Well, today is the last day of the infomagical challenge and I have to say, I am much more aware of the media I am consuming and really enjoying feeling like I am in control of that consumption. These challenges have forced me to re-evaluate who I am as a media consumer and allowed me to go back to the basics of communication.
Below, I have listed some of the most important things I found throughout the week.
1. Too many devices at once =OVERLOAD!!!
If I was on my computer doing schoolwork my phone was face up beside it, this meant that every time a notification set my phone off my attention was drawn to the phone instead of my computer. This happens a lot and each time I lost focus, I spent more time regaining it and then another notification would go off.
TIP: put the phone away! It helped me to set a timer of say 30 minutes of time 100% dedicated to my computer and then I could take a break and look at the notifications. I’m hoping that as I get used to doing this, the longer I will be able to without looking
Often when I’m working on something, especially online, I have multiple tabs open which does not help with the lack of focus I already have. If I tried my best to keep the screen I was looking at clean and clutter-free, it helped me to become more focused and productive. If you feel your mind start to wander, rather than opening a new tab and “saving it for later” (like I do) give yourself a break! The best kind of breaks also mean getting away from a screen.
3. Communication doesn’t have to be complicated.
One of the most impactful challenges was day 4 when I held a face-to-face conversation. I loved how open and sincere my peers were during this conversation and it really boiled down what communication has to be. We are so surrounded my media and people opinions, which are often passive aggressive and insincere, it was refreshing to see a more genuine side of my peers.
I had an awesome time challenging myself to keep up with the infomagical challenges and know that these lessons and skills will stick with me for a long time.
