Three actions to get rid of that giant sucking sound
I've set a goal to earn $100 in a calendar month through the Medium Partner Program by the end of August.
To accomplish this, it's a fair assumption that I'm going to need to write more and write better, and build relationships with other writers, in order to bring in the reads from other Medium members.
That all takes time.
Multitasking is a myth.
Back when I was in school, my PhD adviser was fond of saying: “God is very fair. He gives everyone 24 hours a day.”
It's a matter of purpose, and with it, a matter of choices.
We can sometimes fit two things in at the same time, like listening to an audiobook while cleaning the kitchen.
But when both of the tasks involve thought attention, it doesn't work so well.
An hour scrolling through TikTok can't be used to also record and edit a YouTube video, or write an article.
Five minutes watching ads for a few cents apiece can't also be used to respond to a comment on Medium, or write a tweet.
Humans aren't designed to do two cognitive tasks like this at the same time. We end up doing both of them poorly.
Setting myself up for focus
I've already shut down some of the sillier ways I'd taken up to make extra money. This includes several GPT (“get paid to”) sites, and other games that revolve around viewing ads for pennies.
The ones that remain for the most part have the following features:
- They involve content creation, particularly on Medium.
- They are actively giving me referral income with almost no attention required (some of my GPT sites fall in this group).
- They bring me enjoyment for other reasons (like online poker).
Now I'm gunning for my phone.
Yeah, that brighty-lighty rectangular box with all of those little lovely distraction syringes.
After my day job, I'd hit the phone for an hour or more doing the doomscroll thing. (I guess partially because phones are forbidden in my building, but that's not really justification for spending as much time on my phone as I do.)
Here are the three things I've done to turn my phone into something less unproductive:
1. Uninstalled TikTok
TikTok is Instagram's popular but wayward cousin.
There are lots of producers on TikTok. (Aside: They're called TikTokers but I always want to pronounce that with a long O sound. Why not TikTokkers?)
However, I'm not a producer on TikTok at the moment. I have been a heavy consumer though. Evenings and late nights just vanish, and I forcibly have to pull myself away from the powerful doomscroll. (Is this what addiction feels like?)
Moving the app from my home screen didn't do it. I just quickly built up the muscle memory to find it where it was buried.
So I uninstalled it from my phone. It's currently gone. I'm more determined not to let it back on.
2. Uninstalled a lot of games
Prior to TikTok, there were games. Oh my goodness, the games.
Easily a dozen games are gone now, and the storage on my phone is breathing a bit easier. I could pull off more.
It was a little sad to uninstall Angry Birds Dream Blast. I had passed hundreds of levels there. But that record and $3 gets me a cup of Starbies.
3. Turning off notifications and uninstalling more
As notifications pop up on my phone, I have a process.
If I want to keep the app, I'll turn down what I get notified about. Usually I'll just shut them all off.
If the app has outlasted its usefulness, then it's gone. (Shoulda just stayed quiet, Bonza!)
Achieving worthwhile goals requires change.
I've acknowledged to myself that my current habits and environment aren't conducive to producing content that helps people.
And I know I'm not close to done yet. I'll likely never be done.
But with each decision to choose increased focus over increased distraction, I work toward a place where I can do meaningful work for more than five minutes at a time.
I didn't get to where I was overnight, and I won't get to where I want to be overnight, either.
But I do know that I get only so many overnights to do what I set out to do.
Off I go!
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header photo by YoonJae Baik