Brian Nelson-Palmer Brian Nelson-Palmer

Addiction to Social Media & Free Hacks To Fix It

“Wait, I just spent 45 minutes on Facebook? Instragram?”

For many, social media has become a habit, and the longer they stick with that habit, the harder it is to break. For some, it becomes an unhealthy addiction or an unfortunate obsession. Are you a constant social media checker? In your leisure time at home? At work? On school breaks? While in line at the grocery store? While eating? While in the bathroom?

So what can you do? Here’s life hacks to get you started!

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 2

“Wait, I just spent 45 minutes on Facebook? Instragram?”

In Part 1 of this series, we talked about just about smart phones, now in this Part 2 and Part 3, let’s look at the issue overall across all your devices.

For many, social media has become a habit, and the longer they stick with that habit, the harder it is to break. For some, it becomes an unhealthy addiction or an unfortunate obsession. Are you a constant social media checker? In your leisure time at home? At work? On school breaks? While in line at the grocery store? While eating? While in the bathroom?

Statistics from GWI in a report by the Digital Information World show that internet users are now spending an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes daily on messaging platforms and social networking applications. In a year, that’s a total of 863 hours!

Expand over a decade and that means the average person spent 8,630 hours on it during that time. If there’s 8,760 hours in a year, that means…

That’s one FULL YEAR spent on social media out of your last 10 years?!

Let’s assign some value to that time. Did you use the calculator in our earlier post and calculate how much your personal time is worth? If it’s $10/hr that means you spent $86,630 worth of your personal time on social media?

If you value your personal time at $25/hr, that’s $215,750 worth of your time you spend on social media over the last 10 years?!

That doesn’t even count the “opportunity cost” of the life experiences you missed out on during those hours. The best memories of the last decade likely haven’t involved the times you were on social media! How many real conversations could you have had with this time? How many games could you have played with your kids? How many dates could you have been on? How many romantic moments could you have had? Happy hours? Family movie nights? How much money could you have made if you picked up a side hustle instead?

blog3d.jpg

Now this isn’t saying you should quit social media all together, though I support and admire those who do, and they often seem happier not to be on it! I’ve heard so many people in my workshops talk about how much they need it. “But I have to use it.” I hear you! For some it’s work. For others it’s family. For some it’s for a specific project. Social media is helpful and advantageous in many ways, but the time you consume for it is the problem, and it’s not too late to find solutions to that.

So what can you do? Here’s life hacks to get you started!

Productivity Gladiator is all about action. Here’s specific actions you can take right now to help get it under control. Start with one of these, then do another, then another, find the solutions that work for you, where you feel like you’re back in control. I recommend trying all of these below. Start at the top and try that one for a week, then try the next one. Once you’ve tried them all, you should have a combination of one or more that gets you to a better place where you feel in control. These are behavioral hacks you can change now, now costs or apps needed. In the next post we’ll share other apps and software to add another layer to your management of this time suck.

  • Turn off all of the notifications on all your devices.
    Yep, your phone, your computer, your watch, your tablet, ALL OF THEM. This loosens social media’s constant nagging, “check me!” Now you’re back in control, it’s up to you when you check it, and won’t bother you when you don’t.

  • Uninstall the social media apps from your phone.
    This way you must use the browser to access social media. The experience isn’t as good on the mobile browser, so it’s not as easy to lose track of time, it helps make you slightly more aware of the time you’re spending.

  • Sign out of your account every time you’re done,
    Now you always have to sign in to access the social media sites. It’s the extra moment which makes you think about what you’re going to do.

  • Use an “incognito” or “private” browser window, on both your phone and on your desktop. Most people aren’t good at remembering to log out each time, and this way the computer won’t remember you’re logged in, and you’ll have to go through the act of logging in each time, which will make you pause and think about what you’re doing.

  • Change your password to something AWFUL.
    This way each time you’re logging on, you’ll have to think and type that phrase, such as “IMworthlessONsocials” or “1kittenisdyingbecauseofme!” or “IMbetterTHANthisUGH” or much worse! BE AGGRESSIVE! BE MEAN! YOU NEED TO THE REMINDER!

