Technology Wellness in the Nonprofit Workplace:

Avoiding Collaborative Overload

Beth Kanter, Master Trainer, Speaker, Author

@kanter

www.bethkanter.org

Beth Kanter: Master Trainer, Speaker, Author and

Nonprofit Thought Leader

• Nonprofit Professionals: Nonprofits • Understanding Connection between Tech and

Burnout • Personal Technology Wellness Tips

• Nonprofit Workplace: Organizations

• Bringing Technology Wellness into the Nonprofit Workplace

What I’m going to talk about …..

bethkanter.wikispaces.com/erie2

Technology Use Can Cause Stress and Burnout

Our technology use is changing our brains

We have no downtime 52% of smartphone owners check their phones a few times an hour or more. Behavior Addiction

What is the average human attention span

online?

Attention Spans Online …

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine Flickr photo: Josullivan59

Attention Span Statistics Data

The average human attention span in 2000. 12 seconds

The average human attention span in 2013. 8 seconds

9 seconds

Information Overload

Personal Technology Wellness Assessment 1. Is the only time you take a break from your tech when you’re sleeping? 2. Do you check your phone before you go to bed or right when you wake up? 3. Do you have problems recalling information and resort to searching on Google? 4. Do you feel that you often have a hard time paying attention or focusing on a

single task? 5. Do you experience frustration at the amount of online information you need to

process every day? 6. Do you frequently or constantly check your email, Twitter, Facebook or other

online services? 7. Do you sometimes check your mobile phone for messages while in the

bathroom? 8. Do you find yourself reaching for your phone even when you’re with others? 9. Do you sit at your computer at work or home for longer than 30 minutes at a

time without getting up to take a break? 10.Do you ever check your mobile phone while walking outside? Add up all the questions you answered “YES” to for your score

0…1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10 Source: Lulumonathletica

Healthy……………………………………………………Unhealthy

What’s Your Technology Wellness Score?

Technology Wellness Tips for Nonprofit Professionals

Tip: Use An Alarm Clock

Walk More

Tip: Unplug regularly & often

Tip: Organize Mobile Phone To Avoid

Addiction

• Notifications from people • Customized notifications • Tools on home screen • Scramble Apps • Remove or move work apps into folders on 3rd or 4th screens

during non-work hours

Tip: Go On A News Diet

• Consume news for specified time and sources per day • News meditation – be in the present moment when consuming • Remove news notifications • Take a break from Facebook

• What is one personal technology wellness habit you can start doing now?

Mindful Moment

Technology Wellness in the Nonprofit Workplace

Intentional Focus on Culture Change

Interfaith Youth Core: Quiet Time for All Staff

• Leadership supported an employee “Giddy” committee

• Feedback on how to improve wellbeing (health, happiness, productivity)

• One idea: “Creativity Time” – three hours per month to visit a museum – employee handbook

• No one used it until Executive Director started to use it

Walking Meetings for Productivity and Community

Wednesday Afternoon Weekly Walk -After lunch for 20 minutes to energize and build community

Building A Movement Inside Your Organization

Collaborative Tech Overload: Connectivity Driven

Is this familiar?

• Long work week • Come home to realize

you didn’t get stuff done

• You start doing solo work in evenings and weekends

• You don’t do it because you are too exhausted

● 15% of organization time is spent in meetings

● Four hours a week for status update meetings

● 11 million meetings a day

● More than $37 billion year in unproductive meetings

Source: NY Times, “Meeting is Murder” 2/28/16 Fuze Infographic on Meetings

The Four P’s

Planning People

Priorities Present

Planning: Structure and Rituals Assessment

1. Our team has a clear sense of what’s ahead each month 2. We stick to deadlines and commitments and rarely let things fall through the cracks

3. My team or organization has a clear policy about sending after hours emails

4. My team uses cloud software for collaboration and has a well mapped out workflow

and training for all users

0-8

What’s your score? 0=No, 1=Sometimes 2=Yes

Add it up your answers

Tips to Improve Planning

● Use Look-Ahead Rituals ● Make Solo Focus Time Part of Your Team Culture

Tips to Improve Planning

● Clearly Define Workflow for Online Collaboration Platforms and Training

● Adopt Formal Practices Around Team Emails

People: How You Relate To Others Assessment

1. I am comfortable saying no, negotiating requests, and making requests of others. 2. I stay away from gossip, office politics, and drama 3. Our team communicates precisely via email and online collaboration tools 4. Our team has an effective approach to integrating remote and on-site staff for

meetings and collaboration

What’s your score? 0=No, 1=Sometimes 2=Yes

Add it up your answers

0-8

Tips to Improve

● Set a Statute of Limitations on People Frustrations ● Say NO, But Enforce Boundaries With Grace

Tips to Improve People

● Write emails that are precise ● Create a remote working charter for your team

Subjects w/Keywords [ACTION] [SIGN] [DECISION] [CORD] [INFO] Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) Fewer Words Link to Attachments

Priorities: How You Spend Your Time

1. We spend time working on key priorities and goals that move the needle for our organization, our team, or my own performance and growth.

2. I complete tasks even when I don’t want to do them. 3. My organization or team has clear rationales for how we use our time 4. I understand and accept the trade-offs that I make when choosing how to spend my

time.

What’s your score? 0=No, 1=Sometimes 2=Yes

Add it up your answers

0-8

Tips to Improve

● Do A Trend-Line View Reflection with Your Team ● Rethink Status Updates Meetings

Tips to Improve

● Don’t schedule hour meetings by default

Being Present: How You Focus and Pay Attention

1. Our team schedules work according energy levels 2. Our team is focused and engaged in meetings and not multi-tasking 3. We have distraction free environment and time needed to complete the things that

require focus or strategic thinking. 4. When I have free time, I know how to use it productively or restoratively.

What’s your score? 0=No, 1=Sometimes 2=Yes

Add it up your answers

0-8

Tips to Improve

● Team wide analysis of most productive times during day ● Have explicit team or organization policy about white space or

maker time

Tips to Improve

● Device free zones in your workplace ● Meeting policy about use of devices to avoid “technoference”

Summary

Our personal and organizational use of technology can create stress leading to burnout. But if we are intentional about how we use our devices and our workplace culture, we can be more productive, healthier, and happier.

Thank you!

www.bethkanter.org

The Happy Healthy Nonprofit http://bit.ly/happyhealthynpbook