Why You Don’t Want To Study (or do ANYTHING) After 4hrs of Youtube Binging

Zain Asif
10 May 202409:28

Summary

TLDRThe video script addresses the struggle of productivity amidst the lure of social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok. The speaker, who once battled with similar issues, shares a personal transformation story and offers practical advice to break free from the cycle of procrastination. The essence of the solution lies in becoming hyper-aware of one's thoughts, processing negative emotions through voice notes, and analyzing daily habits to set barriers against mindless scrolling. The speaker also emphasizes the impact of large corporations that design these platforms to be addictive, and suggests a self-improvement system that uses a point-based scoring method to encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative ones. By setting and achieving personal milestones, the video encourages viewers to shift their focus from short-term digital gratification to long-term personal growth and fulfillment.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Spending excessive time on social media can lead to feelings of guilt and unproductiveness.
  • 📉 Recognizing and processing negative thoughts is crucial for breaking the cycle of procrastination.
  • 💡 Self-awareness and understanding one's thoughts are key to overcoming distractions.
  • 🛠 Creating a self-improvement system can transform productivity habits.
  • 🤔 Addressing the underlying reasons for procrastination helps in tackling the root cause of the issue.
  • 🚀 Changing one's environment and routine can significantly improve focus and motivation.
  • 📝 Tracking habits and setting clear goals are effective strategies to reduce social media usage.
  • 🔍 Understanding how social media platforms are designed to capture attention can help in managing usage.
  • 🎯 Setting positive milestones and aligning daily actions with long-term goals fosters personal growth.
  • 👥 Engaging in meaningful activities like spending time with friends and exercising is a better way to relax than mindless scrolling.

Q & A

  • How many hours does the person in the transcript spend on social media platforms daily?

    -The person spends an average of 7 hours daily on YouTube and TikTok.

  • What does the speaker suggest as the first step to overcome procrastination?

    -The first step is to train oneself to become hyper-aware and learn to process thoughts.

  • What is the self-improvement system that the speaker and their friend created?

    -The self-improvement system is a point-based scoring system that awards positive points for accomplishing daily goals and negative points for not adhering to them.

  • Why does the speaker say that simply telling oneself to 'just work' is not effective advice?

    -It is not effective because it doesn't address the underlying negative thoughts and mental state that prevent someone from concentrating and being productive.

  • How does the speaker feel after spending hours on social media?

    -The speaker feels worse, with a rush of negative thoughts and feelings of guilt for wasting time.

  • What is the second action point suggested by the speaker to regain control over one's life?

    -The second action point is to deeply understand how one's attention is being stolen by social media platforms and to analyze and change one's habits and patterns.

  • What is the reason behind the speaker's belief that social media platforms are addictive?

    -The speaker believes they are addictive because there are giant companies that invest heavily in studying our brains to figure out how to keep users on their platforms.

  • How does the speaker suggest changing one's habits regarding social media usage?

    -The speaker suggests turning off notifications, setting timers on social media apps, and deleting some apps to create barriers that force a pause and reconsideration before using them.

  • What is the third and final thing the speaker did to end their social media addiction?

    -The third thing is implementing the point-based system that aligns with their ideal self and setting milestones to work towards, which makes social media seem trivial and less appealing.

  • Why does the speaker believe that binging on social media is not a good way to relax?

    -The speaker believes binging is not good because it is a waste of time and costly, and it does not address the need for relaxation in a healthy and productive manner.

  • What is the speaker's final advice for someone struggling with social media addiction?

    -The speaker advises to proactively process emotions and actions, analyze habits and patterns, and set milestones and goals to work towards, which will make social media usage seem irrelevant.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Overcoming Social Media Addiction

The first paragraph discusses the struggle of being unproductive due to excessive time spent on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok. The speaker shares a personal message received and reflects on their own past experiences with similar challenges. They emphasize the importance of being hyper-aware and processing thoughts rather than resorting to the common advice of just quitting social media cold turkey. The speaker introduces a self-improvement system they co-created that helped transform their life, and discusses how escaping negative feelings through social media can lead to a vicious cycle of guilt and decreased productivity. The key takeaway is the need to understand and address the root cause of distractions and negative emotions, and to use strategies like voice recording thoughts and changing one's environment to regain focus and motivation.

