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Shine Offline’s 10 ways to switch off this Christmas

Let’s face it, it has been a hard couple of years. Life as we have known it turned upside down. Last Christmas most of us had our plans cancelled or curtailed and many of us have not managed a proper holiday since 2019. We all deserve a proper break, to kick back, recharge and spend quality time with family and friends. But in today’s connected 24/7 world many of us find it hard to switch off or have forgotten how.

Working from home, at least some of the time, is now a normal part of many people’s lives. The experience of the pandemic has shown us that thanks to technology we can work anytime anywhere. But whilst this has given flexibility the ‘anytime anywhere’ can feel like ‘always, everywhere’ if we are having trouble switching off. Back-to-back video calls, working from our bedrooms or kitchen tables, lack of breaks, emails going later into the night and all whilst we have a steady drip of news and social media through our phones. No wonder so many of us are feeling mentally exhausted.

So here are Shine Offline’s top tips on how to switch off this Christmas. Let’s all get a proper rest from work and the outside world so we can go into the new year rested and with a better relationship with our technology.

  1. Plan ahead
    Start thinking now about work to be done on the lead up to the holidays and any deadlines coming up soon after your return so it doesn’t seep into your rest time. Manage expectations of others by letting clients and colleagues know when you will be off and that you won’t be checking emails. If there is anything truly urgent they should call you. Make sure that your out-of-office is set and if business is still open on some of your days off include who to contact in your absence.
     
  2. Pack away your work tech
    At the start of your holidays, don’t just put the out-of-office on but actually put away all your work tech and remove any work apps from personal devices. Lock it in a cupboard if you can’t be trusted to not check. This is especially important if you have been working from home to reclaim your personal space over the festive season. And if you are going away for Christmas don’t fall into the trap of taking work phones or computers with you.
     
     
  3. Make your home your sanctuary
    For those home workers who feel like we have been ‘sleeping in the office’ since the pandemic it really is time to reclaim your home as your sanctuary. Stock up on the creature comforts that will make you feel most relaxed and pampered. Scented candles, cosy socks, favourite music and real fires are the top of my list. And if you have a quiet Christmas planned or the worst should happen and covid spoils your plans, treat yourself with extra kindness and do all you can to relax and take a much-needed break away from the pressures and grind of the outside world.
     
  4. Write a Christmas wish list
    It may have been a while since you wrote to Santa but what would you really like from this break? Think about some of those things you have been missing or have always wanted to try – especially what are the things you would like to do instead of being constantly plugged in and take steps to make it happen. This could serve as inspiration for Christmas presents from loved ones. Whether you decide to go for an icy dip in the sea on Christmas day or relax chin deep in a bubble bath with a good book, resist the urge to post about it on social media. Try and enjoy life’s pleasures without feeling the need to broadcast them.
     
  5. Tech free bedroom
    Take this downtime to banish tech from your bedroom, prioritise sleep and recharge. Most people use their phones as their alarm clocks so is it any wonder that so many of us are checking news, email, social media from our beds – terrible for our wellbeing, our sleep not to mention anyone you might share your bed with! 
     
  6. Get outside and recharge in nature
    You finally have some time off, its cold outside, it is so easy to get sucked into spending hours online. We barely get to see any daylight this time of year anyway so put down the phone, throw on some layers, get on your boots and out for some fresh air. Whether with company or taking some quiet time for yourself, spending time in nature is one of the most powerful ways to de-stress and switch off. A bracing family walk is a great way to get kids off devices and reconnect with the people around them before cosying up for a winter movie. How about you leave all the devices behind for an hour and re-engage with the world beyond the screen.
     
