Social media…is it worth it? (plus bonus words!)

Social media…is it worth it? To me, no.

A modern smart phone is a great thing when used wisely. Beyond the fact that it actually makes phone calls, which ironically is the lowest selling point of a modern phone, it’s a camera, calculator, calendar, entertainer, organizer, etc… An entire business can be ran from it. But just like a tool in your shop, a modern smart phone can either be a tremendous problem solving convenience tool or, if used incorrectly, can be the wrong tool for the task causing you to decrease efficiency and waste time.

Since my wife and I adopted our daughter we’ve both been hit with the reality that our phones and social media consume too much of our life. So we started limiting our phone use as much as possible. We started only bring one phone when leaving the house for communication purposes only and made a conscious effort to limit the use of phones in the house. We’ve gotten better and better at this over the past few months and the results reinforce basic common sense; reduce or eliminate phone and social media use to become more social. It’s funny how the reality of “being current” can blind you from what’s currently going on.

Problem/solution time. As I mentioned earlier, you can run an entire business from your phone. But you can also get caught up in the addiction of not putting it down. Soooo much to do and so many helpful apps to get it done. And they are all designed to get you addicted. The problem; My time management has drastically reduced to a zombie pace because I’ve become addicted to my phone. My fault. Not anyone else’s, just mine. The solution; turn on Do Not Disturb mode and remove all social media from the phone while I’m at work.

Notice I said remove all social media from the phone and I didn’t say delete social media accounts. I do think social media is a necessary evil for running a business in today’s society. So I don’t plan on ditching it completely. But I do plan on drastically reducing it. Over the years I’ve put less effort into Facebook as it’s become more of a “pay for exposure” platform where people who genuinely like your content matter less than how much money you want to spend to reach those same people. I don’t remember the last time I made a post on Facebook that wasn’t automatically shared from Instagram. Instagram is falling down a similar destructive path of quantity over quality. Post now, now, NOW, more, more, MORE….because if you don’t post now, now, NOW then your engagement goes down and that’s not good for Instagram’s bottom line.

In middle September I made the decision to remove all social media from my phone. A month later I’ve determined that to be such a great decision. My productivity has gone back up and I’m not constantly wasting time posting meaningless pictures just to maintain the status quo of “you have to be active on social media to run a successful business.” I installed Instagram on my phone last night to catch up on direct messages, post some random pictures from the past few weeks, and just say hey to the community. A few minutes later I caught myself in the endless cycle of swiping up over and over and over and over and over and over with no end in sight. The value of social media is determined in how well you utilize it. Social media has gotten boring and, due to the way I utilize it, has lost it’s value to me.

So that brings me to the goal of my business. The core purpose of any business is to generate a profit. And ask 99.99% of business owners out there what their main goal is and they will say to increase profit. That is not and has never been my main goal. In 2008 I lost my low paying, low responsibility, low ambition, but very comfortable lifestyle and job due to the stock market. It had nothing to do with my performance. In the few years after that I had a few crappy jobs that I left due to other people there. Again, nothing to do with my performance. When I started my business I had the goal of simply working for myself. If I failed it would be because of me. If I succeeded it would be because of me. And to this day that desire still remains true but I’ve come up with a better way to say it. My #1 goal right now is to do whatever it is that I want to do (freedom). My #2 goal right now is to present it in such a way that it generates enough money to allow me and my family to live a comfortable life and for me to continue to pursue goal #1. I think we sometimes get wrapped up in “you need to do this” and “you need to do that” to maximize growth and we lose track of why we got started in the first place.

All of that to say that I want to focus less on growing my audience and more on creating content and presenting it to the audience who has already shown interest in what I’m doing. I can do that with a greater positive impact on my business by posting current stuff here on my website rather than on Instagram and Facebook. If you want to stay up to date with everything I’m doing as well as support what I do without spending any money then simply view what I post here on this website. Sign up to my email newsletter so you never miss a post. Sign up in the sidebar if you’re viewing this on a desktop computer and down below if you’re on a mobile device.