05:01

🛡️ Defending Against Attention Theft

The second paragraph delves into the manipulative tactics used by social media companies to capture and retain user attention for profit. The speaker expresses concern over the continuous optimization of internet content to ensnare users. They share their personal realization of how their attention was being stolen and the spontaneous decisions leading to wasted time. To combat this, the speaker suggests strategies such as turning off notifications, setting time limits on apps, and removing visual cues that trigger the urge to use social media. They also introduce a point-based system that rewards positive behaviors and penalizes negative ones, which helped them align their daily actions with their long-term goals. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement to set milestones and work towards them with excitement, realizing the insignificance of social media in the face of personal progress and self-improvement.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of an individual's work or the rate at which work is completed. In the video, the speaker discusses their struggle with productivity due to excessive time spent on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, which detracts from their ability to complete important tasks.

💡Social Media Addiction

Social media addiction is a condition where an individual becomes excessively dependent on social media platforms, leading to negative impacts on their daily life. The script describes the speaker's past experiences with this issue, where they spent an average of 4 to 5 hours daily on social media, which hindered their productivity and led to feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions. The video script highlights how the speaker used to procrastinate on work by engaging in social media, which created a cycle of wanting to be productive but failing to do so.

💡Hyper Awareness

Hyper awareness is a state of being acutely conscious of one's thoughts, feelings, and actions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of developing hyper awareness to process negative thoughts and break the cycle of unproductive behavior, as it allows for a more mindful approach to time management and emotional regulation.

💡Self-Improvement System

A self-improvement system is a structured approach to personal development that includes setting goals, tracking progress, and making adjustments to behavior. The speaker mentions a self-improvement system they created with a friend, which helped transform their life by aligning their daily actions with their long-term goals and aspirations.

💡Voice Note

A voice note is a recorded message, often used for personal reminders or communication. In the context of the video, the speaker uses voice notes to record their thoughts and feelings when feeling overwhelmed. This method helps them process their emotions and identify the reasons behind their lack of motivation or productivity.

💡Attention Marketplace

The attention marketplace refers to the competitive environment where digital platforms vie for users' attention. The video discusses how social media companies use algorithms and neuroimaging studies to keep users engaged on their platforms, which can lead to a loss of personal time and productivity.

💡Habit Analysis

Habit analysis involves examining one's routines and behaviors to identify patterns that may be detrimental to personal goals. The speaker suggests analyzing daily habits, such as checking social media during idle moments, to understand how these habits contribute to a lack of focus and productivity.

💡Barriers to Usage

Barriers to usage are obstacles or hindrances that prevent or discourage the use of certain tools or platforms. The video script talks about implementing barriers, such as turning off notifications or setting time limits on apps, to reduce the time spent on social media and regain control over one's attention.

💡Milestones

Milestones are significant stages or achievements in a process or journey. The speaker discusses setting milestones as part of their self-improvement system, which helps them stay motivated and focused on their long-term goals, ultimately reducing the allure of social media as a form of relaxation.

💡Ideal Self

The ideal self refers to the person one aspires to be, embodying their goals, values, and aspirations. In the video, the speaker uses the concept of the ideal self as a guiding principle to align their daily actions with their long-term vision, which helps them resist the temptation of social media and focus on more meaningful activities.

Highlights

The individual spent an average of 7 hours daily on YouTube and TikTok, leading to feelings of guilt and unproductivity.

The speaker used to spend 4-5 hours daily on social media, feeling trapped in a cycle of wanting to be productive but failing to do so.

The speaker emphasizes that going into 'monk mode' and quitting all social media is not the solution for everyone.

Becoming hyper-aware and learning to process thoughts are key to breaking free from the cycle of unproductivity.

A self-improvement system co-created with a friend transformed into a powerful tool for personal growth.

The act of escaping negative feelings by using social media only leads to a resurgence of those feelings and a worsening of mood.

Negative self-talk and wasted time can ruin mental states, making it difficult to concentrate and be productive.

The speaker suggests recording a voice note to reflect on why work was avoided and to rationalize negative thoughts.

Changing one's environment, like going to the gym or a cafe, can provide a fresh perspective and motivation to tackle work.

Understanding how attention is stolen by social media platforms is crucial for regaining control over one's time.

The speaker analyzed their own habits and implemented barriers, such as turning off notifications and setting time limits on apps.

A point-based scoring system was used to motivate positive behaviors and discourage negative ones, like excessive social media use.

Aligning daily actions with the goal of becoming one's ideal self can reduce the desire to use social media as a form of relaxation.

