{"id":652,"date":"2019-04-16T10:16:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T09:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/libstaff\/?p=652"},"modified":"2019-04-16T10:16:40","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T09:16:40","slug":"mindful-tech-for-higher-education-digital-solutions-to-our-digital-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/libstaff\/archives\/652","title":{"rendered":"Mindful tech for Higher Education: digital solutions to our digital problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As it’s Stress Awareness Month, we thought we’d re-post this great piece from our own Antony Groves on Mindful Tech in HE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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by Antony Groves<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Freshers\u2019\nWeek is on the horizon, signalling the Autumn term will soon begin, and that\nsome of us will shortly enter the busiest time of our working year. While we are\nplanning how best to support our new and returning students, we should also consider\nour own wellbeing. One way of grounding ourselves during this busy period is mindfulness.\nIf our days are a chain of events, mindfulness encourages us to focus on one\nlink at a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

At the end\nof this month, Jisc\u2019s Building\ndigital capability<\/a> project will finish, transitioning to a full\nservice in September. Through this project, they have developed a digital\ncapability framework to \u201cdescribe the skills needed by staff from a wide range\nof academic, administrative and professional roles to thrive in a digital\nenvironment\u201d (Jisc, 2018). This framework contains six elements including one\nthat is conceptualised as encompassing all others: digital identity and\nwellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Digital
Digital identity and wellbeing: The Lord of the Digital Capabilities Rings<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nJisc\u2019s definition of digital wellbeing includes the ability to \u201cmanage digital workload, overload and distraction\u201d and show \u201can understanding of the benefits and risks of digital participation in relation to health and wellbeing outcomes\u201d (2017, p.3<\/a>). This is particularly important now that many institutions equip their staff with mobile devices<\/a>.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, these\ntools are invaluable. Being able to update a presentation with an iPad or respond\nto emails on the go allows us to make the most of our time but it can also become\ntoo much. We may not be in the office but reaching for our smartphone as\nsoon as we wake can instantly transport us from our bed to our desk. It is a\nvery short step from checking Twitter to sending email when social media and\ntablet computing have led to the conflation of personal and professional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, the answer to switching off is not simply to shut\ndown my device when I leave the office. There are professional networks and\nconversations in which I choose to participate outside of work. Stopping\nnotifications and updates from apps does not necessarily solve the problem\neither; using this strategy actually led me to login more frequently to make\nsure that I had not missed anything. Trying to ignore alerts and emails is not\nthe only approach though. There are a range of tools that can help us to engage\nwith technology in a more deliberate and mindful way, and enhance our wellbeing\nas a result (along with other positive\nworkplace outcomes<\/a>). For example, I use the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n