Category: Life Principles

How to moderate your time on Social Media

Published on by Juggling The JungleLeave a comment

Moderation is Key. Social media is not good or bad. We chose what to turn it into.

May I suggest an alternative for moderating social media? The key is to decide what you are going to use your electronic devices for.

Quick Activity

Grab a pen and paper and write down all of the electronic devices you use. Then below each device write what you NEED to use that electronic device for.

Next, write out all the different forms of social media that you use.

Then, go back and decide which device you will use each of these forms of social media on. If there is a form of social media that you use more than you want, look at which device you use it on most and change it to a different device. Make a commitment to only use it on that device.

Two years ago I made a conscious decision that I wouldn’t look at Facebook on my phone for 6 months. 6 months has turned into 2 years. I stand by this being one of the best helps for moderating social media in my life.

Focus on what you will use each device you have for, and stick with that commitment.

I use my phone for contacting people, answering questions, navigation, and reading. I will even use Instagram and Pinterest occasionally because those forms of media are not traps for my time. I don’t find myself missing out on important activities in life because I was staring at a phone.

Social media isn’t inherently bad. We are all just learning how to moderate a fairly new thing. Find what works for you.

Additional Helps

Set a limit on the amount of posts you will look through.

One issue we have with social media is that there is no one to limit to our viewing. Find and put specific limits in place and commit to the limits you’ve made.

Here is what works for me

FACEBOOK: I’ve found that the first 3 posts keep me updated on what matters most on Facebook.

YOUTUBE: I limit myself to watch videos for 30 minutes max. Making note of future videos I want to watch tomorrow.

INSTAGRAM: I only follow people I am really interested in seeing what they have to post. That way I don’t have a lot of posts to read through before I’ve seen everything there is to see. If there is someone who is posting stuff i’m no longer interested in and they are taking up a lot of space in my feed, I will un-follow them.

TLDR

Make a goal of learning how to set limits with social media instead of just quitting social media. We are the first generations that have been exposed to these new forms of technology. The key is not to beat ourselves up but to learn how to moderate it.

Spend less on your new hobby

Published on by Juggling The JungleLeave a comment

When starting a new hobby it’s natural to want to buy the latest and greatest to get you going. This comes with all sorts of justifications. Let’s just stop for a minute. Let’s use all of these things as motivation to keep going with your hobby. If you don’t spend the time on your hobby then don’t spend your money on it. Build that hobby to a habit and save money to get the things you really want when it can be bought.

Improvise and get creative. Think of ways you can start off you hobby as cost effective as possible.

For example if you want to get into yoga, start doing YouTube videos. You don’t even need a yoga mat for this, but if you decided you do, you can buy a cheap 7 dollar yoga mat. Once you commit and realize that you are really loving this hobby then you can buy that beautiful yoga mat and can go to those super expensive hot yoga classes because you already know that you will use what you have.

Set goals and when you achieve these goals you can reward yourself with the more expensive fancy thing that you want. 

We are focusing on the psychological side of things. Our brains thrive on seeing results. This is why things like the debt snowball works so well. Seeing progress and seeing results before you spend a lot of money can help you continue with your hobby. Never neglect the power of psychology. It helps to get you going on your hobby and can keep you motivated more to actually doing the new hobby you’ve set out to do.

Be frugal in the beginning, then once you accomplish your goals and have proved to yourself that you are committed to this hobby save up and buy those cute work out clothes or whatever else you’ve had your eye on. Trust me, you will value anything a lot more if you work in this manner.

You can use this principal in any area of your life.

Say you want a really expensive dress coat. Buy a 20 dollar one at Walmart first to see if is something you will wear that often. Keep it cheap till you know it’s something you’re going to use.