Name 1 thing you eliminated this year that improved your life. Let's go!
The idea behind this post is to get everyone to share something they eliminated from their lives this year and how it improved their lives.
Kindly make sure to put something everyone can learn from. That's it!
I'd go first:
Negativity.
I let go of negative thoughts and beliefs that were holding me back and instead focused on the positive.
What's yours?
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Getting away from mainstream social media. I uninstalled apps like facebook, instagram, the instant gratification shit is real, it demotivates you. Once away from there it really helps you to gain your focus. Basically I reverse engineered the book named hooked.
Wow. Interesting!
But I don't think getting away from mainstream social media would be good for hackers who doubles as creators. Or what do you think?
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Great strategy, I must say.
Haha. I'm learning. Love it!
The major thing I eliminated, especially after becoming an entrepreneur, is take advice from people who were giving it to become popular on socials or build a certain reputation.
While there are a number of principles that generally help people propel forward, not every advice is relevant, and some are just purely wrong.
A person needs to build up their values and principles, be convinced of them, then navigate the sea of advice that other people give. It is ok to change or adjust values as you learn more, but don't be like a sail ship that moves wherever the wind takes it.
Don't be like a sail ship that moves wherever the wind blows! Great stuff you eliminated. Not every advice on Twitter is to be taken seriously. Different situations for every man, and different solutions for every situation. Thanks for this!
I stopped drinking alcohol.
Wow, what a ride of emotions and valleys to follow, when pain cannot be numbed as I used to...
I feel you.
Sometimes, it's difficult to cut off things and people because of our love for them.
But what's more courageous is when we cut them off because of love for ourselves.
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Love your last phrase, man!
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Instagram
I feel really better since I remove instagram app some months ago.
I don't consider myself an envious person but I felt that too many “information” was drying my energy and was true.
I also unfollowed a lot of people at twitter, but the impact of instagram was much higher
Following too many advice only leads to confusion. I follow people whose values are similar to mine. I don't care if you're popular or not. Great stuff, man!
Me too, I will follow your advice... I have the sensation that instagram is drying me a lot of energy that I really need...Thanks!
Instagram drains energy when you follow those whose values drain you. Follow the right people, even if it's just two or three of them, and you'll enjoy using it to your advantage.
I removed 1 hour in front of the computer at night and added 1 hour of walking. The silence of the night as I walk brings me peace and helps me to better think about the tasks for the day ahead.
The level of idea that comes from walking at night is underrated!
My full time job. It has become a source of negativity.. And with two kids, full-time job, and a side project - time management was a hassle as well.
This might become just a temporary thing, if my runways runs out, but for now, it's the biggest thing I've eliminated this year, that improved my mental health and gave me more time to focus on other things.
Streamlining the things we focus on helps to enhance focus and improve the mental health. Amazing.
Self-doubt.
I don't have imposter syndrome to have any issues with it. I am successful at my work and I know how to solve the issue as an Engineer. But many projects, what I tried to start, scared me by amount of work and time what need to be spent. Also, I was afraid to fail. But this summer I wasted 4 months in the jail (political persecution after protests in 2020). And I discovered, that nothing more can scare me. And if even jail does no scare, I can achieve that I want. So, based on these thoughts, I decided to jump into my indie maker journey. I have big plans for 2023, so let's see how it will be going.
Glad you eliminated your fears. Looking forward to seeing the amazing things you'll do in 2023!
Cut my smartphone usage by 90%. I went back to a flip phone for daily use (T9 still works!) and will often go weeks at a time without touching a smartphone.
Weeks without touching a smartphone? Wow! I can't even go a day without it, because I have to use Google map, take notes, show up, etc. I'm really interested in how you cope with things like this.
What about essentials like Google maps? A browser (banking/finding flights)? Chat apps to talk to people (logistics)? 2FA?
I still have my smartphone, it's just hanging around in a drawer. So I'll use Google Maps in offline mode for navigation and the 2FA apps still work without a data connection, so that's not an issue. It's a minor pain, but not having the smartphone out saves so much of my time and mental bandwidth, it's crazy.
Best part: I can switch back to having a smartphone with data at any moment. All i have to do is switch the SIM card from the flip phone to the smart phone. I do this a lot if I'm on the road.
What about chat apps with friends and family? (WhatsApp and such?)
I have Signal on my laptop, desktop, and smartphone. That covers me pretty well at home. I don't always respond immediately, but it works well enough. I don't do social media besides the building in public/indie hacking stuff, and I never had an iPhone, so there's no bubble-color drama.
