3 Tips for Intentional Tech Use

I saw other shipmates talking about how overwhelming participation feels so far, especially the social media engagement part.

Since I've been working on cultivating intentional tech use for the past 5ish years now, I feel like I have some tips.

So instead of the original topic I planned for today, I want to share some of my favorite tips for using tech intentionally.

First of all, rules and limits for yourself are your best friend, whether they're implicit or explicit.

Play with things like screen time limits on your phone and rules like, "I will not use my phone lying in bed except in emergencies." That's right, there can be exceptions too. I can watch all the Instagram stories I want if I'm standing up while doing so.

Second of all, create friction between yourself and the activities you want to do less.

I can only log into reddit from my non-work Chrome profile, and can't check work mail from my phone's mail app. I can still do either activity whenever I need to, but it's difficult enough that I don't do it when I'm just looking for a distraction.

Third, don't be afraid to use more tech to use less tech.

I know it can sound counterintuitive to use apps, tools, automations, when you're goal is using tech less, but the right ones are like built-in accountability.

Use systems as guardrails to stay in the lane you want to.