:41.294,0:11:44.489
and where you want to have silence.

0:11:44.506,0:11:46.158
Have you ever thought

0:11:47.270,0:11:52.430
why the most expensive areas in the city[br]are usually the quietest ones?

0:11:53.379,0:11:57.443
Why is it that,[br]in airport business lounges,

0:11:57.454,0:12:01.792
there is hardly any sound[br]or music or advertising?

0:12:03.221,0:12:06.561
Why is silence valued so highly?

0:12:07.789,0:12:12.493
Well, this is because it's only in silence[br]that our brain gets an opportunity

0:12:12.496,0:12:17.233
to process information[br]that we have been feeding into it.

0:12:18.947,0:12:22.801
We cannot take good conscious decisions

0:12:23.357,0:12:24.650
or be creative

0:12:24.658,0:12:25.925
if we are overwhelmed.

0:12:27.005,0:12:31.127
And we are always overwhelmed[br]when we go online,

0:12:31.845,0:12:34.194
because our brain[br]is not good at multitasking.

0:12:36.690,0:12:40.815
So, do not bring the devices

0:12:40.821,0:12:43.776
into the areas[br]where you process information,

0:12:43.777,0:12:45.315
where you have rest.

0:12:45.335,0:12:51.169
This includes your bedroom,[br]your bathroom, and your dining table.

0:12:51.607,0:12:55.077
Also, if you keep your phone[br]next to your bed

0:12:55.106,0:12:58.813
this puts your brain[br]into the state of alarm.

0:12:58.824,0:13:02.916
as [shown by] research[br]by Harvard Medical School.

0:13:02.945,0:13:07.177
And, of course, you will feel tempted[br]to check it first thing in the morning.

0:13:07.217,0:13:10.297
It's like keeping a chocolate brownie[br]next to your bed;

0:13:10.298,0:13:12.419
of course you will eat it.

0:13:12.448,0:13:15.348
So, get an alarm clock.

0:13:17.948,0:13:21.133
Your device is just a tool.

0:13:24.685,0:13:26.685
it is not part of you.

0:13:26.697,0:13:29.158
You can carry around[br]your saw or your hammer,

0:13:29.445,0:13:32.213
you don't take them[br]to the bedroom - hopefully!

0:13:33.771,0:13:37.767
Like any tool, your devices[br]need their own places.

0:13:37.772,0:13:40.977
For example, I try not[br]to carry around my devices,

0:13:40.992,0:13:44.630
and also remove them out of sight[br]when I'm not using them.

0:13:45.008,0:13:47.638
This way I feel less tempted[br]to check them.

0:13:51.394,0:13:52.894
Relationship management.

0:13:53.700,0:13:57.082
When I was still working[br]for an advertising agency,

0:13:57.439,0:14:03.243
we had a client who kept sending us[br]hundreds and hundreds of emails daily

0:14:03.254,0:14:06.429
to make sure that we're on track[br]delivering the project.

0:14:07.067,0:14:11.448
In fact, it was his emails[br]that kept us away from doing the work,

0:14:11.624,0:14:14.529
because all we were doing[br]was just reading and answering them.

0:14:15.555,0:14:17.719
So, we built a dashboard

0:14:18.277,0:14:22.241
that allowed us to show to the client

0:14:22.243,0:14:25.800
the progress we're making in real time[br]without any involvement.

0:14:26.373,0:14:28.622
It took us about an hour to do so,

0:14:28.951,0:14:30.434
and, in a week's time,

0:14:30.438,0:14:33.169
the email rate dropped so considerably

0:14:33.177,0:14:35.795
that we were finally able[br]to get the work done.

0:14:37.216,0:14:42.319
We still don't have a digital etiquette[br]as to how people can best contact you,

0:14:42.863,0:14:45.078
so you can get[br]an equally important message

0:14:45.083,0:14:49.683
via WhatsApp, Skype, email, you name it.

0:14:50.712,0:14:54.897
The moral is you need to heavily manage[br]people's expectations

0:14:54.898,0:14:56.757
as to how they can contact you.

0:14:57.661,0:14:59.829
For example, before I meet somebody,

0:14:59.830,0:15:03.080
I ask them to send me a text message[br]if anything changes.

0:15:03.091,0:15:05.392
Because I don't have Internet[br]on my phone.

0:15:05.494,0:15:07.054
And it works really well.

