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GOALS

What are SMART Goals and How do they help you?

If you are looking for the answer to this question, What are SMART Goals? Then you are in the right place. In this blog post, you will find what are smart goals and how they help you. You will also find how to know whether the goals you set for yourself are Smart goals or not. So, stay till the end.

Happy Reading!

Everyone sets goals for a better future.

You make plans, you make strategies to make everything work perfectly, but life doesn’t always happen the way you wanted.

You work so hard to make things happen and to get results, but sometimes you fail to achieve the goals you set for yourself. You make several excuses for why you failed, why things didn’t work out, what didn’t work out, and so on.

But have you ever wondered that it might be the point you started was wrong which eventually led you to get no results?

Tell me one thing… Can working in the wrong direction lead you to the right results? It cannot happen, Right? It’s like pushing a wall and expecting it to move. It’s a waste of effort.

Think about it this way, if you want to reach a destination and because of X reason you put the wrong address in Google Maps. Now can you expect to reach your destination without troubling yourself? No, you cannot. The same is the case with Goal setting.

Goal setting is the most important exercise that everyone must do if they want to accomplish something in their life. I don’t know why, but many people don’t pay much attention to this, and then complain about not getting quality results. I mean it’s foolish.

Goal setting and most importantly smart goal setting is the most crucial part when it comes to getting good quality results. And in this blog post, we are going to talk about the same.

Let’s start with figuring out what actually smart goals are.

SMART Goals are nothing but the goals that are set to achieve quality results in a given period of time. Usually, they are a group of small tasks, which together help you go one step ahead to achieve the major goal you have in your life.

Let’s get into this a little deeper, imagine your goal is to write an article. Now, there are several things that come into consideration when we talk about writing, and that are research, case studies, keyword research, grammar check, making the article inspiring, and so on.

Now, if you sit to do everything at once, you will go nuts and nothing valuable will come out of it. So it’s better to divide this goal into smaller tasks or short-term goals which eventually contribute to writing the article.

These small tasks that you set for yourself like keyword research are what we call a smart goal. Now the question is, how will you find out if the goal you are setting is a smart goal or not?

There are 5 criteria that come into consideration when we talk about setting smart goals and it’s nothing but this acronym

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic/Relevant

T – Time-bound

How to know if the goals you set are smart goals or not?

S – Specific

The goal you set for yourself should be specific. This is the first and the most crucial part of setting a smart goal. It’s like, if your aim is not right, then how can you expect to get the right results?

Now, let’s talk about what makes a goal Specific.

Imagine you have a website and you want people to come and visit it which will eventually contribute to the growth of your business. Now, if you plan and strategize to increase your website traffic then it will just be a goal, but if you want to make it specific then switch it and decide the number of visitors you want on your website. Is it 5000, 10000, or 50000 visitors per month? Just select a number and start working towards it.

If your goal is not specific that means you don’t have clarity about what you want to achieve. In a situation like this, you won’t be able to decide what to do, and when to do and you will get nothing in the end. Setting a specific goal basically gives you a clear direction to where to land.

M – Measurable

The goal you set for yourself should be measurable.

When I say measurable, that means getting the results that you can count in numbers. As we all know numbers are very easy to track and you can use them to figure out what’s working and what’s not. According to this analysis, you can make the necessary changes to your plan.

If we take the previous example of increasing your website traffic, then setting a goal to get 5k, 10k, or even 50k visitors is a great way to track your growth. You can track the no. of visitors to your website using Google Analytics which is a free tool used by almost every marketer in the world. By tracking the no. of visitors to your website, you can make decisions on what to do next.

A – Achievable

The goal should be achievable.

Set a goal that you can achieve by putting in your efforts and hard work. Don’t set a goal that is unachievable because it will do nothing but make you feel horrible when you fail.

Like setting a goal to get 5 million subscribers on YouTube overnight. It’s not achievable and to some extent, it’s insane. Yes, you can do it providing you post some extraordinary content that goes viral and makes you a star overnight. But in 99.99% of cases, it doesn’t happen. So don’t set a goal is which you cannot achieve.

