Conquering Digital Discipline: 3 Tips for Families

Written By Emily Bottegal, MS
 
 

You are here, but you are not present.  Many of us can relate to this idea- you are physically at the dinner table or in the meeting room, but you are mentally not present.  

Maybe you are scrolling your feed, deleting emails, watching a video, checking your phone, or even making a todo list; whether productive or not, the screen is controlling your attention, and the things going on around you are in the background.  It is easy to think we are looking for a minute, or just finishing this thought, but oftentimes we underestimate how long we are looking at the phone because of that dopamine release.

So how can you be more intentional about screen boundaries in your home? 

Here are some ideas to tackle those distractions as a family or unit.

  1. Establish expectations as a family or office unit.  Your coworkers, spouses, and children, cannot read minds, and a team meeting to agree on technology norms is essential.  Agree upon areas that should be screen-free; the dinner table, bedrooms, or meeting rooms are some examples.  Don’t assume everyone knows what you are thinking- talking about when, where, and why you are forfeiting your screens during agreed upon hours or places.  

  2. Be a role model.  If you are asking your child or your employees to not check phones when you are together, you should make sure to model this behavior.  Turn off notifications, turn on focus, or try gray scaling your screen to help you fight off those pesky urges just to check.

  3. Make it a habit.  The more you practice these expectations the more likely these behaviors will become a habit.  Establishing these great habits help you both short-term and long-term, as we know the digital world is not disappearing.  

Help your office and your family create effective screen-time boundaries. If you need additional support or would like to learn more about managing technology, visit us at https://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com. 


Emily Bottegal, MS

Ensuring students achieve academic, social/emotional, and personal success, Emily has a passion to empower students to succeed in and out of the classroom. Emily coaches from a strength-based approach and believes every individual has the ability to achieve success with the appropriate support and skills in place. She has dedicated her professional life to working with youth in school and community settings. 

Prior to joining the team, Emily worked as a School Site Coordinator and Home-Based Counselor in the Washington, DC area. In these roles, Emily engaged directly with students through individual counseling sessions and small group interventions focused on helping students meet personal goals relating to academics and managing emotions. Her direct experience helped her to understand the challenges individuals face both academically and personally, ultimately leading to her developing lessons around time management, scheduling, study skills, and organization. 

Most recently, Emily worked at a nonprofit, helping secure specialized instruction and support necessary to improve educational outcomes for low-income children with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

Emily has a Master’s degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

http://www.lifesolvedcoaching.com/who-we-are
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