0:15:08.328,0:15:12.224
What do you do, however,[br]if you work for a company

0:15:12.225,0:15:16.289
that expects you to be connected[br]and on top of everything for 24/7?

0:15:18.663,0:15:20.421
Well, first things first,

0:15:20.583,0:15:23.856
stop contributing to this mess[br]by cc'ing everyone.

0:15:24.920,0:15:28.398
If you want to receive fewer emails,[br]send fewer emails.

0:15:29.122,0:15:31.892
Second, you might want to mention

0:15:31.894,0:15:34.514
a few statistics[br]to your colleagues and bosses.

0:15:34.524,0:15:37.579
For example, a study[br]by Harvard Business School

0:15:37.585,0:15:40.983
that said that consultants,[br]knowledge workers,

0:15:41.001,0:15:45.090
who had predictable time off[br]throughout the week

0:15:45.091,0:15:48.145
performed much better[br]and were much more productive

0:15:48.151,0:15:49.301
than those who didn't.

0:15:50.459,0:15:53.484
Or you can quote an example[br]of a few companies.

0:15:53.504,0:15:57.813
For example, one of the UK's[br]leading multinationals

0:15:57.820,0:16:02.447
recently introduced[br]a two-hour-per-week email ban

0:16:02.453,0:16:03.842
for all senior management

0:16:03.843,0:16:05.536
in the interest of productivity.

0:16:05.876,0:16:11.479
Or a current German car manufacturer[br]does not allow sending or receiving emails

0:16:11.493,0:16:14.466
30 minutes after the employee's[br]shift has ended.

0:16:15.318,0:16:17.155
If this doesn't help,

0:16:17.167,0:16:20.042
then you can try moving[br]to a different country,

0:16:20.453,0:16:22.160
like France and Brazil

0:16:22.181,0:16:25.443
where they have now[br]the so-called rights to disconnect laws,

0:16:25.998,0:16:29.897
that, among other things, regulate

0:16:29.898,0:16:34.138
whether the person has the right[br]not to read work-related emails

0:16:34.146,0:16:35.690
after the working hours.

0:16:39.194,0:16:44.422
Self-management is the last cornerstone[br]of changing your digital behaviour,

0:16:44.997,0:16:46.710
and the most tricky part,

0:16:47.052,0:16:50.461
because it does not help, it doesn't work,

0:16:50.470,0:16:53.026
if you prohibit yourself[br]from going online.

0:16:53.536,0:16:56.684
Because your brain still needs[br]the excitement of dopamine.

0:16:57.275,0:17:03.281
So, instead, you need to be thinking about[br]where you will take this dopamine from?

0:17:03.486,0:17:05.698
What will you do with all this free time

0:17:05.713,0:17:08.093
that all of a sudden[br]you will have available?

0:17:08.895,0:17:13.895
And this is where I want to share with you[br]my last key learning,

0:17:14.690,0:17:18.420
and why I think I failed for so long[br]to give on my smartphone.

0:17:19.544,0:17:23.868
I just did not want to deal[br]with my own problems.

0:17:25.560,0:17:29.431
When you don't have[br]anything that distracts you,

0:17:29.444,0:17:32.464
then you will have[br]to start dealing with the stuff

0:17:32.469,0:17:34.509
you have been running away from.

0:17:36.545,0:17:39.541
We often go online not because we need to,

0:17:39.558,0:17:42.852
but because we have[br]some internal trigger to do that.

0:17:43.170,0:17:45.997
Maybe we want to feel Important,

0:17:46.016,0:17:48.141
or maybe we are depressed.

0:17:48.149,0:17:51.574
In fact, a study by Missouri University[br]of Science and Technology

0:17:51.580,0:17:52.845
says exactly that,

0:17:53.306,0:17:58.360
that people who spent a lot of time online[br]tend to be depressed.

0:17:59.162,0:18:04.135
So, the next time you feel[br]an urge to check your device,

0:18:04.136,0:18:05.451
ask yourself:

0:18:05.452,0:18:08.740
What is really triggering me to do that?

0:18:09.185,0:18:13.599
Is there is something I'm trying[br]to avoid feeling or thinking about?

0:18:16.131,0:18:20.706
Once you get a life,[br]and a natural source of dopamine,

0:18:21.431,0:18:27.649
you won't need anything[br]to distract yourselves from yourselves.

0:18:28.893,0:18:30.102
Thank you.

0:18:30.278,0:18:33.498
(Applause)