Each morning we are born again; what we do today is what matters most. ~ Jack Kornfield
The soft blue glow of my phone screen illuminated my face in the dark.
It was 1:00 AM, that hour when the tranquil hush magnifies every intrusive thought. This time, the thought went beyond that and jolted me. Doomscrolling!
We are almost a week into October, and I had promised myself the month would herald what could be my most productive last quarter. But here I was, deep in the rabbit hole at past midnight.
“Cmoni, you should be ashamed of yourself”, I muttered to myself.
“Wth? Why?? Haven’t you learned and practised enough to permanently bury this poisonous habit?” I continued.
I mean, what does it take to put my phone on silent, leave it in the bedroom or switch off the damn thing entirely?!
Haw haw haw..I laughed in Swahili.
It’s often easier said than done.
You see, we all have the same complicated love-hate relationship with our devices.
We depend on them for almost everything: keeping up with trends, following the news, staying in touch with loved ones, navigating unfamiliar cities, connecting with customers, and remembering important events.
Yet this dependence comes at a huge cost. It weakens our attention span, and as technology expands further through AI, it can feel like there is no real escape.
Personally, I’ve written more on distraction and attention index around our digital devices than on any other topic.
I can also say that I try to practice what I preach.
I use a stop sign as my screensaver.
I set a daily 50-minute limit for social-media apps.
Both are meant to reduce my doomscrolling, yet I still struggle.
Sometimes, I override the limit and add another hour, then two, and perhaps even three.
Recently, after returning from Nigeria, I was shocked to discover that I had increased the limit to four and a half hours.
Incredible! That is more than half of a typical workday.
What the hell was I doing on social media for 5 hours daily?
It’s not as if I was constantly creating or posting meaningful stuff.
Beyond some cheeky videos and marketing clips on my story, I barely posted anything.
So what was I doing?
I’ll tell you. I was helping other people gain impressions by consuming their content: Odumeje, Bishop, Sabinus, Messi this and Ronaldo that.
All mind-numbing content offering cheap dopamine hits while pushing me further away from the goals I claim to care about.
Is this how to actualise my passion project?
Is this how I’ll land the dream teaching job?
I haven’t even applied for any opening in weeks for Chrissake!
Well, times like these are inevitable, but the good thing is that I’m conscious of the consequences. It’s a first step. Yes, recognising that a habit can make or mar your objectives is a step in the right direction.
Millions of people are unaware. They have no goals to achieve and no deadline to work towards. They continue in a loop of unproductive habits for temporary satisfaction, believing that somehow and someday their lives will miraculously change for the better.
Zebrudaya will say fa fa fa foul!
Nobody is coming to save you. Paul himself told us not to be deceived, because God cannot be mocked. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap!
So after spending 3 hours from 10 pm–1 am scrolling on my couch, I was panic-driven into this brain dump..and honestly as I write, it feels so good..exhilarating even.
As I reflected, I realised that I’ve been busy but not very productive.
Of course I’ve been earning. Busy brings money.
Yet…and I really mean yet; money isn’t all I want.
I have other important targets I set for myself.
They have suffered from procrastination.
Not because I work overtime, but because I wasted hours that could have been invested in meaningful progress on social media.
My last published story was on Sept 5th, even after writing that I may have found a solution to keep publishing weekly the previous month.
The last time I worked on my project file was before travelling to Nigeria in August. It’s October… that’s almost 2 months without moving a single lever.
I can’t continue like this if I’m to achieve my goals.
And I know it. That is why I love writing. It helps me speak honestly to myself, challenge my excuses, and set a clear agenda for some actionable steps.
I resisted setting a deadline for this project from day one. But renowned author and entrepreneur Gail Vaz-Oxlade famously said, “A goal without a deadline is a dream”.
So if I truly want to avoid dragging it indefinitely, then I believe I need to put a clock to it.
A deadline will create urgency, reduce distractions, force me to become more resourceful, and ultimately build the much-needed momentum.
Summer is over, and I’m proud to have surmounted the usually dry and draining September. I have no excuse now. It’s time to kill Ali Baba!
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