60 minutes a day

PSA: Social media is a part of our daily lives and is vital for running our business and being successful in the long run….the contents of this article will give you the knowledge and ability to conquer the social media realm without being sucked into the blackhole that it is. 

It’s been over a month now….I’ve limited myself to only 60 minutes per day on all social media platforms. Apps like Instagram, snapchat, facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc. basically anything that revolves around scrolling. I honestly feel amazing since I started doing this…but let me explain why this all matters and why I believe you should do it too.

First things first - what have I been doing…..

Mandarin

Dev and I have been learning Mandarin over the past little while, and every day I’ve been dedicating around 1-2 hours to solely focus and study it. Mandarin is a VERY tricky language to learn and it’s taken time to adjust to everything. What is cool though is seeing the progress through slowly understanding more and more and being able to speak and pronounce things properly. Dev is further ahead than me and he’s even been quizzing me throughout the day and helping converse so we both learn faster. One thing I can say is it makes this process a whole lot easier having someone else who’s also doing it.

Piano

Both myself and Dev have been learning instruments as we want to master them and be able to play like its second nature. Dev has been learning the guitar and I’ve been on the piano. I’ve always been fascinated by people who can play the piano both for the fluidity of it and how amazing each note sounds. Each day just like Mandarin I dedicate a minimum of one hour up to two total. I’ve mastered the first parts to Fur Elise and now I’m focusing on learning the entire Super Mario theme song. I want to learn things that I love first so that it motivates me to keep going until I master it. It’s so rewarding to learn an instrument and see the progress over time…its hard to explain its more so something you need to feel.

Another thing I’ve been doing more of is scrolling through things that matter such as news and learning topics. I love to know what’s going on in the world from news/politics to everything surrounding technology, business, video games, sports, entertainment and more. Honestly at times I feel like I am google because of all the things I know going on around us. I love it and feel that the more knowledge you have of the world around you, the more well rounded human being you become and can create more meaningful conversations.

Now this whole social media thing and monitoring time on it has been something I’ve thought about for a while, but I’m sure like many of you I just never actually did it. I’ve seen people “delete” the apps and delete their accounts and all that….which is cool but I don’t fully agree with it. I believe social media is very important especially in this day and age. What it really comes down to is how you use it and whether or not your effective and efficient on it….it also matters how disciplined you are to actually stick to the time limits you set out for yourself. 

Enter Apple…..one of the most influential companies of our time who continues to just innovate and change the game. They added something called “Screen Time” into your phone which tracks your time across all apps and even lets you set time limits and other things to increase productivity and keep you away from your phone.

As I get older I’m learning more ways to take advantage of time and just kill this game called life. (extreme throwback and shoutout to anyone who played this game right here growing up).

As I do that I want to be able to pass this knowledge on to anyone who follows us or just wants to improve their lives in general. 

So lets get down to it, I’m gonna break down why I’m limiting myself on social media each day and 3 major keys I believe you all need to possess in life to be very successful….and it just so happens you can practice these by controlling your social media use. 

Why limit my time on social media?

If you sit back and think about it, life truly is incredible….matter of fact just being alive is an incredible feat. The probability of you existing at all comes out to 1 in 10^2,685,000 ……that's a 10 followed by 2,685,000 zero’s! It’s legit impossible and that’s why a lot of people refer to life as a miracle or a blessing. 

Then after knowing that why do we spend so much of our lives scrolling to see what everyone else is doing in their life and at times trying to live vicariously through these individuals? Would it not make more sense to live in the moment, enjoy whats around you and those around you?

Or am I just crazy?

I truly believe that with things such as social media there is a “right” and a “wrong” way to approach it. Right now I am approaching it the right way by still being aware of everything people are doing.

Lets get into the 3 keys

Efficiency & Effectiveness

I believe that a lot of things in life come down to efficiency and effectiveness. Among many other traits (another big one below), these two are extremely important if you want to be successful and achieve things in life. 

