The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur authors are their very own.
When I began my business in 1998, PostcardManiathe primary cell phone with a color screen hit the market. Facebook didn’t exist, phones didn’t slot in our pockets in any respect, and people still wrote checks on the food market.
The Internet was in its infancy and we weren’t yet saturated with technology to the extent that it had taken over our every day lives. It was latest and exciting, but still relegated to desktop computers.
Just 20 years later, we will not live a single day without smartphones in our hands, social media has replaced most in-person interactions, and checks have turn into obsolete, with money not far behind.
Research shows that between 2000 and 2018, the common American had almost tripled his time spent onlinefrom 9.4 hours online per week to 23.6 in 2018 – and this was before the pandemic. Some research has provided impetus pandemic screen time in adults from 60 to 80%. All this scrolling makes us feel a certain way: 46% of respondents one study found that the primary offender for constant fatigue is simply too much time spent in front of a screen.
Digital overwhelm doesn’t just distract us – the study found that residents of the US they check their smartphones 352 times a day, which affects our productivity, but may lead to real health problems. The medical tests are over that an excessive amount of screen time leads to insomnia, vision problems, reduced bone density and hypertension. In addition to physical ailments, digital overload affects our mental and emotional health, increasing anxiety and depression.
Some firms see the answer as a whole ban on using mobile phones at work. However, this may lead to dissatisfied employees who feel more like little children in kindergarten than trusted adults. I’ve all the time found that individuals respond best to autonomy – give them ownership over something and their care factor increases.
There is a greater way to balance the fashionable workplace to maintain meaningful connections and achieve our goals for achievement. Just just a few intentional changes…
Create latest opportunities for private contacts at work
The pandemic modified the workplace when work-from-home rates have tripled from 2019 to 2021, but this may occasionally have resulted in a disconnection for convenience reasons. So how to renew contacts within the office?
Try replacing one Zoom meeting every week with in-person meetings on the office and even at an area coffee shop. Or you could host one large company-wide meeting in person once every week (like I did) so that every one staff can meet face-to-face across departments.
In addition to regular project meetings, start organizing fun team-building events that create moments of true connection and creativity. Let each department in your organization brainstorm ideas for fun activities like mini golf, going to an escape room, or an obstacle course. Even exercising together just a few times every week generally is a way to unite team members.
Improve staff productivity with organization and productivity tools that work beyond the screen
It’s probably no surprise to you that somebody like me—the CEO of a multimillion-dollar unsolicited mail company—still enjoys checking his mailbox on daily basis and searching through letters and cards to see what’s in it. But as of late I’m noticing that more and more professionals are putting down their phones and picking up paper and pen.
Whether one is mailing a letter, writing in a diary, or sitting down to plan the week with a calendar, there’s something appealing about striking a smooth sheet of paper with ink and marking our goals, thoughts, and desires.
The conscious act of interacting with a physical object forces us to decelerate, savor the moment and be fully present within the experience. Help employees plan their weeks and avoid digital distractions by giving them paper planners, desk calendars or magazines. Also consider investing in branded magazines to improve company morale and pride.
The advantages can trickle down to your results – they’re quite a few studies show that reading comprehension, concentration and memory could be improved by switching from reading on a screen to reading on paper.
Use direct marketing to increase revenues and cover expenses
Creating more in-person meetings and events, in addition to providing more tangible tools for organizations, comes at a price. One way to increase your budget for these purposes is to increase revenues through direct marketing.
To conduct the research, the United States Postal Service partnered with scientists from the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University the reason why printing carries more weight for us as people. After intense scientific research, it seems that the reason unsolicited mail has a greater impact is due to the best way our brains respond to stimulation.
Holding a physical ad prompts our senses of touch, smell and sight and triggers an emotional response in a selected neural area of the brain that enables us to recall the ad for an extended time period. Ultimately, the study found that print ads increased product appeal compared to digital ads, which were more quickly forgotten.
Not only can unsolicited mail leave an incredible impression in your target market and your ideal customer, but it also Response rate is as much as nine times higher than within the case of e-mail. In fact, in 2023 74% marketers agreed that unsolicited mail provides the perfect return on investment.
Research also found that ROI was 18% greater when an organization incorporated unsolicited mail into its multi-channel marketing mix, slightly than relying solely on digital technologies.
One of my clients, an RV and RV owner, mailed roughly 24,000 postcards and made $50,000 for a 590% ROI. We have over 700 others unsolicited mail case studies with much more impressive ROI numbers, some even reaching several thousand.
Once you’ve made a few of these changes, write down exactly how those changes impacted what you are promoting and relationships. You is likely to be surprised how much value you add to your on a regular basis life when you disconnect from the digital world from time to time and give attention to the magic of what is tangible.