So the rest of this post is a single recap of the past few week or so rather than a bunch of daily now, now, NOW posts on social media. I’d like to turn this into a weekly-ish website post similar to my second channel vlog videos. Who knows if I’ll actually keep it up. Time will tell….

The Week That Was #1 (or any other catch title that may come from this series)

As we always do through August-September-ish in Mississippi, we’ve been in a bad drought for the past few months. Most areas have four seasons and I argue that Mississippi has two; constant rain for 10 months and hot and sticky drought for 2 months. Luckily our entire lawn has a gradual slope with two houses up the hill next to us and a few more down the hill on the other side. This means we will always get the moisture from the neighboring lawns so our grass should never die off or turn too brown due to the drought and we will never be flooded. The first rain of fall finally came down so it was time to empty the burn can in the shop. How do you get rid of scraps?

The following day the temperature dropped drastically. It was glorious! Mid 60-s with a gentle breeze. Sign me up for that! So many people suggested that I eliminate the roll up doors in the shop and replace them with a studded wall. That’s a negative folks. No way I was going to do that and completely miss out on the very few great weather days we get in Mississippi. I ended up getting insulated doors with windows and I don’t think I ever showed the exterior. This was the first day in the 60’s I’ve experienced in the new shop and you bet I had the door open to enjoy the fresh air! Here’s a couple pics of the doors and the view from the shop.

The hickory workbench finally got demoted. I mentioned in my Hickory vs Pine Workbench video that the hickory bench doesn’t absorb enough vibration with hand tools. Using chisels on it is like hitting a metal pole with a metal baseball bat. Instead of the workbench absorbing the vibration like the pine workbench does the vibrations are transferred back to the chisel hand causing discomfort in a short time. It’s still handy to have against the wall to hold stuff but when it comes to actually working on stuff the pine workbench is still my #1.

The folks at pantorouter.com have been steadily improving their product. I really like to see companies continuously innovate and improve their products. They sent me an updated version of the Hybrid Pantorouter with their much improved templates. Everything about this machine is improved over the previous version that I have. I’m working on an all inclusive stand for it that will house all of the accessories and also, hopefully, a cyclone separator and shopvac to make the entire setup incredibly convenient to use anywhere in the shop.

Speaking of improvement, the full size nesting chair templates are now being shipped in two pieces. This has reduced shipping cost and also reduced the number of damaged packages. We’ve had a couple damaged packages due to the way we shipped them, which we’ve learned from, and we’ve had a couple damaged packages due to a few USPS people handling them like a baboon trying to shake a banana from a tree. Our lesson there was to reduce the length of the stick in the baboon’s hand and therefore make the package less appealing to be used as a swinging tool.

Another bit of improvement, I took the full size template, reduced the front height by an inch and a half, reduce the back height by an inch, removed the front two seat slats completely, and reduced the height of the back by shifting all of the back slats down by two slat widths. Voilà, a children’s version of the nesting chair. Exact same construction except the adult nesting chair slats are 19-1/2” long and I made these slats 14” long. I’ll have these available in my online store very soon..

And of course, my daughter loves it :) She just turned one on September 15th and started walking at 11 months old. She’s still a little small for it but I think this is about as small as this design should go. Any smaller and she will outgrow it too fast. I think this size will be usable for many years until she can fit into the adult version.

On the last Friday of September we drove 800 miles north to visit my family in Livonia, Michigan, where I grew up. This was Tyler Kay’s first trip up north and the first time where we got all six of the grandkids together. She had such a great time. We all did. The older I get the more I enjoy time with family. The trip was a short one as we had to drive back on the following Monday.

One more from back home just because she’s adorable :)

This Sunday’s video will cover the build and basic testing of efficiency of the mini splits after install. All three mini split heads now have four 20×20 Merv 13 filters installed on them. This image shows the loft unit with two filters on front and back.

No matter how much information I show there’s always going to be that one “been there and done that better than you” guy in the crowd who will say the idea is stupid and it simply won’t work. This is the reading on my Dylos meter after a half hour or so of the air cleaner cart and all three mini splits going in the shop.

