Silence

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Peace be upon the final messenger.

One of the disadvantages of the internet is that we are all connected too much and pushed to share too much. As a result, too many people spend a lot of time online talking about their plans, goals, and ideas without actually making time to work on them. It is easy to come up with an idea, post about it on social media, and enjoy the dopamine hit that comes with people liking and praising your idea.

The real challenge is to sit down, and work hard over a long period of time to turn that idea into a reality. Many people today do not have the commitment, patience, and mindset needed to do this. As a result, our ideas remain as nothing more than social media posts that generated a few likes. The real work begins when we break away from the internet and carve out time to work on our ideas.

Avoid Distraction

Being constantly connected is a distraction. It means that we are always consuming, always engaging, and that we are bombarded with an information overload. This also means that we do not have time or space to think deeply, work deeper, and produce better results. A simple tip for a more effective and productive life; spend less time online and more time alone with your thoughts and ideas. It is during these periods of intense focus that you will produce your best work. Away from the noise of the internet, you can think, strategize, produce, and be your best.

Think Long-Term

Besides being a distraction, the internet also tricks us into seeking the fastest path to success. We ignore the long-term and necessary work needed to build powerful businesses, develop powerful habits, and produce amazing products. Instead, we seek out the quickest product, the shortest route to a few extra dollars, and the fastest route to fame and admiration. The results are scams, shoddy work, and businesses that cannot last or generate profits long-term. Greed, impatience, and instant gratification will destroy any chances of success, if we allow them to dictate the speed and quality of our work. Do not allow the speed of online production to trick you into compromising on quality and long-term results. Take your time, be deliberate and be persistent. A business built over a decade will generate much better results than something you pushed too early and too quickly due to online pressure.

Work Deeper

To produce your best results, you must get used to working deeper. This means carving out blocks of high concentration time free from distraction and noise. During these periods, you focus intensely on your primary projects and channel all your energy into your work. It is during these periods of intense deep work that you will produce your best results. Make it a habit to carve out time daily for deep work. Figure out your peak concentration hours, schedule your most important work for that time, block out all the noise, and focus intensely. Do this daily, and you will produce amazing work constantly.

Stay Private

The world does not need to know about your ideas, goals, and dreams. In fact, most people do not want to know about these things, and many people are malicious and will react negatively to your ideas. They do not need to know what you are focused on or why you are focused on. Only inform the few that you trust, that support you, and that can assist you in achieving your goals. Beware of the false sense of accomplishment that comes from talking too much about goals and dreams. Focus instead on the real sense of accomplishment that comes from accomplishing your goals.

I recall when I was a teenager, I told my classmates that I want to be an author. One of my classmates, for whatever reason, reacted very negatively to this. He would mock me constantly about my dream and would always mockingly ask me “where is your book?” Once I broke away from that friend circle, I was able to sit in peace and product my first book in my early twenties. Nearly two decades since breaking away from this group, I have produced over twenty books, Alhamdulillah. I learned an important lesson from this, not everybody needs to know about your goals. Keep most of your goals private and work on them in silence. When the product is ready, then let people know about it. Until then, stay private and work in silence.

Let your work speak for itself

If you work hard in silence, every day, you will eventually produce amazing work that benefits many people. You do not need to self-promote if you feel it affects your intentions. You do not need to talk about yourself, your accomplishments, or your goals. You simply need to show up, produce great work, and let your work speak for itself. At the end of the day, once you produce something great, it will reach who it needs to reach, and its impact will spread through word-of-mouth. Therefore, taking the time to produce quality work is the best move long-term.

Life in the modern world has become too noisy and cluttered. Too many people lack the attention span and skills to focus on long-term projects. We are constantly distracted and tricked into chasing short-term results. We need to break away from any damaging habits that are destroying our productivity. This means learning to spend less time online, more time focused on work, and more time deep in thought. Spend less time on social media, focus on accomplishing your goals, instead of talking about them, and think long-term.

Work in silence and you will unlock more skills, stronger concentration, better ideas, stronger results, more valuable products, and better long-term results. Learn to work in silence, and you will benefit more than anyone else, and your results will speak for you.