Mobile Mastery ebook - Nokia - #SmarterEveryday

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2 Introduction4 Digital literacy 6 Elements of mastery 8 Mindful 10 Flow12 Understanding how your mind works 13 Metacognition 16 Attention and hyper-attention 18 Is the internet changing how our minds work? 20 How to be more mindful 24 Purposeful 25 The right tool for the job 26 Effortless,notcomfortable28 The process is the purpose30 Stacksandflows32 Connection fatigue and internet addiction 34 How to be purposeful 36 Playful38 Thebenefitsofbeingplayful42 The Slow Web 44 How to be playful45 Critical thinking 46 Masterful tools

51 Conclusion: becoming masterful 52 Reading list

Contents.

IntroductionMobile Mastery

1 Cathy N Davidson, Now You See It: How The Brain ScienceOfAttentionWillTransformTheWayWeLive, Work and Learn

Mobile - being connected everywhere to everything and everyone - is thefactofmodernlife.Itdefineshowwelive,howwework,howwecommunicate and how the world runs.Itisthetoolwereachforfirstwhen we are faced with challenges big and small in our everyday lives.

Inaveryshortperiodoftime,ithasgonefrombeingthestuffofsciencefictiontosomethingweall have in our pockets. Many of us have adopted it so quickly and wholeheartedlythatwefindithardtoremember what life was like before.

But despite the rapid pace with which we’veadoptedit,we’restilllearningthebestandmosteffectivewaystousemobiletechnology,howtomake the most of the opportunities and how to avoid the pitfalls.

In NowYouSeeIt, her widely respected work on the impact of technology and neuroscience oneducationandbusiness,Cathy Davidson writes:

“Rightnow,we’reinatransitionalmoment. We are both adopting new information technologies all thetimeandbeingalarmedbythem,even wondering if they are causing usharm,exceedingourhumancapacities…Basically,theinternetisstill in its adolescence and so are we as users. We’ve grown up fast,butwestillhavemuchto learn. There’s a lot of room for improvement. We are experiencinggrowingpains.

Because we learn to pay attention differentlydependingontheworldwesee,whentheworldchanges,there is a lot we’re suddenly seeing forthefirsttimeandevenmorewesuspect we’re missing. So that’s a key question: How can we focus on what we do best without missing new opportunities to do better?1 ”

IntroduCtIon.Do you have mastery over your mobile devices, or does it feel more like they have mastery over you? Who jumps fastest when the other calls? You or your device?

2

IntroductionMobile Mastery

In our last book in this series - Design Your Day-weofferedideasfor structuring your day to get the best use of your time and energy. With Mobile Masterywe’llexplore:

• The elements of mobile mastery.

• How to avoid the pitfalls of mobile technology.

• How to make the most of and spot new opportunities offeredbymobiletechnology.

Introduction3

The answer to Davidson’s question could be what we are calling mobile mastery.

Toachievegreatthingsinanyfield,weexpecttohavemasteryoverthetoolsofthattrade,togrowourskillsand knowledge of how to use them. When we see a master at work we are awedbytheeconomyandconfidenceoftheiractions-theireffortlessnessspeaksofhugeeffortinthepasttohonethoseskills.Now,however,theireffortisfocusedonoutcome,onperfectexecutionofthetaskinhand.

Ifyouwerewritingaplan,somewherebetweenthecontextandthetacticswouldbeastrategy:adirection,awayofproceeding,accompaniedbysomegoals and measures that will show whether the plan is succeeding or not.

We want this book to be a guide to writing your own personal strategy formobile,yourownroutetomasteryof mobile hyper-connected living andworking,startingwiththeoryand moving on to the practice.

Why design your day?

Right now, there isn’t any best practice. The old rules and structures of working life have been overturned by technology. Working tools are no longer tied to a particular place. Pervasive connections, cloud storage and flexible devices mean that we are no longer dependent on a particular locale to have access to the people, information and tools we need to do our jobs. Our phones allow us to tap into our documents, our colleagues, clients and suppliers wherever we are in the world. For many, our devices are our new offices, ones we can throw in a bag and take with us wherever we go.

Even place-based concepts like “home working” or “mobile working” don’t really capture the shift that’s going on. Place is no longer a vital component of information work. If we work anywhere, we work in the flow: the flow of information, people and communication. Flow also describes the way that many aspire to work - fluidly, adapting to changing circumstances, but still with a focused direction. It is fundamentally different to the industrial-era

approach that has defined so much working theory until recently.Shifts like this cause dissonance, tension and confusion. Many people take comfort in familiar, traditional structures, because they are tried and tested. They minimise risk. Other people are naturally risk-averse, andfor them, this is an uncomfortable time. The old structures of work are breaking down, and new ones will take time to develop. People cling to the old certainties even as they become inefficient and damaging. Working in the old office paradigm, tied to a desk and a standard daily routine leaves employees less efficient, less passionate and, in aggregate, that leaves companies less competitive.

Many people take comfort in familiar, traditional structures, because they are tried and tested. They minimise risk. Other people are naturally risk-averse, andfor them, this is an uncomfortable time. The old structures of work are breaking down, and new ones will take time to develop. People cling to the old certainties even

While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:Digitalliteracyistheabilitytofind,summarise,evaluateandcreateinformationusingdigitaltechnology,and it is becoming as vital as literacy itself in our digital age.

It is growing as a subject: many governments around the world are investing in developing digital literacy intheircitizens,andanumberofplacesofeducation,includingtheUK’sOpenUniversity,offercoursesinit.HowardRheingold,acritic,writer,teacher and leading authority on moderncommunication,arguesinhis book Net Smart that the future of digital culture depends on how well we learn to use digital media now.

He writes:

“Forindividuals,theissueofwheredigital culture may be heading is personal as well as philosophical: knowing how to make use of online tools without being overloaded withtoomuchinformationis,likeitornot,anessentialingredienttopersonalsuccessinthetwenty-firstcentury. Just as learning to drive an automobile (or at least learning how to survive as a pedestrian) was crucial for citizens of the early twentieth century,learninghowtodeployattention in relation to available media is key today for success in education,business,andsociallife.Similarly,thosewhounderstandthefundamentalsofdigitalparticipation,onlinecollaboration,informationalcredibilitytesting,andnetworkawarenesswillbeabletoexertmore control over their own fates than those who lack this lore.”2

dIgItal lIteraCy.

2 Howard Rheingold, Net Smart: How To Thrive Online.

Why design your day?While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:Rheingoldidentifiesfivekeyliteracies for the internet age:

1. Attention The ability to stay focused (and focus on the right thing) and not let our devices dictate what we pay attention to.

2. Crap detection Critical thinking and knowing how tospotandfilteroutpoorqualityinformation when you’re reading and researching online.

3. Participation Taking part in the community the internetgivesyouaccessto,ina waythatbenefitsyouandtherestofthat community.

4. CollaborationParticipating in and adding value tovirtualcommunities,collectiveintelligence and knowledge networks.

5. Network smarts Understanding how social networkswork,andhowyoucanusetheminabeneficialway.3

Mobile mastery could be seen as a kind of advanced digital literacy for the digital natives and long-settled digital immigrants4amongus,tousetheterminologyofMarcPrensky,aleading author on education and learning. It goes beyond just learning howtousethesetools,intothinkingdeeply about how they can best be used in your life and work.


4 Marc Prensky, DigitalNatives,DigitalImmigrants, http://nokia.ly/15rZSuj

Mobile Mastery 6 Introduction.

elements of mastery.

Wehaveidentifiedthreekeytraits that are the hallmarks of mobile mastery:

1. MindfulGainingself-awareness,comingtobetter understand how your mind works and using this knowledge to enhance your performance and avoid behaviours that decreaseyourefficiency.

2. Purposeful Focusing on the desired outcome of whatever you’re doing and making sure you bring the right tools to bear to achieve it. It also means approaching technology withaspecifictaskinmind.

3. Playful Exploringthepossibilitiesofexistingtools,appsanddevices,andexperimentingwithnewones.Playfulness balances mindfulness and purposefulness with a light-hearted approach to learning.

