Drinking red wine at 3 am on the balcony and just thinking - like I tend to do. Sometimes, I think I think a bit too much. That said, I also think thinking is a good exercise for the brain. It helps to clarify the mini-details in what we see as “normal” - which is really important for the “micro-adjustments” we need to make to have much better lives.
I have come to the realisation that in the long run, for most of us, social media and technology tends to do more harm than good. This is true, especially for creators. One Instagram post here, one Facebook response there and a 15-minute chat on Whatsapp soon turns to 45 minutes as we “multi-task” with Youtube videos while chatting. In the end, we try to get into both worlds, but end up not getting the best of either.
The dilemma I had been trying to grapple with was how one could leverage social media and technology for business, art, engagement and whatever concerns - without social media and technology becoming a distraction. It seems a bit like stating the obvious, but I realize that one can split the engagement with social media into two components:
Creating
Consuming
The trap is that most people get into a cycle of consuming way more than they create because we don’t generally make a distinction in our use of social media. We post and comment, then watch a video, then comment, then like, then…
I think what will help are two main things:
Stepping back to clarify what you want to get out of social media and technology. If this is not clear, you will end up wasting quite a lot of your time - and what that really means is, you end up wasting quite a lot of your LIFE. Fun is good, but when it is in excess and affects your attention span, relationships and work, “fun” has become a destructive addiction.
Deciding to create more than you consume. If you are going to get likes, subscriptions, revenue, engagement, followership or whatever goal that is separate from just browsing social media for pleasure, you actually need more time OFF social media. This will allow you to create that song, art, book, video, podcast, article, game or course you need to work on. Then you can just come on social media to post it - and you don’t have to wait to see the clicks pile up; you can check back in a day or couple of hours, depending on your unique scenario. Creators who get it right will win in the long run over consumers who slowly lose the mental muscles to create.
I guess that is all for now, folks. In our busy world, it makes more sense to keep posts short. If this made any sense, share this. For me, I’ll go back to sipping some more red and staring into space at 4 am - listening to “Moonlight Sonata (1st movement) from the wonderful creator, Beethoven.