How to Manage Digital Overload

#thoughtsfromthegym 🔒 Balancing Life Using the Principles of Zero Trust 🔒 In today's digital age, the Zero Trust model has revolutionized cybersecurity. At its core, the principle "never trust, always verify" safeguards our most valuable digital assets. But what if we applied this logic to another vital asset: our personal well-being and work-life balance? By leveraging Zero Trust's principles, we can reconstruct a balanced life, safeguarded from unnecessary stressors. 🔐 **1. Start With No Implicit Trust** 🔐 In the cyber realm, we don't trust anything implicitly. Take a moment to reflect on the myriad of commitments, tasks, and notifications in your life. Are they all genuinely necessary? Begin your journey to balance by embarking on a "notification detox." Turn them all off, and in the ensuing silence, decide what genuinely deserves to ping you. 🔐 **2. Implementing Least Privilege Access** 🔐 Control who and what gets access to you and when. Be ruthlessly selective. Think of your mental space as a highly sensitive server. Only a few apps or tasks should have the privilege to send you alerts. Grant "access" only to the ones that align with your priorities. 🔐 **3. Personal Trust & Micro-Segmentation** 🔐 Our lives are a conglomerate of roles - professional, personal, parental, and more. Micro-segment these roles, ensuring each gets its dedicated space and time. For instance, demarcate "family time" post work hours, ensuring that work doesn't encroach upon it. Time-blocking your calendar with conviction will send a clear message to yourself and others. 🔐 **4. Continuous Authentication** 🔐 Staying true to our priorities is an ongoing process. At day's end, introspect. Did you manage your day according to the priorities you set? If a distraction managed to authenticate itself into your day, identify it and recalibrate for tomorrow. 🔐 **5. Enforcing Your Personal Policy** 🔐 This is where discipline steps in. Tactics like marking "me time" on calendars, setting device-free hours, or having clear communication boundaries with colleagues are your enforcement policies. They safeguard your mental and emotional well-being, ensuring that the balance you seek isn't just a goal but a lived reality. 🔒 **Zero Trust, Zero Problem** 🔒 The Zero Trust model isn't just a cybersecurity protocol; it's a philosophy. When implemented in our daily lives, it becomes a robust framework for protecting our most precious asset: our time and mental well-being. With the principles of Zero Trust, you'll have "Zero" problems staying aligned, maintaining peace of mind, and confidently navigating life's demands. #cybersecurity #worklifebalance #zerotrust #productivity #wellbeing #mentalhealth #selfcare #selfdiscipline

8 ways I stay productive while honoring my mental health: 1. Phone → B&W My iPhone's name is “Devil Device” because it sucks me in so easily. To fight back, I put it in black and white. Which has helped reduce my daily screen time by ~35% Here's how to do it on your iPhone: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters Then toggle “Color Filters” on and hit “Grayscale” Boom. 2. Phone → Out of Bedroom I put my phone outside of the bedroom on airplane mode by 8 pm. I don’t want the anxiety its presence generates where I sleep. And if I do end up waking up and struggling to fall back asleep, I’d rather read a book than scroll mindlessly. 3. Instagram → No I think my fiancée is gorgeous. I have more self-acceptance than at any other point in my life (I used to struggle with depression and low self-esteem). I don’t want to waste hours scrolling through impossibly attractive men and women. And allowing comparison to steal the joys I worked so hard to cultivate. So I quit Instagram. 4. Distractions → Blocked I use Cold Turkey to block distracting websites on my computer. That includes YouTube and even LinkedIn (except for a couple half-hour slots). Life’s short. I want to get as much work as I can during the day and then be with my family, read a good book, or exercise. 5. Writing → Low Tech I have ADHD and lose focus easily. That’s why I write all my rough drafts on the reMarkable 2, a low-tech, grayscale tablet with zero distractions. The quality of my writing is superior. And it takes me half the time to write. 6. Engagement → Walking I do 80% of my engagement on LinkedIn using voice-to-text while walking with my baby strapped to my chest in a carrier. It’s easier for me to imagine the person I’m writing to as a human conversation partner that way. I’m also getting a light workout instead of sitting at a desk. Allowing Mama to catch up on much-needed sleep. And I have more fun on LinkedIn. I install the app on my phone when I go out for a walk and uninstall it when I’m back. That way, I don’t get sucked in later on in the day. 7. Walking → Daily I go on at least two walks every day, averaging 10,000 steps. Walking that many steps: - Boosts immune function - Lowers the risk of heart disease - Reduces anxiety and depression - Improves mental health in general - Increase the quality of your sleep I’ll take meetings while walking. Think through ideas and jot down notes for later. I also love bumping into neighbors and getting to know them better. 8. Morning → Routine I believe true fulfillment doesn’t come from adding more things to your life. It comes from accepting your present reality and cultivating gratitude for what you have. That’s why I sit down to watch my breath every morning → cultivating mindful detachment. And make it a point to focus on what I appreciate → cultivating gratitude. P.S. I’d love to know: How do you stay productive while honoring your mental health?

Four quick ways to dramatically reduce distractions: (Pick just one and you'll still benefit!) Pick up your phone and: 1. Adjust your colorful screen to grayscale. 2. Disable most notifications. Batch others. 3. Set daily time limits by app/app category. 4. Put your phone out of reach and/or sight. People often tell me they struggle to focus. It's something I'd noticed increasingly in myself, too. And then I realized I could greatly improve my focus by setting myself up for focus by removing distractions. Which both increase focus and reduce stress. So last year I began with notifications. Removing the super random ones, and batching most of the rest into three chosen times: 9am, 3pm, 7pm. I then reduced the color on my screen. Full grayscale didn't display well in certain apps but subtle color did. And finally I set the app/phone time limits. And when I did I realized I often hit them before 10am. Yikes. Do I override the limits sometimes? YES. But when I do I now put the phone down much faster. I also kept a handful of notifications - eg family texts - real time. As we begin a new week, if you've found yourself distracted, which of these will you try? And what have I missed? If this post resonated, you can help others see it with your reactions, comments & reposts. Together we can improve our focus - and overall wellbeing. *** Hi, I'm Sally! Click follow (+) for more on workplace wellbeing, personal growth, human resilience, meaningful connection, cancer survivorship & more. #wellbeing #technology #productivity

Last Monday, I opened my laptop to a screen cluttered with 27 browser tabs. 27....... I was already late to a Zoom meeting. Seeing all of those tabs sent my mind into overwhelm. I've realized the impact digital clutter has on my executive function skills. Many of my clients feel the same. I didn’t want to close all of my tabs. I might need some of them after all! Instead, I am being more intentional with the tabs I have open. Here’s what I do: 1. Throughout the day, I always keep key tabs open for work. This makes it easy to access sites I use often. 2. I never keep Facebook, LinkedIn, or email open. This helps me focus. 3. I close all of my tabs at the end of the day. This is good for my computer, saving me money in the long run. The result? I am getting stuff done faster. I am more focused. And, most importantly, a greater sense of calm. How do you handle digital overload? Give my tab management strategy a try and let me know how it works for you! Drop your thoughts or your own methods in the comments. P.S. Know someone drowning in digital clutter? Share this post to give them a lifeline! —— ♻️Repost and share if you found this helpful. (P.P.S... I have a free weekly newsletter you can find in my bio. Each week, I share actionable strategies and systems for adults to improve executive function skills. —— If you didn’t know, my name is Eric 👋. I write about adult executive function and neurodiversity 3x a week on LinkedIn. Hit the 🔔 if you want to be notified as soon as the latest comes out. —— #executivefunction #coaching #productivity #neurodivergent #Personaldevelopment #organization