What I follow

I often find myself regretting the amount of time I spend on social media like TikTok, instagram, and youtube shorts. So, whenever I find myself consumed with social media I redirect myself to a good book, podcast, or video game -- in moderation. I have also deleted both TikTok and Instagram to get back some of that lost time.

Instead of endlessly scrolling on social media right before bed I have found that reading is a soothing way to calm my mind and prepare for bed. Some books I have come to love is the Dune series (admittedly after seeing the movies), Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, the Theoretical Minimum by George Hrabovsky. As of now I am currently in the middle of the first Dune book and have a hard time putting it down.

I usually only read right before bed or by the side of a pool but for times when reading isn't as easy I have found some great podcasts that both keep me entertained and educated. On long drives and while going on walks podcasts like the All In Podcast by the Besties, The Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan, Freakonomics Radio with Stephen Dubner, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, The Intelligence by The Economist, and finally This Past Weekend with Theo Von. All of these podcasts either offer valuable information about the current climate of the world or entertainment. Specifically, I enjoy the All In Podcast and Freakonomics because of their humorous but informative nature.

Another form of media that calms my mind from distractions during the day is music. I listen to a wide variety of genres from classical to country music. To me, music serves as a background to my daily life and different genres are good for different activities. For instance, while doing any school work or studying I enjoy classic music to calm my mind and keep me focused. The Classical Bangers playlist by Classical Bangers is a good source of relaxing music. This playlist has a wide variety of classical music that keeps my brain on track while studying. On the other hand, when I am hanging out with my friends we like to listen to country music like Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers and I have even been to a Zach Bryan concert. Music can be a useful tool to have fun with your friends or completely transform your mindset. It can change your mood from sad to happy just by the switch of a song, and a study was even done that showed that plants under classical music grow at an advanced rate.

I encourage you to put down your phone when you find yourself endless scrolling and replace it with something informative. Listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or music excite the mind and can just be played in the background of your daily activities.