Tips for using tech ‘without losing your mind,’ from an expert on how to be mindful in the modern world

From Instagram to tap-to-pay to ChatGPT-generated grocery lists, how we stay connected to others and even the mundanity of our daily lives has been optimized by technology — and that means we spend a lot of time on our devices.

On average, Americans spend 5 hours and 16 minutes a day on their smartphones, according to a 2024 report by data management firm Harmony Healthcare IT.

Whether at work or in your downtime, being fully present in your day-to-day while having to engage with all this tech can be tricky, especially as more and more algorithms are programmed to feed us content based on our specific interests.

But some researchers and experts are searching for easy solutions.

On a recent episode of 10% Happier with Dan Harris, Soren Gordhamer, co-founder of Wisdom Ventures, shared his suggestions for using technology “without losing your mind.”

Gordhamer is also the founder and host of Wisdom 2.0, a conference that focuses on how to be more mindful in the modern world and author of the recently published book, “The Essential: Discovering What Really Matters in an Age of Distraction.”

Here are his five tips for staying intentional, grounded and in control of your digital life.

5 tips for using technology in a mindful way

Recognise the ‘game’ of social media

“There’s the game of how to keep our attention consumed, always looking outside of ourselves,” Gordhamer said. “It needs fuel, and the fuel is your attention.” Resist fueling the game by devoting your attention to important things like spending time outdoors and having quality time with loved ones, he suggested.

Add technology-free hours to your routine

Carve out the first hour and the last hour of your day for mindfulness, Gordhamer said. “Can we make that first hour nourishing, supportive, healthy, regenerative for us? And that last hour of the day, how do we spend that?” he said. You can engage in practices like taking a walk in the morning or dimming the lights in your home to relax before bed.

Allow yourself to be bored

During those brief moments when you’re sitting on the train or waiting in line at a store, Gordhamer encourages you to sit in the stillness even if it’s boring, instead of reaching for your phone.

“I think it’s a beautiful practice when you’re walking, just to walk. When you’re standing, just to stand. When you go to buy something at the store, do you actually see the person you’re buying the item from?” he said.

Reflect on what really matters to you

“We know we have limited heartbeats, and we never know when those heartbeats are going to end,” Gordhamer said.

“What is it that you want to spend those heartbeats doing? And I think asking ourselves about that and reflecting on death and impermanence, that’s the best motivation, and then living our life accordingly.”

Conduct experiments

Consider what emotions you’re feeling or what you desire in moments that you reach for your phone, Harris encouraged. Or spend a full day not monitoring your screen time, then go the following day without your phone and note how each day made you feel, Gordhamer suggested. Being curious about how you use technology can place a magnifying glass on your relationship with it.

Gordhamer said it’s important to remember that the impetus is not on the technology to look out for our-wellbeing, and so we have to be resistant to the pull of our devices.

“We have to actually carve out that time for meditation, that time for going to walk, that time for going with a friend, because otherwise it’s so so easy to get lost in this game,” he said.

“And the game doesn’t serve us.”