I made a trip to Chad Fletcher’s place in Pontotoc, Mississippi, to pick up some more random exotic hardwoods. He has a Lucas Mill that he keeps busy with domestics but he also sells exotics. I went only for some mahogany but I couldn’t resist when I got there. I ended up coming home with a bunch of 8/4 wenge, afromosia, and zebra wood and a bunch of random 4/4 pieces of sapele, padauk, mahogany, bloodwood, and rosewood. Chad is @goodwoodsawmill on Instagram if you want to get in touch with him (tell him Jay sent you). He’s in the process of setting up a vacuum kiln to be able to offer even more wood for sale. I also reserved an entire 8′ beautifully clear ash log that he was sawing into 8/4 boards. I’ll have to pick that up after it makes a stop in his kiln. Definitely documenting that for an upcoming video…

And finally, here’s physical prototype #2 for a green and green tote I’ll be making out of mahogany soon. This will likely be the next project as it’s been in the prototype stage for far too long. I need to make the final minor adjustments and get it built. I’ll have full size templates available for this one as well. My thought for this was to make a bigger tool tote or tool box for hand tools. But really this can be used for anything and won’t use much material. And it has the bonus of looking really nice :)

That’s it for this post. Time to get back to the shop.

107 COMMENTS

  1. Hey, Jay love this.

    I have the Jay in the shop building stuff while shadow Jay stands by eating Cheezits. Looking forward to your shop videos.

    And yes your daughter is absolute cutest.

  2. I’m am with you about social media being too much of a distraction from meaningful focus. It seems to have taken over my home to the point that a good conversation can rarely happen. I’ve been thinking about this and making adjustments personally but they have not spread through the family at this point. I haven’t considered removing the apps from my phone and now I think that I will do that. It’s a constant interruption to life and we miss what is going on around us. Thanks for sharing your struggles. Keep up the great work.

    • I agree with Jay and Tim, and others who feel smartphones and social media tend to be detrimental to attending the most important parts of life – family. I have avoided getting a smartphone, and plan to keep it that way. Sure, it’s sometimes an inconvenience to have a dumbphone, but not a critical situation.

  3. Hey Jay, great article. I agree with you completely. I’ve been following you since you started and you were always extremely active in growing your audience.
    I came to the same conclusion as you a few years ago, but I took a more drastic step. I already had a career and the web venture I was in was supposed to be mostly fun and possibly grow into a site that generates money. I had no intention in leaving my career and when the web site consumed all of my free time and started pulling me from my family life, I had to make a change. I left the website I had started right about the time that it really started to make money, but I have never regretted it. I wish it would have been possible to scale back like you are doing, but that was not possible.
    I”ve always enjoyed your content, so I’m glad you aren’t hanging it up for good. Just remember, you can never bring back time missed with your family and your kids are only around for short amount of time, so enjoy them.

  4. First, she is just too cute for words! I so love that I don’t have to look to facebook and instagram to find out what you are working on. There are a few other bloggers I follow that always are saying to go see their pics on instagram. I don’t have time! Thanks for what you do and HOW you do it!

  5. Good stuff Jay! Looking forward to seeing where this goes for you and contemplating something similar.

    Until next week – have a great one!

  6. One question, what does her shirt say? My siblings have …. So that’s why no chess games, you checkmated me and gone! Lol.

  7. Jay you have a great perspective on life and have discovered the importance of family. Your comments about social media and the consumption of time that leads to inefficiency are spot on. It also in my opinion leads to worse evils like bullying. I can tell you and your wife understand the responsibility of parenting. Keep it up.

  8. As someone who has been using a flip phone now for 6+ months, I totally agree with everything you said in regard to social media and screen time. While it does get hard to keep up with running a business when so many use texting, it has really helped me split away from being constantly connected. Do I think it’s going to be a permanent change? No. But, I think it’s the cold-turkey removal I needed to really get myself into a healthy space when I DO go back to having a phone that can do so much. And, my phone can last for 3+ days without a recharge.

  9. I agree with this 100%. I have never actually found enjoyment in social media – it’s a timesuck, but in a fledgling business it can have value. I’ve fully abandoned Facebook, but I still use Instagram. Regrettably, most of my posts there are due to the guilt of obligation, rather than a need to share information.