Setting and achieving milestones through a personal system can lead to a sense of accomplishment that makes social media seem trivial.

The speaker advises proactively processing emotions, analyzing social media habits, and setting personal goals to overcome unproductivity.

The importance of finding alternative, healthier ways to relax and the acknowledgment of the power of social media platforms in capturing attention.

Encouragement for the audience to take small steps towards self-improvement and to recognize the irrelevant nature of excessive social media use.

Transcripts

play00:00

I had all this important work to do this

play00:01

week but got nothing done I think it's

play00:03

because I spent an average of 7 hours on

play00:05

YouTube Tik Tok daily which as you can

play00:07

imagine made me feel horrendous I wanted

play00:09

to study but I just couldn't and now I

play00:11

feel like a waste of space and like my

play00:13

brain doesn't work think about how

play00:15

messed up feeling like that is how it

play00:18

affects you because this was actually a

play00:20

message I got in my DMs the other day

play00:22

and while reading it I realized I was

play00:24

the same 3 years ago I was averaging

play00:26

four or 5 hours on socials daily and I

play00:29

knew I wanted to get this done that done

play00:31

be productive but I just couldn't it's

play00:34

like I was Shackled to keep repeating

play00:36

this exact same cycle of wanting to work

play00:40

having a lot of work and then not doing

play00:42

anything anding YouTube all day but I

play00:44

broke out of it and in this video I'm

play00:45

going to teach you how and it's not what

play00:47

you think everyone out there is telling

play00:49

you to go monk mode quit all social

play00:51

media and just work just do the work

play00:52

when we all know that's crap advice

play00:54

otherwise you wouldn't be watching this

play00:55

right now what finally worked for me and

play00:57

I'm going to tell you straight away is

play00:58

number one training myself to become

play01:00

hyper aware learning to process my

play01:02

thoughts and number two A

play01:04

self-improvement system that my friend

play01:05

and I created a couple years ago that

play01:07

transformed into something unimaginable

play01:09

now obviously when we have a slight

play01:11

negative thought or something happens in

play01:12

the day for example my dissertation

play01:14

advisor the other day fully crapped on

play01:15

all of the hours of research and work I

play01:18

did so I came home obviously kind of

play01:20

deflated and what did I do I didn't even

play01:21

think about it I just sat on my bed and

play01:23

went on YouTube to relax but the reality

play01:26

was I was escaping this bad deflated

play01:28

feeling of what happened right

play01:29

suppressing it and by spending an hour

play01:30

on YouTube it worked I forgot about

play01:32

everything I lost awareness but as soon

play01:34

as I got off my phone I felt worse all

play01:37

the things I was thinking about came

play01:38

rushing back and I hated myself even

play01:40

more for wasting the time and isn't that

play01:43

how you feel after hours of binging I

play01:45

can't believe I wasted all this time why

play01:46

could have just just done more work been

play01:48

more productive I suck but take a second

play01:51

and think about it do you really think

play01:52

that you're now going to be able to get

play01:54

up and start work and study positively

play01:56

and productively with full concentration

play01:58

after you've just thrown all this netive

play02:00

crap out of your head and it makes sense

play02:01

right the more down you feel the more

play02:03

guilt you feel the harder it will be to

play02:05

properly concentrate so it's not that

play02:07

we're being lazy or procrastination

play02:09

that's happening for us the reason

play02:10

you're not working is because all that

play02:12

negative talk especially after you waste

play02:14

of time ruins your mental state and what

play02:16

makes it worse is that you don't bother

play02:18

to internally process how you feel what

play02:20

you're thinking what led you here

play02:21

because instead of processing it like an

play02:23

adult what you do is listen to everyone

play02:25

else who tells you to just work just put

play02:26

in the work do nothing else just just

play02:28

work but it doesn't always apply because

play02:30

how can you expect yourself to just work

play02:33

when you have all this negative crap

play02:34

bombarding your head all this guilt I

play02:36

can't focus it's heavy stuff you can

play02:39

only do good focused work study smart

play02:42

when you sort those thoughts out so the

play02:44

first action point of the video is that

play02:45

when you feel horrible about not doing

play02:47

work you don't just tell yourself oh I'm

play02:49

being a loser I'm being a baby let me

play02:50

just push through blah blah Instead This

play02:53

is literally what I do when I'm going

play02:55

through a lot of stuff when I'm

play02:56

overwhelmed this is the solution I

play02:58

record a voice voice note saying exactly

