Wellness: Your Job, Your Career, Your Life, 0916 COBJ, Vol. 45, No. 9 Pg. 85
| Author | Kristen Cunningham Burke, J. |
Kristen Cunningham Burke, J.
Reducing Screen Time in the Quest for Balance
Barbara Ezyk, executive director of the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program, is the coordinating editor of this 12-month series of Wellness articles during 2016. Readers are encouraged to send Ezyk their feedback to the articles at bezyk@coloradolap.org.
The alarm blares. You pull yourself out of bed and, in the same motion, turn the news on the television or radio. You pick up your phone to check email, social media, and last night’s sports scores. The day progresses with similar levels of stimulation: the computer screen at work, a stream of texts and phone calls, news sites during “brain breaks.” In the evening, the TV, the tablet, the computer, and the phone keep you plugged in to email and entertainment. The last thing you see before closing your eyes for the night is the blue glow of your phone when you check email one final time.
Sound familiar?
This screen-dominated routine became my own upon starting my career in private practice in 2009. It was not, however, always this way. My life before becoming a lawyer consisted of a gloriously fragmented student schedule. I could exercise in the middle of the afternoon. Classes lasted little more than an hour or two at a time. I only needed to check email about twice a day. Although I used my laptop to draft papers and occasionally take notes in class, I spent most of my waking hours away from screens.
Then came my first job as an attorney and, with it, my first smartphone. In the beginning, the constant connectivity that seemed necessary for a young associate to show “dedication” and “availability” seemed exciting. I was a grown-up lawyer! I was important! I was 25!
The Strains of a Screen-Oriented Lifestyle
About a year into this lifestyle, however, I began to notice signs that staring at screens all day might not be optimal for my health. It started with anxiety if I forgot my phone at home. Then, I found myself up at 4 a.m. checking email and drafting documents because I could not sleep. Then came the migraines.
Studies show that overstimulation, particularly the kind that results when we multitask using various forms of media, wreaks havoc on sleep patterns,1 hurts our relationships,[2] and can increase anxiety and...
To continue reading
Request your trial