     
  7. Cut down on your phone time
    You don’t need to go cold turkey to improve your digital habits, being able to stay connected is one of the great gifts of mobile tech. But our phones are designed to get our attention, hooking us in and pulling us back for more. One minute you are wishing your cousin in New Zealand a happy Christmas and the next you are scrolling through photos of other people’s festivities on Instagram. If you have a plan about how and when you are going to use your phone you are more likely to succeed. Turn off notifications and alerts on your phone and bring some consciousness to the way you are using it instead of reacting to every buzz and ping. Establish your tech free times and zones with those you are spending your break with or even just when grabbing some quiet time for yourself. Board games, festive TV and sitting down for Christmas dinner are all improved if we can be truly present with each other. 
     
  8. Read a book  
    What better time to switch off from devices and lose yourself in a good book than during unstructured holiday time? Research has proven that reading is one of the best ways to relax and reduce stress levels but for many of us it is a lost art. As our phones have become our go to for all sources of entertainment and information and many of us don’t even have a commute any longer. Switch off your phone, put it away and immerse yourself in another world without notifications disrupting you every few minutes. In my house we like to have a ‘reading hour’ where devices go away and everyone snuggles down with a hot drink and a book.
     
  9. Get creative
    You can’t get lost doom scrolling news or other people’s lives on Instagram if you are busy being creative with your hands. Decorating gingerbread, sketching, getting messy with modelling clay or labouring over a challenging jigsaw – there are so many wonderful ways to unwind and find your creative side that is so much better for your wellbeing than sat on your phone. And remember craft is not just for kids!
     
  10. Set some new year’s resolutions
    Found the benefit to your new intentional use of your devices over Christmas? Sleeping better? More relaxed? Enjoying your daily walk? Connecting better with those actually around you? Valuing presence over the constant drive to be busy and productive? Why not resolve to establish and maintain some clear boundaries around your use of tech in your personal and professional life and start 2022 on the right foot.
     

So what are you waiting for? Get ready for Christmas now! And no not just the shopping – in the run up to the festive season start to experiment with your technology habits, switch off at the end of the day, take a tech-free walk in the daylight. Setting these boundaries now will help you start to wind down, so you’re better prepared to switch off once the Christmas really begins.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year from Shine Offline x

Since 2016, Shine Offline have supported businesses to develop healthy digital cultures and positive tech behaviours amongst employees in an ‘always on’ world. In a post-covid hybrid workplace, healthy tech habits has never been more important for wellbeing, work-life balance and collaboration.

Please drop us a line at hello@shineoffline.com

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How to minimise digital presenteeism when working in a hybrid way

HYBRID WORKING AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Hybrid is on everyone’s lips as the new model of working, but actually working in a flexible way is no new thing. Since we launched Shine Offline in 2016 we’ve been supporting businesses who have introduced a flexible approach to work for their staff. Digital technology has enabled this flexibility and it got us through the coronavirus pandemic. And now that we’re working in a hybrid way, digital will enable us to continue doing our jobs, whether we’re working from the office, home or client side. Although flexible working has many benefits, both for employers and employees, it also comes with potential downsides. The technology that has allowed us to work in this way can also create unprecedented stress with staff finding it hard to put boundaries in place between work and home and use the tech in an efficient and effective way to maintain and develop colleague and client relationships. 

TRUST AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IS KEY
For this reason businesses need to ensure employees understand the need for healthy digital workplace behaviours, understanding of individual differences when it comes to working styles, personal responsibility for digital boundaries and an open dialogue so trust can be built amongst colleagues when they spend less time together in an office environment. 

SMALL ADJUSTMENTS REAP HUGE BENEFITS
Since Covid, the team at Shine Offline have been busy helping organisations and their people make the necessary adjustments to digital habits to ensure performance, collaboration and the potential to rest are maximised. As we enter this new normal, there are very simple things people and their teams can do to take control of the digital technology that is central to their work. 

HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME AT WORK
73% of people have told us in the past 18 months that they feel overloaded by their work technology – most work with their inbox open, instant messenger chat live and their phone on the desk throughout the day. Digital presenteeism, feeling the need to stay connected to work through digital communications, is a real thing and more prevalent in remote workers. This results in employees being distracted and not being in control of their focus and attention which impacts performance, collaboration and the chance to recharge. Encouraging staff to work out how they can manage their digital distractions during the working day to get focused work complete is essential. Spending home-based days working on solitary tasks without the distractions of the office seems like a good idea for most. But putting your phone on flight mode, working offline on email and starting to use do not disturb on instant messenger can be done whether working remotely or in the office to ensure people’s are able to truly focus and work at their best. 

COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS
When it comes to collaborative work an obvious rule is to encourage team members to plan office-based days together to avoid wasted commuter time and maximise their time together. Great, but digital presenteeism and distraction can also impact this. With nearly two years having passed with colleagues not working side by side it’s imperative that team rapport is built on in-office days and people start to really learn from colleagues and managers and collaborate well together. The phones and laptops that usually accompanied people into meeting rooms pre-pandemic may be best left at the meeting room door if colleagues are to reconnect and build trust face-to-face. Most people suffer from what psychologists have coined ‘continuous partial attention’ and find it hard to fully focus at any given moment because of the digital distractions around them. With hybrid working video conferencing and other digital communications will still be used more than they were pre-pandemic. Colleagues still need to connect with each other when some of the team are at home and others in the office and video conferencing seems like the obvious answer. Having smart meetings, not too many, breaks in between, capping attendee number and being clear on meeting objectives will all help. But encouraging people to minimise digital distractions when on video calls will be a game changer to keep morale and team spirit up. We all know when our colleague is answering an email during a video meeting. So let’s be present with each other virtually on those days when we’re not sitting together.

REST IS NOT FOR THE WICKED
Digital presenteeism is paramount in the majority of employees’ personal time. 69% tell us their work life balance has been negatively impacted by remote working, with people working longer days and struggling to put boundaries in place for themselves and switch off at the end of the day. Open communication around this topic is vital if we are to make the most of a hybrid working style and avoid the potential for burn out due to an inability to rest. Understanding individual preferences for people who like to manage their work schedules in a non-traditional way; empowering people to own their own digital management and not be “on” because their colleagues are; pulling up those members of the team who habitually send non-urgent communications past 6.30pm.  If we can bring some real consciousness to these behaviours and the impact they’re having then hybrid can work. 

LEADERS MUST LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Managers must lead by example and take the time to think about their own digital habits and improvements and understand the impact their behaviours have in creating the culture of the team. Digital technology is here to stay and so improving the role it plays for us in our jobs needs to be top of the agenda for any business wanting to reach their full potential and care for their people. 

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Creating a healthy digital workplace culture

In early March 2021 Laura was interviewed by John Waterfield, KPMG’s Strategic Relationships Director, for their new podcast The Virtual Commute where she talked about why digital wellbeing and management is so critical now and the role of the employee and the leader in building a healthy digital workplace culture. Listen to the 20 minute interview here.

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Positive parenting in today’s digital world

As the global Coronavirus situation continues to unfold many of us are now working from home. This comes with its challenges for all. But for those with children this can be even trickier – whether you are home schooling little ones or trying to cope with volatile teens. As parents of young children ourselves, the Shine Offline team are in this boat with those of you out there who are trying to work out how you are going to do your work, deal with your children and maintain your sanity!

There are lots of people offering advice online on keep kids entertained in the coming weeks and months – what a perfect example of the positive power of digital technology! Our focus at Shine Offline is specifically on digital wellbeing. Time and time again we get programme participants asking us for advice for positive parenting in a digital age. We aren’t experts in this field – it is a very different ball game and there are many psychologists and specialists out there who have great books and podcasts on the topic.

In this current climate though we feel it is our duty to share our own knowledge and personal practises with anyone struggling with making sure their kids aren’t spending all day on screens. So here we go…!

