What You Want: To stop the racing, live at a more comfortable pace
What to Try: Creating a tech "mudroom"
The breakneck pace at which we move today has become as seductive as
alcohol or drugs, writes addiction specialist and psychologist,
Stephanie Brown, PhD, in Speed: Facing our Addiction to Fast and Faster and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down,
not to mention it sucks us into stress levels that can impair our
immune systems and "even rewire the brain, leaving us more vulnerable to
anxiety and depression." Her favorite solution, which she borrowed from
a client who grew up in Oregon where families leave wet boots in a
mudroom by the front door: Create a space by your entrance where
everyone places their cell phone, tablets and laptops before
coming inside. Then set up tech-permissible times (say, after homework
but before dinner) and tech-free times (say, Sunday nights). Watch what
happens, including the sentences that result without one embarrassing auto correction.
— Leigh Newman