If you really want 5 million subscribers on Youtube, then plan everything in advance. Put in all your efforts and make good quality content, built-up your audience, and then scale it over time. You surely can do it providing you do all your work perfectly.

R – Realistic

The goal should be realistic and relevant.

You cannot set a goal that is impossible to achieve like becoming a swimmer who can breathe underwater. Obviously, you can do it with all those oxygen cylinders that you can carry with you but you cannot do it on your own. It’s beyond human potential. It’s not realistic.

Setting an unrealistic goal is just a waste of time and effort. You don’t get results and you feel bad about it too. So, what’s smart about it? Just think to yourself.

T – Time-bound

The goal you set for yourself should have a time limit. When you set a goal without any time limit, you are more likely to fail to achieve that goal.

When you set a goal and have no time limit, you tend to procrastinate and keep delaying it because you don’t have any pressure on yourself to take action. It’s not your fault, it’s human nature. You will get involved in your daily household chores and will find gazillions of reasons why you couldn’t take action. But let me tell you this doesn’t help you get any further to achieving your goal.

If your goal is to write a book then set a time limit and commit to yourself that you are going to complete the first chapter in a 2 or 3-month period. Because if you don’t do that, you won’t be able to complete that book ever. It’s a fact, and it doesn’t matter how much you are committed to writing that book.

So whatever your goal is, set a time limit to complete that goal and try to follow up with that.

How setting SMART Goals can help you?

Setting smart goals can help you in many ways.

It gets you quality results

I believe this is the main difference between setting a goal and setting a smart goal. Smart goals help you get quality results. You can track them and can tell what’s working for you and what’s not. And then you can make changes to your strategies accordingly. This is what you cannot do by setting a random goal.

It increases your productivity

You often have heard from others that they can’t find momentum and the rhythm to keep going. But when you set a smart goal and get quality results for yourself, what actually happens is you create momentum for yourself.

You put in the right efforts and you get quality results and the cycle goes on and on. Though it’s not as easy as it may sound but it’s not impossible too.

It gives you mental peace

When you are stress-free, it gives you mental peace; there is no doubt about this fact. You feel a great level of satisfaction when you are stress-free.

Smart goals are easy to achieve because it is not something that’s unrealistic. You can achieve them without any stress on your mind. It works like this, you set a goal, you achieve it and then you move forward and this just keeps happening, providing you don’t miss putting in the effort.

Conclusion

Goal setting is the easiest and the most difficult thing, both at the same time. If you know what you are upto, then it’s the easiest and if you don’t then it’s the most difficult thing to do.

In the above post, I talked about what are smart goals and how to know whether the goals you are setting are Smart goals or not. Also, we discussed how they can help you.

Now, do let me know in the comments below, what your takeaways are and what techniques you use to set the goals that work for you.

Keep Hustling!

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsSeptember 23, 2022 ago

GOALS

7 effective ways to double your productivity

Hey, do you struggle when it comes to productivity? Do you need a lot of time for completing a small task? Are you the one who is always been asked to complete things on time and gets to listen: Hey, how much more time do you need to complete this small thing?

If any of them is you, then this post is for you as I’ll share 7 ways that are super effective and will double your productivity at your workplace and in your career in general.

Now, if you are among them, the very first thing I want to say to you is, don’t worry; there is nothing in this world that you can’t improve. There are so many people in this world who work their a** off to get things done but don’t get the desired results on time. You are not alone, we together can figure this out or should I say it as Marie Forleo do, Everything is Figureoutable.

Now, let’s talk about those 7 effective ways that will help you double your productivity.

1. Setting clear goals

There is no need to say why setting goals is important to get things done. But it doesn’t help to just set goals when it comes to productivity. You have to set clear goals if you want to work faster and increase your productivity to get things done on time.

You might be wondering what’s the difference. Well, setting goals is for overall growth but setting clear goals is basically for one particular day or for the next couple of hours doing a particular task. In other words, creating boundaries for your daily tasks.

Think of it this way, you have an article to write about increasing stress and anxiety in today’s world. Now, there are several small tasks that come into consideration when you create something like that including research and development, keyword research, working on grammar, making the article inspiring, and XYZ.