  1. Be realistic. We are experiencing an unprecedented situation and a huge amount of stress. Our children have their own digital behaviours and in a time of upheaval they will want to spend time on their devices whether to entertain, to game, to escape from own feelings of stress or to connect with friends. Also, if you have work to do, especially if you have younger children, getting them to spend some time playing on their iPad or watching cbeebies will come in very handy

  2. Don’t demonise the technology – this is something we are very passionate about at Shine Offline. Celebrating digital technology and using it to improve our lives and experiences. Rather than worrying about the repercussions of too much screen time focus on how you could encourage your kids to use the technology with real intention and purpose. Could they make funny stop motion videos on a tablet? Play a game online with friends? And who has been enjoying Joe Wick’s youtube PE lessons??!

  3. Create new guidelines for the home – these will depend on who is living in your house, their ages, current digital behaviours, etc but some things to bear in mind:

    • Set time limits for younger children’s screen time and use a stopwatch or egg timer to manage this. And always give the 10 and 5 min warnings!

    • If you have older children who are used to spending quite a lot of the weekend on their phone or other device put yourself in their shoes. Being at home = screen time. That is what is normal for them. And also their worlds have turned upside down too so having some solace online isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Keep an eye on the gaming but it can also help to reduce stress and get them interacting with their friends. And in times of crisis connecting with your friends is more important than ever.

    • Make sure they are aware of the importance of screen free time for their mental health and to watch out for fake news, gossip and online Chinese whispers which could add to their stress and overwhelm

    • Consider writing some screen management guidelines together. These could include screen time times in the day and areas in the home; time limits on screen activity; digital sundown and sunrise times – with devices being kept outside everyone’s bedroom in a central location.

  4. Lead by example – your children will be looking to you in the coming days to guide and reassure them. Being mindful of your own digital behaviour, know when to disconnect from work and sticking to your new family rules and supporting each other if you are struggling will be more important than ever.

These are frightening and uncertain times. For many of us we have become acutely aware that our relationships with others is what really matters in life. The distractions and entertainment possibilities that technology offers can drive us all in different directions under the same roof if we retreat into individual screens. Periods of abstinence from phones and social media as a family have the potential to bring you closer together. Talk around the dinner table. Play a board game. Curl up for a movie. In these troubling times, parents have an opportunity to redefine family life and carve out a new way of living for the younger generation.

For more information visit one of the experts on managing you children’s screen time at www.internetmatters.com

Good luck everyone.

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Time to tame your inbox!

Big or small, global or local, the same themes play themselves out when it comes to desk-based workers and the issues they have around their digital wellbeing and management. One recurring theme that is causing problems for most people is the role their email plays, the impact it has on their ability to concentrate, and the overwhelm it can cause inside work and out.

An amazing tool that has transformed the way people communicate email has brought a host of benefits to the working world. But with these come a host of downsides. An invention that was supposed to replace the fax machine and make communication much quicker and simpler is causing stress for millions of people every day. Theorists, experts and researchers are claiming that the reactionary mode many people are in, spending their day responding to emails and not being in control of their own schedules, is untenable and that something has to change.

While we wait for the shake-up and the “email revolution” there is a lot you can do to take back control of your day and improve your relationship with your inbox. Below we have outlined our favourite hacks for Outlook. Click here to read an excellent article on Computer World on better management of Gmail.

  1. Turn off email notifications to avoid your attention getting pulled away every time you get a new message
    You are chatting on a conference call or finalising the report it’s taken you a week to get around to and a little envelope appears on your screen. You Got Mail!! Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but when you’re trying to focus the temptation to “just have a little check” to see what has come in is sometimes overwhelming. We get a little dopamine hit every time we engage in online activity and email is no different. The slot machine effect is in full flow here. That envelope appears, you don’t know what the message is going to be – good news, bad news, a round robin about cups piling up in the office kitchen sink – and that uncertainty keeps us checking. So take back some control, turn off the notifications, and when you want to retrieve your mail hit send/receive all folders.
    Outlook – File > Options > Mail > Message arrival – decide if you want any form of notification or none at all. We would advise turning them off completely.