Making the choice to develop each of these three elements of mastery in your use of technology will allow you to get more from thedigitalworld,aswellasfromyour life and work in general.

Wewillexamineeachofthethreeelements of mastery in detail in the followingchapters,givingyouanoverall picture of how you can make your use of technology masterful.

As part of the Smarter Everyday programme we have been looking at thinking from leading experts on how to be more effective in our everyday lives. (See our Designing Your Day ebook for more - http://nokia.ly/DYDebook)

PurPoseful

MIndfulPlayful

Mastery

MIndful.If you want to make your use of mobile technology masterful, mindfulness is a good place to start.

“Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”5

Inthiscontext,mindfulnessisanopen state in which you actively pay attention and observe what you’re doing there and then and how it’s making you feel. It’s a valuable state tobeinwhenyou’reworking, becauseit’srelatedto‘flow’-thestateoffocus,motivationandimmersion that you might think of as being ‘in the zone’.

Flow is threatened on a daily basis by mobile technology and 24-7 connectivity. The phone or tablet in your hand gives you endless possibilities for distraction; rather than simply being in the present moment,yourdevicetemptsyouwith obvious distractions like social networks,YouTube,orwebsitesthatlead you link after link down the rabbit hole,andmoreinsidiousdistractions,like the compulsion to check your email repeatedly throughout the day.However,distractionisnottheonlythreat you need to defend yourself against; stress is another consequence

ofalackofmindfulness,andamajorroadblock to achieving mastery.Dividing your attention or procrastinating can leave you feeling anxious;eachnewemail,notification,phonecall,isanotherthingtodo,keeping you from focusing on the most important tasks.

Some talk of people ‘transmitting’ their feelings-stressspreads,happinessis infectious. If you are unaware of how you are feeling you are probably oblivious to how you are making the rest of your team feel as well.

Being more mindful of your mental stateingeneral,ofwhatmentalstatetheworkyouneedtodorequires,andhow technology can support or hinder this will have a marked impact on your productivity and your levels of stress. Inthissection,we’llexplore:

• The principles behind how your mind works.

• Yourdifferentworkingmodes(andhow to use them).

• How to achieve mindfulness.

5 Jon Kabat-Zinn, WhereverYouGo,ThereYouAre:Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday life.

WhilemanyofusassociateitwithBuddhismandspirituality,mindfulnessisalsofrequentlyusedtherapeuticallybypsychologists.DrJonKabbat-Zinn,who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the1970s,describesitas:

9Mobile Mastery Mindful






While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:Flow is the mental state where you are fullyimmersedinyourwork,feelingenergised,focusedandcompletelyengaged in what you’re doing.

Flow and mindfulness have a lot in common: mindfulness is about ‘being in the moment’ which is a similar statetotheimmersionofflow.

Formanyofus,reachingflowistheprimarygoalinourworkingday,because it’s when we get our best workdone,andleavesuswithasenseof satisfaction and achievement that motivates us to push further on andexceedourownexpectations.

Unfortunately,flowcaneasilybeinterruptedbyapathy,boredom,anxiety,andofcourse,thoseever-looming distractions.

Taking steps to be more mindful and reduce distractions can help increase thelikelihoodofreachingflowandstaying there. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi andJeanneNakamura,keyfiguresinflowtheory,suggestthatyouneedthreethingstoachieveaflowstate:

1. Clarity Aclearideaofthegoals,structureand direction of your task. 2. Feedback Easily-understood and immediate feedback so you can negotiate any changing demands and adjust your performancetomaintaintheflowstate.

3. BalanceA balance between the challenges of the task and your skills; you needtofeelconfidentthatyouare capable of the task at hand.6

Throughout the rest of this chapter we’llexplorehowmindfulnesscan help you reach and maintain aflowstate.We’llbetalkingmoreabouthowflowworksinateamcontextinthenextbookinthisseries,Teams That Flow .

flow.

6 Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and Jeanne Nakamura, ‘Flow’,HandbookofCompetenceandMotivation

Why design your day?While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:

12

understanding how your mind works.

Mindful

Being mindful is about paying attention to what you’re doinginthepresentmoment,and understanding it.

If you’re a knowledge worker aiming formindfulnessinyourwork,thismeansexaminingandappraisingyourthoughtprocesses,sounderstanding more about how your mind works can be a useful stepping stone to getting there.

When you know more about the underlying psychology and neuroscience,youwillfinditeasiertoobserveyourbehaviour,andalsotoknow whether you are using the right tool from your mental ‘toolkit’ or not. (We’ll discuss this point further in the ‘Purposeful’ section of this book.)

Mobile Mastery


Literally,metacognitionmeans‘thinkingaboutthinking’.Itexhibitsitselfashavinganunderstandingofandcontroloveryourmentalapproach.Examplesof metacognition might be planning how you will approach a task or evaluating your progress towards completing it.

Metacognitioniscloselyrelatedtomindfulness,butit’snotquitethesamething.Whilemindfulnessisastateofbeing,oranawareness,metacognitionisbetter thought of as a set of tools for making changes to your own thinking.Two key areas of metacognition are knowledge/awareness and regulation:

Metacognition.

1. Metacognitive knowledge/awareness

What you know about how you think and how others think. There arethreedifferenttypesofmetacognitive awareness:

• Declarative knowledge Knowingaboutyourself,howyouworkandlearn,andaboutthethingsthathave an impact on your performance.

• Procedural knowledge Knowingaboutdoingthingsandhaving the ability to choose the right strategies and processes.

• Conditional knowledge Knowingwhenandwhytodeployyourdeclarative and procedural knowledge.7

2. Metacognitive regulation

Your ability to regulate your cognitive processes. It relates to four skills in particular:

• Planning Choosing the right cognitive strategies and allocating the right mental resources to a task.

• Monitoring Being aware of your performance.

• Evaluating Appraising the quality of the outcome of your task and the efficiencywithwhichyouperformedit.

• Resisting distraction Being aware of and able to ignore distractions.8

7 JH Flavell, “Metacognition and cognitive monitoring. A new area of cognitive-development inquiry”. AmericanPsychologist,34.

8 Gregory Schraw, “Promoting general metacognitive awareness”. InstructionalScience, 26.

In a paper for cognitive research group the Development Testing Service,Dr.TheoL.Dawsonwrites that:

“Adults whose metacognitive skills are well developed are better problem-solvers,decisionmakersandcriticalthinkers,aremoreableandmoremotivatedtolearn,andaremorelikelyto be able to regulate their emotions (evenindifficultsituations),handlecomplexity,andcopewithconflict.

“Althoughmetacognitiveskills,oncetheyarewell-learned,canbecome habits of mind that are applied in a wide variety of contexts,itisimportantforeventhe most advanced adult learners to“flextheircognitivemuscles”byconsciously applying appropriate metacognitive skills to new knowledge and in new situations.” 9

Sothen,notonlyaremetacognitiveskillsvitalforknowledgeworkers,they are also something that you can grow and develop. It is in developing your metacognitive skills that mindfulness can be helpful.

Mindfulness helps to create a receptive state of mind for learning andnewexperiences,andcanalsoincrease the likelihood that you will select the right metacognitive skills for the task at hand.10

Metacognition is in itself a kind of mastery - mastery over your own mind and skills. Technology is increasingly becoming an extensionofourbrains,soitmakessensetoextendmetacognitionto your use of mobile tech.


9 Dr. Theo L. Dawson, ‘Metacognitonandlearninginadulthood’, LECTICA,http://nokia.ly/12NCkSd

10 EL Garland, ‘The meaning of mindfulness: A second-order cyberneticsofstress,metacognition,andcoping’, Complementary Health Practice Review.


• Identify ‘what you know’ and ‘what you don’t know’ At the beginning of any research activity make conscious decisions about knowledge.’ Asyouresearchthetopic,verify,clarifyandexpand,orreplace each initial statement with more accurate information.

• Talk about thinking During planning and problem-solving situations,thinkaloud.Labellingthinking processes is important for recognition of thinking skills.

