But I didn't expect just how self-aware this challenge would make me.
I half-expected to become more creative and productive during this experiment. Since our creativity levels are highest in the mornings, I could capitalize on this fertile creative soil to produce some of my best work. It resulted in tons of new personal passion projects, including launching my newsletter and website and setting the foundation for my new eBook. Because instead of working on your own ambitions, you spend your time reacting to other people's stuff.īut wouldn't you rather create instead of consume?įorgoing social media not only gave me more time to focus on personal projects, but it also restored my imagination. When you start your day blindly consuming information, you pave the way for a passive life.
Maybe it's the latest drama with Pete Davidson. When we go on social media first thing in the morning, we're letting our phone spoonfeed us whatever it likes. And wouldn't you know it-I end up squashing the writer's block instead of prolonging it by scrolling through Tweets. But since social media isn't an option, I just keep writing.
TAKING TIME OUT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA FULL
Twenty minutes later, I'd be full of cognitive clutter and the article would still be unwritten. When I started, I felt a bit of writer's block. Removing social media breaks the cycle-and it works wonders. And ultimately, we contribute to our own stress. We condition ourselves to avoid difficult tasks. Constant task-switching doesn't allow us to do deep work. When our stress levels elevate, we hop onto social media since it soothes us. We'll finally start our workday and then inevitably hit pockets of frustration-a daunting to-do list, an exasperating Slack message, writer's block. So while we might wake up early, we procrastinate actually starting our day.ĭistraction. What begins as an innocent "quick check-in" morphs into a chunk of time. We tend to instinctively scroll within moments of waking up. How did that happen? Turns out I'd removed two time-suckers: On the first day of the experiment, I knocked out my entire to-do list before 11 a.m.
It catapulted my productivity to new levels What began as a test turned into a practice that has completely changed my life-and continues to do so. It's now been 366 days (and counting!), and I don't ever intend on going back. Teetering between carbs and social media in the mornings, I ultimately opted for the latter. I was working with a life coach, and he challenged me to give something up for a month. And instead of empowering my own mornings, I'd blatantly hand over that privilege to my phone. What would I be missing?īut it turns out those early-in-the-day social media binges were sabotaging my life. I couldn't imagine not scrolling first thing in the morning. Since I was 16, my morning routine began by checking social media.įlooding my brain with cheap dopamine was imprinted in my neural circuitry.
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