Midnight Cola, Music and Poetry

It's day 52 of documenting 2025.

I'm going to warn you....
This post is not going to show you how put together I am.
And I'm not going to hide it.
I'm still human, not AI.

Guess what I did last night?
Instead of studying, I was:
* Blasting music on Spotify
* Writing poetry and plans ✍️
* Sipping cola from a cup
Up till past midnight.
I'm probably the most unserious Jambite I know 😒

My friend, K would call this "escapism".
I agree.
But escapism from what?
My books? You could say that...
I was already feeling sleepy, but the room-temp cola stimulated and kept me awake.
Kinda like coffee.

When I came back from tutorial classes (hours before bedtime), I read a bit on Chemistry.
Then I got distracted.
For some reason, I became interested in the Facebook videos of two popular influencers.
(No names, here 😏)
I watched video after video after video.
Getting deeper into the rabbit hole....but I got a hold of myself in time.

You do know about the rabbit hole concept, right?

No? Let me explain it in my own way.
Andy (random name, random guy) decides to watch some YouTube videos explaining chemical combination in Chemistry.
He opens the app.
He searches for 'chemical combination in Chemistry', his mind fully prepared for the knowledge he was about to gain.
The videos come up.
He scroll through the various thumbnails, indecisive of what video would best explain.
Then a YouTube short catches his eye 👀.
For some reason, he taps it and boom!
It's a funny video.

You know what happens next?
He approaches the distraction, which pulls him into the rabbit hole.
Andy watches the video, laughs out loud, then decides to watch one more.
And another one.
And another one.
He's already in the YouTube rabbit hole, an endless cycle of scrolling through mindless entertainment.
Without taking notice of the passage of time.
Andy peeks at the time above the screen.
"Shoot!" He exclaims as he realizes that it had already been an hour.
He doesn't even remember what he came to YouTube for.
Poor Andy!
He has already wasted time that can't be recovered.

Okay....back to my story.
Hmm 🤔
Do you think my case is similar to Andy's?
Well, yeah....
Scrolling through mindless entertainment was involved in both cases.
But there's a difference.
Andy had the initial intention of learning about something
I didn't.
I chose the entertainment.

Hours later, when the perfect time for study presented itself, I ended up doing something else.
This showed me that I might have the makings of a thrill seeker.
I wouldn't say it was a waste of time tho....
I fed my soul and wrote down a plan.
By the way, if you're on Spotify, here's the playlist I listened to.
Mind you, you may be disappointed when you find out the kind of music I like.
But it's my spec...deal with it.

Now, where was I?
Right, the thrill seeking part.
I don't think it's entirely true.
Months ago, I watched a video on Instagram.
I just remembered it now because of this situation.
It was a reel posted by Dan Martell.
For some reason, I still remember the name.

A kid told Dan that he always found himself distracted by games.
Then Dan said something.
Something along the lines of:
"If you have a plan for every single thing you have to do, every action you need to take, and you write it all down, it's hard for you to get distracted.
If you find yourself getting distracted, it means you don't have a plan."
Something like that.
And I get the point.

I can focus on doing something if I have a plan and I set my mind on doing it.
But sometimes, I don't have something to focus on.
That's when I get distracted.
But yesterday, I wrote down a plan.
A study plan for each day of the week, as well as milestones and time-frames.
Each subject on its own day.
Each topic with its own process.
It's just week 1 of my study timeline and I needed to have this in place first.

Once it's set up, all I need to do is stick to it.
I could make it into a streak.
And one thing about me, I hate to break streaks when I start them.
I always like to follow through.
But if for some reason I miss a day of my streak, I make sure not to miss the second day.
Otherwise, I've lost the streak.

That's all about sipping cola, midnight scribblings and thrill seeking.
One more thing.
I finally went to bed after writing down all I needed to.
Went to bed by 2am, with two and a half hours to sleep before the alarm wakes me up.
But I couldn't fool Mother Nature.
The alarm rang and I got up, ready to type this blog.
I took my phone and climbed back into bed 😆
Waking up three hours later! 😂

If this blog was a client's project, I would be late to submit the finished work.
How inefficient! 😅
But it's not for a client.
It's mine.
Some days I'm early, other days I'm late.
But I always finish it up before noon and add another day to my streak.
Unapologetically Duon.

Okay I'm done...
Time to share today's quotes.
From today's reads which are:
* 365 Days With Self-discipline by Martin Meadows (usual)
* Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuck (Friday's read)

I don't just read on personal development.
I have other interests I read about.
Gary's book is about effective social media marketing.
So, you may not be familiar with the terms but I'm sure you'll learn a thing or two 😉
Let's dive in.

Highlights following the format:
Book name
Chapter title
Highlighted points

365 Days With Self-discipline
📌 Day 52: On Thinking For Yourself

"Self-discipline is hard to attain, and because it’s not common, sooner or
later somebody will deem your behaviors abnormal."

"It’s difficult to trust your own judgment when everybody around you is doing something different, but if everything you do is in accordance with society’s norms, then what you’re going to get is the same results as everybody else does who follows those norms."

"Trust your own judgment and think for yourself. It’s better to suffer from your own choices than waste your life away because you were mindlessly following the herd."

I'm working on this 👆🏿

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
📌 The Characteristics Of Great Content And Compelling Stories

"But the sound of so many people talking at the same time—not to mention opining, debating, entertaining, instructing, and doing all the other things people do to make their views known online—is overwhelming."

"Brands and small businesses want to look relevant, engaged, and authentic, but when their content is banal and unimaginative, it only makes them look lame."

"Content for the sake of content is pointless"

(Ouch! Take it easy, Gary...)

"Only outstanding
content can cut through the noise."

"Outstanding content can generally be identified because it adheres to the following six rules:
1. It's native
2. It doesn't interrupt
3. It doesn't make demands often
4. It leverages pop culture
5. It's micro
6. It's consistent and self aware"

I paraphrased this last part.
Each of these rules has a section of its own with explanations and all.
I'll go in-depth into each rule and give you my highlights next Friday.
For now, I'm ending the quotes section here.

I hope you enjoyed today's episode of "Duon Is Not Perfect" 😄
I'm just documenting each day.
And I'm staying true all the way.
Sharing lessons from hiccups, mishaps and mess ups.
This is my space.
And I'm sharing it with you.

Thanks for reading, my friend 😊
As always, you took out time to read what this girl has to say.
Whether it makes sense or not.
PS. You can leave a comment below this post.
I haven't mentioned that in a while.

I'm Duon Ada, the person writing this. I already have a collection of 50 posts you can check out on the main website. Documenting 2025.

See you in the next one!
Ciao 💕