• Keep a thinking journalAnother means of developing metacognition is through the use of a journal or learning log. This isadiaryinwhichtoreflectuponthinking,makenoteofawarenessofambiguitiesandinconsistencies, and comment on how you have dealt withdifficulties.Thisjournalisadiaryof process.

• Plan and self-regulateMake plans for learning activities including estimating time requirements,organisingmaterials,and scheduling procedures necessary to complete an activity.

• Debrief the thinking process A three-step method is useful. First,reviewtheactivity,gatheringdata on thinking processes and feelings.Then,classifyrelatedideas,identifying thinking strategies used. Finally,evaluatesuccess,discardinginappropriatestrategies,identifyingthosevaluableforfutureuse,andseeking promising alternative approaches.

• Self-evaluation Guidedself-evaluationexperiencesthrough checklists focusing on thinking processes.11

Elaine Blakey and Sheila Spence of the Educational Resource Information Centre suggest the following strategies for developing your metacognitive skills:

11 Elaine Blakey, Sheila Spence, ‘DevelopingMetacognition’, Education.com,http://nokia.ly/12NCpVO

16Mobile Mastery

The impact of mobile technology is felt nowhere more than on our attention. Theonlineworldcanseemlikean“ecosystemofinterruptiontechnologies,”12 particularly when you’re trying to get something done.

attention and hyper-attention.

Hyper-attentionisdefinedbyNKatherineHayles,aliterarycritic whose work looks at the relationshipbetweenliterature,scienceandtechnology,as:

“switching focus rapidly between differenttasks,preferringmultipleinformationstreams,seekingahighlevelofstimulation,andhavingalow tolerance for boredom.”13

It is the opposite to deep attention:

“concentrating on a single object forlongperiods(say,anovelbyDickens),ignoringoutsidestimuliwhilesoengaged,preferringasingleinformationstream,andhavingahightolerance for long focus times.”14

Hayles suggests hyper-attention would have emerged in humans beforedeepattention,becausebeingalert and sensitive to threats would have been an evolutionary advantage. Itstillhasitsapplications,insome

workinparticular,forexampleteachingorairtrafficcontrol,whereyou need to be alert and responsive to what’s going on around you.

Many of us inadvertently create a state of hyper-attention when we sit at our desks - with email and social networks open alongside whatever we’reworkingon,we’recreatingahighlevelofstimulationandinput,when perhaps what we need is deep attention,whichisbettersuitedtosolvingthecomplexproblemsmany of us deal with at work.

This isn’t just theory - researchers attheUniversityofCalifornia,Irvingconducted a workplace study in whichsomesubjectswerecutofffromemailforfivedays,whiletheircolleagues remained connected. The subjects wore heart rate monitors and also had software sensors connected to their computers.

Mindful

12 Cory Doctorow 13, 14 N Katherine Hayles, HyperandDeepAttention: TheGenerationalDivideinCognitiveModes, http://nokia.ly/15s08tf

17 Mindful

They found that those with email changed between windows on their computer twice as often as those without,indicatingthattheywerenot focusing on their work for such sustained periods because they were distractedbytheirinbox.Thesubjectswith email also had a ‘high alert’ heartrateallthetime,whilethosewithouthadamorenatural,variableheart rate. ‘High alert’ heart rates are linkedtoanincreaseincortisol,thehormone associated with stress.15

Being in a state of hyper-attention canbecomeahabit,almostanaddiction; when you sit down to workwithoutdistractions,youcanfindyourselffeelingboredwithoutthathighlevelofstimulation,andcraving your usual level of input. (Many people describe a mild feeling of disappointment on ‘slow email days’ where they don’t get theirusualvolumetorespondto,because it makes them feel less satisfied,andlessproductive.)

The antidote to this is having attentionstrategiesfordifferentsituations. While many of us manage ourtime,fewofusmanageourattention,despitethefactthatitis within our capabilities to do so.

LindaStone,aformerexecutiveatMicrosoftandApple,hasworkedwithexecutivesandCEOsandobservedtheir time and attention management. She found that almost everyone who said that they managed their time feltoverwhelmedandburntout,butthose who managed their attention were more likely to report getting intothedesirableflowstate.16

Being more mindful will make you more conscious of where your attentionlies,andwhetherornotitis in the right place. As you become moreawareofyourattention,youwill have the knowledge you need to develop attention strategies fordifferentkindsofwork.

15 ‘Email ‘vacations’ decrease stress’, increase concentration’ http://nokia.ly/15s0boX

16 Rachel James, ‘Q&A:LindaStone,formertechexec,onconscious computing’,Smart Planet,http://nokia.ly/12NCGYP






While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:

In2008,technologyandbusinesswriter Nicholas Carr asked the now ubiquitous question ‘Is Google making us stupid?’ in an article for The Atlantic. He wrote:

“Media are not just passive channels ofinformation.Theysupplythestuffofthought,buttheyalsoshapetheprocess of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expectstotakeininformationthe way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”17

This article (and Carr’s subsequent book,The Shallows) prompted a huge debate over the impact of the internet and technology on our attentionspansandmemories.Some,likeCarr,arguethattechnologyisprofoundly damaging our capacity to pay attention for longer periods

oftime,whileothers,likeJonahLehrer,arguethatithasjustexposedhow poor human concentration is,andthattechnologycaninfactenhance our mental abilities.

Whichever side of the argumentyousiton,thereisevidence that technology is changing the way we think.

In a study conducted at Columbia University,subjectswereaskedto type facts and trivia into a computer. Half of the subjects were told that the information would be saved,whiletheotherhalfweretold it would be erased. The group who were told it would be erased weresignificantlymorelikelytoremember the information.

Inanothertest,theywereaskedto remember the trivia statement andwhichoffivecomputerfoldersit was saved in on the computer; the subjects found it easier to recall the folder than the fact.

Is the Internet ChangIng how our MInds work?

17 Nicholas Carr, IsGoogleMakingUsStupid?’,TheAtlantic, http://nokia.ly/12NCJUH

18 Betsy Sparrow, Jenny Liu, Daniel M Wenger, ‘GoogleEffectsonMemory:CognitiveConsequences ofHavingInformationatOurFingertips’, http://nokia.ly/12NCJUH


19 Evan Selinger, ‘TheTechnologicallyEnhancedMemory’,Slate. http://nokia.ly/12NCVDc

The researchers concluded that the internet has become a primary form ofexternalortransactivememory.18

Transactive memory is a kind of collectiveexternalmemory-itusedtobethe‘groupmind’ofafamily,group,orteam,butisincreasinglybeing replaced by the web.

Farfrommakingusstupid,thiscould be seen as an advantage. Evan Selinger writes:

“If we know information is available online,we’reinclinedtorememberwhereitcanbefound,ratherthanstruggle to retain the facts. This evolutionarytendencytooff-loadtaxingaspectsofcognitionintothe environment—natural or built—extendsbeyondusingdevicestorecallinformation we’re already familiar with.

Thisiscalled“extendedcognition,”and it plays a crucial role in a controversial view called the “extendedmind”thesis.Advocatesargue that data-management technologies,fromlow-techpadstohigh-techcomputers,don’talwaysfunction as mere memory-prompting tools.Sometimes,theydeservetobeunderstood as parts of our mind.”19

By adopting technology as an extensionofourbrain,wecanuseit to bear some of the load and free up mental capacity for other things.

20Mobile Mastery

Being more mindful in your approach to work and in your approach to using technologywillhaveapositiveimpactonyourproductivityandeffectiveness,andalsointhelevelofstressyouexperience.

how to be more mindful.

Youmayfinditchallengingatfirst,particularly if you’re used to being in areactive,hyper-attentivestate,butmindfulness is like a muscle: the more youuseit,thestrongeritbecomes.As Howard Rheingold puts it:

“The mindful use of digital media doesn’t happen automatically. Thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it instead of going through the motions is fundamentaltothedefinitionofmindful,whetheryouaredecidingtofollowsomeoneonTwitter,shuttingthelidofyourlaptopinclass,looking up from your BlackBerry in ameeting,orconsciouslydecidingwhich links not to click.”20

Hereweexaminesomekeyways to be more mindful.

