Prison Break

Very often in our lives, we wish we had one thing or the other, we wish we made a very important move that could turn our lives around, but it is as though we have chains that hold us bound. Not because we are in a physical prison - even though that could explain this position - but these chains are more at the level of the mind than physical.

You hope to be an excellent writer, but you keep experiencing the dreaded writers' block after which you withdraw into complacency. You want to excel as a student, but sleep seems to be a regular visitor each time you settle to read, even though you go as far as chewing gum and taking Nescafé to keep awake.

You plan to start a blog, invest quality time to do a host of other tasks, but social media seems to be a devil that eats deep into your time. You cannot resist the temptation to see every new notification. A prominent figure just retweeted your tweet! A friend just liked your new profile picture or dropped a comment on your new post on Facebook. You want to check the topic generating those numerous messages on your class group page on Whatsapp, and the list goes on and on.

You need to break off these chains as a matter of urgency, lest you end your life full of regrets, unaccomplished tasks and ultimately a wasted destiny.

Recognise Your State
First, you must recognise you are being held back by factors well within your control. You have to  come to terms with the fact that these factors rob you of your time - an indispensable and unrecoverable commodity. This recognition must be matched by complete dissatisfaction and discomfort.

Deliberate Effort
Even if you are doubtful you might fail at your attempt at this 'prison break', you must direct your effort at freeing yourself. Below are few things you can do to break-off two of the 'chains' mentioned above.

Social media makes so much information available to us, all calling for our attention. This leads to seeing so many screens but having very limited knowledge. You might have to uninstall apps that flood your phone with notifications. For example,  you can still enjoy Facebook using a browser instead of the app, same applies to LinkedIn, Instagram and so on.

I was recently introduced to Rescue Time and Freedom App, both time management apps. The former plots a graph of your time consumed by apps installed on your phone and PC, while the latter block the internet, social media and apps for a specified period. This will help you use the social media to your advantage while you are in control of your time, and of course, life.

What about sleep? You need to make the most of the time during which you are mentally alert. Do not plan to do most of your reading at night when you are likely to drift into sleep. Maximize the day, so you can do less study at night. Also, do not get too full before your reading time. There are high chances metabolism (or digestion) can induce sleep especially when you are more rested, ready to study. Reading with a group also proves useful to prevent you from sleeping, as the consciousness that other people are around can keep you awake, while you seize opportunities at asking questions or passing a side comment.

These are few of the many thoughts that crossed my mind when I saw the photo above. No doubts, there are many 'chains', but recognising your current position and deliberate effort geared at breaking away are guaranteed approaches to your prison break.

You can be free, yes you can!