Gaining control of your technology usage isn’t an easy feat. I was struggling for the longest. TikTok and Instagram were draining my time, energy, and focus.
I had so many urgent and important tasks that were becoming stockpiled and backed up. I wasn’t getting them done, causing me to become foggy-headed on where to start, as well as stressed.
Then it became an endless loop of distraction, more stress, because of stress, more distraction to bury the stress, which equaled, well, more stress.
I had to break this cycle because I was at my wit's end and frustrated.
The solution
I think my breaking point came when I just didn’t feel good. I simply felt exhausted, drained, and depressed after spending hours upon hours distracted on Reels, TikTok, and YT.
So the solution was to break this habit by installing an app and website blocking software.
I finally landed on the right one. Freedom.to.
This software has been such a time saver for me. It blocks and also trains the mind to stop opening up websites and apps on autopilot.
For instance, I would notice that as soon as I sat on my computer, I’d open up YouTube without any hesitation. Then from there, I’d tell myself, oh, I’ll just catch up on the news a bit and get to work, which almost never happened.
From there, I’d wander off from video to video, and before you know it, hours went by.
Wow, the day just flew by! I’d exclaim to myself. No, it’s not that time is just flying by. I’m not utilizing time responsibility.
Your Solution
So if this resonates with you, I highly recommend setting up app and website blocking software to train yourself to take control over your technology usage.
Because once the technology has this grip on you, you’re no longer the one in control.
And setting up this software gives you a reward system.
Basically, with my software, I set up schedules from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM during the weekday. And if I finish all of my work, I can get on apps and websites at 9:00 PM and waste as much time as I want because during the day I was focused and got all my tasks done.
Over time, I hope to continue this habit and gain my control back. And this is why I’m now opening up my Medium again in hopes to write more about how to focus and structure your life around productivity so that you’re not causing yourself unbeknownst stress.