Be in the moment

While it might sound like a cliche,‘beinginthemoment’isakey element to mindfulness. It’s alsoverydifficulttoachieve.

It means paying more attention to what you’re doing at that present moment,ratherthanapproachingtasks on autopilot while your mind is also dealing with other matters. In a mindfulapproach,multitaskingshouldbe dropped in favour of focusing on one thing at a time. (Neuroscience provides strong evidence that multitaskingisaninefficientwayofworking,becausewefunctionbest when we work sequentially.21)

Inpractice,thismeanscommittingtobeing completely present in whatever you’redoing,whetherthat’ssettingyour laptop and phone aside during ameeting,orshuttingdownsocialnetworks when you’re focusing on a task that they won’t help you with.

Mindful


21 Adam Gorlick, ‘Mediamultitaskerspaymentalprice, Stanfordstudyshows’,StanfordReport, http://nokia.ly/12ND0GY


Plan your approach

This is where the link between metacognition and mindfulness comesintoplay.Bybeingmindful,you should be creating the right conditions for you to bring your metacognitive skills to play. This means thinking about how you willapproachthetaskmentally,monitoring your progress as you go along and evaluating your success at theend.Youshouldalsoextendthisto thinking about how technology can support or hinder you.

Inpractice,thismightmeanbreakingdownabigtaskintoaworkflow,andtackling each task individually. It might also mean identifying that some tasks don’tneedtechnology,whileothersmight be made far easier and quicker with an app or gadget. It means not alwaystakingthesameapproach,and trying new things. (More of this in the ‘Playful’ section of the book.)

Think about your mood

Pay attention to your mood and think about if/how you can change it.

The brain has two basic mental states - ‘toward’ and ‘away’. In a ‘toward’ state youarepositive,openandengaged,whileinan‘away’state,youaremorenegative,defensiveandwithdrawn.A ‘toward’ state is naturally more productive,soifyouareinan‘away’state and need to think clearly or creatively,youshoulddoanythingyoucan to change your mood to ‘toward’.

22Mobile Mastery

Let your mind wander

There’s nothing wrong with letting your mindwanderalittlefromtimetotime,but you should be sure to gently bring your attention back to the matter at hand.Infact,lettingyourmindwandercan be helpful for some kinds of work. Therearetwotypesofexperience:

1.Narrativeexperiencewhereyourmind wanders or you daydream.

2.Directexperiencewhereyouaren’tthinking,butratherexperiencinginformationandsensations in real-time.

In Your Brain At Work,respected neuroscience writer Dr David Rock says:

“Youcanexperiencetheworldthroughyournarrativecircuitry,whichwillbeusefulforplanning,goalsetting,andstrategizing.Youcanalsoexperiencetheworldmoredirectly,whichenables more sensory information tobeperceived.Experiencingtheworldthroughthedirectexperiencenetwork allows you to get closer to the reality of any event. You perceive more information about events occurringaroundyou,aswellasmoreaccurate information about these events. Noticing more real-time informationmakesyoumoreflexiblein how you respond to the world. You also become less imprisoned by thepast,yourhabits,expectationsorassumptions,andmoreabletorespond to events as they unfold.”22

So then you shouldn’t be afraid to let you mind just wander (within reason) if you’re planning or working onastrategydocument,andbearingin mind the role the internet plays as transactive memory (which we discussed in ‘Is the internet changinghowourmindswork?’,beingonlinecouldhelp.However,inameeting,youshouldtrytofosteradirectexperiencestatewhereyou’remoreflexibleandopen.

Mindful

22 Dr David Rock, Your Brain At Work

23 Peretz Lavie, The Enchanted World of Sleep

24 Tony Schwartz, ‘A90-minutePlanforPersonalEffectivness’, Harvard Business Review http://nokia.ly/15s0Czq

23 Mindful

Acknowledge that your energy is limited.

Working mindfully and with full concentrationistiring,physicallyaswell as mentally - your brain can use as much as 20% of your body’s energy.

Try working in short bursts - research suggests that our ‘ultradian rhythm’ means that 90 minutes is the longest that we can maintain really intense focus for23,andbeyondthatwestarttofeeldistracted,restless and even irritable. Tony Schwartz,founderoftheEnergyProject,writesthatmanyofusignore these signals that we need a break,ortrytopowerthroughusingcaffeineandsugarasaquickfix.24

An alternative approach is the Pomodorotechnique,whereyouworkin25minutebursts,thentakeafiveminutebreak,andalonger15-30minute break between every four 25 minute bursts. By being mindful of your energy levels and acknowledging thatyouneedabreak,youcanboostyour productivity. Simple timer apps25 and dedicated Pomodoro apps26 are readily available and could be a useful tool for your smartphone.

Choose a prompt

Try and create a prompt to make being mindful a habit.

Think about the times when you need to be mindful and the activities linked to that and make one of those your reminder that it’s time to be mindful. Itcouldbesittingdownatyourdesk,turningofftheWiFionyourlaptop,putting your phone on airplane mode etc - that’s your prompt that you’re going into mindful mode and will be focusing hard for a set period.

The Mindfulness App27 lets you set reminders to be mindful at certain times of the day or when you arrive at or leave a location. It also lets you know how long you’ve beenmindfulforwithbells,soyou don’t have to break focus and check the app for timings.

Be critical

In a mindful approach it’s also important to question whether what you’re focusing on is worthy of your time or not. You could take a leaf out of Howard Rheingold’s book and write ‘Does this deserve my attention?’ on a sticky note and put it on your computer monitor to remind you to question whether you’re focusing on the right thing.28

25 http://nokia.ly/12ND5KY 26 http://nokia.ly/15s0JLz 27 http://nokia.ly/15s0HTO 28 http://nokia.ly/15s0Ma9

Mobile Mastery






While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:

PurPoseful.

24Mobile Mastery Purposeful

The second element of mobile mastery is being purposeful.

Purpose gives us the impetus to beginsomething,atargettopushtowards,andarewardwhenwecompleteatask.Withoutpurpose,we can never truly take ownership ofouractions,andweriskgettingtrapped in a cycle of directionless experimentation,withoutanyrealknowledge,understandingorinsight into what we are doing.

It’s vital that your use of mobile technology is purposeful if you want to go beyond passive usage and create a more dynamic and valuable relationship with your devices; one built upon a framework of clear motivationsanddefinedgoals.

Whenusedcorrectly,thetechnologyinyourlifecanbecomeanextensionof your intentions. This is why it is key to consider the purpose of the technology in your life. The thrill of newthingscanbeintoxicatingandwe all fall prey to the desire to stay on the cutting edge. But precisely because devices and apps can play such an important role in our lives and work,weneedtocarefullyconsiderwhywe’reusingthem,toensurewe’re using the right tool for the job.

Inthischapter,wewill:

• Learn about the threats of connection fatigue, information anxiety, and internet addiction.

• Get practical tips on using digital technology to achieve meaningful targets.

25Mobile Mastery

The smartphone in your hands can do so much more than simply make calls or browse the net. With a few tapsofthescreen,youcanmakenotes,bookappointments,preparepresentations,checkyourschedule,exploretheworld,documentyourexperienceswithimagesandvideos,andmuchmorebeyond.

Now that our digital work tools are accessible and portable like never before,eachofushasavirtuallylimitless array of mobile processes atourdisposal.However,anytoolis useless unless you know how to operateit,andduethoughtmustbeappliedtodecidingthespecificfunction of each piece of technology. Whenyoubeginatask,whatdoyou reach for? Do you need to be atadesktopcomputer,orwillasmartphonesuffice?Ifpenandpaper can accomplish the same resultsasatablet,thenwhycomplicate things unless you can expectveryspecificbenefits?

Begin each task by thinking about its purpose. Don’t simply picture the end result:acompletedspreadsheet,anemptyinbox,oranelegantworkofdesign.Gobeyondthefinalobject,and picture the impact the work you producewillhave,likeripplesonapond after dropping in a pebble.

Ask yourself why you are building that spreadsheet. Is it to streamline working practices going forward? To provide a valuable asset for a client or for your team? This is the true purpose of your task: not the endproduct,buttheconsequencesofthatproduct’sexistence.