  2. Work offline when you need to concentrate to stop the flow of new emails
    This simple technique transformed the way that I work and is so straightforward to do – and yet when you ask a room of workshop participants who use Outlook as their email service if they know how to do this 9 times out of 10 they don’t.
    I spend most of my day with my email in offline mode which means I can view the email window, all the folders, even compose an email, but no new messages will come in because I’m “offline”. This allows me to focus my mind and stay in control of my own attention.
    Outlook – go to ‘send/receive’ and then click ‘work offline’. A little red X will appear over your outlook icon on the bottom of your screen. When you’re ready to go back online and allow the emails to come in simply click the ‘work offline’ icon in Outlook.

  3. Schedule email delivery so that you are sending messages at an appropriate time
    We live in an agile, flexible working world which has resulted in many people being more in control of their working schedules and deciding when they want to work. For many this can be evenings and weekends as the mobility of their digital technology has resulted in a loss of ‘hard edges’ marking the end of work and the start of personal time. A great perk for people who want a blended life but the downsides are huge. You’ve had a day of meetings and have just finished dinner and are taking a couple of hours to catch up with emails. You’re firing responses out and composing some new ones. You don’t intend anyone to reply – you’re just doing what suits you. But that is unclear to the colleagues you are messaging. And if in a position of seniority this out of hours email behaviour can creation uncertainty amongst the team about what is expected from them in regards to out of hours communication – the very act of opening an email in an evening or on a weekend puts the recipient in work mode. Using the “Delay Delivery” function in Outlook allows you to embargo your email. This means you can click “Send” and have that task checked off your to-do list, but the message will not be delivered until the scheduled time you have chosen e.g. the start of business hours the next business day. One thing to remember is that you need to be online for any scheduled emails to be delivered – don’t get caught out expecting something to go at 8.30 if you haven’t turned your laptop on. Another option is to save the email as a draft and send later.
    Outlook – click New Email > Options > Delay Delivery > Select date and time you’d like to send the message in the Do not deliver before section > Click Close > press Send.

  4. Re-think the cc to help reduce your own and your colleagues’ overwhelm
    Ccing colleagues in is standard email practice these days. People want to include relevant team members in a message to ensure everyone is abreast of what’s happening. An excellent tool if used appropriately, overuse of the cc has resulted in over-crowded inboxes and an uncertainty around what is important mail and what is just for reference. Next time to are about to cc a host of people in a message stop and really consider if they all need to be included. We know from many people we’ve worked with that changing your view on cc use can have an unbelievably positive impact on the amount of emails you will receive – and also help to prevent email overload for the people you are communicating with. One senior manager we worked with was feeling overwhelmed by her inbox and so told her people “I trust you. Please don’t cc me in as standard”. The result? A 60% decrease in the amount of internal email traffic she received, less email overload on her part, and a sense of empowerment for her team.

  5. Manage post-holiday overload by using the Clean-Up function
    Back to work after a well-needed rest and check me out – I didn’t go into my inbox the whole time. A proper break! Amazing. Flipside? 300 emails waiting for you in your inbox. Before you press “delete all” consider using Outlook’s clever Clean-up function which removes all email replies that are duplicated in a later thread, allowing you to read a single thread instead of dozens of individual emails. What this means is that you won’t waste time re-reading information and can cut to the chase in one email thread. Super. Rest assured: the tool is sophisticated and will not delete any emails with attachments or text that aren’t exactly duplicated in later threads, and you can always review deleted items in the trash folder if needed.
    Outlook: Home > clean up > clean up folder

Hopefully you can see how at least one of these tips will help you start to adjust your email behaviour and begin a new, healthier relationship with your inbox. Good luck!