Now the main goal is to write the article but the clear goal is what you are going to do in order to achieve your main goal. What clear goal/s are you going to set for yourself to work on for the next couple of hours that will take you one step ahead?

Let’s say you have decided to work on making the article inspiring, so it becomes your clear goal now. Therefore, when it comes to increasing your productivity focus on setting clear goals instead of setting random goals.

This graphic show the difference between setting goal and setting clear goal

2. Do one thing at a time

When you finally sit and start your work, there is a lot of stuff (both work-related and non-work-related) comes to your mind, like pending tasks, upcoming tasks, problems to be solved, new thoughts & ideas, and other kinds of crap; and it becomes very difficult to concentrate on your work which eventually affects your productivity in a bad way. It also makes you feel overwhelmed, and overburdened and it makes you go nuts.

In a situation like this, you should try to focus on just one particular thing at a particular time. Imagine yourself working on a presentation but along with that, your mind is telling you about the upcoming tasks that you have to do, which actually doesn’t let you focus on that presentation.

Usually, it would take around 2 hours to complete that presentation but with all the stuff in your mind, it took you 3 hours to complete the same. This is how lack of concentration decreases your productivity on a huge level. Now in this same case scenario, if you manage to train your brain and focus on the stuff that matters, you win.

Focus on one thing only and not even think about other stuff until you are done with the prior one. Commit to yourself that you are not going to consider anything before you are done completing this one.

PRO Tip: Focus on completing the important tasks first, it will take a big chunk of the burden out of you.

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3. Using the U-I matrix

Prioritizing your to-do list helps to increase your productivity and categorizing your to-do list using the urgent-important matrix is a great way to do the same. If you don’t know what the urgent-important matrix is, then there is no need to worry. It is a 2X2 grid matrix that looks like the graphic given below.

This is an image of urgent important matrix.

This matrix is used to set priorities by categorizing the tasks into 4 parts and that is,

#1. Urgent and important: Task/s under this category must be done immediately,

#2. Not urgent but important: You can plan or schedule the tasks that fall under this category,

#3. Urgent but not important: don’t waste your time and energy on these tasks and hire someone else to do them for you,

#4. Not urgent not important: eliminate these tasks from your list.

By doing so, you can focus on the things that need your time and energy the most and eliminate those that don’t. You can use apps like Trello, Asana, etc. to make the list.

4. Taking breaks

Taking small breaks in the middle of the work is very important. It helps your mind to relax and think clearly.

The Pomodoro technique is the best way to increase your productivity. It says to work with total concentration for 25 minutes and then rests for 5 minutes. Repeat this cycle four times and then take a long break for 15 minutes. You can also grab a cup of coffee or an ice tea if you want to. The graphic below shows exactly what you have to do.

This graphic shows how the Pomodoro technique works

If you want to know more about The Pomodoro Technique then you can check out this blog post: The Pomodoro Technique Explained.

5. Write

Writing is a great way to clear your mind and thoughts. Studies have shown that a human brain generates around 6000 thoughts in a single day which is a blend of everything including stuff that is important, urgent, crap, fun, sensible, non-sensible, and god knows what else. With this much going on in your mind, focusing on one thing and talking about productivity is next to impossible. And this is where writing can help you and save you a lot of time.

The pen is the tongue of the mind.
– Horace

Writing helps you prioritize your tasks and take the burden out of your mind. It also helps you filter your thoughts which is a must for making important decisions. Tracking your progress and growth also becomes easy when you start writing.

Get a journal or just a normal notepad, and start to write what’s going on in your mind. Then categorize everything based on the typologies you might have. When you start to write and develop it as a habit, it will also help boost your self-confidence and give you the opportunity for positive self-talk.

6. Take a good amount of sleep

Sleep plays a crucial role when it comes to productivity. The sleep you take has a direct connection to your mind and body; you tend to feel dizzy and your body doesn’t respond very well if you don’t take a proper amount of sleep, which ultimately affects your productivity.

Most people stay up late at night watching Netflix or scrolling on social media which makes their minds tired when they go to sleep and it’s not healthy for your subconscious mind. If you don’t know how your subconscious mind works, then I would suggest you read this book called The Power of your Subconscious Mind by JOSEPH MURPHY.

