Spring Cleaning, @Pixabay, Pexels.com
pass Drew Rosso, Hack
SXSW is full of technology, long lines, inclusivity and patriarchy crushing. But one of the most life-affirming takeaways, and actually one of the session’s most surprising mindfulness experiences, came from an unlikely source.
Brian Solis is known as a digital anthropologist and futurist. He is widely credited with shaping many market trends, from the rise of Web 2.0 to startup acceleration, to experience design, to digital transformation and enterprise innovation. But recently, his career has grown into something far more insightful than the sum of his research.
From business technology to human nature
In previous years at Southby, Solis had spoken of experience innovation, Why is Silicon Valley such a mess, and How we got sucked in like little lab rats on social mediaThis year, he delved further into the human condition, trying to understand why our attention span and focus have declined, and what that means for those of us trying to reclaim our lives in the age of social media.
Ahead of his anticipated book signing during the SXSW keynote, Solis celebrated the launch of his new book in an intimate venue, courtesy of cobalt robotHe spoke with TechCrunch contributing editor Josh Constine at Eleanor in Austin’s warehouse district. With more than 200 people in attendance, Solis introduced his new book, Lifescale: How to live a more creative, productive, happier life.
Ok Google, why can’t I write this book?
The book is his eighth, but Solis says it’s his first solo adventure. It came about because he was trying to write a different book – but hit a roadblock of “permanent distraction” that prevented him from getting work done. Taking a step back, Solis wondered what was wrong, why he had trouble concentrating, and how this connected to our increasingly technology-dominated lives. As a researcher, he mines the data. Lifescale dug into his findings.
On the surface, Lifescale involves many familiar health touchpoints:
- Get enough quality sleep
- start a mindfulness practice
- Update your personal core values, your purpose, and use them to define a more timely personal vision and mission
But what’s striking about this presentation is the sheer quantity and quality of the data Solis provided as supporting evidence we needed to pull back from multitasking and Pavlovian responses to our devices and Facebook accounts. Solis juxtaposes effective short-term hacks, like the Pomodoro Technique, with a deeper exploration of our distraction problem and how to fix it once and for all.
The call to action comes from within
Solis presents his views not from the perspective of a health guru, but from that of a Silicon Valley veteran. Rather than succumbing to the temptation to denigrate technology with general judgments, he uses concrete examples to illustrate how certain uses of technology are making us sick in certain ways, and what we can do to turn that around.
Along the way, Solis ventures out of his usual realm of business marketing into personal, even moving insight, about what it means to be human and to live a fulfilling life.
Lifescale also includes some revealing content about the tactics tech companies use to get us hooked on their products. If the way Facebook treats members and their data makes you uncomfortable, wait until Netflix’s CEO has something to say to his audience.
Brian is the Marie Kondo of mind, body and spirit for the modern age.
this is a book you can’t forget
I was impressed by Solis’ point of view. I kept thinking about them after all the SXSW dust had settled, and on the plane home I found myself devouring my newly signed copy of Lifescale. As his previous conversations indicated, there is some tension between the Silicon Valley elite and those who just want to be normal. With Lifescale, Solis provides us with the knowledge to take back control of our consciousness. Put it on your spring reading list.
If you’re one of those people who started the new year by binge-watching Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up, consider this a spring cleaning of your consciousness. Yes, I say with a straight face, Brian is the Marie Kondo of the modern mind, body and spirit.