Considertherequirements,andbe sure you match the tool to the task. The awesome processing power granted to us by computers is easily squandered if used in the wrong way. Herein lies truly purposefulawareness,andtechnology when mastered provides a purposeful impact like no other.

Youwouldn’tuseahammertochopdownatree,andyouwouldn’tpaintyourhousewithabroom.Inmuchthesameway,trulypurposefuluseofmobiletechnologyrequireschoosingexactlytherighttoolforthejobathand.

the right tool for the job.

Purposeful






While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:The ease with which mobile tools allow us to accomplish daily tasks opens up a vast ocean of potential that previous generations of people had no access to,eitherathomeoratwork.

Whilethisisawelcomeadvance,one of the major threats to purposeful mobile mastery is thatwhenthingsgeteasier,thereis an invariable tendency for them to become simpler too.

Cultural commentators frequently lament the decline of contemporary languageskillsasshorthandtext-speak prevails and spellcheck and autocomplete do the linguistic heavy lifting for us. With this in mind,youcouldarguethattherearebenefitsinmakingthingsdifficultforourselves,tostaymentallysharp.

Anexampleofthisthinkinginactioncomesfromexperimentalarchitects Arakawa & Gins. Their theory is that for a home to keep its inhabitants healthy and young it should provide perpetual challenges.

This founding principle sparked a sequence of ideas that eventually ledthemtoconstructacomplexof ‘Reversible Destiny Lofts’ in Tokyo. Featuring light switches situated on the ceiling that require you to stretch your body to reach them,unevenfloorsthattestyourbalance as you move from room toroom,andbrightly-colouredsurfaces that stimulate your senses constantly,theseuniquelivingspaces are designed to force a mental and physical workout into the most basic routines of daily life.29

The working function is to keep yourmindandbodyfightingfitbyliving on the peripheral boundary ofyourcomfortzone,andthereis strong evidence for the same to apply to your working life.

effortless, not CoMfortable.

29 ‘For rent: Reversible Destiny Lofts’, Pinktentacle,http://nokia.ly/12NDeOq


30 Nicholas Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid? TheAtlantic, http://nokia.ly/12NCJUH

31 Sean Kelly and Hubert Dreyfus, All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

A great many theorists are now seriously concerned that the times we’re living in have allowed our brains to become too comfortable.

In‘IsGoogleMakingUsStupid?’,Nicholas Carr writes of the impact of technology on his ability to focus30. In their book All Things Shining, Harvard University’s Sean KellyandHubertDreyfusevengoso far as to to warn that universal reliance upon GPS navigation will erode our skills to the point that itwill“flattenouthumanlife.”31

A little simplicity can be a good thing,butovertimeitrunstherisk of blunting our cognitive skills through sustained neglect. Consider whether you’re using your app or devicetosaveyoutime,oroutoflaziness.Ifit’sthelatter,itmightbe worth going back to doing things the old-fashioned way.

28Mobile Mastery

It’sclearthattoavoidthethreatstechnologyposes,weneedincreasedpersonalawarenessandahigherlevelofmobilemastery.Withthisinmind,theway in which you perform a task can be just as important as the task itself.

Sometimes,theprocessitselfcanbethepurpose.

the process is the purpose.

Acknowledging the dual relationship between process and purpose is an evolutionary leap forward in technological attitudes. By having made the decision to do something we are not just working towards our goalsorpurpose,butarealsohoningour skills and purpose along the way.

By spending more time considering the tools you use and the goal you wanttoreach,youcancometounderstand and make informed choices about why you do things a certain way: not simply to reach acertainresult,butalsobecausethere is meaning and value in taking a particular path to reach it.

Anothersignificantchoicewefaceis not just selecting the way to dothings,butmakingtheactivedecision of how not to do them. Cutting out unnecessary noise can beoneofthemostdifficultpracticaldisciplinestouphold,andrepresentsa major step on the path to mobile mastery,asitsavesnotjusttime,butcognitiveexpendituretoo.

Yourbrainwantstosolveproblems,and will latch onto behavioural patterns that produce results. This is due to the way your brain links pathways from neuron to neuron as you learn new processes.

Greg Satell of innovation blog Creativity Post writes that far from beingrandom,theconnectionsbetween our neurons evolve through two primary processes: Hebbian plasticity and feedback. According to Hebbian plasticity ‘neurons that firetogether,wiretogether,’sothethe more we use a particular neural pathway the stronger it gets. And feedback means we tend to reuse the pathways that lead to success.32

Thisisgoodnewsforyourbrain,because it means that the mosteffectivemethodstakeroot most strongly. Your mind is able to recognise results and strives to repeat any previously successful course of action.

Purposeful

29Mobile Mastery

This is another instance of process becomingpurpose;bytryingdifferentmethods,theneuronsinyourmindare working behind the scenes to test connections and strengthen the most successful pathways. In thissense,theawesomepowerof your brain makes it the most valuable tool in your collection.

In an article for ScientificAmerican,Paul Reber illuminates the staggering mnemonic capacity of the‘software’inyourhead,andframes it in technological terms:

“The human brain consists of about one billion neurons. Each neuron formsabout1,000connectionstootherneurons,amountingtomorethan a trillion connections. If each neuron could only help store a single memory,runningoutofspacewouldbe a problem. You might have only a fewgigabytesofstoragespace,similartothespaceinaUSBflashdrive.

Yet neurons combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time,exponentiallyincreasingthebrain’s memory storage capacity to something closer to around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes).

Forcomparison,ifyourbrainworkedlike a digital video recorder in a television,2.5petabyteswouldbeenough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage.”33

However,thisimpressiveprocessingcapability and predilection for results doesn’t necessarily mean that the fastest solution is the best.

As our brains become increasingly symbioticwithourmobiledevices,theconstanttrafficofinformationboth towards and away from us can become overwhelming. If you failtokeepupwiththerapidflow,you risk being swept away by it.

Purposeful

32 Greg Satell, ‘TheInfiniteMonkeyTheorem’,CreativityPost, http://nokia.ly/15s0VKL

33 Paul Reber, WhatIstheMemoryCapacityoftheHumanBrain?’, ScientificAmerican,http://nokia.ly/12NDw83

30Mobile Mastery

Stacks and flows.

When we don’t have mastery over ourdevices,thesheerspeedandrelentless torrent of correspondence and information can create a cognitive dead-end in the form ofinformationanxiety,otherwiseclassifiedas‘fearofmissingout’.

There is a vital mental distinction tobemadebetweenmediastacks,which require individual attention foreachitem,andmediaflows,which should be dipped into when we need assistance or inspiration.

Youremailinbox,whenproperlytamed,isaprimeexampleofstackmedia in action. Twitter on the other

handrepresentsflowmedia,whichcanbejustasuseful,butrunstheriskof dragging us away from our working purpose for the reliable and addictive dopaminehitofinfinitescrolling.

In an article for Wired,technologywriter Mat Honan suggests that toelevateitsusefulness,Twitterandotherflowmediaservicesneedtofindawaytodeliverlessbulkcontent,andmorespecificallytargetedinformation:

“We are increasingly struggling to stay afloatinourdatastreams…We’redrowning in as-it-happens data. It’s thestuffthatgetsustowakeupin

Purposeful


the morning and grab a phone and startsorting.It’snotjustTwitter,it’salsoemail,Facebook,Instagram,ournewsfeeds,andallthoseotherinputswe check during every waking hour.”34

Not all connections need to be a two-way street. Emails and phone calls are conversations that can invadeourmentalspace,butblogs,Twitter and other platforms should be thought of more as a ‘casting-out’.

Dipintotheflowmediawhenyouneedto,andforgetallaboutitwhenyoudon’t.Informationanxietysetsinwhenwefindourselvescompulsivelychecking Twitter or RSS feeds due

to a needless fear of missing out.A few mobile mastery tweaks can ensure you auto-archive the most importantitems,reservingthemtobe read when the time is right for you. This means you can condition yourbraintorelaxandconcentratewith full attention on the purpose at hand. The rest of the world can wait.