You might have observed how your productivity decreases when you didn’t take a proper amount of sleep. You feel sleepy all day, your mind keeps telling you that you’re tired and you need to rest.

According to science, a sleep of around 6-7 hours is considered healthy for an adult. The best time for healthy sleeping is between 10 pm to 5 am.

Did you know? There are 3 stages of sleep: Deep sleep stage, Alert stage, and Dreaming stage. Each stage lasts for 90 minutes and the sleep is considered sound sleep when you complete this whole cycle(90×3) twice without any interruptions.

7. Change the environment

The environment you work in affects your productivity a lot. You cannot expect to give your best and get great results by being in an environment that is not work-friendly.

There are several ways that you can make the workplace work-friendly that will give you working vibes.

Keep your workspace neat and clean; using a minimum no. of items at your desk really helps focus on a particular thing only. Instead of using warm colored lights which give the feeling of comfort and coziness (which is a big no at the workplace), using blue lighting can help promote alertness and helps you concentrate.

Using colors or shades of

1. Orange which helps to concentrate, focus, and increase your creativity,

2. Blue which encourages the performance and brain’s thought process, and

3. Green at the workplace helps you to relax and refreshes your mind to clear your thoughts.

Conclusion

There are several factors that come into consideration when it comes to increasing your productivity. You have to experiment a little bit by trying several tricks and techniques and find the one that works best for you. No one can tell you that better than you do.

Which of these 7 ways that we talked about, resonates with you the most, and which are you going to try the first? Do let me know in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsAugust 16, 2022 ago

GOALS

How to use your additional time effectively

If you are someone who doesn’t know what to do with your extra or additional time, then this post is for you. In this post, I have mentioned 5 things that you can do to make that extra time count.

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Sometimes, you have completed all your tasks for the day, but you are still left with some time in your hand and don’t get what to do with it. I want to ask you. What do you do with the additional time you get after completing all your tasks for the day?

Some of you might say that you spend that additional time watching Netflix, some spend it scrolling on social media, and some spend it doing nothing but waste it.

Well, time is the most precious asset we have as humans. I mean, cats and dogs never worry about wasting their time. By the way, that’s all what they do; they eat, sleep and repeat. But can you do the same? I guess the answer for most of you is a big No.

When you have worked so hard all day long and get an additional bonus i.e., the time you have saved and left with; there is no point wasting it by doing useless things. I mean you have earned it; it’s your reward for sticking to the schedule, you can’t just waste it. Right?

Also, when you are driving to work or waiting in a long queue, or when you are in a cab; you never track the time you waste in such situations. And similar to the saying, every penny counts; every second counts too.

Now, some of you might say that I can’t be working every time. Well, I’m not saying that you should work every single minute of your life. You should also take time to have fun with your family and friends. You should enjoy your life. All that I’m saying is to manage your time properly so that you can get the most out of your working hours and don’t waste the additional time you get after that.

You should make the most of that additional time you get and make it effective for you. Here are some ways that will help you make your time count.

#1. Upgrade your personal/professional skills

Today skills are the only thing that matter. Therefore, upgrading your skills whether it’s personal or professional is one of the best ways to utilize your time.

This image is about upgrading your skills

Skill Development is so necessary in today’s world. When you have the right skills, you are more likely to get new opportunities and you are open to new possibilities as well.

Don’t confuse schooling with education. I didn’t go to Harvard but the people that work for me did.
Elon Musk

Skills matter more than a degree. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk once stated that a man with skills is far more ahead than a man with nothing but a college degree. Sure, college degrees are good to have but if you don’t have the right skills to execute what you have learned in college, it’s just a waste. You have wasted those years of your life in college if you are one of them.

If you agree with me on this, then grab your notepad and get a course or something to upgrade and level up your skills. Platforms like Alison, edX, Udemy, etc. offer a wide variety of courses to upgrade your personal and professional skills that you can learn and make the most of your time.

#2. Learning new things

A great way to expand your horizons is to learn new things. Learning makes a person alive. Every person who is successful today is a great learner. They never stop learning new things. When you open yourself to learning new things, you actually have opened the door for new opportunities and possibilities for yourself.

