Tips on Managing Your Use of Technology

Peter Gale is a headteacher and senior educational leader who has worked for Ofsted. He was also George Abbott School’s Deputy CEO and Director of Education. During the years he has seen the use of technology become more pervasive than ever in daily life. Today, it seems all encompassing but there are ways to help people control their habit and find a balance. Here are tips to help anyone maintain a positive relationship with the amount of technology used.

Chose when you are not available

You can’t always be on-call. Are you prepared to read and answer emails at late on a Friday night? If the answer is no, then turn your phone to mute and remove notifications that may appear. However, if you have children this is hard to do as you never know what might happen.


Measure Your Usage

Apps like Quality Time, which breaks down my daily internet usage are a great way to do this. There are many only to choose from.  Seeing how much time you was spending online may move you into becoming a more mindful techy.  Think about the strain the bright screen has on your eyes after prolonged use. Would you allow another person to disturb you with news bulletins from thousands of miles away; to tug at your shoulder shouting “Hey’’ when you’re clearly engaged in real-life conversation at that moment? Nor really. So don’t allow your phone to, either. You control where your attention goes and that is done with willpower.

Interaction VS Isolation

Generational differences in learning techniques are apparent in how people of different ages approach technology. However, it can be argued that how we approach problems has now changed. It has been said that we, the Internet generation, are closer to our grandparents in our work ethic and vision of the future than our parents. Visit the Peter Gale Headteacher Linkedin page to join his network.

Peter was Headteacher at Nonsuch High School in Sutton between 2012-2015. During this time the school achieved its best ever GCSE results (84% A*/A) and A level results (61% A*/A). The number of successful applicants to Oxbridge rose to 16, far exceeding most independent schools. Find out more about him on the Peter Gale headteacher page. You can also follow him on the Peter Gale teacher blog for the latest education news. Visit the Peter Gale teacher Facebook page and show support. Check back soon for more posts.