The Double Edged Sword of The Internet and Social Media - How To Be Productive There and Stop Wasting Time
Note: Men, one of the best things you need to do in becoming strong is to be productive. Time management is HUGE in this regard. If you get a handle on this issue below, you will be well on your way to taking your time back and being efficient again!
How many people do you know spend most of their times in front of a screen? Phones, desktops, laptops, you name it, a lot of people live and die with what happens in front of a screen.
And it's having a very negative effect on society. All of our genuine bonds between family and friends have been frayed or even destroyed by our "new connections" to the internet.
The internet was supposed to be the game changer that was supposed to bring all of us together, make us a lot more productive, and revolutionize our society to such a point that we haven't realized in our lives.
In a way, it's having an opposite effect.
People are wasting productive time playing games on the internet. They are choosing online "friends" over their real life friends and family, even to the point that they will break from their families if there is a political disagreement. They are also letting the internet hijack their senses, letting the internet be the "eyes and ears" for their own senses. For example, if the internet disappeared tomorrow, would you realize that we are in a "pandemic?" Be honest now.
I'm not implying that the internet is "evil." The internet is merely a tool for our use, but it's a tool that can be harmful to ourselves if we don't set guidelines for ourselves and mainly limit our use for productive purposes.
I know this because I'm a bit of an internet junkie myself; I needed to set my own guidelines so that i don't waste too much downtime on the internet. I look at news a lot, do have a tendency to play a game or two, and basically "veg" in front of a computer screen if I don't set any clear goals.
Even now, as I am writing this, I allotted myself only 45 minutes of my time online to write this blog, post it to some social media platforms and be off by a certain time.
Yeah, I'm THAT strict with my internet usage.
I usually set 45 minute sessions because after 45 minutes is usually when I start to "veg out" and get unfocused. After the 45 minutes, I give myself down time away from the screen to re-ground myself to reality before going in front of a screen again.
Let me backtrack to the beginning. Okay, before going online, I actually write a set of goals on a piece of paper. Yes, an actual pen and paper. The reason is that I can easily get distracted by ads that might pop up. Remember, these ads are targeted to my interests, so it can be easy to get distracted from it. If I do, I can forget my goals. So having them on a piece of paper in front of me can help me get back on my goal immediately instead of wasting time trying to remember.
Even now, this is what I have on the side when writing this blog. I need to get off the computer by 10:50AM Aruba time.
As I said, I note the time i get on, and usually I jot down the time when i have to get off. If I'm still in the middle of something I save my progress and get off the computer or phone. I usually spend about 30 minutes with tasks outside of the internet before I log back on for another 45 minute session. I find that I can refocus my thoughts in those 30 minutes and have a clearer set of goals when I get back online again. I find that I am TREMENDOUSLY productive and that I can get all my tasks done in half the time when I do this.
After all my tasks are done, I then spend about 30-45 minutes offline setting goals for the next day so that i can wake up with a purpose. Once that is done I can settle into "vegging out" in front of a TV or computer screen for the rest of the day, making sure to offline by a certain hour (usually 9PM).
We have all this information at our fingertips, but as humans, we have a tough time processing this information to the point in which we can be distracted enough to waste our time, waste our resources, and waste everything even to the point that our real time relationships with friends and family can be destroyed. Setting strict guidelines to your internet usage is a great way of keeping your productive edge without wasting precious time.
And since you'll be more "in the present", your family will love you for it.
P.S. The 24 hour news cycle is very destructive for a lot of us. We wait on baited breath each minute for a new tidbit of news, and we stray away from our own goals by waiting. We used to have just the 6PM local news, the 6:30PM national news, and maybe 30 minutes in the morning or at 11PM at night to get our fill in the past. Those 60-90 minutes is really all you really need each day to get your fill. If you're a news addict, try to limit your news fill to 60-90 minutes and watch your productivity go up.
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