  10. I quit all social media over a year ago and while I miss some instantaneous updates on Instagram, I am totally happy and WAY more productive. If I need an update on what is going on with family Facebook accounts, I just ask the wife; She has not been able to kick the habit!

    Speaking of family, your daughter is as cute as can be and kicking the social media habit will only give you more time to appreciate what you have there.

  11. I am looking to retire in the next 18 months and beginning to give serious consideration as to what is important to me and what does it cost. In other words I want to draw a clear distinction between what I need and what I want. My employment furnishes my phone but when I retire I have pretty much decided I need a phone for making phone calls and that is all. WOW what a strange idea :-) and certainly a money saver. Will still have a computer and use social media but not much. More time and money for other funner stuff. I believe everyone could benefit by asking themselves, Is this really helping me or wasting my time and money?

  12. jay, it’s nice following your progress for years now! You, April and Nick are my top videos I look forward to viewing. i was on facebook with a woodworking group but got off the group as some had egos as big as a Mac truck ;)) I eventually cancelled my Facebook account …getting too political. I enjoy your videos about woodworking. Keep up the excellent work!! thanks
    Larry
    retired in Richmond, IL

  13. Jay I really think your plan will pay larger dividends than any stock market ever could! Your love for family and your love for your work seem to be very well proportioned. I wish I could call back 30 years and do a better job of that myself.

  14. I rarely even comment on places like this anymore, but I’m with you on social media. I deleted my whole Facebook account, Twitter, all of it, and I’ve been so much happier since. But, like you mention, I don’t run a business.

    It’s also easier to recognize the things that actually make me happy, like actually doing things in the real world over trying to keep up with the torrent of minutia in the virtual one. Limiting and eventually eliminating social media is one of the best things I’ve done for my mental health, bar none.

  15. The social media part rings in true for me as of late. I sensed a need for change and started to cut back. I’m liking the idea of pulling all social from my phone. This way I can make an active decision to participate. I should be reading books or doing something more constructive with my time instead of mindless scrolling.

    • Very true. I encourage you to remove it from your phone. As you said, it will force you to make an active decision to participate, rather than being sucked into the apps out of habit.

  16. I love the view out the door of your shop. You’d have to be a recluse to want to close that off. I just saw a vlog post on YouTube from Paul Sellers about building his shed with a big door so he could look out while he was using his lathe. Not to say you should divert your attention while using power tools, LOL, but you get the idea. You are living the dream, man. Enjoy and here’s wishing you continued good fortune.

  17. I echo your sentiment on social media 1000%. Especially removing all social media from my phone. I started with FB and went on from there. It was very liberating and no surprise, so much more productive and less stressed and anxious. I also turned off app notifications and definitely take advantage of “busy” or “quiet hours” and sometimes even purposely leave my phone at home. After the fact, ironically I actually read a book(technically listened to as audio) called “Digital Minimalism”. It was interesting and validated I was on the right path, albeit full of redundant stories of how different people achieved digital minimalism. It touched on the fact that we as humans need true solitude to recharge and be our best selves and how modern technology and always being connected has made solitude harder to achieve, because we never seem to actually disconnect. I seriously wonder if people invest in hobbies anymore and see the value of having one. Your little girl is beautiful.

  18. Great post, Jay. Thanks for sharing – your perspective on things, and seeing the fruit of your labor over all these years, is why I enjoy following you and watching your content. Keep it going!

  19. Great Post. I have also dropped all social media except for Woodworking. However, I never would have found Jay, April, Mark and Matt if not for YouTube and Instagram. Jay, keep up the great work and please create more classes (so I can buy more). I am a newbie (at 53 years old), but learning quick.

  20. There is a familiar phrase that people should reacquaint themselves to, “Just say no”, to yourself of course. When you let the device dominate your life, it becomes the consumer and you become the ‘consumee’. Everything has a place. Once you have learned to place the perspective in the correct place, the battle is won! Love your website and videos. As a member of the older generation it is refreshing to see someone in your age bracket learning the values of things close to home. Keep up the good work!

