S10 E06 -Rule 3: Applying the 80/20 Rule to Social Media & Quitting the "Any-Benefit" Trap
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S10 E06 -Rule 3: Applying the 80/20 Rule to Social Media & Quitting the "Any-Benefit" Trap
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About this listen
Challenge the deeply ingrained belief that any possible benefit justifies using network tools—the dangerous "Any-Benefit Approach". Instead, adopt the rigorous "Craftsman Approach to Tool Selection", assessing tools with the same skepticism a skilled laborer (like farmer Forrest Pritchard evaluating a hay baler) applies to their equipment.
We detail two core strategies:
1. Apply the Law of the Vital Few: Identify the two or three most important activities that drive success in your professional and personal life. Then, keep a network tool only if its positive impacts substantially outweigh its negatives on these vital few activities. This logic (the 80/20 Rule) helps writers like Malcolm Gladwell and Michael Lewis confidently avoid social media.
2. Quit Social Media: Conduct a 30-day "packing party" on social platforms to empirically test if their benefits truly matter or if they merely perpetuate a self-importance feedback loop ("shallow collectivist alternative").
Finally, the episode advises against using the Internet for entertainment after hours. By using leisure time for structured hobbies, as suggested by Arnold Bennett's "day within a day" concept, you can preserve your capacity to resist distraction the next day.