Learn how to do a digital reset and have a healthier relationship with technology

This article is based on an interview conducted by Melanie Moffatt, Senior Corporate Health and Wellbeing Lead, with Dr Kristy Goodwin, Neuro-Performance Scientist, who shares insights on how to power your performance and optimise your digital wellbeing.

We're living through one of the fastest periods of digital transformation in history, processing more information across more channels than ever before. While technology brings incredible benefits, our brains and biology haven’t evolved at the same speed. This constant connectivity can leave us feeling drained, depleted or overwhelmed.

To find out how to thrive in our digitally demanding world, we asked Dr Kristy Goodwin how we can learn how to use technology in a way that supports our wellbeing. 

The good news. The solution isn't less technology, it's smarter, more intentional use of it. 

Here are five practical strategies to get started.

1. Be intentional, not reactive

Our device dependence has created terms like "revenge bedtime procrastination" (scrolling instead of sleeping), "nomophobia" (fear of being without your phone), and "phantom vibration syndrome" (feeling a buzz that never happened). While they are catchy buzz words, they reflect a real shift in the competing demands for our attention span, and how we use technology. 

Try this: Be deliberate about when you check emails and messages. Turn off non-essential notifications or set dedicated check-in windows to reduce overwhelm and improve focus^{^}.

2. Protect your digital boundaries

Your mornings and evenings are powerful anchors. How you start your day shapes your focus and energy. How you end it influences your sleep and recovery.

Try this: Delay checking your phone for the first 15 minutes on waking to reduce external stressors¹. Instead, on sunny days, aim for 10 minutes of natural light² in the morning, and 20 minutes on cloudy days to activate your circadian rhythm and support performance. 

In the evening, create a screen-free wind-down routine for at least an hour before bed^*.

3. Give yourself permission to pause 

Think of intentional breaks as your new high-performance strategy. Short, intentional pauses³ help sustain focus, protect energy, and reduce cognitive fatigue. Swapping screen time for green time, even for 40 seconds, can also boost creativity, clarity and idea generation 

Try this: Step away from your screen for 2-10 minutes throughout the day to boost your wellbeing. To avoid eye strain, try the 20–20–20 rule⁴: every 20 minutes, look at something 6 metres away for 20 seconds and blink 20 times. 

4. Align your technology use with your energy 

We all have natural peaks and dips in cognitive energy, shaped by our chronotype⁵: our individual biological rhythm that determines when we think, focus and perform at our best.

Try this: Identify your peak focus window. For most people this is mid-morning. Protect this time for deep work with minimal distractions, and save lower-energy periods for emails and admin.

5. Focus on micro habits, not major overhauls

When it comes to behaviour change, small wins drive lasting results. Extreme approaches like digital detoxes are rarely sustainable. Consistent, manageable shifts create sustainable impact over time.

Try this: Choose one habit to change at a time. Get natural light in the morning, delay your first scroll, build in short movement breaks, or set a consistent screen-free wind-down.

Digital wellbeing isn’t about perfection or extremes. It starts with awareness, action and building small positive habits over time that support your energy, focus and performance. 

While technology is here to stay, in a world that's always on, the most powerful thing you can do is choose when to switch off. 

What is one micro habit you will implement to power your performance?

Explore more of Dr Kristy Goodwin’s work on neuro-performance and digital wellbeing.

References

^{^} Effects of task interruptions caused by notifications from communication applications on strain and performance - Journal of Occupational Health
^* Why You Should Ditch Your Phone Before Bed - HCC 
¹ The role of sunlight in sleep regulation: analysis of morning, evening and late exposure - Springer Nature
² Bedtime procrastination and sleep disturbances: a call for targeted research and interventions to improve sleep health - NLM
³ Research Proves Your Brain Needs Breaks - Microsoft WorkLab
⁴ Impact of 20-20-20 Rule and Daily Reminders in Relieving Digital Eye Strain - International Journal of Science and Healthcare Research 
⁵ For Whom (and When) the Time Bell Tolls: Chronotypes and the Synchrony Effect - NLM