⌚Hack time before it hacks you
Over Thanksgiving, I asked a few folks to go into their iPhones and have a look at how much time they spent on Tiktok. I kind of knew the answer before asking, but the implications are horrifying. Turns out, they spent 12-15 hours per week on the heavily entertaining, addictive Chinese-owned app. Were they to do that weekly, that's 780 hours a year or 32.5 days, flicking through stuff. Maybe it's funny stuff, maybe it's "informative" stuff, but let's be clear, it's stuff.
So these people are spending more than one month a year, ingesting Tiktok, that's the input. What kind of outputs does that drive?
Benjamin Franklin famously designed his days. Newer self-help gurus like James Clear, Rob Dyrdek and Jesse Itzler (examples below) all have their own versions of this concept from habit tracking, and super-detailed time tracking to one big calendar.
Recently, I did an evaluation of my own time and realized I was sleeping too much. Yeah yeah, sleep is important and is all the rage, and I heavily encourage you all to know how much sleep you need to be effective.
For me, I just knew I could deal with 2 hours less sleep per day. So I started waking at 4am every day. From 4am-6am, I wake up, follow a similar routine, and get my day rolling. It's been an incredibly powerful time hack that's changed my outputs significantly.
Have a listen to Kobe Bryant talk about that concept and how it enabled him to gain a compounding edge over his competition and take a look at the systems below.
This isn't about removing all the fun, laughter, downtime, or chill-out time (I do plenty of that), it's about making room for that amidst being good to yourself and your loved ones.
Note: I wanted to thank so many of you for reaching out last week. It was a tough one, but having people reach out is just one of the amazing benefits of writing this consistently.
📻 Music
Ok, I'll admit it, I hear something in a song, and I'll listen to that song over and over. Sometimes can identify and articulate the hook that got me, sometimes, it's just the whole thing – some treats for the Trading Misbehavior playlist.
It's My House - 12" Remix - Diana Ross, Jimmy Simpson - We've had some beautiful times in our house the last few months from birthdays, holidays, and more. In short, this week, it's my house.
Glass House - PawPaw Rod - PawPaw Rod is funky, soulful, and sounds like the guy next door.
Choo Choo Gatagoto - Haruomi Hosono - Japanese 12-bar blues. Somehow the Japanese take things (yeah even the blues) and make them better. Groove on, brother.
😍 Enjoying this newsletter?
Forward to a friend and let them know where they can subscribe (hint: it's here)
Anything else? Hit reply to send me feedback or say hello.