by Michelle Cederberg, 2025 Supply Summit & Showcase Speaker

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing world, technology is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether it’s tracking inventory, automating customer communications, or managing a hybrid workforce, digital tools are deeply woven into the fabric of modern business.

In the work you do, building agricultural tools that power productivity on farms across North America, technology has opened doors to unprecedented efficiency. Yet, many in the industry are facing an uncomfortable truth: the same tools that help us work faster may also be wearing us down.

Welcome to the age of Techno Stress—and the growing need to strike a healthier digital balance.

Innovation at a Cost: From AI-powered scheduling systems to real-time design collaboration platforms, FEMA member companies are embracing technology at every level of their operations. These tools cut down repetitive tasks and allow teams to focus on strategy, customer support, and product development.

Remote work and cloud-based collaboration—once rare in the manufacturing sector—are becoming standard practice. Teams are connecting more easily across time zones, and distributors are accessing product specs and sales tools in real time.

But even as productivity rises, so does the sense of constant urgency. Notifications ping. Emails pile up. Apps multiply. The digital tools meant to make work easier often disrupt focus and fracture our attention.

The Numbers Behind Digital Distraction: It’s not just a feeling—it’s a measurable problem. The average worker loses 581 hours per year to digital distractions, with each interruption taking over 23 minutes to recover from. That’s nearly a third of the work year lost to mental reboots.

And the cost? In the U.S. alone, businesses lose up to $650 billion annually to digital inefficiencies. Canadian businesses, including many within FEMA’s membership, are not immune to these losses.

But it’s not just time that’s lost. Productivity drains carry neurological and physical consequences as well.

When Digital Overload Hits the Brain and Body: Too much screen time pushes the brain into overdrive. The prefrontal cortex—the area responsible for decision-making—becomes overworked, leading to mental fatigue, poor judgment, and reduced creativity.

“Simultaneously, the dopamine system gets hijacked by the quick hits of notifications and updates. The result? An endless loop of checking, refreshing, and reacting… instead of focusing, building, and innovating.”

Add in elevated cortisol levels—our stress hormone—and you’ve got a recipe for burnout. Over time, this constant low-grade stress erodes energy, enthusiasm, and motivation. And on the physical side, there’s more: ‘tech neck’, headaches, eye strain, and disrupted sleep from too much blue light exposure.

How to Reclaim Focus: The good news? You don’t have to ditch your digital toolbox to feel better at work. With a few smart shifts, you can keep the benefits of technology while dialing down the noise.

Here are six ways to strike that balance:

• Turn off non-essential notifications. Set specific check-in times for email and messaging platforms to avoid constant interruptions.

• Time-block your workday. Use techniques like the Pomodoro Method to create windows of deep focus, followed by short recovery breaks.

• Take intentional tech breaks. Step away from the screen. A walk around the shop floor or five minutes with a notepad can help reset your brain.

• Establish screen-free zones. Breakrooms and meeting spaces can be used to foster connection—without screens.

• Audit your digital tools. If a platform isn’t streamlining work, it’s adding to your cognitive load. Less is more.

• Support physical wellness. Encourage posture resets and movement throughout the day. Use blue light filters and prioritize analog options when practical.

Digital tools are here to stay. The key is intentional use—leveraging what works, limiting what doesn’t, and remembering that the people behind the projects are your most important asset.

How is your company managing digital stress? Share your strategies with FEMA at News@FarmEquip.org and together, let’s build a healthier, more focused industry.

Michelle Cederberg is a Hall of Fame Speaker and Health and Productivity Expert who has captivated audiences for over 20 years.

As opening keynote at the FEMA 2025 Supply Summit & Showcase she shared her Success-Energy Equation message and presented an eye-opening session on Future-Proofing Productivity, which this article is related to.

To learn more about Michelle’s keynotes and coaching visit .

Today, let’s travel back to 1957 for a unique history lesson on computing power and its relationship with cost. Why is this important? Trust me, it’s the foundation for understanding the upcoming technological shift and gaining perspective on what it means for you.

In the late 1950s, Gordon Moore, a fresh PhD in chemistry from John Hopkins University, ventured into the tech world at Shockley Semiconductor. After a few odd experiences with the company’s founder, William Shockley, Moore and his colleagues left, founding Fairchild Semiconductor. By 1965, Moore observed that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubled each year, a trend that would continue. He also noticed the cost of the integrated circuit decreasing as the number of transistors increased, a phenomenon now known as Moore’s Law. In 1968, Moore co-founded Intel.

Fast forward to 1975, Moore adjusted his prediction to doubling every two years. The progress was incredible – from one transistor in 1959 to over a billion in 2010! In 2020, Nvidia introduced a graphics processor unit with a whopping 54 billion transistors. The size of transistors in 2022 was approaching 3 nanometers (nm). For reference the diameter of a strand of human DNA is 2.5 nm!

David Brock from the Computer History Museum highlighted the mind-blowing reduction in computing prices and electronics costs saying this, “With computing devices made of microchips, the price of computing has fallen a million-fold, while the cost of electronics has fallen a billion-fold.”

In 1969, the Apollo Guidance Computer (APG) helped land astronauts on the moon. This computer weighed 70 pounds, sported 32,000 bits of ram and cost $200,000. Today, the $1,000 smartphone I carry around in my pocket weighs slightly more than half a pound and has 2.048 trillion bits of RAM!

“If the Apollo helped land humans on the moon in 1969, what is today’s computing power capable of?”

“If the Apollo helped land humans on the moon in 1969, what is today’s computing power capable of?” If the APG helped land humans on the moon in 1969, what is today’s computing power capable of? Some machines manufactured by members of FEMA already have computers on them called Programmable Logic Controllers, while others have no sort of computer at all.

Major tractor manufacturers have made splashes in recent years with prototypes of driver-less tractors, while countless startups in the ag machinery space are pushing robots, drones, etc, into the field. There’s a lot to unpack here, and we’ll continue this discussion in the next article. Can’t wait? Reach out to Chris@AcuitusAg.com or call 208-243-0135. Stay tuned for more!

Chris Hunsaker is Co-founder and CEO of Acuitus Ag, a software company engaged in improving the efficiencies of the world’s agricultural operations. He recently spoke at the Marketing & Distribution Convention in Kansas City.

| Member since 2023

Trucking company ArcBest Corp. and logistics provider NFI Industries Inc. led a $42 million investment to back startup Phantom Auto Inc.’s remote vehicle operation software. The companies say they plan to deploy thousands of remote-enabled forklifts over the next several years.

Phantom’s technology allows off-site drivers to operate equipment using video and audio streams, opening up freight-handling jobs to workers in other regions. Operators also can switch between forklifts in different locations.

The funding comes as investors are pouring billions of dollars into logistics technology aimed at helping businesses blunt supply-chain disruptions and meet strong demand.

Warehouse workers were in short supply before the pandemic. Staffing has gotten even tougher amid the post- pandemic supply chain strain.

NFI Chief Executive Sid Brown said the goal is not to replace workers but increase capacity. He said the technology will improve recruitment, including among people who like to play videogames.

“We have thousands and thousands of forklift operators,” he said. “If we can solve 30 percent to 50 percent of our warehouse job functions by utilizing the remote forklifts, I think that’s a real win for us. And if I can position people in different time zones—maybe Asia or South America or Europe—you can get people to work that may do a second or third shift” that is harder to fill.

Separately, ArcBest, parent company of LTL carrier ABF Freight, has been working with Phantom to integrate the startup’s software with autonomous technology ArcBest developed. The two companies plan to provide remote-autonomous forklifts to other customers this year.

Source: Wall Street Journal