Does Technology Complement or Rule Your Life?

Vishwajeet is the tech master.

I know little of the techy sides of blogging and prospering online. I own a Chromebook, laptop and old school phone. Not much else. I know little of the inner techy workings of each device.

But I do know how most bloggers suffer from a technology malady. People check their phones every 5 minutes for new emails or texts. Folks glue themselves to their phone in bed before passing out.

Technology can serve as a helpful complement to your life if you use tech responsibly. Unfortunately, most people allow technology to rule their lives. You know what I mean; staring at small, glowing screens for hours daily because you fear missing:

• profits
• chats
• the latest news
• industry trends

Technology is like electricity. Properly reined in and directed, electricity serves humanity the ultimate convenience through:

• lighting
• refrigeration
• heating and air conditioning or fans
• powering phones, laptops and computers

But raw, unbridled electricity shocks you, causes fires or literally kills you through electrocution. I recall touching the radio while my other hand seemed busy doing dishes. One moment of mindlessness caused an electric shock I will never forget.

Properly reined in and directed, technology gives you and I the ultimate convenience. We can speak to virtually anyone on earth at any time. But spending 10, 12 or 18 hours daily being plugged in:

• leads to mental problems
• promotes sickness, disease and a general lack of wellness
• elevates stress levels
• adversely affects your eyes, neck and back, among other bodily issues

I use technology a little bit but never buy minutes for my phone. My wife buys minutes for me – sometimes – to be in touch with me, when we are busy. Sans those periods, I use free Wifi or Wifi in the house where we happen to be living. I have no interest at staring at a phone like a mindless fool after working online for 15,000 hours over the past decade.

I spend ample time typing away on my Chromebook and/or laptop daily. But I also spend 2-3 hours:

• meditating
• doing Kriya yoga
• doing yin yoga
• power walking

daily, to be offline, to refresh and recharge my body and to strengthen my mental muscle.

See tech as a sweet complement to your life. Never let tech rule your life. Turn off your phone for hours. Are you a doctor or a blogger? Who needs to reach you 24-7, 365? Shut down your laptop for 8-10 hours each night. Read in bed. Relax. Speak to human beings, face to face.

Meditate, do yoga and exercise daily. Spend time offline to hone your most important tool; your mind. Staring at a glowing screen all day long makes your mind a big old pile of mush. Bloggers who rarely practice mental science become enslaved by fears, manifest as writer’s block, resistance to networking and a general discomfort with leaving your comfort zone.

Meanwhile, a largely tech-free guy like me wrote and self-published 120 plus eBooks and writes-publishes 5 or more guest posts daily, in addition to the 3 or more blog posts I publish daily.

Let tech play a small to moderate role in your life but never allow this blessing to become a curse by dominating your life.

• set up tech boundaries; turn off your phone and laptop for 6-8 hours daily or more
• spend hours daily working on your energy through practices like meditating, exercising and doing yoga
• take short, frequent breaks throughout your work day to pull back from technology

Technology can be the ultimate blessing if you do not allow this gift to grow into a wicked curse. Use tech to improve your life. Use tech to improve the lives of people you touch.

I write these words in the United States. Vishwajeet will read, approve and publish this post in India.

We all win by using technology but only if we do not allow technology to use us.

Never confuse the order.