34 Mat Honan, ‘Twitter’sBigChallenge’,Wired http://nokia.ly/12NDyg5


Harvard University psychology professor B.F. Skinner’s 1984 research paper ‘The Evolution Of Behaviour’,isoftencitedtoexplainthe addictive nature of the web.

Inhisresearch,Skinnerplacedratsinside an ‘operant conditioning chamber’ (also known as a ‘Skinner Box’),andtrainedtheanimalsthatpushing a small button would deliver a pellet of food. The rats would continue to compulsively push the button even after a variable reward schedulewasintroduced,meaningthat their actions would only occasionally produce a result.35

The comparison of some internet users and Skinner’s test-subjects is uncomfortably appropriate. Each of usattimesexhibitsthisbehaviourof repetitively performing the same action in the hope that we’ll achieve a differentresultthanbefore,endlesslyrefreshingourinboxesfornoreasonother than hoping for a dopamine hit.

Connection fatigue and internet addiction are the nemesis of any devotee of the purposeful use of technology.And,aswediscussedin ‘Is the internet changing how our minds work?’ there are those who are seriously worried about what permanent damage poor use of technology may be doing to our minds.

Informationanxietyisoneofmanysymptomsthatindicatemismanagement ofmobiletechnology.Anotheris‘connectionfatigue’,thenumbingstateofmind otherwise recognised as the increasingly common problem of internet addiction.

Connection fatigue and internet addiction.

35 BF Skinner, ‘TheEvolutionofBehaviour’, JournalofExperimentalAnalysisofBehavior, http://nokia.ly/15s1eVT

By striving for purposeful mastery oftechnology,youaremakingadecisive step to remove yourself from this messy modern problem.

Many people shy away from perpetual connectivity by hoping to lead a simpler life removed from these hectic times in the state thatRushkoffcalls‘Apocalypto’.However,thisneedn’tbethecase.

When tamed and implemented with a distinct sense of direction anddiscipline,connectedmobiletechnology can be the gateway to higher plains of achievement.

In his book Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now, media-theoristDouglasRushkoffoutlinesfiveemergentdisordersof the modern age that illustrate the ways a lack of mastery is damaging our collective thinking:

1. Narrative collapse “the loss of linear stories…with no goals to justify journeys.”

2. Digiphrenia “how technology lets us be in more thanoneplace,andself,atthesametime…we all become overwhelmed.”

3. Overwinding “trying to squish huge timescales into much smaller ones.”

4. Fractalnoia “making sense of our world entirely inthepresenttense,bydrawingconnections between things…sometimes inappropriately.”

5. Apocalypto “the intolerance for presentism leads us to fantasize a grand finale…yearningforasimplerlife devoid of pings.”36


36 DouglasRushkoff, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now


Wesuggestthefollowingfivepersonalmethodologies,whichyoucanmemorise with the acronym START:

• Step away from email if you want to work without distraction.

• Two large projects a day is the ideal target to avoid stress.

• Archive your achievements with a ‘done’listtohelpreflectonyourday’sperformance.

• Ruthlessly cut your to-do list down -ifyouhesitatebeforeaddingit,thendon’t add it.

• Typeanything,tofillapage.Ifyou’re having trouble getting motivated,thendowhateveryoucantofillablankpage.Editingastream-of-consciousness is much easier than facing the monolithic expanseofanemptypage.

how to be purposeful.


36Mobile Mastery Title of section

Playfulness isn’t the sole preserve of childhood,it’savaluableattributeinadulthood too. Being playful is about exploring,spontaneity,doingnewthings for the sake of enjoyment.

Playful.

37Mobile Mastery Playful

Play has a place in mobile mastery because it has an essential role in the processes of learning and innovation.

Cognitive playfulness - a term coined by Jennifer Pei-Ling Tan - refers to the kind of serious intellectual play that fosters creativity. People who are cognitively playful have a tendency towardscuriosityandinventiveness,the precursors of innovation38,andastudyconductedbystafffromtheUniversityofNorthTexasindicatesthat playfulness and innovation have a correlation with people’s ability to use technology at a high level.39

Technology is also inherently playful. We treat new devices like a child treats a new toy: we covet them,wegetpleasurefromusingthem,wedon’tlookatthemandseefunctionality,weseepossibilities,noveltyandexcitement.

It’s important not to lose this excitementonthejourneytomobile mastery. Mindfulness gives youawareness,purposefulnessgivesyouanobjective,butplayfulness is there to give you fun,innovationandpossibilities.

Inthissectionyouwe’llexplore:

• Thebenefitsofbeingplayfulinyour use of technology.

• The importance of engaging your critical thinking.

• Ways that you can be more playful in your use of technology.

37 Jennifer Pei-Ling Tan, Seeing Cognitive Playfulness http://nokia.ly/15s1h3V

38 Lemoyne Luette Scott Dunn, Cognitiveplayfulness,innovativeness,andbelief of essentialness: Characteristics of educators who have the ability to make enduring changes in the integration of technology into the classroom environment.

The benefits of being playful.Beingplayfulisinpartaboutfun,butitalsohasclearbenefitsintermsofbusinessandpersonaldevelopment,becauseofitsinterrelationwith innovation. Being playful gives you the chance to make discoveries thatcouldgiveyoutheedgepersonallyandprofessionally,andalsogive your business an advantage over less innovative competitors.

Risk

Beforewetalkaboutthebenefitsof being playful in your use of technology,itisimportanttothink about the risks too.

Investing in new technology can be expensive,andinvolvesdisruptiontoyourtried,testedandprovenwaysofdoingthings.You’reriskingyourtime,moneyandproductivity.However,therearebigrewardstoplayfor,which might make that risk worthwhile.

AMcKinseyreportonthesocialeconomywhichanalysed4,200companies found that social technologies had the potential to unlock $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in value each year and improve the productivity of

knowledge workers by 20-25%.40

This dichotomy between innovation andriskexistedlongbeforemobiletechnology came into being. In fact,itwasa1950ssociologicalstudy into the habits of farmers that coined the term ‘early adopter’ which we now associate so closely with digital devices.

Thestudycameupwithfivedifferentprofilesforthewaysinwhich people tend to approach theadoptionofnewtechnology,which were later developed by Everett Rodgers into a theory called the‘DiffusionofInnovations’:


39 Michael Chui, James Manyika, Jacques Bughin, Richard Dobbs, Charles Roxburgh, Hugo Sarrazin, GeoffreySandsandMagdalenaWestergren, The social economy: Unlocking value andd productivitythroughsocialtechnologies, http://nokia.ly/15s1iVv

5

4

3

21


40 Everett Rodgers, DiffusionofInnovations

1. Innovators Thefirstpeopletoadoptnewideas; they tend to be young risk takersinastrongfinancialposition,andalsotendtobeverysocial,with ties to other innovators.

2. Early adopters They are the second fastest to adopt new technologies; they tend tobeyoung,financiallystable,social and well educated. They also tend to be opinion leaders.

3. Early majority Theyaresignificantlyslowerintheir adoption of technology than early adopters; they tend to be cautious,buthavecontactwithearly adopters. They rarely hold positions where they lead opinion.

4. Late majority They adopt technology slowly; they tend to be skeptical about innovation,lessstablefinanciallyand mostly come into contact with othermembersofthelatemajority,and some of the early majority.

5. Laggards They are the last to adopt new technology; they tend to be averse tochange,focusontraditionand only have social contact with family and close friends.41

Play can help make being an innovator or an early adopter less of a risk. Playisatimetotakechances,makemistakes and learn from them. It shouldallowyoutoexperimentinawaythatfeelssafe,ratherthaninaway that makes you worry about the time or money you might be wasting. (We’ll talk more about a framework forbeingplayfulinthenextsection.)

Risk


Social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn give you the ability to make more of these weak ties and enjoy thevaluableflowofinformationtheyafford.Youcanmakeweaktieswithinnovators and early adopters that you might never meet in your daily lifethroughsocialnetworks,andtapinto their knowledge and connections.

