Introvert Talks - The Power Of 30 Minutes

"Introvert Talks" is meant to be a new initiative or theme, where I myself as an introvert, just talk about reflections and thoughts about my life, or maybe share more personal stuff. :)

This is my weekly post under this "Introvert Talks" theme and let's see where it takes me and us.

3 consecutive weeks of doing this weekly sharing! Giving myself a pat on my back! Hehe!

Today I wanted to talk about a minor change in my life which had an unexpected major impact to my life.

As some of you might know, I occasionally talked about how busy I am with work because of the not-so-good stuff happening at the workplace, such as an increased workload and yet a reduction in manpower. I think as humans, we all are able to handle a certain amount of stress and fatigue, but I soon realised I was approaching my tolerance limit, and I knew I had to do something about it.

Among all my interests and hobbies, I decided to stop playing a mobile game (maybe I shouldn't name it because I don't want to encourage or discourage anyone to play it). I started playing this mobile game about 2 years ago because my friends were playing and they asked me to join in the fun as well. Fast forward, nearly all of them have stopped playing because they got bored of it, but somehow I continued to play it daily, and to be honest, I am not sure what kept me going. Maybe it was just a time filler to kill boredom, maybe it's because it only takes at most 30 minutes a day, or maybe it helps me destress. I actually did think of stopping at certain points, but my thought was like, it's just 30 minutes a day and doesn't take up much time anyway.

But one week ago, I decided to call it quits. A mobile game that I have played everyday for about 30 minutes for 2 years. With the amount of stress and fatigue, I thought the extra 30 minutes could just allow me to sleep and rest 30 more minutes everyday.

Initially, I didn't think too much of this "minor" change, but I started to realise the effects of this change after a few days. By sleeping 30 minutes earlier each night, I was better rested and woke up the next morning feel fresher, and in turn, I could concentrate on my daily activities and my work better. On some days, I could use the 30 minutes to get activity and exercise, and like what they say, exercise does have a lot of benefits for the mind and body. I was able to improve my fitness and my mood improved.

As I reflected on this "30 minute" change, I did not expect how quitting a mobile game could have such a big and positive effect to my life. And I kind of regretted how it took me so long to effect this change, because even 30 minutes a day works out to 15 hours a month and 180 hours a year. Imagine how many things I could have done instead of spending these huge amount of hours on a mobile game where my friends have left and I am just going through the daily motion alone.

So the takeaway is, never underestimate the power of 30 minutes a day. Not only can one channel the time to something more fruitful, the compounding effect of these little minutes over longer time period is actually more significant than you think.

Ending up with a photo of my favourite drink - matcha latte - which I ordered over a catch up with friends over the weekend! Cheers to my little improvement in my life!