Have you ever lived a book? What does it mean to live a book? It means to take all the most important parts of the book relevant to your life and experiment with them. Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday is the perfect book to experiment with.

Especially during these times of COVID-19 locking us down in our homes, unable to go where we want, when we want. This can be tough and unnerving. But only if we let it be. If you were to choose how you spend every moment of every day not just doing what makes you feel good but doing something that helps you feel accomplished then why not go for it? 

That’s why I first want to talk about Alive Time or Dead Time and how you can tie this in with the takeaways from Stillness is the Key.

What’s Your Routine?

What are you doing with your time during Covid-19?

-You’re pretty much at home 24 hours a day.

-You may still have to work for your office but the working hours may be cut in half.

-This situation is temporary, yes, as I see some places are now already opening up.

-So how do you take full advantage of it?

What do you do with your time outside of Covid-19?

-Each day you have 16 waking hours.

-8 of those hours are spent working or at school.

-That leaves you with 8 hours to do what you choose to do with it.

-What are you going to do with those 8 hours?

Dead Time Examples

-Sleeping late and waking up late

-Has no plan for the day ever

-Playing video games for hours

-Watching movies/TV/Netflix for many hours (excluding documentaries)

-Watching mindless Youtube videos

-Scrolling through social media endlessly

-Taking care of daily responsibilities haphazardly

Alive Time Examples

-Sleep early and wake up early

-Has a plan for the day

-Works on a personal project or hobby with a purpose

-Read nonfiction books every day and experiment with its takeaways

-Minimizes wasted time on games (max. 30 minutes)

-Watches documentaries 

-Watches meaningful YouTube/Podcasts Videos for personal development

-Uses social media with a purpose for connecting with people in your field of work, not mindless scrolling (max. 30 minutes)

-Takes care of daily responsibilities efficiently 

Stillness is the Key to Finding Balance

The whole purpose of Alive Time is so you have balance in your day. It’s so you can make progress towards your personal goals, not your boss’ or teachers’. It doesn’t mean you can’t watch a movie or look at memes. If you want to play a game after a long day, feel free to do it. Just don’t go overboard by playing for 3-4 hours straight. It means you need to minimize wasted time and maximize your productivity.

Find Balance by Reading Stillness is the Key

If you can find balance and stillness in life you will be able to…

think clearly.

see the whole chessboard.

make tough decisions.

manage your emotions.

identify the right goals.

handle high-pressure situations.

maintain relationships.

build good habits.

be productive.

have physical excellence.

feel fulfilled.

capture moments of laughter and joy.

All these points sum the book up well. You cannot disagree that all these points are ideal to living the best life you can possibly live right?

By pulling yourself out of your ego and into the present moment, by being still and aware of what’s actually going on in the world around you rather than being stuck in your own head, you can then achieve balance.

Just like many other Ryan Holiday books you’ll find a lot of practical advice and examples in Stillness is the Key. It’s then your duty, as the reader to take the advice that works best for you and experiment with it. Only then can you feel its full effects.

Buy Stillness is the Key here.

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Book and Article Recommendations

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Be Productive During Covid

12 Lessons For Life