Whilewecanplayalone,involvingothers has the potential to make theexperiencemoreenriching.Mobile technology gives us a way toplayandexploreasagroup.Itgives you access to collective and collaborativeintelligence,whetherit’sbenefittingfromtheknowledgeofahugecommunityviaWikipedia,orcrowdsourcingfunding,orconsulting Twitter’s hive mind for the solution to a problem. And it is by playingandexperimenting with these networks that you will learn tousethemmosteffectively.

Building social ties

Thediffusionofinnovationshowshow important social ties are in bringing new technology to your attention. If you are lower down on theladderofadoption,lookingupa rung or two and trying to forge ties with people in those groups can help you speed up the pace of your own adoption of the best technology. It also means you can watchothersexperimentandbenefitfrom their learnings and mistakes.

Playful use of technology can support youinthisexercise.Sociologysuggests that weak social ties - your relationships with acquaintances rather than close friends - are responsible for transmitting a lot of information,farmorethantravelsthrough the strong ties you have with close friends or family. This is because your weak ties are likely to know peoplethatyoudon’tknow,whichmeans there is a great chance of them transmitting novel information to you.


Improving mental health and development

As Dr David Rock and Dr Daniel Siegel highlight in their Healthy Mind Platter,play is an important ingredient in the list of mental activities that form the recipe for good mental health.42

It has a particularly important role inrelievingstress.Whenweplay,weoftenreacha‘flow’stateofrelaxedconcentration-you’refocused,withoutanyfeelingofpressure,whichcanbeveryrelaxing,andisagoodwaytotakeyourmindoffanything that might be worrying you.

Inaddition,playcansupportyourmental development too. In his book Play,DrStuartBrown,thefounderoftheNationalInstituteforPlay,explainsthatitstimulatesnervegrowth in the parts of the brain responsible for processing emotions andcontrollingexecutivefunctionslike planning and problem solving.43

Supporting learning

Children tend to learn new systems quickly and seemingly instinctively. This is because they treat a lot of learningasplay;theytrythingsout,seewhatworks,anddon’tworryaboutgettingitwrong,butlearnfromitifthey do. Brown suggests that play is a natural tool for learning: it helps us to create new neural networks and when weplay,problemswearestrugglingwith continue to be processed by our subconscious. So when you stop playingandgobacktowork,youmaywellfindthatknottyissueyou’vebeenstruggling with easier to untangle.

41 Dr David Rock and Dr Daniel Siegel, TheHealthyMindPlatter, http://nokia.ly/12NDRHH

42 Stuart Brown, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.






While many of us associate it with Buddhism and spirituality, mindfulness is also frequently used therapeutically by psychologists. Dr Jon Kabbat-Zinn, who helped to introduce the concept of mindfulness to the western world in the 1970s, describes it as:TheSlowWeb,ConsciousComputing,Contemplative Computing… these arejustsomeofthedifferentmovements that are all looking for a more considered and mindful approach to technology in our society.

The Slow Web Manifesto says:

“Thewebmovesatanincrediblepace,and increasingly services are being demandedlive.Withaliveweb,usershavecometoexpectreal-time(orcloseto)feedback.Indeed,bythevirtue of being consumer to web services,onefindsoneselfinundatedbynotificationsandfeedbackfromsaid services. Welcome to the fast web. Your attention is required now. Here,andthere,andeverywhere…

We believe that one should be doing whatonedoesbestatdoing[sic],instead of being drip-fed a constant stream of information and being pressured to respond instantly.”44

The element that all of these movements have in common is the idea that technology should be there tosupportus,ratherthandistractus,andthatweneedtobeconsciousof our relationship with technology.

Many of the people involved in these movements are trying to use technology to come up with solutions totheproblemscreatedbyalways-on,available-everywhere connectivity. ForexampletheUniversityofStanford’s Calming Technology Lab has created apps and programmes to encourage calm breathing patterns while you use your computer or mobile phone45,and there are numerous apps which will allow you to block or limit the time you can spend on certain websites.

the slow web.

43 TheSlowWeb:AManifesto, http://nokia.ly/15s1rZ6

44 ‘Projects’, CalmingTechnology, http://nokia.ly/12NDYTH



Formanyofus,beingplayfulisahabitwe’vegrownoutof.Butthankfully,habits can be reformed. In this section we’ll look at some ways to make being playfulinyouruseofdevices,apps,social networks and mobile in general a productive part of your routine.

Keep your eyes and ears openKeepyoureartothegroundfornew ideas that you might want to tryout.Youcouldfindideasfrompeopleyouknowinreallife,throughsocialnetworks,orreading.Youcould also ask people who are innovators or early adopters what their recommendations and suggestions are.

Be open to new ideasIt’s easy to be dismissive of radical ideas,butpartofbeingplayfulisbeingopen.Ifyoufindyourselfwantingtocloseyourselfofftoanewidea,tryasking yourself why it is that you’re opposed to it. If your reasons stand uptoquestioning,thenmoveontothenextidea,butifnot,giveitatry - you might surprise yourself.

Make time for playMake time in your day for play; if you findithardtodothisorganically,itmight help to block out time in your diaryforit.Whenwe’rebusy,beingplayful might seem like an easy thingtopushtooneside,butit’san

important part of you day. Look at it as an investment; an investment ininnovation,productivity,learning,andalsoinyourhealth.KeriSmith’sHowToBeAnExplorerOfTheWorldhassomegreatexercisestohelpyoubecome more playful everyday.

Think beyond workDon’t just think about how you can use mobile technology to improve your work life. You can also use it to enhance exercise,health,sociallifeandlearning.

ExperimentTreat your playtime as a chance to experimentwithmobiletechnology,achance to learn something new. Test out new ways of working and living withmobile,andanalysetheresults. Fail fastAimtofailfastinyourexperiments.Trythingsout,anddon’tbeafraidtoabandonyourexperimentifit’snotworkingforyou,buttrytodosoquickly,so that you take up as little time as possible,andcanmoveontothenextidea - which might just be a winner. In practice,thismightmeanrunningyourownpilotschemesofnewtechnology,or coming up with prototype ways of working. You could also try having a trial section on your homescreen where you putappsthatyou’retesting,andwhichyou commit to regularly clearing out.

how to be playful.


Critical thinking.

Try to be selective about what new mobiletechnologiesyoutryout,andthink about whether they’re really worthy of your time and attention.

Itcanbeeasytogetexcitedaboutanewapporgadget,andbesweptupby the hype and enthusiasm other peoplehaveforit.However,whilethere’s nothing wrong with trying somethingnew,it’simportanttothinkcritically about why you’re doing it andwhatthepotentialbenefits(andrisks) might be. Think back to the othertwopillarsofmobilemastery,mindfulnessandpurposefulness,and ask yourself the following questionsaboutanynewdevice,app,website or content you’re using:

• Who created it? What were their motivations increatingit,anddothese motivations have any potential impact on its quality or usefulness?

• What purpose does it serve? Does the thing you’re using have a clear and useful purpose?

• Wheredoesitfit? Howwillitfitintoyourday,bothin terms of the time it takes up and the role that it plays?

• When would you use it? At what times and in what situations would it be most effectiveanduseful?

• Why are you using it? Isittrulyuseful,orbeautiful?

• How does it make you feel? What impact is it having on your work and your attention?

This framework can help you analyse the value of your ‘playtime’ and make sure that you’re approaching it in a way that’s mindful and purposeful.

Yourtime,energyandattentionarevaluable,andwhiletimespentbeingplayfulisvaluable,itneedstobetemperedwithcritical thinking about what and who you engage with.

46

Masterful tools.

Masterful toolsMobile Mastery

Therearemanyexamplesofmobilemastery being demonstrated to excellenteffect,andnewproductsand services emerge every day. In fact,thesheervolumeofappsthatclaim to be able to change your working life can at times be too vast toconsiderexploringwithanydepth.

Becauseofthis,we’dliketohighlight just a small selection ofnoteworthyexamplesthatwefeel put the principles of mobile mastery into practice in ways that are both innovative and useful.

We’ve focussed on web services ratherthanplatformspecificapps,to make this book useful to as wide an audience as possible.

