Interruption Overload: Getting Off the Technology Treadmill

Hmmm, is there a silver bullet for interruption overload or is the solution as simple as the flutter of a butterfly?

Facebook is a pretty reliable measure of the psychological pulse of the working population. The status update comments tell the story. Monday is back-to-the-grind day. Wednesday is hump day. Friday is TGIF (thank God it’s Friday) day.

We all seem to be pretty much in survival mode Monday to Friday just trying to get to the weekend with a little energy left. But then there is the Saturday morning hangover which has nothing (most of the time) to do with alcohol. It’s just the cumulative effect of the daily grind which takes half of Saturday – and sometimes more – to get past.

I stumbled across a new concept this week which sheds some light on the Saturday morning hangover. It’s called “interruption overload” which has its source in the ever changing technology that keeps us on the treadmill Monday to Friday.

The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.

That’s the dictionary definition of technology. It is supposed to enable us to interact with society and our environment in such a way that saves us time, makes us more efficient and makes life easier or more enjoyable. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out like we thought it would.

Computer technology, which is pervasive in our lives, has created a continuous immediacy. Information charges at us in nanosecond intervals. It is a continuous flow of interruptions that is extremely difficult to ignore. As a result, we’ve become conditioned to believe that we have to be “on call” every waking minute and continuously responding.

Our brain can process information much faster than we realize. But it needs time to recalibrate every time we switch our attention from one thing to another. Every switch and switch back consumes energy. By about 2:00 each day, by my estimation, we hit interruption overload. By the end of the week, our brain is exhausted and so are we. Hence, the Saturday morning hangover.

Some weeks the hangover lasts well into Saturday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon, we’re already starting to psych ourselves up for the week ahead. Is it any wonder we find ourselves thinking: Where did the weekend go?

The experts tell us we need to develop coping mechanisms to battle interruption overload: manage the expectations of our co-workers, turn off the telephone, shut down the annoying “new e-mail” notice, etc etc. Sounds good in theory, but all we’re really doing is letting the “interruptions” pile up to be dealt with in a mad rush at the end of the day.

I wish I had a silver bullet to kill interruption overload. I could make a fortune selling it and retire early to a technology-free tropical island. But I don’t think there is a silver bullet for this problem.

The best I can offer is the butterfly metaphor. Most butterflies only live a few weeks. You would think they would be frantic to jam in as much living as they could in that short space of time. But instead they choose to flutter about calmly and serenely enjoying the little time they do have.

So let’s adopt the butterfly metaphor for our lives. Let technology spin madly on but don’t tie our wagons to it. Step aside from it as much as we can and take pleasure in the simple things. We can’t slow down technology but we can opt out of the pace it sets. I’m in – are you?

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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