Could the tools we built to increase our pace be starting to slow our progress?

Sprinting a marathon, gasping for breath.

I’ve dedicated my life to a career in tech. An industry renowned for being extremely fast moving; demanding high levels of commitment with a constant striving to find ways to produce more and produce it faster. 

I have dedicated this career to building websites, apps, software and hardware that allows others to do similar. To remove ‘friction’ for customers, to allow for companies and individuals to automate wherever possible and to reap the benefits of tasks done efficiently and effectively. 

I have loved every moment of it. The intellectual challenge of complex engineering, the creativity required to succeed, the inspiring, authentic, super-talented and passionate people the industry attracts, the delight of bringing an ethereal concept into reality (the more crazy the concept the greater the delight). 

Increasingly however, I am left reflecting on what we have inadvertently created. In driving for frictionless efficiency have we ruthlessly, albeit accidentally, crushed the space from our lives. The space we require to think clearly and deeply? In the pursuit of more, faster are we in fact at risk of producing only superficially, slower and at greater human cost?

I am typing this from my iPhone at an airport. Once I’d have used this time to read, to call a friend, to sit and bask in the imagined lives of the people passing by (airports are simply the best places on earth to People-Watch). 

Instead I have efficiently dealt with tens of emails, I have reviewed a strategy document and fed back to all involved, I have checked my banking and investments, I have posted pictures on social media, I have been updated with the world news and I have written this blog. 

Breathe. 

Last year I rekindled my meditation practice. Every morning, without fail nor excuse, I take a small amount of time out to just be. Not do; just be. No matter what unearthly time of the morning that means I have to get up. 

It began as an experiment. The rules were simple. It had to take place every day after breakfast, before I get caught up in the melee of the day. In the beginning I’d often only be able to spare five minutes for this, after all I was incredibly busy and this was ‘dead’ time. 

Roll forward a year and I now view this as the most precious time in my day. The more time I spend meditating at the start of the day the more I get done, the deeper I can think and the fresher and more joy-filled I am at the end of the day. It seems laughably simple to summarise it in these terms but I am sincerely convinced of its efficacy. In creating time and space to reflect I am achieving more, in every aspect of my life. 

In ruthlessly pursuing efficient productivity we have filled every spare moment of our lives with an opportunity to achieve, be entertained, get stuff done. We have replaced the time we can ‘be’ with time we now ‘do’. 

In ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ we have lost our time to breathe. It turns out that breathing is important. If we want to go faster breathing becomes more important still. 

We are all now trying to sprint a marathon, such is the pace of life. Sprinting a marathon at full pace while holding our breath is an impossibility. It is little wonder that so many people are burning out and depression has surged to epidemic proportions. 

The pressure to continuously ‘do’ while removing the time and space our brains need to function is creating a poisonous and exhausting environment. 

In the fast moving and demanding tech industry our pace of production requires clear thinking innovation. Creativity and decision making are compromised when exhaustion takes hold. Productivity is as related to our energy levels as it is to our means of efficiency. 

In short, to go fast we need to make time and space to breathe. 

I am not alone in this view. It is interesting to see the mass movement towards Distraction-Free Phones (phones with most of the apps which demand our attention removed). It is more interesting still to see senior leaders in many of the social media companies spearheading this movement. Removing, amongst others, their own apps from their phones. 

So my experiment is being ramped up in 2019. I am adding to my daily meditation practice with regular yoga. I am focusing on spending time outdoors, every day. I am vastly reducing the time I spend on my iPhone to create time to let my mind wander. 

On which note time for me to put down my phone, I have some serious people watching to do.