Whether it’s something you’ve always wanted to learn, like how to become a better speaker or something you never thought you would be interested in, like history, there’s a lot you can learn.

Reading books is one of the best ways to expand your horizons and learn new things. It’s also a great way to improve your vocabulary and build your vocabulary word bank. Start with learning things that you are interested in and that inspire you.

#3. Listen to audiobooks

This image is about audiobooks — Source: Unsplash

Listening to audiobooks is another great way to utilize your additional time. Books have always been the best source to increase your knowledge and audiobooks help you to absorb that knowledge in a very short time. It is the best way to learn more in less time. There are many platforms where you can listen to audiobooks like

Audible
Google Audiobooks
Kobo Audiobooks
Downpour
Hoopla
Librivox

You can learn new languages, enhance your listening comprehension, and even learn how to become a better person in general. Some of the best audiobooks are nonfiction, so if that’s a genre you’re interested in, you should definitely check it out. Some of the best nonfiction audiobooks are history, political science, and education.

You can listen to audiobooks while doing chores, driving to work, or any other time too. Switch your Netflix time with an audiobook session and see the difference it brings to your life.

#4. Listen to podcasts

Listening to Podcasts is an effective way to learn something you want. Studies have shown that listening to podcasts relieves your brain muscles and is good for your mental health too. It also helps reduce stress levels and anxiety.

This image is about podcast — Source: Unsplash

When you get some extra time, spend it by listening to podcasts you are interested in. There are several podcasts on several different topics. Choose one for yourself and learn new things.

Though everyone has different tastes and choices, you may or may not be interested in the list of podcasts mentioned below that talk about self-help and personal development.

#5. Get a hobby and Have fun

This image is about painting — Source: Unsplash

Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun. In today’s chaotic world, people often forget to do what they love. They are stuck in the circle of their jobs and families and forget to take care of themselves. Doing what you love gives you a feeling of calmness and peace. You feel happy when you do what you love. It makes you feel alive.

Maybe you are someone who loves to paint but because of a busy schedule, you don’t get much time to do it. And now when you have this extra time, you can spend it with your new canvas and paint brushes. You can also explore your interests online; so if you’re curious about a certain topic, you can learn more about it online; there are several courses that you can take to learn more about it.

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By Nisha Kohli, 2 yearsJune 7, 2022 ago

GOALS

How to stop procrastination and start taking action

How many times do you procrastinate in a single day? I know some of you can’t even count it and some don’t even realize that they do it. It’s like procrastination is a part of your life and this is how you do all your stuff. You do everything like that without even realizing it.

Do you know why? It’s because you have developed a habit of procrastination and your subconscious mind is responsible for it. It does it without you even noticing it.

Did you know? Your subconscious mind doesn’t have the power to think on its own, it only follows the instructions given by your conscious mind. And like we perform all the sensory activities such as breathing, watching, and listening without realizing and still doing it; similarly, you procrastinate without even realizing it.

But here is a good thing, like every bad habit, you can change this habit too. You can change your habit of procrastination and make yourself do what you meant to be doing instead of pushing it for tomorrow.

Here’s the reason why you procrastinate

The human brain has 2 levels: Conscious and Subconscious.

The conscious mind is responsible for thinking, feeling, and intuitions at a particular moment whereas the subconscious mind is responsible for storing the data and responding the way it is programmed. It only focuses on things that are stored within there and works accordingly.

A conscious mind is like that strict parent who wants their kids to do what they want and follow rules and regulations. And the subconscious mind is like that poor little kid who can do nothing but listen to what their parents are saying.

There are hidden powers within your subconscious mind and you can do wonders if you learn how to use them. You can’t rely on your conscious mind which just focuses on your everyday rut.

Your conscious mind focuses on your survival and comfort only. It has nothing to do with any of your dreams and goals. That’s why every time you think about completing a task and trying harder than you can or working on something that matters, it just starts to give you thoughts like ‘you are tired; you need rest, so let’s do it tomorrow.’ And you know what, that ‘tomorrow’ never comes.

Types of procrastinators

1. The one with a lack of Self-discipline

Everyone likes lying down on the sofa, eating popcorn, and watching Netflix all day. But that’s not what achievers do.

