Information Overload and the Real Cost of Interruptions - DevOpsDays Berlin 2016

DevOpsDays Berlin 2016 - Day 2 Keynote

Lift your head from the screen for a second. Reflect for a moment on where your attention is. Is it where it’s supposed to be? Where you want it to be? Probably not. Where is it instead?
Ask yourself why. Why did I start checking twitter, facebook, slack, hipchat anyway? Why did I just pick up my phone? I’m sure I felt a vibration...hmmm maybe not.
If we begin with the assumption that our time is our most precious asset then we have a problem. Our attention and our time are being fought over all day every day, and no one is immune to this type of “digital disruption”. Productivity is plummeting, anxiety and stress are prevalent. Email Apnea is a thing.
In this talk we’ll look at our relationship to technology in the workplace and what this impact has on culture, job satisfaction, productivity and mental health.
We’ll also discuss what we can do as individuals and teams to get better and to help each other.

Transcript

1. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays INFORMATION OVERLOAD AND THE REAL COST OF INTERRUPTIONS HANNAH FOXWELL DEVOPSDAYS BERLIN 2016
2. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays SUCCESS IS MINE!
3. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays
4. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays NO ONE IS SAFE FROM DIGITAL DISRUPTION
5. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE AVERAGE PERSON CHECKS THEIR PHONE 110 TIMES A DAY
6. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE AVERAGE PERSON IS INTERRUPTED 11 TIMES AN HOUR BY DIGITAL NOTIFICATIONS
7. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays AS EMPLOYEES WE GENERALLY EXPERIENCE ONLY 3 MINUTES OF UNINTERRUPTED FOCUS AT ANY ONE TIME
8. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays IT TAKES AN AVERAGE OF 23 MINUTES FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON TO REGAIN FOCUS AFTER BEING INTERRUPTED
9. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays HOW DOES ANYTHING EVER GET DONE?
10. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays DEVELOPERS REALLY HATE INTERRUPTIONS (NOT THAT SURPRISING!)
11. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays “DEVELOPERS NEED TO CONCENTRATE. THE MORE THINGS YOU CAN KEEP IN YOUR HEAD AT ONCE, THE FASTER YOU CAN CODE BY ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE” - JOEL SPOLSKY CEO STACK OVERFLOW
12. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays AS A PROGRAMMER YOU ARE LIKELY TO GET JUST ONE UNINTERRUPTED TWO HOUR SESSION A DAY
13. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays COGNITIVE LOSSES FROM MULTI-TASKING ARE GREATER THAN THE COGNITIVE LOSSES FROM SMOKING WEED
14. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays MULTI-TASKING CREATES A DOPAMINE- ADDICTION FEEDBACK LOOP ADDICT http://cliparts.co/human-brain
15. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays MULTI-TASKING INCREASES THE PRODUCTION OF STRESS HORMONES
16. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays SELF-INTERRUPTION IS A THING THANKS BRAIN! http://cliparts.co/human-brain
17. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE MORE EXTERNAL INTERRUPTIONS A PERSON IS EXPOSED TO IN AN HOUR, THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO SELF INTERRUPT DURING THE FOLLOWING HOUR
18. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THIS IS NOT A TALK ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY
19. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays EMAIL APNEA IS A THING
20. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays EMAIL APNEA / APPLICATION APNEA DEFINITION: SHALLOW BREATHING OR BREATH HOLDING WHILE DOING EMAIL, OR WHILE WORKING OR PLAYING IN FRONT OF A SCREEN • 80% OF US DO THIS • IT INCREASES OUR STRESS LEVELS • AFFECTS OUR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING • IMPACTING OUR ABILITY TO WORK EFFECTIVELY
21. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays ARE YOU SLEEPING WELL?
22. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays HOW DEVICES DISRUPT OUR SLEEP • ONE THIRD OF UK ADULTS CHECK THEIR MOBILE PHONE DURING THE NIGHT • 10% CHECK THEIR PHONE AS SOON AS THEY WAKE UP • 52% CHECK THEIR PHONE WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF WAKING • READING FROM A DEVICE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE BED IMPACTS THE PRODUCTION OF MELATONIN • YOU NEED SLEEP! LACK OF SLEEP IS LINKED TO OBESITY, DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE…
23. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY
24. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays HOW ARE YOU? • FOMO • ANXIETY • STRESS • IMPOSTER SYNDROME • LOSS OF CONTROL • BURN OUT
25. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE FOMO IS ABOUT TO GET REAL FOLKS
26. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays “IF THE HUMAN BRAIN WERE SO SIMPLE THAT WE COULD UNDERSTAND IT, WE WOULD BE SO SIMPLE THAT WE COULDN’T” - EMERSON M. PUGH
27. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEM • THE ATTENTIONAL FILTER • THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE MODE • THE MIND WANDERING MODE • THE ATTENTIONAL SWITCH http://cliparts.co/human-brain
28. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE ATTENTIONAL FILTER: TAKES INPUT FROM ALL YOUR SENSES AND DECIDES WHAT INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE ESCALATED TO YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND.
29. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays CENTRAL EXECUTIVE: A SUPERVISORY SYSTEM ALLOWING YOU TO CONSCIOUSLY DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION.
30. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays MIND WANDERING: PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR INTERNAL THOUGHTS.
31. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays ATTENTIONAL SWITCH: DOES EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT. IT SWITCHES YOUR ATTENTION.
32. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEM • THE ATTENTIONAL FILTER • THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE MODE • THE MIND WANDERING MODE • THE ATTENTIONAL SWITCH NOW IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS SYSTEM WHEN WE ARE INTERRUPTED… http://cliparts.co/human-brain
33. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays ALPACAS ARE HERD ANIMALS AND CAN DIE IF KEPT IN ISOLATION https://www.flickr.com/photos/kessiye
34. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays NOVELTY BIAS: THE ATTENTIONAL FILTER IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO NOVELTY. (IT LIKES SHINY NEW THINGS)
35. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays HAVING RECEIVED A NEW EMAIL THERE IS A 40% CHANCE YOU’LL OPEN THAT EMAIL WITHIN 3 SECONDS
36. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays COMPLETION BIAS: YOUR BRAIN WILL REWARD YOU FOR COMPLETING A TASK, REGARDLESS OF ITS IMPORTANCE http://cliparts.co/human-brain ADDICT
37. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays YOUR FOCUS IS FINITE
38. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays MAKE BETTER CHOICES • MANAGE YOUR NOTIFICATIONS • DO A BRAIN DUMP • SORT TASKS AND PLAN TO COMPLETE SIMILAR TASKS AT THE SAME TIME (E.G. EMAIL) • DON’T MULTI-TASK • HAVE A ROUTINE THAT WORKS FOR YOU • DECIDE WHAT NOT TO DO
39. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays NAP DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
40. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays REFUEL YOUR MIND • NAP • TAKE REGULAR BREAKS • DON’T SKIP MEALS • CHEW GUM • DAY DREAM • HAVE A HOBBY
41. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays MEDITATE • PRACTICING FOCUSED ATTENTION MAKES YOU MORE AWARE OF WHEN OUR ATTENTION DRIFTS • THIS IMPROVES YOUR FOCUS WHEN YOU’RE NOT MEDITATING TOO • IT WILL CHANGE YOU BRAIN. THE AREAS OF THE BRAIN LINKED TO ATTENTION AND SENSORY PROCESSING ARE THICKER IN PEOPLE WHO MEDITATE
42. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays HELP EACH OTHER • TALK ABOUT IT • INTRODUCE INTERRUPTION FREE HOURS • FLEXIBLE WORKING • THINK AGAIN ABOUT OPEN PLAN OFFICES • BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR COMMUNICATION
43. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays WTF DOES THIS HAVE TO WITH DEVOPS?
44. @HannahFoxwell #DevOpsDays THANK YOU!