Where did I leave off? Here we are at the end of another year, and I’ve succeeded in very little posting – or much online interaction for that matter. It’s been a good thing, as it’s helped with time management.
One of my focuses for 2022 has been improving time management by decreasing ‘non-productive’ time, so I can get more ‘productive ‘ time in my life. And by productive time, I don’t just mean time to read, draw or do anything that is personal and self-centered (though this has certainly been a goal of mine in the past, which I’m not proud of). Sitting in the same room with my wife and kids and experiencing more family time is what I’ve been striving for.
Without complicating my life too much, I thought of two ways to make more time in my day.
1. Wake up earlier
2. Stop (or drastically cut back) using social media
Waking at the crack of dawn
Starting the day with the rising of the sun is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done. Thats actually not true, it sucks at first, but you get used to it. The key, of course, is to go to bed early enough to get the required hours of sleep in before waking (I know, rocket science here).
Waking up at 5am doesn’t sound very glamorous, and it doesn’t feel glamorous at first. Quite frankly there’s no glamor in it at all, but being able to get ready for work AND have extra time to read, write, and create has been a positive change in life and I recommend the same for anyone willing to pay the price. Don’t just take my word for it, here’s an article written by a bunch of smart people that say the same https://eachnight.com/sleep/how-to-wake-up-early/
So long to social
I know social media is a time suck but didn’t comprehend how much until I started tracking my phone screen time. Sort of surprisingly, I was logging several hours per week to the screen.
From what I read, the average person spends about 30 minutes or more on each social media platform per day. Do the math and it’s easy to realize how many life hours are being given to the time-sucking vortex of social.
I’m not saying social media is bad, but it’s designed to keep us scrolling and often amounts to nothing more than going down a rabbit hole of content that leaves us -or, me, in this case, wondering how and why I just gave part of my life to a screen.
Solution? I deleted all social media apps off my phone, and if I want to check social media I’ll download the app, check the feed and then delete the app again. I know it sounds exhausting, but it worked for me.
How we’re you able to live without social media? One might ask. I lived and functioned just fine and the change has been one of the most empowering things I’ve done in a while. Now I control my social media input, it doesn’t control me.
Of course, this wasn’t easy at first, coming from a social media manager past where I had accounts on every major platform, mainly for ‘research’, it meant changing one habit and developing a new one. All in all, it was a good move and I did get some time back into my life. The challenging part was getting over the initial FOMO and dopamine hit that typically goes with being a social media user.
After a day or so the need to check my feed was gone, the world didn’t end, and I wasn’t missing out on anything by removing myself from social media. It felt pretty good, and in a way was like being the only sober person at a party. I looked at the people around me with their eyes glued to their phone screens, helplessly unable to look away for hours, and I’d think to myself ‘I remember when I used to lose time in my life doing the same thing.’
Am I off social forever? No, but I am much more intentional about it and limit the time I spend scrolling and looking for something to entertain me.
Enough about that, stay tuned and I’ll share what I’ve been doing with all this ‘found’ time.
Be cool. Be kind.
Tony De La Rosa 