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Why we need to re-learn how to switch off

As work returns to “normal” after the August summer holidays, employers need to revisit whether, in a world of smartphones and “always on” connectivity, workers are actually getting a proper break from work while on holiday, argues Laura Willis.

The traditional August summer holiday period is now, for many of us, rapidly fading into memory and, as work cranks back into “normal” mode, it can at times seem like you never went away.

We all know there is nothing quite like two weeks in the sun to blow away the cobwebs and recalibrate. Lying by the pool, finishing that book, a day exploring some ruins, or just lots and lots of sleep and lazing around.

However, whether you took a break over the summer or are planning to beat the inflated school holiday prices by getting away this autumn, the real challenge from a health and wellbeing perspective is actually just getting away from that little device in your pocket or handbag.

These days we carry “the office” around with us. Digital technology, and in particular our smartphones, have brought so much flexibility to our working lives resulting in there being no need to be tethered to the desk to do our jobs.

The flipside to this, however, is a growing inability to properly disconnect from work outside of office hours – be that evenings, weekends or on our annual leave – and the growing worry among health and wellbeing professionals of the negative impact this may potentially be having on people.

Inability to disconnect

Studies are already showing the impact of our inability to disconnect from work and constantly checking in to the office through digital devices.

For example, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development/Simplyhealth 2018 Health and Wellbeing report highlighted that 87% of people reported that an inability to switch off had a negative impact on their wellbeing.

More recently, research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health concluded that working longer hours and weekends contributed to worse mental health.

The World Health Organization, too, has argued that by next year work-related stress and burnout will be amongst the world’s most prevalent diseases; in fact it has even classed burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” within its 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases for the first time. The lack of boundaries many of us feel around our work technology is undoubtedly a hugely contributing factor to this.

The psychological rest you experience during a period of annual leave simply isn’t the same if you are checking your inbox regularly either because of an expectation from your employer or a self-imposed obligation.

If we are to perform at our best, and maintain some level of work-life balance, which is essential to our wellbeing, then it is imperative we bring some sense of control to how we are using our inboxes and other workplace communications.

Practical solutions

So, what is the answer? At an organisational level businesses need to start to address this issue properly. Rather than what is often a wishy-washy, unspoken issue in most workplaces, employers need to consider putting some standards in place for staff so that they understand the need to have a proper break from work.

The relationship people have with their inboxes is often complex and companies need to support their staff to know they can and should disconnect from work. Putting the topic on the HR agenda and instilling a level of enforcement is key.

In the banking sector, for example, employees are forced to take two weeks’ holiday annually with no online contact so their employer can carry out necessary fraud checks. The unintended consequence is employees must step off the hamster wheel and take a proper break. If banking can survive this, there is little reason why others cannot follow suit.

At individual level employees need to reflect on the impact their constant contact with the office is having when they are trying to enjoy some downtime with family and friends.

One of the simplest choices all employees can make, regardless of their work or personal commitments, is to own two separate phones – one for work and one for personal.

By creating this very clear digital boundary workers can start to feel in control of their time and put appropriate rules in place as to when they are and are not going to be contactable.

Communicating the necessity and intention to take a real break is also important so colleagues’ expectations can be managed. A colleague who makes it clear they won’t be checking their inbox whilst they are away, and so should only be called in the event of a true emergency, is unambiguous about their intention to disconnect.

Businesses with their eye on the future, who are taking the health of their employees seriously, are already starting to put digital wellbeing on the agenda. As the world continues to get faster, and connectivity becomes ever-more the norm, is the time for employers to ensure their people are embracing their annual leave – whenever they take it – so that they return to work feeling rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to continue to give their very best.

References
Health and well-being at work, CIPD and Simplyhealth, 2018, https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/health-well-being-work

Weston at al (2019). Long work hours, weekend working and depressive symptoms in men and women: findings from a UK population-based study, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, available online at https://jech.bmj.com/content/jech/early/2019/02/08/jech-2018-211309.full.pdf

Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases, May 2019, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/