  21. When my oldest (now 6) said to me when he was 18mos, “Daddy, put your phone down into your pocket and run with me” as we were “running” around the block, I knew I had a problem. Started leaving the phone on the counter when at home. Now I’ve been FB free for over a year and it’s glorious.

    (Now, I don’t have a business to run, I’m just a teacher, but I’ve learned that Social Media is the devil. Smartphones + Social Media = destroyed education. And parents are the ones who must police it with their kids, or it won’t get policed because teachers just can’t)

  22. I wasn’t using instagram or facebook to follow, although I do have you on facebook. I prefer the email, so I can choose what to read. I made a set of the nesting chairs out of pine and added a laquer spray finish. My next set will be out of rough sawn cedar, or western red cedar.

    • Glad to hear that, Ray. I made my dad a nice nesting chair out of bubinga and I think it’s a bit too heavy for him. I should have used pine too :) Most of my chairs since then have been out of plywood.

  23. Congratulations on disconnecting from the rabbit hole known as social media. Like Leonard, I’m of the older generation and agree that it’s refreshing to see someone value the needs of family over pointless interactions on devices designed to make someone else money. I never joined Instagram and don’t know how to twit, but I do have a FB account that I access only through my laptop…and that’s mainly to see what family is up to and to ask the various woodworking groups questions I have about the hobby I love so much. I use my phone for phone calls, limited texting, and occasionally the calculator and the maps feature as my GPS. Since retiring and utilizing 80% of my time in the shop, I have a serenity and peace of mind I suspect I wouldn’t have if I was interested in the goings on of total strangers. Love your web site and keep the videos rolling.

  24. Hi Jay! I live in West Bloomfield, just two more cities northen to your home town. Glad to see you came back and enjoyed the trip. Which means at some point last month we are so close to each other. Lol.
    Although I don’t have a business yet, I do feel the same on social media. So I couldn’t agree more. I’m trying to eliminate social media time as much as possible too. Just to focus on my real stuff. Please keep the posts up!

  25. Thanks Jay, I look forward to your emails to see what you are up to now.. I think they are great and welcome not having to go to Facebook or Instagram to see what’s going on. Oh your daughter is the cutest! Thanks for doing what you do the way you do it. I totally enjoy it..

  26. Just for feed back from a follower. I like having the one vlog video (like this article but said outload) and one project/ shop/ whatever/update video a week or periodically (I know that’s super hard to do). I really like the vlog videos and personally would love to see more of them than Instagram. I play them in the background and it’s like listening to a podcast and it keeps me up to date on your goings on. As for social media I think just a link saying you got new stuff on your website is great. Random/ constant posting is a drag.

  27. You’re focusing on what’s important in life and I respect that. I’ve always enjoyed your content and plan on continuing to do so.

  28. Hi jay, A couple years ago I got instagram to follow you and friends, it became a monster, good buy to that.
    I agree all the way.
    Tom p

  29. Looking forward to more projects I can copy off ya! You do good work. Love the part of the been there done that I can do better. Hear it daily. Usually said by someone who can’t.
    Cute daughter for sure! Growing up way too fast.

  30. Great commentary on social media. This should be read by everyone on the planet Earth!
    Keep up the good work and thank you for providing great content!

  31. Uninsulated shop doors for some of you? I bought thrift store comforters that just fit. Hang quickly with 2 spring clamps!

  32. Very insightful comments regarding Facebook, I totally agree.
    Tyler is growing so fast, but kids tend to do that. (I guessed the shirt wording correctly ????)
    You and your girls keep well.

  33. I totally understand this problem. I have also seen a number of big online content creators pumping out tons of content but the quality has gone down in proportion. I’ll take quality or quantity any day. Good luck! Enjoy that little one they grow up fast. I have my first grandchild coming in January.

  34. Hey Jay
    Good to hear from you. I agree with most comments about social media. I only ever used Facebook when it came out for about a year and decided to switch it off because A: never stopped looking at to see who was posting what, where & why
    B: I found a lot of people posting false crap about their life’s and I just said to myself enough is enough. All my friends can get in touch with me by calling my phone or knocking on my door. Other that that I don’t want anybody knowing my business. YouTube is the only platform I like to watch woodworking videos. I think I’ll visit your website a lot more often from know on if it helps the cause. Tyler Kay is beautiful and good to see that she is thriving. My daughter Sofia turns 2 next month and all I’ll say is they definitely change everything for the good(full time job) very little free time but wouldn’t change it. Anyway rambling here, keep up the good work jay ????????????????

