​I hope you have been enjoying the fine weather and didn't get quite as burnt as I did. Lesson learned: Don't fall asleep on the beach.

Anyway, I wanted to email you to share some thoughts I have wanted to share on social media (ironically), as I think they are so incredibly important. Recently, you may have noticed that both Paddy and I post very little on social media. It took me far longer than Paddy to wake up to the reality of what a waste of time social media actually is. I have always justified my time on social media with the fact that we run an online business, the majority of my time is spent putting out informative content and I have always gotten good feedback on my content.

I was playing myself.....

For me, there were a few things that made me realise I needed to back away from social media:

1. When I woke in the morning, the first thing I would do is check my phone. I would flick through Instagram, respond to all of the DMs I had received and maybe even make a post to start the day.

2. When on holidays, I began to think about what photos would make for a good Instagram post, rather than simply taking photos to capture a moment I enjoyed.

3. I would spend at least an hour of my day typing out a post (or posts) for Instagram, along with Instagram stories. Not to mention another hour or so responding to people's DMs. 

4. When I was spending time working on a task that required a lot of focus, I would check my phone every 10-15 minutes, even without having any notification or reason to do so, other than the thought of "oh, I wonder did that person respond again to our DM conversation".

5. IT IS A F*^KING ECHO-CHAMBER. This is probably one of the things that frustrates me the most. Nobody actually thinks for themselves. This may just be within the health and fitness sphere, but what I began to notice was that every 2-3 months, everyone would suddenly begin talking about something new. The things that people would say would be pretty much the same as what the "influencers" were saying. For example, in the past couple of months, "gut health" has been trendy, along with exercise mechanics, cardio and sleep. This isn't a bad thing at all, but what is clear is that people just relay on the thoughts of others and have little to no understanding of what they are talking about. The science behind some of these things is very difficult to really understand, so trust me, it's very obvious when people are just plagiarising other people.

AND REMEMBER, all of this is coming from someone who runs an internet/social media dependent business. So, trust me, if there is anyone who is biased toward social media, it's me. If Triage Method wasn't an online business, I would honestly delete all of my social media right now. Social media platforms are designed to interrupt your attention, something that is already a dying art. The economy does not value the echoes of the echo-chamber, it values what is rare and valuable. In order to foster something that is rare and valuable, you are going to need to spend as much of your limited attention as possible on things beyond the realm of social media.

So yeah, they are just some of my thoughts. I think there are far more discussion points that could be brought up, especially surrounding mental health. That's quite the minefield, but man, if you are unhappy with your life right now, the last thing you want to be doing is spending time on Instagram watching people sensationalise their life which is probably just as boring as yours.

If you need further convincing, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7hkPZ-HTk&t=589s

If you like the video, I recommend reading his book "Deep Work". It's excellent!

Speak soon.