  • Use an actual alarm clock instead of your phone.
    In the morning, laying in bed. That’s the biggest time many of us fall into social media without meaning too. Avoid that completely. Get an alarm clock, maybe even one of the ones with a light that slowly gets brighter! I haven’t tried it, but something like this one could be an option?

blog3c.jpg

Most importantly, if you find you’re unable to take any of the above steps, or it’s not making any difference, it may be time to talk to someone about this, a professional or therapist. There are real problems of addiction and depression that can come from social media. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America delves deeper into this. Please read, be self-aware, and seek help. It’s important! This is about the life you’re actually living, and you only get one of those, so prioritize that over social media!

Don’t stop here!

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 1 - How Many Hours Do You Spend On Social Media?

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 2 - Free Hacks To Fix It
(*You’re Reading This One)

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION SERIES: PART 3 - Fix It With Apps And Tech Hacks


Subscribe if you don’t already! Get these nuggets of knowledge in your email so you don’t have to go looking for them!


NelsonPalmer Profile Pic Face Only Small KB.jpg

I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that my life was going to be 10-20 years shorter than everyone else. Time is precious. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck only chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, I hope you’ll subscribe, and if you’re so inclined, send me a note. It brings me joy sharing Productivity Gladiator with you.

Read More
Brian Nelson-Palmer Brian Nelson-Palmer

Calculate The Specific '$/Hr' Value Of Your Time. What's Your Time Worth?

“There just aren’t enough hours in a day!”

Ever find yourself thinking that? Have you spent hours working on something, only to realize “That took me SOO LONG.” I’ve had those same thoughts at my job: “Wow, did I really just spend 40 minutes crafting the language in that email?” or “I just spent hours on this report that no one is going to read!”

What if we could actually assign a dollar value to that time?

The Calculator

Be sure to read the “Background” & “Applying The Concept” sections below and watch the TEDx Talk Brian delivered on this, to truly understand the intentions behind these numbers as a tool to help make decisions in your life.

Estimate Your Time's Value

No symbols. No commas. Use only basic numbers with decimals.
($68,703.50 = 68703.50 --and/or-- 15 minutes = 0.25 hours)









Calculated Estimates

Personal Time:

$0/Hour

Work Time:

$0/Hour

Hours of Personal Time Weekly:

0 Hours

Can I help you with this? Let’s chat, won’t take long!


Background



“There just aren’t enough hours in a day!”

Ever find yourself thinking that? Have you spent hours working on something, only to realize “That took me SOO LONG.” I’ve had those same thoughts at my job: “Wow, did I really just spend 40 minutes crafting the language in that email?” or “I just spent hours on this report that no one is going to read!”

It happens at home, too. Installing a new plunger in the toilet might lead to more than an hour lost. You fix what’s broken, and then go with a little cleaning, and keep going, and pretty soon it’s dinner time… already?!

What if we could actually assign a dollar value to that time?

Modern life pulls our time in all different directions. Really getting a handle on how you spend your time is a POWERFUL step in becoming more productive, both at work and at home! Incorporating the value of your time in your planning is a game-changer for many people when balancing work, and home and life. James Clear had a point when he wrote about The Value of Time:

“Not all uses of time are equal, and this simple truth can make a big difference in life.”

 
Blog2c.jpeg
 

Most people are aware of this concept in general, but it seems to largely be ignored in practice. Most smartphones allow you to measure the amount of “screen time” being used — and knowing that doesn’t necessarily change how much time you spend on them though, does it? What about time spent on social media, or catching up on the latest episode of Game of Thrones? What’s the other shows you’re watching?

You spend this time, your time, but how do you get a perspective of it’s worth it?

The Wealth Hounds weigh in on this question:

“If time is money, then the decisions we make regarding how we spend our time are financial decisions.”

Ok, I don’t think that’s always true, but it definitely is sometimes!

