Avoiding the content consumption trap
I continuously struggle to decide on what content to consume. I recognize the irony of writing my own piece of content, thereby burdening you if you too suffer from this affliction, which you may choose to spend some of your finite time reading (and appreciate you for spending time with these thoughts).
In the modern era, there is an an ever-growing volume of information and a myriad types of content at our fingertips. There are podcasts, audiobooks, blogs, websites, newsletters, social media, news articles, videos, and courses, but that's just the tip of the iceberg of available content. Non-digital formats include books, magazines, and newspapers. There is in-person content, such as lectures and museums. Finally, there is content that feels like it falls somewhere in between, like e-books.
It's overwhelming to consider all the options, and I don't know if or what the answer to this challenge is. Below, I have outlined a few ideas — the ones I find most convincing — proposed by others, and I will sprinkle in how I have adopted them.
Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals among other books, sent out a newsletter not too long ago calling for, essentially, the end of a to-read list. Burkeman boils this argument down to these lists get exuberant and bury the wood-be reader in a pile they are unlikely to get themselves out of. Instead, suggesting that you consume whatever is of interest, which you stumble upon in the moment, and if you can't or will not, then accept that it will never get consumed, and continue living. I have adopted this for online articles, but I keep a list of books I want to read, which I trim periodically.
I can't remember exactly where I got this idea from, but in essence, instead of frantically refreshing or, worse yet, leaving notifications on for news sites, a better approach is to follow a few curated newsletters and leave the rest. But as with all types of content, it is essential not to be bogged down in tens or hundreds of newsletters. I currently subscribe to three: Burkeman’s The Imperfectionist, Cal Newport’s Study Hacks Blog, and The Globe and Mail’s On Money. Even with just three, there are weeks when I cannot get to the newsletter, and I have adopted the practice of deleting a previous week’s newsletter when the next comes in — even if I haven't had the chance to read it.
Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World among others, suggests people stop using social media. I have more or less adopted this practice, but have kept two platforms — LinkedIn and YouTube — as I believe that when used appropriately, the benefits outweigh the harms. I have also implemented The Minimalist’s Casino rule (no scrolling, just searching) when using YouTube and have limited my LinkedIn usage to 10 minutes per day, which I find is the sweet spot between finding interesting ideas and opportunities without getting sucked into a black hole of content. If you decide to embark down this path, Newport’s Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World is a great read to get you started.
The last idea I will leave you with is Tim Ferriss’s “low-information diet”, which is outlined in The 4-Hour Workweek. Limit or outright stop all unnecessary content consumption. Essentially, if it's not for your job or school, don’t consume it. After this phase, see whether you want to incorporate any of this content back into your life, and, most importantly, be methodical about how you reintegrate it (see above: Digital Minimalism or Casino rule).
I hope that some of these ideas will help you make the most of your finite time. Consuming content is likely inevitable — as a world without any new ideas is not one I would like to live in — the real question lies in what and how much you will consume.
Take care,
Emanuel