Recently I read the book Deep Work by Cal Newport. In this book, he explains how social media affects our ability to truly work on something great, and achieving desired goals without distraction.
A lot of things he emphasizes are common knowledge, yet most people don’t execute on stopping those toxic behaviors. I am a part of these toxic people. Lol.
I do recommend to read this book. I think a lot of people on Steem may benefit from reading it. Since we’re sitting right at the source.
It changed a lot about how I act on social media and how I use my cell phone. Especially the cell phone usage was a big problem for me. Right now my habit feels so healthy and good. I want you to feel the same thing! This is just amazing :)
Things I’m doing differently now
After finishing this book, I felt like a little child. I was excited about implementing all those changes in my life. Here are some of the major changes I made:
- I turned off all the notifications on my phone (excluding normal Phone Calls).
This was a very crucial step. In the beginning, I was looking at my phone and I couldn’t see any Notifications, which was weird. I was checking it constantly. Nothing.
After a while, I could just place my phone somewhere and not worry about it. If someone needs something, call me. Stop fucking texting me all the fucking time. If I want to text. I just open the App and there I go. Otherwise, stop distracting me, phone!
- I’m not checking my phone until 11:30 am. This allows me to have a healthy morning routine without being bombarded with useless images and messages that don’t improve my life.
Yeah, this is also important. Before, I was waking up with my phone right next to me. I was looking at it instantly. Not recommended!
Nowadays I don't place my phone right next to my bed. This allows me to not look at it and start my morning like a normal person, not a crack addict.
- I stopped checking my Mails all the time
Checking your mails like a maniac won’t get you the next gig or job you’re looking for. The very rare chance that this will happen. Someone magically appears in your inbox and offers you the best job ever? This happens maybe 1% of the time.
The Discord Problem
I’m still guilty of using discord way too much. It’s not always good to be “that” connected to everything all the time. Discord distracts me very often. I open it and just read what are people talking about. I try to justify this behavior by: “I need to know what’s happening on Steem”.
However, most of the times people don’t talk about Steem on discord. I find myself reading about cats and whatnot. I don’t need that. Lol. No offense cat peeps. Just not what I’m looking for right now.
On the other side, Discord is great. I’m still very conflicted about this “Issue”.
What do my fellow steemians think about this? I know most of the people here use discord all the time. I feel like maybe they use it a little too much?
Conclusion
These are just the major things I could take home with me. There are many other things that Cal is talking about. I think he is up to something when it comes to Deep Work.
Being connected all the time is not what is working for me. I think we need to disconnect too. Disconnecting to come up with cool stuff that is making a difference. Something you can be proud of.
Finding a balance is the best thing you can do here.
I highly advise Steem people to read this book! Have a good day :)