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Rule 3

Rule #3

Quit Social Media

  • Your willpower is limited.
  • Social media feeds your short-circuited brain instant gratification.
  • You have less time and energy for deep work.
  • These tools are not inherently evil.
    • If you can find value in it, feel free to use them.
    • But don't operate under the any-benefit mindset.

The Any-benefit mindset.

  • Justifying the use of social media if you can identify any possible benefit from it.

  • This ignores the negatives that come with social media.

  • Throughout history, skilled laborers have meticulously thought about choosing the right tools for them, and knowledge workers should do the same.

The Craftsman Approach to tool selection.

  • Identify the core factors that determine success.
  • Adopt the tool if it increase the likelihood of said success, even after factoring in the negatives that come along with it.

Apply the Law of the Vital Few to Your Internet Habits

  • 80% of a given effect is due to just 20% of the possible causes.
  • a.k.a the Pareto principle, 80/20 rule, principle of factor sparsity.
  • If you spend time on the low-impact activities, you are taking away time that could otherwise be spent on high-impact activities.

Quit Social Media

  • You are not really missing out.
  • People don't actually want to hear what you have to say.
    • Social media is designed to give you an easy way to signal your opinion to others.
      • _You "like" my status update and I'll "like" yours. This agreement gives everyone a simulacrum of importance without requiring much effort in return.

Don't use the Internet to Entertain Yourself

  • Outside of the 8 hour workday, you have 16 hours all to yourself.
  • Treat them like a day within a day, not a prologue or epilogue to your "work day".
  • Deliberately making use of your day outside the time you work.
  • Put more thought into your leisure time.
    • Don't default to what grabs your attention at the moment.
    • Spend some time thinking what you can do with your time instead.
  • Some may say adding structure to your leisure time will make you more tired for the next work day, but this is not the case.
    • It will increase the value instead.
    • What your mind needs is change not rest. They don't get tired like your limbs.
      • Except until you do need to rest (e.g. attention fatigue, etc.), which is why we sleep.
  • If you give your mind something meaningful, your day will be more fulfilled and be ready to start a new one the next day.
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