Good afternoon Beaver fam!

Social media soaked up too much of my life in recent weeks.

I became fixated on followers + engagement.

So I went offline. Took a few walks. Lived life.

What happened? I got my perspective back.

You see, I believe social media steals our thoughts.

When we see too many viewpoints / too much info...

We (lazily) adopt them as our own.

Quickly turning us in to mere "reposters" w/o original ideas.

That's hard to avoid when trying to grow a media company!

Especially when "being first" serves as its own unique currency.

Anyways - during my walks through the Himalayan foothills with Xi Jinping (lol)

I came to realize three groundbreaking things:

• We need to understand our own individual tolerance for internet usage so that we can be productive online AND in the real world.

• Social media is a remarkable tool for sourcing information quickly and staying alert on important topics the lying corporate press is ignoring.

• Our families still need to maintain some level of daily news intake so that we can react appropriately to political stories that WILL have some form of ramification on our ways of life.

In other words: As concerned Americans, we should use social media when it is advantageous to us. Whilst acknowledging the dangers it WILL bring WHEN overconsumed.

Important! By no means am I suggesting to ditch the digital world altogether.

Just know the powers of the algorithms when tailoring your days.

Here are my takeaways:

• Track your daily usage on a free app like Toggl. iPhone users should pay attention to their screen time reports from Apple. Get those lower!

• Aim to read at least one article PER DAY that "moves the needle." Or in other words, teaches you something new (this 4 ways to combat inflation guide by Preptacular is a good example).

• Factor "cut off times" into your daily schedule. There is no need to be browsing Gab while cooking dinner. No reason.

• TURN OFF ALL NOTIFICATIONS. Only go online when you are supposed to be going online. You will get more done this way.

• Check socials at the same time daily. No cheating! For me, I go online around 10AM, again around 2PM, then once more around 4PM. I am convinced I see the best stuff this way, as good content typically rises to the top. Breaking news (if it's truly life changing) will make its way to me somehow someway - ex: a co-worker coming into my office to tell me.

• For content creators, I cannot overemphasize the power of scheduling posts IN ADVANCE. Write them all at once, then schedule them at once. Finally, react to everything at once. This is called batching.

What's missing from my list?

Let me know by responding to this email.

-Beavs