I totally understand that this wouldn't be convenient for many people. It's all situational. In my situation, I'm a stay-at-home parent and most of the time I'm at home. While I'm at home there are limited benefits to having a smartphone around, but many drawbacks. If I get a two-hour break where my kid is taking a nap, and I spend 45 minutes looking at my phone instead of getting to work, I lose a great opportunity to make progress on my business. So it's just easier to not have the smartphone around the house, especially when it isn't particularly beneficial for me in that environment.
Interesting!
Great strategy!
Not fully removing but limiting 25 minutes of social media usage on my phone has been a game changer. You'll notice how much MORE time you actually have!
Did it as well. Not always work well, because it is possible to skip limit. But, it still reminds that time is off, and it makes sense to do something else. Very useful function
Social media can be both time killer and time saver. Depends on what it's being used for. I'm glad you found what works for you and eliminated what wasn't.
I am attempting to eliminate second-guessing/perfectionism in my processes. I'll also be making more video content for my agency next year in my brand-new (small) 300 square foot office (hopefully turning it into a studio soon).
Perfectionism has done so much harm to me this year.
I finally found my way out of it when I realized it's just an illusion.
I only want my content to be evergreen. Not perfect. So, these days, I just ship it out.
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It takes superpower to fight the inner critic.
TikTok.
I was honestly addicted to their infinite feed…
Even if you can find a lot of value with this app, I think it counter-productive as an maker.
Too much short-term dopamine.
So true about the short-term dopamine.
At a point, I had to disable the app. I love the value on there. But I love my time, too.
Yeah same for me. It’s been 4 months that I have deleted it. Feeling so much better now!
Added Sugar!
It's been 2 months now and I fell so much better!
I'm still struggling with that. Haha.
Instagram
Interesting.
I’ve eliminated my limit with caffeine. I have gone through at most, 8 americanos just to get through a very demanding day.
On a more serious note, I have also learned to not take things personally. I’ve been keen to avoid confrontations and what’s better than to just get the job done. Plain and simple. Easier said that done though.
Takes super power to not take things personally. Haha!
Sorry, going to break the rules and post 2 :D
1.Stopped being shy and started exposing myself more to the public.
2. Stopped trying to follow the "tech bros" trend and overcomplicating solutions or trying to stand at the edge of technology.
Speaking of the 1st one - I slowly started sharing my game creation progress on TikTok and while it hasn't gone viral and I didn't expect it but receiving at least a few likes and hundreds of views motivates me to keep going when I just lose patience or focus and feel like what I do is not worth it and the new idea is going to be much better (but the truth is it won't hah)
Speaking of the 2nd one - lots of devs have negative feelings towards specific tools or frameworks and they form some sort of cult. While the framework might indeed have a lot of flaws and it might not be the absolute best tool for a job... as long as it works - it works. It was important for me because I fell into the upgrading loop, I've always tried to get the best product by using the best libraries out there but it's just a never-ending loop
I love the fact that you're building your confidence and path in public by eliminating timidity and trends. Proud of you, man!
Smoking vape! Tremendously improved my life and made my workouts a lot easier.
Cutting off bad habits!
This year I cut off all the old software legacy we used for years. It was a long process but finally, it feels great looking at the empty server room in our office :)
Haha. Sure it looks fresh, too!
For me, cutting down on online spaces with consistent toxicity/negativity (even if the consistency is just one such instance per day). Competitive games especially but also most social media.
I find that reading/talking to people at the local coffee shop instead has slashed the amount of negativity I'm exposed to on a daily basis. Long term this has really changed my overall well-being and views on people.
So much negativity on the Internet. Only few know how to evade it. Glad you did this for yourself!
Removing the Twitter and Facebook apps from my phone has been good for my mental health. Another big thing that I did this year is remove my day job’s slack and email from my phone and that has been a big help too.
Big move with removing slack and email.
How do you carry out your work-related communication?
I only use them when I’m on my work laptop.
Interesting!
I keep an old phone around and put work stuff on it. I can carry it around with me if I want to be available for work, but it mostly sits in a drawer on silent.
One word, alcohol. Truly life-changing.
Happy to see people eliminating unhealthy habits.
Like you said, truly life-changing.
I deleted facebook and instagram from the home screen of my phone, meaning I can still go on it when I search for the app or click a link to it, but it's not in clear sight primed for opening it without thinking. I barely go on social media anymore and feel like it was an not so productive time suck that I spend on other things.
Your self-discipline is on another level. I'd rather uninstall totally. Because it's my phone and I know I'd be tempted to scroll a bit for value. Well done!
Pointless weekly calls with people who weren't pulling their weight in the business.
Calls can be distractions sometimes.
Personally, I skip some meetings after assessing if it will add value to my time or steal my time.
Nice one!
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