play03:02

number one why I don't want to do this

play03:04

work reflect on it talk it through like

play03:07

an adult why was I not bothered with

play03:09

doing this dissertation was it too

play03:10

boring was it like could I not

play03:12

concentrate on it have I put too much

play03:14

pressure on myself is this whole thing

play03:16

too stressful because I've overwhelmed

play03:18

and made myself feel like this needs to

play03:20

be perfect which I have I didn't work on

play03:22

it when I came home because I didn't

play03:23

feel excited about it I felt down about

play03:25

it and I wanted to make it perfect but I

play03:27

had to scratch from my I had to start

play03:29

from crash with my plan and so I just

play03:32

went on YouTube cuz that was the easier

play03:33

option and I acknowledge that I

play03:35

acknowledged the fact that it was too

play03:36

difficult and I just went with the

play03:37

easier option there now take a deep

play03:39

breath stop playing the blame game and

play03:40

number two think about now what can you

play03:43

do to change how you feel about this

play03:46

what can you do to remove that pressure

play03:48

the solution for me that day literally

play03:50

was to go to the gym for half an hour

play03:51

come home get showered and then go to a

play03:53

cafe refresh change the scene completely

play03:56

and on the walk there let's think about

play03:58

this essay in a positive Outlook it's

play04:00

good that I need to improve it it's good

play04:02

that they told me what I need to fix so

play04:04

I'm now going to go and fix it start my

play04:06

research from scratch and kind of build

play04:09

up from there obviously go deeper into

play04:11

your reasons and your your discussion

play04:13

with yourself in that voice note but

play04:15

there's always a solution mindset way to

play04:16

think about it instead of cursing

play04:17

yourself for wasting time acknowledge

play04:19

the negative thoughts rationalize them

play04:21

and now think what do I need to do to

play04:23

overcome this do I need more help more

play04:25

advice about the work am I confused do I

play04:27

just need to remove the pressure from

play04:28

the work make it it more fun the second

play04:30

thing you need to understand is there's

play04:32

a reason I don't blame anyone for

play04:34

jumping on socials it's because we are

play04:36

so outgunned in this game like honestly

play04:39

way more than you think because there's

play04:40

platforms out there that aren't just

play04:41

slightly addictive it isn't just the

play04:43

algorithm for years now there have been

play04:45

hundreds of heavily invested industries

play04:47

of people Mega giant companies that have

play04:50

done thousands of functional Neuro

play04:52

Imaging studied our brain who are 24/7

play04:55

Around the Clock trying to figure out

play04:56

one thing and that is to how to get you

play04:58

to stay on their platforms this last

play05:01

week I looked into how deep it goes the

play05:03

studies and all of it it just really

play05:05

scared me to my core every tiniest

play05:08

aspect of the internet attention

play05:09

Marketplace is being optimized every

play05:11

single day and we are the products they

play05:13

sell they make money from our time their

play05:16

profit is directly linked to how long

play05:18

you scroll how long you see their ads so

play05:20

obviously you're going to be spending

play05:21

hours on it obviously your brain is

play05:23

going to turn to technology when it

play05:24

wants to suppress Escape any negative

play05:26

emotion that you face into day tiess

play05:27

boredom whatever and before you know it

play05:29

you've lost awareness it's been hours

play05:31

and then you blame yourself for being

play05:32

lazy so the second action point to get

play05:34

your life back is to deeply understand

play05:37

how your attention is being continuously

play05:38

stolen from you in the day just start to

play05:40

notice it in your day literally just

play05:42

write it down if you don't want to write

play05:43

it down at least think about it think

play05:44

about how you're jumping on this

play05:46

platform think about what's keeping you

play05:47

on there I sat and analyzed my habits

play05:49

for a day last year as a challenge with

play05:51

my friend and what I found was that I

play05:53

was on on my phone every bathroom break

play05:55

I was going on Insta for every transport

play05:57

thing that I had to do I was and every

play05:59

every silent situation I was putting a

play06:01

podcast on putting music on my response

play06:03

rate to WhatsApp notifications was just

play06:05

insane and that was just in the first 3

play06:07

hours of the day and yeah of course I

play06:08

was frightened but what I noticed was

play06:10

that my time wastes weren't planned they

play06:12

were split-second boredom related

play06:14

decisions so I turned off all my

play06:15

notifications and put timers on my

play06:17

social media apps for 10 minutes a day

play06:19

and I deleted some of them as well

play06:20

because putting barriers with my phone

play06:22