IFTTT.COMRising in popularity at an impressive rate is IFTTT.com. With the simple yet intriguing strapline: “Putting theinternettoworkforyou”,IFTTTallows users to easily create and share programmable rulesets to automate various aspects of digital activity. The name of the service is an acronym of the basic formula for theseprogrammes,or‘recipes’astheycallthem-“IfThis,ThenThat”.

Sample recipes include productivity solutions such as creating an Evernote notewheneveranemailisstarred,practical helpers to let you know the night before if rain is predicted in your areasothatyoucanpackanumbrella,andevenquirky,funideaslikeconnecting your lights to your MP3 collection so they can automatically dim when a slow song is played.

With user-generated recipes of every typebeinguploadedconstantly,we can hardly think of a more mindful,purposeful,andplayfuluse of mobile mastery in action.

47Mobile Mastery Masterful tools

“IDoneThis is a part of the Slow Web movement. After you email us,yourcalendarisnotupdatedinstantaneously. But rest up,andyou’llfindanupdatedcalendar when you wake.”

The notion that a company would be consciously trying to move at a less convenient speed is just as revolutionary as the sincere suggestion that users should ‘rest up’andfindthingstakencareofautomatically upon waking up. This step is designed to prevent the addiction-loop of B.F. Skinner’s operantconditioningchamber,wherein we perpetually refresh our inboxeshopingforanykindofinput.

The decision to not force all activity to happen in ‘real-time’ is significant,becauseitnotonlyfreesus from the tyranny of dopamine addiction,butitalsopromptsusto be more aware of the positive power of digital technology.

A masterfully engineered solution will function without users needing tocheckuponit,andthesoonerweare able to relinquish that control and simply have faith in the systems we use,thesoonerwearefreetoconcernourselves with something else… most importantly,doingqualitywork.

iDoneThis.comAnother great piece of digital engineering to help you achieve moreoffofthebackofasurprisinglysimple function is idonethis.com.

The basic principle of this handy web-service is to keep a log of the things you’ve successfully accomplished,andreportbackto you at the end of each day.

Thebenefitsarebothmotivationalforindividuals,andcollaborativefor teams. It’s a brief moment ofreflectionattheendofyourworking day to review what has beenachieved,whilesharingproject progress with colleagues.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of the iDoneThis story is the company’sexplicitcommitmenttotheSlowWebmovement,whichwediscussed in the previous chapter.

The way that iDoneThis roots itself within the borders of the slow web is by factoring in a substantial delay between a user inputting data and said data appearing on their account.

The following statement appearswithinthesign-offofallautomated iDoneThis emails:


Three.sentenc.esOne increasingly popular manifestation of the Slow Web movement is evident in a number of people adopting the pledge of three.sentenc.es (or its sister sites,five.sentenc.es,four.sentenc.es or two.sentenc.es.)

Declaring via an email signature that you will limit your communications to a pre-determined number of sentences is a great way to show your intention towards mobile mastery and encourage others to be more aware of the time and energy being wasted every day as a result of technological mismanagement.

LiftLift aims to help users reach personal goals through daily email reminders and connecting them with others looking for similar achievements.

If you’ve always wanted to run a marathon,thenLiftcanhelpyousticktoyourtraining,andreceivereal-timeencouragement from other people goingthroughthesameexperience.Other common goals include losing weight,makingmoretimeforreading,orsavingforaholiday.

Lift is a great way to work towards a goal that might seem unattainable and motivate yourself through smallyetsignificantmilestones.


DuolingoLastly,afurtherexampleofdigitaltechnology helping people to improve themselves is the free collaborative language learning system Duolingo.

A beautifully presented in-browser courseforteachingyourselftoread,writeandspeakeitherSpanish,French,Portuguese,German,Italian,orEnglish,thereallystrikingfeatureofDuolingo comes from its collaborative gamificationsystem,whichtransposesthelearningexperienceinto a competitive video-game.

Users score points by answering questionscorrectly,loseliveswhentheymakemistakes,and‘levelup’byhittingpre-definedmilestones,suchas learning the names of the months or passing a test on the future tense. There’s also a weekly leaderboard so you can keep track of your friends’ progress and get a little competitive.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of all is the fact that as users move through the language course and providefeedback,theyareinturnhelping to build the course for their linguistic counterparts - if you speakEnglishandstudyFrench,youranswers can eventually become a part of the English course for French speaking students (and vice versa).

50Mobile Mastery Title of section

51Mobile Mastery Conclusion

Everyone is getting to grips with how they work with mobile. It is something we need to discuss and collaborate on with our colleagues.

We’ll master mobile faster and moreefficientlyifweundertaketheprocesstogether,andshareourfailures,successesandrealisations.

Inournextbookinthisseries,Teams That Flow,wewillbelooking at how teams work in themobile,connectedage.

To hear more about Nokia’s work inthisarea,takealookat:

@NokiaAtWork

www.linkedin.com/company/nokia

www.nokia.com/business

Thanks for reading Mobile Mastery,we hope that you’ve found it useful.

We wrote this book because we want to make you think about your relationship with and use of technology. We want you to question whether you’re doing all you can to make the most of the opportunitiestechnologyoffersandavoidthedangersitposes,andask yourself if you can legitimately call yourself a mobile master.

Whether you think you’ve reached mobile mastery or think you have awaystilltogo,it’simportantto keep thinking about the issues raised in this book.

Try not to think of mastery as afixedpointatwhichwecanarrive and rest - technology will alwayscontinuetoevolve,soweneed to carry on learning and refiningourskills,andpracticingmindfulness,purposefulnessand playfulness in new ways.

Conclusion: becoming masterful

52Mobile Mastery Reading list

Stuart Brown, Play:HowItShapestheBrain,OpenstheImagination,andInvigorates the Soul

Nicholas Carr, ‘IsGoogleMakingUsStupid?’, The Atlantic http://nokia.ly/12NCJUH

Michael Chui, James Manyika, Jacques Bughin, Richard Dobbs, Charles Roxburgh, Hugo Sarrazin,GeoffreySandsandMagdalena Westergren, The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through socialtechnologies, http://nokia.ly/15s1iVv

Cathy N Davidson, Now You See It: How The Brain Science Of Attention Will Transform The Way WeLive,WorkandLearn

Dr. Theo L. Dawson, ‘Metacogniton and learning in adulthood’,LECTICA, http://nokia.ly/12NCkSd

EL Garland, ‘The meaning of mindfulness: A second-order cybernetics ofstress,metacognition,andcoping’,ComplementaryHealth Practice Review.

N Katherine Hayles, HyperandDeepAttention: The Generational Divide in CognitiveModes, http://nokia.ly/15s08tf

Mat Honan, ‘Twitter’sBigChallenge’,Wired, http://nokia.ly/12NDyg5

Rachel James, Q&A:LindaStone,formertechexec,onconsciouscomputing,http://nokia.ly/12NCGYP

reading list

53Mobile Mastery Reading list

Jon Kabat-Zinn, WhereverYouGo,ThereYouAre: Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life

Peretz Lavie, The Enchanted World of Sleep

Marc Prensky, DigitalNatives,DigitalImmigrantshttp://nokia.ly/15rZSuj

Howard Rheingold, Net Smart: How To Thrive Online.

Dr David Rock, Your Brain At Work

Dr David Rock and Dr Daniel Siegel, TheHealthyMindPlatter,http://nokia.ly/12NDRHH

Everett Rodgers, DiffusionofInnovations

DouglasRuskhoff, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now

Greg Satell, ‘TheInfiniteMonkeyTheorem’,Creativity Post http://nokia.ly/15s0VKL

Evan Selinger, ‘The Technologically Enhanced Memory,’Slate http://nokia.ly/12NCVDc

TiffanyShlain, ‘Tech’sbestFeature:theOffSwitch’,Harvard Business Review http://nokia.ly/16VRbKZ

Betsy Sparrow, Jenny Liu, Daniel M Wenger, ‘GoogleEffectsonMemory:Cognitive Consequences of Having InformationatOurFingertips’,http://nokia.ly/15s0sYU

TheSlowWeb:AManifesto,http://nokia.ly/15s1rZ6

#smartereveryday@nokiaatwork