There’s no denying the fact that you’re still scrolling down through social media because you’re looking to be inspired. Nonetheless, you know how it goes. You say that you’re going to read some posts here and there, but before you know it, you’ve already spent six hours staring at your phone with no increase in productivity.

Who cares, right? As long as you’re “inspired,” what does it matter? Well I’m here to tell you it matters a lot. It’s time (a non-renewable resource that you can never, ever get back) that we’re talking about here. Of course it matters!

Nowadays, the amount I spend on social media is much more controlled compared to before. It gets better, as long as you start. From going on a few hours just mindlessly scrolling and liking multiple success quotes, to having set times (e.g. 20-30 minutes) on when to scroll and explore.

Have you ever thought about the main reason why you read success quotes? Well, for most of us it’s because we want to be successful. However, if you think about it deeper, does it really contribute to your success?

Don’t get me wrong, I think success quotes are awesome and they inspire me from time to time, but a little too much of something is never good because it consumes the time you could’ve spent working on your goals.

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.” – Bo Bennett

There’s a thing called a healthy amount of time spent on social media. That time is usually spent reading news to be updated on what’s happening around us, looking at assignments posted on social media groups, a little catching up with friends and family, and a controlled dose of consuming information that contributes to your productivity.

The problem is that we often don’t realize we’re already spending too much time consuming information that we could’ve used spent working on our goals. There are times I get addicted to reading and liking too many success posts on Instagram and suddenly find out that I’ve been scrolling for a few hours already.

I make sure to get my daily dose of Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy and of course Joel Brown and it has helped jumpstart my productivity and I’ve learned so much reading about their lives and have been inspired by their stories.

But the most important question to ask yourself is, what happens after being inspired? Do you look for more inspiration like a hungry person with a bottomless stomach while not really achieving anything?

Here’s an unpopular opinion: Reading success quotes/posts too much can be a sign of laziness. Doesn’t it feel good to read motivational quotes in the morning and convince ourselves that other people’s rewards for their hard work already applies to us?

So instead of consuming too much of those, I decided to apply it. There is a difference in having a lot of knowledge vs. actually applying that knowledge. The quote might sound good, so you like it, and scroll past it and other quotes come up and it’s a cycle.

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Honestly, it can be addicting. But you have to think about the long-term impact of your decisions. I’m on my way to building an online business, and I thought about each hour I could have spent working on another article or another strategy to acquire new leads instead of scrolling through endless quotes. I’m not going to look back and say, “I wish I spent more time reading success quotes.”

The quotes will always be there, but time won’t be. You wouldn’t want to regret all the opportunities you had to work on your projects but you didn’t. Do yourself a favor and get working now.

How do you make sure you are productive with your time? Let us know by commenting below!