It was the title that got me, “Tactical Disconnection: The Secret to Health, Happiness, and Productivity in an Always-on World”. A book similar to “Stolen Focus”.
Curbing digital over-connectivity
Technology can indeed enhance our health, happiness, and productivity—but only to a point. Beyond that, overuse leads to diminishing returns and, eventually, harm. Tactical disconnection is the practice of intentionally curbing digital overconnectivity to sustain a point of optimal usage and enhance your health, happiness, and productivity. It’s rooted in the Goldilocks theory of digital usage, which recognises a sweet spot between too much technology and not enough.
Attention is scarce
The rapid pace of innovation in the twenty-first century, along with the shifting economic forces that value human time, energy, and attention, have fundamentally altered how we live and work with technology. In an era where attention is the most valuable (and scarce) resource, leaders who fail to prioritise digital balance will find themselves lagging behind, struggling to retain top talent and grappling with declining productivity. Meanwhile, those who adopt tactical disconnection will gain a decisive advantage: cultivating an engaged, high-performing workforce that is not only more efficient but also more innovative, strategic, and fulfilled.
Connection as a survival technique
Since the earliest days of mankind, humans have relied on connection with one another for survival. Those who were the most connected—and thus, held the most information—were the ones who flourished. But this rule no longer holds true. At least, not when it comes to our digital connectivity. Despite our ever-increasing rates of digital connectivity, we are more starved for genuine connection with one another.
Find the balance
It is time to strike a balance between digital connection and digital disconnection. Those who can will be the ones who flourish. Getting back our autonomy and control.
- Since 2020, the daily average screen time for working-age adults in the United States has increased by five hours per day and now exceeds thirteen hours per day in total.
- The latest research indicates that people spend the equivalent of 2.5 months each year behind their phones.
- In 2024, the term “digital wellness” emerged in our collective lexicon, spurred by the US Surgeon General’s warnings on social media’s effects on youth mental health and bestselling books like NYU Professor Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation.”
- According to a 2023 study cited by HR Future, employees spend an average of 2.5 hours per workday scrolling on social media.
- Susan Neuman’s 1988 displacement theory, in which she suggested that the harms of modern technology are proportional to one’s exposure.
- Research shows that digital abstinence and detox are effective ways to boost health, happiness, and productivity, but tends to rely on personal anecdotes rather than hard data.
- Today, the average household owns twenty-one internet-connected devices.
- A meta-analysis by Sara Konrath indicates that empathy has declined for decades, empathic concern and perspective-taking dropped significantly in young people, but only since the year 2000.
- The incidence of working beyond “normal” hours jumped by 18%.
- Other research shows 63% of employees say their employers now expect them to work on weekends, while 32% feel pressure to respond to work-related communications even during vacation.
- Researchers observed a decline in productivity ranging from 8% to 19%.
- Forty-five million US workers quit their jobs in 2021, roughly 50% of the US workforce.
- At the end of 2020, 76% of surveyed workers reported having at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year, up from 59% in 2019.
The question the book asks is who controls whom. Are you in the camp of the techno optimists or the tech pessimists? As you know, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Disconnection is essential
Instead, it’s about cultivating a combination of personal habits and organisational cultures that help individuals consciously unplug to make space for deep, meaningful work, while also eschewing existing norms that reward constant availability in the absence of measures for true productive output.
Two steps
The first step in breaking this cycle is recognising that tactical disconnection isn’t simply a nice thing to do; it’s essential for individuals and businesses to flourish in the modern age. The second step involves understanding how certain technologies are designed to capture our attention, exploiting human psychology to keep us perpetually connected. That potentially creates brain rot.
Brain rot
Brain rot represents a form of technology usage that, over time, can leave us worse off than before, placing us squarely in the zone of negative outcomes.
Impact #1: Lost Presence The first and perhaps most immediate casualty of excessive engagement with our technology is a loss of presence and awareness.
Impact #2: Diminished Cognitive Capacity.
Impact #3: Lower Emotional Intelligence. Finally, evidence suggests that our emotional intelligence (our empathy and soft skills, or EQ) is also on the decline. Engaging in activities that are unintentional—rooted mainly in “impoverished” or “brain rot” stimulation—can lead to a pruning of neural connections, which are crucial for healthy cognitive and emotional development.
Other books
So you need to disconnect more. The book becomes a version of “Atomic habits” or “Deep work”.
Some tips
- Out of sight, out of mind.
- Write down five things you value spending your time on most.
- Set and review micro-intentions each night.
- Know where your time goes.
- Calculate the value of your attention.
- Consider the opportunity cost. Defining the values that guide your personal and professional life enables you to better evaluate the opportunity costs tied to each task or activity.
- List your rest and relaxation activities. Assign a “return” value.
- Create friction by logging out of apps each time you use them.
- Commit to a virtual commute.
Time and attention will continue to be your ultimate currency
The question remains: Does your attention align with your intention? Companies may need to be on 24-7, but that doesn’t mean you do. Time and attention will continue to be your ultimate currency. Invest it wisely. Now, more than ever, technology can be used to help us tactically disconnect. We are not—and will never be—powerless to change our relationship with technology.
