# Cutting the distractions

> The experiment after quitting the news feed: measuring where messaging apps and social media take the day, and taking those hours back.

- Author: Rajesh Namase
- Published: 2015-03-11
- Category: Time
- Canonical: https://namase.com/journal/cutting-distractions

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This status is for those who want to increase their productivity; if you don't want to increase your productivity then just scroll down!

Last time, I shared some tips to get rid of Facebook's never unending news feed. Since last year, we are trying hard to avoid social media as much we can so that we can use our time effectively. Today I'm sharing some details about my another experiment:

WhatsApp on mobile and web is quite distracting and I was wasting my time using it day and night. On February 9th, I challenged myself - "30 Days No WhatsApp". I have not uninstalled it, but I haven't opened it from the past 30-31 days and I'm experiencing the difference. Nowadays, I have 1-3 extra hours for reading, thinking and other important work. I have already shared the method to calculate the value of your one hour in one of my last status update. So don't waste your time! If it's not possible for you to take a 30 days challenge just start with small, say 7 days or 15 days. Just stop using WhatsApp/Hike/Telegram etc. for 7/15 days and share your experience/feel the difference.

With the help of RescueTime extension I started analyzing my time on social media, created a goal there - "Less than 1.5 hours per day on Social Networking". I need to spend some time on social media to share website updates, sharing my views about business and life and discussing with friends/business partners. So 1.5 hours per day is fine for me.

TL;DR

1) Your time is valuable; don't waste it on social media and WhatsApp.

2) Restrict yourself to use it for some specific hours so that there will not be any kind of addiction.

3) Track the time when you're using messaging apps and social media websites. Ask yourself whether you're just wasting your valuable time or using it effectively to follow your dreams?

Everyone has 24 hours a day, it's how you use them to achieve your dreams and make things happen! Don't give up until your dreams come true