with YouTube on my laptop discoloring

play06:24

all all the thumbnails removing the

play06:25

titles everything what it does is that

play06:28

it helps prolong the Split Second

play06:30

decision it makes you just pause and

play06:31

think okay what am I doing why am I

play06:33

extending this Tim or why am I disabling

play06:35

this YouTube Stu there's no point in

play06:36

wasting my time here I have better

play06:37

things to do so track your patterns and

play06:39

habits for a day and see what you can do

play06:40

to change it I know some of you may be

play06:41

past this point of disabling apps and

play06:43

stuff so think about bigger barriers

play06:44

think about adding like layers to your

play06:47

to your specific issue and you may not

play06:49

have the same split second thing problem

play06:50

that I have but analyze your own habits

play06:53

and patterns and think what you can do

play06:54

to change it is there a routine that you

play06:56

can develop can you change the settings

play06:58

on your phone somehow it's simple stuff

play07:00

and yet I know that 95% of you won't

play07:02

even bother to do this you won't even

play07:04

bother to help yourself even if it's

play07:05

ruining your life even if it's making

play07:07

you feel like your brain is broken the

play07:08

third and final thing that ended my

play07:10

social media addiction was the system

play07:12

the system was something that me and my

play07:13

friend created a couple years ago in

play07:15

quarantine and it's something that

play07:16

deserves a whole video of its own but

play07:18

essentially this was a point-based

play07:19

scoring system where you got positive

play07:20

points for the amount of hours you work

play07:22

for doing a workout for new social

play07:25

interactions for reading meditating

play07:27

journaling basically every day sticking

play07:28

to the goals that you set for yourself

play07:30

and you got negative points for not

play07:32

sticking to the goals for example not

play07:33

maintaining a good sleep schedule

play07:35

excessive bad junk food and excessive

play07:38

social media usage but to be honest it's

play07:40

not really the negative points

play07:41

associated with the social media usage

play07:43

the stuff I'd get minused off my score

play07:45

that actually pushed me to not use it it

play07:46

was more about me not wanting to use

play07:48

social media because that meant that I

play07:50

was getting more and more aligned every

play07:52

single day with my ideal self the person

play07:55

that I'm aiming to be and that is what I

play07:57

was accomplishing with the system I was

play07:59

gradually getting fitter stronger doing

play08:02

hard work for my degree meeting new

play08:03

people learning web design writing

play08:05

articles that would eventually lead to

play08:08

me making this this YouTube channel

play08:10

making all these videos that I made over

play08:11

the last 2 years and as soon as I

play08:13

started to set milestones for myself

play08:15

through the system started to accomplish

play08:16

them start to even get a little bit of

play08:19

the progress you realize how trivial

play08:21

social media is how much of a waste of

play08:24

time and how costly it is to even just

play08:26

use it to relax because we've

play08:28

established that we are outgunned in

play08:30

this battle there's never going to be

play08:31

any moderation the the platforms are too

play08:34

powerful in grabbing us and keeping us

play08:36

there there's bigger better things that

play08:38

you know you want to do to become the

play08:40

man that you want to so if you want to

play08:41

relax then yeah go do it but go do it

play08:43

with your friends with your family go

play08:44

pray go exercise because binging isn't

play08:47

the answer and I'm not saying that you

play08:48

need to quit it all right now but what

play08:50

you can do is number one proactively

play08:53

processing the emotions and your actions

play08:54

by voice noting to yourself number two

play08:57

analyzing your habits and patterns when

play08:59

using and staying on the socials just

play09:00

for a day and number three starting to

play09:03

set Milestones goals for yourself

play09:05

working towards them and getting so

play09:07

excited to improve that you realize how

play09:09

irrelevant all of this is anyways I hope

play09:12

that was a somewhat fresh perspective

play09:13

and that it helped this is only the

play09:15

start of us working towards a better

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more purposeful proactive future for

play09:19

ourselves thank you so much for watching

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please leave a like check my insta out

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look at all the socials spam the

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comments do the usual stuff and I will

play09:26

see you in the next one

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Related Tags
Social MediaProductivitySelf-ImprovementMental HealthYouTubeTikTokProcrastinationGoal SettingHabit AnalysisEmotional ProcessingDigital Detox