It’s not enough to be only effective, without being efficient, or to be efficient without effective at the same time. I’ve heard many times before that the best entrepreneurs in the world are both efficient and effective. So let’s clear up the confusion since these words both sound and lookalike. 

• To be effective in the simplest words is to do the right things. If you are effective, you will choose the right activities for yourself that will need to be done in order to create and manifest the best you in the long term

• To be efficient in the simplest words is to do things in the right way. So efficiency is about the way of doing things.

You’re probably wondering damn Nav, how do I become both efficient and effective? Well my friends the answer is patience. It will take many years, lots of mistakes and habitual learning until you truly find the right balance of the two. 

But… what you can do is take advantage now and starting making these changes. Imagine going on instagram for only 60 minutes a day, you HAVE to be both efficient and effective when doing so now. You can’t just scroll and look at the explore feed etc, you need to see what your friends posted and other accounts, drop your likes/comments and get out and move on with your day. (remember these concepts apply to more than just social media) 

My goal with this blog is to make you all aware and give you the opportunity to make a change that will positively benefit your life in the long run.  Now efficiency and effectiveness are both dope and yes you need them, but when you mix it with Discipline it takes you to a whole new level….

Self Discipline

“All success begins with self-discipline. It starts with you.” 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

This video has no relevance, but I have to give a throwback to The Rock, and also another shoutout to anyone who grew up on WWF and would practice moves in their basement with pillows on the ground.

okay back to our regularly scheduled programming…..

Self-discipline, by definition is the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses. It’s the ability to pursue what one thinks is right, despite temptations to abandon it.

If you want to get somewhere in your life and in business, you have goals to achieve, and dreams to chase. Only some people are able to get where they want. Is it because of luck, talent, circumstances or hard work? For many people, it can be one or more factors combined.

Of the thousands of principles of success developed over the years, this one skill will ensure that you will accomplish great things in your life.

This skill is called self-discipline.

The common factor that every successful individual talks about in every interview and every post is their self-discipline. Regardless if you are talking to a business man, a sports player, or an artist, self-discipline is a fundamental element to success in many areas in life.

Self-discipline is commonly believed as being harsh on yourself, being limited and restricted in your life, but on the contrary, it’s actually not. Self-discipline means self-control, which is a sign of inner strength that you can control your actions and reactions.

Ultimately it’s what keeps you going when you face hard times, and makes bad times easier to get through. It gives you the power to stick to your decisions without changing your mind every now and then because it helps you structure your approach to your goals. It helps you to overcome addictions, procrastination and laziness. A self-disciplined entrepreneur is a master of their patience, who sees the big picture and sticks to it, rejecting the temptations, pleasures and gratifications that come across your way, in favor of a greater gain.

Life has many obstacles in order to overcome them you have to be perseverant and persistent, and this requires self-discipline.

When you develop self-discipline within yourself, you will have a higher self-esteem and self-confidence, which consequently, will make you a happier individual. If you don’t feel like waking up at 5:00 am to hit your gym, then you will never will. You wake up to your workout not because you have to, but because you want to and that what makes a difference between successful people and unsuccessful ones.

Self-discipline is a practice, a habit, a skill, a philosophy, and a way of life.

Understand the importance of your life, your purpose and beware of your undisciplined behavior. Make an effort to stick to your decisions even the simple ones. Be clear about what you want and where you want to reach, this will be your compass throughout your journey. Write your plan, your milestones, how to get where you want, and how you will measure success. Your plan is your blueprint. Trust yourself, your purpose and your plan. Believe in yourself and your halfway there.

Self-discipline is what makes a dreamer become a doer. The world needs more dreams and people who can chase them and make them happen. You can acknowledge the power and the importance of self-discipline, but very few will take steps to improve this skill.

What are you going to do?

Alright so its possible that if you’re still reading this I went too in depth on that, but there’s a good reason for that. It’s because I believe I have amazing self-discipline and I wouldn’t be where I am today in life without it. I owe many things to it.

Keep in mind everything you just read can be applied to all aspects of your life, comment below if this helped you.

Until next time its your favourite brown guy signing off,

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