Productivity Gladiator The Value Of Your Time

Let’s work it out for you right now.

With Productivity Gladiator, we’ve worked out a calculator to let you estimate your own numbers.



Applying The Concept



Productivity Gladiator Juggling Time & Money

Now that you know what your time is worth, I recommend remembering it 2 different ways. Remember the hourly value, and also remember what 5 minutes is worth. With those 2 numbers top-of-mind, we can easily interpret & see examples such as:

  1. If there’s a $5 delivery charge, but it saves me 20 minutes, is that worth it?

  2. I could take the bus for $2 and it will take 40 minutes, but an Uber will cost $8 and take 10 minutes, is it worth it?

  3. I can pay someone $50 to fix the toilet, or it will take me 2 hours to do, is it worth it?

  4. If you could pay someone $100 to clean your home and that would save you 4 hours on a Sunday, would it make sense to do that?

Certainly there’s more factors than just the dollar amount in some of these examples — it’s the perspective of what your time is worth that I want to add to your tool belt, because in many cases, it may simplify the decision making.

Let’s also examine some scenarios that work in the opposite direction. Considering your Personal Time’s value, what are these worth:

$/hr Value Of Your Time
  1. Take a 20-minute survey for a chance to win (1 person out of 1,000 will win a $50 gift card).

  2. Take a survey about your experience and a company will send you a coupon for $1 off your next purchase.

Is that worth your time?

Remember the numbers we’ve calculated above. Check-in with yourself and update those hours from time to time as life changes and you make more money, or your work hours increase or decrease.

Consider this specific $/Hr amount as part of deciding what you’re spending your time on. It’s not always this simple. There will be times when you’ll make decisions that go against what these numbers might say — and that’s okay.

Armed with this knowledge you’ll be able to make better decisions with your time.

Henry David Thoreau once said,“It is not enough to be busy… The question is what are we busy about.”

Time is the currency of your life, spend it wisely!

More great reads on this topic:
The relationship between time, money, and happiness, by GetRichSlowly.org


NelsonPalmer Profile Pic Face Only Small KB.jpg

I’m Brian. At age 4, I was diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) diabetes and told that I was going to have a harder life that was likely 10-20 years shorter than normal. I’ve lived my best life every day since then, because you only get one chance to live it. I created Productivity Gladiator because I saw what a difference it made to share small and specific actions you can take right now, right away, to achieve better work life balance, be more productive, and live your best life right now, today, not wait until retirement. I want you to start doing the things you WANT to do, not get stuck chasing what you NEED to do. If any of this resonates with you, send me a note. It brings me joy to share this passion with you.

Read More
Brian Nelson-Palmer Brian Nelson-Palmer

How This All Started

Hey there, I’m Brian. I’ve been doing personal development, organizational change, training and development, and productivity improvement work since 2006. The About page is pretty brief, so I want to share a little more of the story on who I am, and where Productivity Gladiator came from.

Hey there, I’m Brian. I’ve been a fanatic about personal development, organizational change, training, and productivity improvement work since 2006.

The About page is pretty brief, so I want to share a little more of the story of who I am, and how Productivity Gladiator came to be.

My background as a Public Speaker and Instructor

I discovered I loved teaching others and seeing their growth during my time as a Salsa Dance Instructor as a member of the Corazon Dancers dance company at Florida State University in 2004. I performed at events all over Florida and taught beginner and intermediate Salsa, Merengue and Bachata lessons. I LOVED it. It was so much fun to see the light “go on” in people’s eyes as they started to understand how the moves came together. I loved seeing my students when they were out dancing, hearing their positive feedback, and seeing how far they had come. It was immensely fulfilling, and from that point on I knew that being an instructor was something I was going to continue!