  35. Jay, I must say that I admire and respect what you have stated in this post and the direction you are taking. Well said.
    I find I don’t follow you because you are great woodworker, I follow you because I like how you progressed over the years and your ability to survive and grow in this muddled time we find ourselves in today. Congradulations on you new home, shop and many other accomplishments. Keep it simple and to the point.
    All the best
    Walt
    This old ‘farm’ house.

  36. Loved the post, Jay. I have never owned a smart phone and don’t see why I would ever need one. I never take my regular phone with me when I go out anywhere, and have been fortunate that I didn’t get caught up in the twitter/facebook thing.
    Your daughter just keeps getting cuter each time I see her.

  37. When I first started woodworking, I watched lots of YouTube videos and ended up following other wood workers like yourself. I also found myself following them on Instagram and YouTube. I noticed that several of the content creators I follow seem to post just to post or to “engage” with their audience. What’s happened (as I’m sure you feel the same way based on your post) is that there is a lot less substance to those post.

    I also follow April Wilkerson on YouTube but had to stop following on Instagram because it just felt like it was too much. The whole reason I started following is because there was great content that was relevant to what I was interested in. While there still is some of that, it feels like it’s gotten lost in chaos of the must post more mentality. It also feels very much pay to play. Facebook / Instagram have started “boosting” a post instead of allowing content creators to work out agreements with 3rd parties. They’ve basically injected themselves into the middle of the transaction and take a piece of the pie.

    I thoroughly enjoy your content Jay and I appreciate the humbleness you have as well as your honesty. Thanks for all the how-to’s, tips and tricks. Hope you and your family have a great holiday.

  38. Your goals reminded me of a comment I read by Sting a few years ago. He said that his plan with Police was to make enough money to do what he wanted without having to worry about whether he could support himself doing it. So now he gets to do things like record medieval lute music. (and in case Sting reads this: I hope I didn’t just grossly mis-state what I think you said.)

    I get a lot of pleasure and enjoyment from your blog. Thanks.

  39. Great post! We’ve adopted 4 little ones, and although that’s not the point, being in the present and prioritizing your focus is SOOOO important for their lives and ours.

    Love your videos, so I can’t say I’ll be ditching my youtube feed. But thank you for teaching me in my woodworking journey of hobby and family.

  40. Jay, You’ve got it right, I call all of that “ANTI-social media” I agree its a time suck. I have enjoyed your progression from the trailer through to this beautiful shop and will continue. Best of luck and life to you and your family!

  41. Jay, thanks for the photos of the grandkids together. Your little girl is a precious, beautiful child. But you knew that.

  42. Agreed mate. I bought my first smart phone about 9 months ago, before that I just had older phones which could call people or send and receive text messages. 2 months ago I upgraded my phone plan to include 15gb of data per month and now every damn day during lunch and smoko, I am trawling through Instagram instead of eating my chocolate bars and sandwiches. It sounds like a good diet plan, but I still manage to inhale those sangas and chocolate bars :D

  43. Great comments on social media. One of the first successful business people that Ive seen make it out of the “trap”. You are wise enough to recognize how they lure you in “to reach more people”, then you have to endlessly submit more content to try and stay relavent in their eyes. That is all just a way for you to feed their bottom line and they will throw you some crumbs if you are lucky. Love your content and the work you do. I wont lose any sleep if you aren’t on FB or IG if you won’t. ????

