End of pipe versus structural solutions
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 6:54 am
Lima's observation is that we are physically present in the office for many hours and digitally available outside. That old metaphors still often determine the organization of work and organizations follow the same principles as the first factories during the industrial revolution. Or as Lima puts it in his book:
Modern day digital technologies have an immense capacity to improve our lives and empower us as individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. At the same time, however, we are more and more starting to realize the negative impact these technologies also have on our focused attention, productivity, relationships and overall psychological, social and environmental health and well-being.
Attention is scarce. It is not for nothing that we say that you pay attention. As knowledge workers, you add value by paying attention to analyses, empathy in conversations, smart questions, connecting existing knowledge with new, brainstorming together with someone. All things whose quality is determined by the attention you pay to them. Which of course also applies to the conversation during dinner or a meeting in a café.
How does Life Beyond the Touch Screen differ from many other books on attention? Too often, tips and advice on how to be less involved with technology are about 'end of pipe solutions'.
The end-of-pipe metaphor comes from the concern usa telegram data for the environment. When fish were floating dead in the Rhine in the 1970s, pressure was put on the industry in the region to reduce the emission of toxins. So filters and scrubbers were placed at the end of sewer pipes and chimneys to reduce the emission. The next step was to work with less polluting raw materials in those factories, then the whole process was optimized to reduce pollution and finally, at the drawing board before the construction of a factory, it was thought out how every aspect of the factory could cause the least possible impact on the environment.
When it comes to stress, well-being, and socio-psychological workload, it sometimes seems like we are still in the end-of-pipe era. If you spend too much time on your smartphone, you get an app that prevents you from doing so (Forest). If you are bothered by too much noise in an open-plan office, you get noise-cancelling headphones. Instead of tackling the source of the problem, we protect individuals from the direct nuisance. Lima argues for the choice of more contact, attention, and real reading instead of a series of life hacks to put your smartphone away for a while.
Also read: Zoom Fatigue & Hangout Hangover: 5 Tips to Combat It
Two blocks of advice, from the last part of the book:
Its impossible to meaningfully improve anything in your life without having at least a partially clear image of where you want to go next. What is your “Why?”, your Purpose? What is the Next Step fo.
Modern day digital technologies have an immense capacity to improve our lives and empower us as individuals, organizations, and society as a whole. At the same time, however, we are more and more starting to realize the negative impact these technologies also have on our focused attention, productivity, relationships and overall psychological, social and environmental health and well-being.
Attention is scarce. It is not for nothing that we say that you pay attention. As knowledge workers, you add value by paying attention to analyses, empathy in conversations, smart questions, connecting existing knowledge with new, brainstorming together with someone. All things whose quality is determined by the attention you pay to them. Which of course also applies to the conversation during dinner or a meeting in a café.
How does Life Beyond the Touch Screen differ from many other books on attention? Too often, tips and advice on how to be less involved with technology are about 'end of pipe solutions'.
The end-of-pipe metaphor comes from the concern usa telegram data for the environment. When fish were floating dead in the Rhine in the 1970s, pressure was put on the industry in the region to reduce the emission of toxins. So filters and scrubbers were placed at the end of sewer pipes and chimneys to reduce the emission. The next step was to work with less polluting raw materials in those factories, then the whole process was optimized to reduce pollution and finally, at the drawing board before the construction of a factory, it was thought out how every aspect of the factory could cause the least possible impact on the environment.
When it comes to stress, well-being, and socio-psychological workload, it sometimes seems like we are still in the end-of-pipe era. If you spend too much time on your smartphone, you get an app that prevents you from doing so (Forest). If you are bothered by too much noise in an open-plan office, you get noise-cancelling headphones. Instead of tackling the source of the problem, we protect individuals from the direct nuisance. Lima argues for the choice of more contact, attention, and real reading instead of a series of life hacks to put your smartphone away for a while.
Also read: Zoom Fatigue & Hangout Hangover: 5 Tips to Combat It
Two blocks of advice, from the last part of the book:
Its impossible to meaningfully improve anything in your life without having at least a partially clear image of where you want to go next. What is your “Why?”, your Purpose? What is the Next Step fo.