In 2005, I started in sales and retail management with Ashley Furniture Homestores in South Florida. While working as a General Manager for several of their stores, I helped implement LEAN principles in the stores, which was my first introduction to LEAN Six Sigma in the workplace. I took on additional roles as both a Computer Instructor and Sales Trainer with their new hire orientation and training program. I made some significant improvements to the way I delivered the computer training curriculum and got great feedback from my classes. Also, I saw how sharing that knowledge and instruction with my staff and team members could increase sales, meaning they made more money. Now, being an instructor wasn’t just fun, it meant I was also increasing the bottom line for both employees and the business, and that was powerful!

Fast forward to 2010. I moved to Washington DC and became a Contracting Officer in the federal government. At my agency I joined several Toastmasters clubs to sharpen my skills as a public speaker, and entered their International Speech Contest. This took my public speaking to another level, and I was truly honored to win my Club, Area, and Division contests! I went on to compete in the three-state regional championship over DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Around that same time in 2012, I began my journey as a certified Cycle (indoor cycling) and Bodypump (weight training chreographed to music) Group Fitness Instructor.

I got to see the direct impact of my instruction on the quality of people’s lives, their health and wellness!

I am certified in both Personal Training and Group Exercise Instruction and teach multiple classes per week. I LOVE the impact it’s had on my fitness, my energy level, and even better, the well-being of those in my classes! You have to keep your body and health performing if you want the rest of your life to perform.

From 2014-2015, I was an instructor at my agency for the productivity training course, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Then a year later, in order to continue progressing, I went back to the classroom for more education on my craft and earned an Advanced Facilitation Skills Certificate.

(Note: I love 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I believe it is one of the best books and training courses that explains the concepts and theories behind being more effective, both at work and at home. If you’re interested in a Covey course, I would be happy to connect you with them!)

In 2016 I was also certified at the green and yellow belt levels as a facilitator for LEAN Six Sigma. I’ve thrived eliminating waste and improving processes across the agency, leading efforts of different magnitudes, the biggest of which impacted every employee and contractor (almost 20,000) of the agency.

It’s Not Just About the professional though…

During this time, I was also living my best life and loving it. I was maintaining the highest levels of performance in a very successful career in the federal government, teaching group fitness classes, performing as a drummer with the rockband Fellowcraft, hosting a syndicated weekly FM radio show and podcast I created called DC Music Rocks that had more than 10,000 followers, boating with friends on the weekends, and creating what is now the Wammie music awards for the DC area.

The single most common question I heard from people who know me was, “How do you have time to do all that?!”

My response was always, “You just need to control the way you spend your time. Here, I can show you how.”

My friends and coworkers expressed keen interest in which tools and apps I was using. When I shared the tools, steps to follow, the best settings to change, recommendations on the best apps and third-party services, it had a big and immediate impact upon their productivity. I liked that! I found I loved to dive into the specifics and the practices of what to do right now, going beyond just the concepts and theories.

Based on these conversations, I created several workshops that became the foundation for Productivity Gladiator. These workshops were hands-on and very direct: “Do this…” and “Try this…” I centered my advice on real, meaningful, and immediate actions, instead of theoretical discussion about the problem in general. The sessions led to fascinating revelations from some of the best and brightest people about the value of their time, how best to use it, and what’s really important.

PRODUCTIVITY GLADIATOR WAS BORN.

There’s another reason I’m passionate about this. I am a Type I diabetic, and when I was diagnosed at age 4, I was told that with the complications of diabetes, that life would be harder for me, and I would likely die much sooner than the normal person. 10-20 years sooner.

I do a great job managing my diabetes. It has never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do in life from scuba diving to skydiving. As I’ve moved through adulthood, my focus has become more about the now. I want to have those amazing life moments and live my best life now, not wait until later, not wait until retirement. Work life balance is a priority for me, and I’ve figured out great ways to maintain and prioritize that balance.

What if you “only had a few good years left?". What would you be doing different? I live my life with that mentality, and absolutely love the life that I live. Creating more time to do the things you enjoy in your life, that’s what I want for you.

Productivity Gladiator is about being more productive, in order to free up your personal time, so you can go out and make more of those amazing memories you’ll remember forever. I want that for you, for me, for everyone. Let’s get started!

Read More