Technology, and in particular, communications technologies, have become more important than ever as we try to stay in touch in a world that is forcing us to keep our distance physically. We’re all tired of hearing the cliché phrases, but it actually is a “challenging time” that we’re trying to get through. But…

There is also a time when what you really need to do is unplug. Those beeps, dings, swooshes, and pop-up notifications that alert you to what others are doing, thinking, and talking about are all interrupting what you are trying to achieve at the time.

Interruptions create stress, and don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can multitask your way through the barrage. It just doesn’t work. Your brain can focus on one thing at a time, and there’s plenty of research saying so. And focus is what you need your brain to do to in order to properly complete the tasks that ultimately lead to realizing your goals.

So, how about a little experiment? What if you unplugged for a day? If that’s too scary a thought, how about a few hours at a time? Take a few minutes right now to think about what the impact would be if you were unavailable to others for three hours. If the worst you can imagine is not very likely to actually occur, you might want to do this little test.

Don’t check any device when you first get up or for the next three hours. Turn off all notifications. Take 10 minutes to write down what you want to get done. Take the rest of the three hours to see how many of those tasks you can complete when you don’t have the usual interruptions.

On April 24^th, 15 people in France came out of a cave they had been living in for 40 days. They had no clocks, no sunlight, no smartphones, no news of the outside world. They were taking part in a research study called “Deep Time” that is learning about our brain’s ability to adapt to sudden and severe changes in our environment. You can read more about it here, but a few things were interesting. They were surprised that the 40 days were up, believing it had only been 30. They worked together on group projects even though they had no way to make a schedule or set a time to meet or start for the day; and, two-thirds of the participants wanted to go back into the cave for a bit longer to finish the projects they were working on. Few were anxious to get back to usual life.

You probably have no desire to go back to the cave-dwelling days, but a little time out from the noise that is life might do you some good. Accomplishments are important. Getting things done gives us satisfaction and motivation to continue.

So, if technology is working against you, give the mini-experiment a try. Give yourself a few hours without interruptions to regain your focus and do what’s important to you.

We’ll be keeping our eyes on the road.