3 Simple Steps to Boost Your Productivity using Medium
or The Ultimate Life Hack
Now that I have managed to entice you into clicking on this post through its utterly seductive title and subtitle, and a sexy stock photo, I’m sure you know where the rest of the post is headed. So, let’s get started with the steps:
STEP 1 :It’s your lucky day, this step has sub-steps :
Sub-Step 1 : Look at a post on Medium with a title such as this one that promises to solve all life problems with a finite number of steps/ways. Don’t click on the post.
Sub-Step 2: Below the post title is a small number that tells you how long will it take to read the post. 1 or 2 or 3 or X minutes. Look at the time. Don’t click on the post.
Sub-Step 3: By not clicking on the post so far you have saved X minutes for yourself. Now let’s say there are Y number of such posts that you come across every day, so you have saved X*Y minutes in your day. Congratulations! Pat yourself on the back. This is the end of Step 1.
Wondering what will you do with all this extra time you just saved? Read On to find out.
Step 2 : Repeat Step 1, yes it’s that simple.
Step 3 : Repeat Step 2, yes it’s even simpler.
**BONUS STEP** for reading all the way to the end of the list
Step 4 : This is an ailment you are suffering from, this falling for click-baits. Go see a doctor, or better still, talk to your parents, or anyone you consider a mentor. And actually talk, don’t tweet or snapchat(is that a verb yet?) or ping them. Don’t even call them over the phone, go meet them in person. Cook a meal for them, spend an afternoon with them in conversation about anything under the Sun. Give yourself a break from all the listicles and chew on some moral fiber for a while.
Read something with real substance here on Medium, or anywhere else. There are plenty of publications and authors here that boast of some excellent thought-provoking pieces, great food for thought. This publication itself has many awesome posts that really build your perspective towards life. Read something that forces you to find the answer to your problems within your own self rather than outside on the internet. Don’t read stuff that tries to spell out the answer for you in plain simple language, it is just dumbing you down one bullet point at a time.
Do one thing, pick a random word from the Dictionary (yes, the actual physical dictionary, the big fat volume dusting away in your closet with your old crayons and sketch books, it still has millions of words you don’t know and can teach you a thing or two even today) so pick a random word from the Dictionary, search for it in the Medium tags search, if you don’t find any posts, pick another word and repeat. When you do find a post, read it. It doesn’t matter how few recommends it has or how long it is, read it as long as it’s not another listicle. Read about love and hate, death and despair, war and crises, sex and breakups, hope and hearsay, read about life. It will help you, believe me.
Lastly, I realize I’m getting too preachy here, but if you really want posts that simplify answers for you in plain language with bullet points that you can digest quickly, if you really don’t have the stamina to go through fat paragraphs of verbose content from top to bottom, then maybe, just maybe, Medium is not the place for you (Though this is for Medium creators to decide).
But such stuff is already available on plenty of sites on the internet. And usually, such posts on Medium carry a disclaimer at the end that the post first appeared on their own site first. They are just cross posting stuff from their own sites to drive traffic there.
Make a choice today, you can just follow them on their own sites and get what you, as well as what they really want.
Or
Stop getting treated like traffic and start getting treated like people.
If you really found this listicle helpful please hit the green heart at the bottom. Or wait, let it be, don’t hit it, it doesn’t really matter. One more thing, this post originally appeared only here on this very site under this very publication and you don’t have to follow me anywhere else outside Medium for more such stuff. In fact, you don’t have to follow me even here, let’s see if you find any of my posts through the random tag-search method. Happy Reading.