  44. Hey Jay, as for the guy “who can do it better” his dylos numbers are higher so he thinks he wins!!!!!!

  45. Great point on social media Jay. I agree with others who have posted here that those I have followed for years, like yourself, are posting anything to keep followers active. The content is lost. I do have an IG account and YT channel. I was concerned at first when I saw my IG followers declining due to my inactivity. I then came to my senses and stopped posting irrelevant posts to my reason for being in IG. I am a woodworker and have been for 30 years. I am not, nor do I want to make a living on social media. I want to post my work in the shop to be used for clients and/or for potential clients. And if my posts help others in the world, then that is great too. I love sharing as well as learning from others in the woodworking community. My woodworking Is currently not my full time business, but will be when I retire. I need to stay true to myself and why I post. It’s been great following you Jay and wish you the future success you desire. Frank (Franks Wood Designs)

  46. Jay – Enjoyed reading your post. Great to watch self actualization in process and even better to see it be successful. For myself I continue to try and be a luddite. After some many years being tied to a pager the idea of staring into a small screen goes against my grain. And since most of the calls I get are Scams or robocalls I tend to act like it “can all wait” .
    So there it is, based on others comments you are not alone. You are light years ahead of most in that you found what you enjoy to do and you are doing it while you have a family you love and who loves you.

    Now, that said I am very jealous that you keep getting these great new tools!!! That Pantorouter looks amazing…. Be sure to keep us less fortunate folks is mind when your showing your build techniques. (aka other joining methods)

  47. Thanks for the update Jay . What was the Air Quality reading before the filters ? Just wondering how much of an improvement you were able to get .

    Keep doing what you do ; )

    • I can get really low numbers with just the air cleaner cart but it takes longer. How much impact these filters have on the readings depends on how often and how fast the fans are running. I continue to use them like normal and do not keep them running just to clean the air.

  48. Jay, first off, love the little ones photo’s! Your daughter is very cute. Your “Social Media” article is spot on. I find myself in the same boat. I think I’ll do the same and delete a lot of it. Got too many Apps on there. Keep all your Woodworking coming. I look forward to it even though a lot is over my head. Your too good!

  49. I’m 33 years old and I can honestly say that i look up to you for being wise beyond your years and just simply an all around good person. Keep it up, the world needs more people like you. You have something more important than any amount of followers or likes will ever be able to compete with. You deserve all good that comes your way.

  50. Jay. Nice to see that somebody your age can stop and put the phone down. I have never signed up for FB or Instagram, or other platforms. Whenever people suggested that I follow them on those platforms, I lost interest. I tell people all the time that YOU are in charge, not the phone. Put it down and talk, engage. Think for yourself. It’s better for your brain to read, digest the info, and be in control. Maybe I’m just too “old school”, but I think too many times people have become addicted to social media and lose control. And on another thought, fresh air will always be better. I say that from da UP, eh. A guy from Michigan will understand that.

  51. Been following you from the beginning Jay. It has been a pleasure and honor to see you grow as a craftsman, husband, and father. Great to hear you choose to balance your life. Social media has it’s place, but simply as an “occasional place”: not as an everyday/hour must watch. Your choice to reduce its time, priority, and generalized impact on your and your family’s life is both commendable and a sign of maturity & wisdom. While it is nice to know how family & friends are doing, it is altogether another to be involved in the never ending world of “the gossip column.” Sadly, almost all social media has devolved into little more than gossip columns. So welcome back to sanity and reality.

  52. I really need to do the same, social media has become such a time waster. It’s sad to see Instagrams organic reach start to decline but I guess when it’s owned by Facebook it was bound to happen. Also I had a Facebook ad halfway through the article ????

  53. Jay – Enjoyed this post. I totally agree with you on limiting or eliminating social media. By the way, never get rid of the roll up doors. I have a double-car garage with a single door. LIving in SOCal where it’s still 90 almost every day, I would love to hav two doors!

  54. Jay, this is why I follow you, I like your honesty, no-bull (or gimmicks) attitude, and the fact that you have such a good head on your shoulders! and Of course I like your great tutorials…. I spend less time on Social Media and get more done. I love the photos of the family. I can’t believe that your daughter is already one! I remember the amazing announcement last year. She looks happy! She is beautiful . Keep up the good work Jay. Just follow what feels right to you and your family. Wishing you all the best!

  55. Great post Jay. I really have enjoyed watching your channel / website and learning from you over the recent past. It’s refreshing to see someone who’s so grounded while pursuing your key goals that you’ve articulated so clearly here. Completely agree with your views and approach and intend to follow you on your website.

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