A person with a lack of self-discipline usually doesn’t know how to manage their time. They keep themselves busy doing unimportant tasks and waste their time, and at the end of the day, they say things like, “Oh, I couldn’t make it today, so let’s do it tomorrow”. And the other day, they do similar things and procrastinate like a Pro.

Doing what’s important first is what makes you more productive and gives you the confidence to keep going. So, learn how to manage your time properly, it’s a skill that will help you in every aspect of your life.

2. The one who has decision paralysis

One decision can make a massive impact on what your future is going to be. I guess, no one will deny this. But when it comes to making a decision, many people fail at it. Sometimes they are confused, sometimes they get attached to one thing so much. They procrastinate and keep on delaying and pushing it for the other day.

Making the right decision at the right time makes a huge difference between where you are and where you want to be. So screw everything and make that damn decision that is still pending in your head.

3. The one who doesn’t take action

Oftentimes you procrastinate in taking action because something is stopping you from doing what you want to do. There can be several reasons why you do that, you might be scared of what others will think about you, or maybe you are thinking you are not ready yet; excuses are endless.

But only thinking and not taking any action is worthless. It’s not going to make any difference. If you want something to be done, then stop procrastinating and take action.

3 steps that will help you stop procrastination

1. Setting a goal

This image is about setting a goal — Source: Unsplash

The first step that will help you stop procrastination is to set a goal for yourself. Setting a goal is like putting a destination in Google Maps, without which you can’t decide which route to take.

Your goal can be learning a new skill, starting working out, studying at night, learning a new language, or anything else. Whatever your goal, write it down on a piece of paper. According to research, when you write down your goals on paper, you are more likely to take action and achieve your goals.

Write down briefly what you want to achieve and make an action plan for it. The action plan should contain small but achievable tasks. Create imaginary deadlines for yourself and stick to them. Follow the plan and the deadlines sincerely to achieve your goals.

2. Break a task into small chunks

Can you have a whole large pizza in one go? I guess no one can. That’s why they slice it down into several pieces so that you can have it easily and enjoy it.

Then why do you think that you can get everything done in just one go? Why do you want every task to be completed in one sitting? It can never be done that way. When you try to do everything simultaneously, you can’t focus on one thing altogether, leading to nothing but dissatisfaction.

Stop being a multi-tasking person and focus on one thing at a time. When you focus on one thing at one time, productivity increases and you are more likely to complete that particular task in lesser time.

Try to break a task into small pieces of work and focus on one thing at a given period of time and then move on to other. This way it will be easier for you to analyze your progress for a particular task and you can make the right decision at right time.

3. Reward yourself

We humans always crave appreciation and rewards in any form we can get. We love it when someone appreciates and praises us for our work. If you look closely at what you do and why you do it, there is always a reward waiting in the end.

The work you do is directly proportional to the craving you have.

If you work hard at the office, there is a craving for raise in salary or a promotion. If you work out in the gym every day that’s because you want to be in shape. These are all cravings and there are a lot of examples if you look closely in your life. So, why not use this human psychology to help you stop procrastinating?

Always give a reward to yourself when you set a goal and accomplish them. The reward should be something that you love; for example, a chocolate chip ice cream or your favorite pizza or watching your favorite Netflix series, it can be anything.

This image is about rewarding yourself — Source: Unsplash

Set a goal and follow all the rules you set for yourself. After accomplishing your goal, gift yourself something you love. But the gift is valid only if you follow all the rules and if you would be able to make it up till the end.

You can set a goal for a week and after accomplishing it, gift yourself a date night on the weekend with your favorite Netflix series. This technique makes you work even harder to accomplish your goals as there is a craving attached to it.

Conclusion

If you want to achieve your goals then you must change your habit of procrastination.

A habit of pushing things on tomorrow. And you know what’s an exciting truth about tomorrow, that it never comes and when it comes, it becomes today.

Change your habit of procrastination and develop a habit of taking action because that’s what it takes to accomplish any goal you have in your life.

So what type of procrastinator are you? And what are the steps that you are going to take to move ahead? Tell me in the comments below.

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By Nisha Kohli, 3 yearsMay 17, 2022 ago