Addicted to the notification bell. Checking stats on the blog many times a day has become a nasty habit.

There were many such compulsions I have come out of, only to land in new ones. Maybe I was able to come out of the prior ones, because I got into new forms of digital addictions !?

First, was the constant checking my WhatsApp for replies to my messages, the likes and reactions. Then came the compulsion to check the prices of the stocks I had bought. I needed to check the price every hour to be sure my decision was right. It is not good for health, as you are powerless as an individual investor to control the price. And the prices will rest assured vary; you have to learn to ignore it; till it works in your favour to buy or sell.

I came out of the WhatsApp compulsion by ending the forwards propagation business. Then by reducing posts from my side, there was less compulsion to check for replies and reactions.

I got forced out of the stock market compulsion thanks to the weak market sentiments, the indices were going down, volatile, there was no feel good factor; keeping away from constantly looking at the falling prices itself made me feel better.  And since I was in it for the long haul, having a plan is extremely important, else you will burn out. The buying is limited to small lots for cost averaging; the name of the stocks are pre-decided. And I stick to the plan.

And now here I am waiting eagerly for the blog notifications. I open my WordPress account several times a day, check the stats and capture in draft whatever thoughts are doing rounds in my head, before they vanish.

How am I going to get out of this one ? Again, having a disciplined approach is good for the mind and body. But one of the most important lesson I learnt is that – stop being egotistical and stop worrying about being wrong. You will make mistakes, pick up and carry on. It’s 100% true when they said you learn more from your mistakes than from successes.

I enjoy blogging; reading articles, writing the posts and checking the stats seem to be the best part of the day. Hence I plan to do this the first thing in the morning; provides an incentive to jump out of bed !

Rest of the day, whatever inspiration crops in the head, I capture it on a notepad and will transfer the same online next day morning. Can’t wait for day-break !!

Another creeping menace is the constant browsing through YouTube. I have to limit my browsing time and have started with two steps:

[1] Turn off the notifications🔕. I will watch the new uploads in my designated free time and do not want to be tempted and distracted by constant notifications. It works !!

[2] Plan the social media time for the day – twice a day for now. I have to decide on how I spend my time currency and not anyone else😆

Till next post, take care !!