I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. On one hand, I gain tons of value from the relevant articles and blog posts that my friends post. On the other hand, it’s tough not to let the new updates distract me from what I’m doing.
Constant distractions make it hard to get deep tasks done. The continuous starting/stopping prevents creative momentum from building.
So I created a game to combat this. The game is called FB123.
The concept is simple: limit yourself to checking Facebook 3 times per day.
The rules:
Write “FB123” on your hand at the beginning of the day. Every time you check Facebook, cross off one of the numbers. Once you’ve crossed off all 3 numbers, no more Facebook until the next day, when the numbers reset.
This works for several reasons. First, it forces you to use Facebook in chunks. Instead of hopping on and off and constantly switching tasks, you catch up completely and filter through everything on your plate in one sitting. That way when you close the app, you forget about it and are able to fully move on to the next thing.
Turning off Facebook push notifications will make this 10x easier.
Then, once you start the next task, you won’t be tempted to check notifications as they come, since you will have a chunk of time when you can catch back up after the notifications build up.
This also eliminates FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), since you are not missing out on anything – you are simply being more efficient with your time.
By consciously setting these limits, I was able to turn Facebook into a tool that I control, not a distraction that controls me.
The first day I tried this, in lieu of checking Facebook, I opted to:
- Read a book
- Go on a run
- Journal
- Have an engaging phone call with my brother
On top of this, I got more done and felt more productive about my day than I typically do.
This concept can be used for email, texting, or any other form of communication to increase efficiency.