Budget how you spend a typical day and the list will be topped by Netflix, books, articles, Reddit, blogs, YouTube and Social Media. Come on. Don’t we all just love to consume content that others create. You are consuming content right now.
Now certain forms of consumption are better than others. For instance, reading a business book to boost sales for your company is better than reading the latest Dan Brown. Or watching a documentary might be better use of your time than a Chick flick. And if you’ve subscribed to Medium and are reading blogs like these, then probably you’ve reached the stage where you are conscious about the content you consume and have decided to grow as a person. That’s definitely a step forward. You have developed the self-awareness to filter what you consume and process.
But ask yourself this. Is that all you’re doing? Are you reading non-fiction books, watching YouTube videos of growth hacks, go on with your day job and next thing you know it’s night and time to hit the sack? Welcome to what I call “The Dreaded Consumption loop”. Hopefully, by the end of these three tips, I’ll help you figure out a way to exit this addictive vortex.
What’s wrong with being in the Consumption loop?
Like I said, being in this loop is still better than lazing around. At least you’re learning something new that’ll help you or your business. But that comes with a side effect of satisfaction and complacency. That “feel-good” feeling might even stop you from going further in your personal growth journey.
Consuming non-fiction content gives us the illusion that we are growing, whereas in reality it’s just giving us the necessary tools to actually grow as a person. You still need to be conscious and put these new gained tools to work. I have literally spent months studying about Storytelling. Be it online courses, decoding stories of pros, analyzing character arcs in Pixar movies etc. Which felt good cause I was constantly learning techniques and tactics. But here’s the issue. I had never written a single story! I’ve heard similar stories from Writers, Music Composers and at times even professionals. Trust me. Breaking out of that is a very satisfying feeling.
How to fix it?
The first step is to be just conscious about it. Catch yourself if you find that you’re constantly consuming material and yielding nothing out of it. Cause nothing really does come out of it.
Tip1: Define your purpose
There’s no point in aiming for growth unless you narrow it down to a specific objective. Ask yourself, what is it that you want to get better at. Random, cluttered consumption is mostly a big waste of time.
Let what ever it is that you’re consuming, be for a bigger purpose. Now this purpose need not be something profound like life’s purpose. Just something that you want to work towards and laser focus all your consumption time on getting better at that.
For Example:
- I want be a better Copywriter
- I want to be more disciplined
- I want to be more well-read
- I want to start my own business
- I want to write a novel
- I want to look fit in 90 days
Make sure you don’t have more than 2–3 of these, else it just gets overwhelming. Write down exactly what it is and tell yourself that I’m reading this article or watching this video to get better at so and so or to become so and so. It’s just a way of organizing your consumption time and understanding which bucket each content falls into. Anything that you consume outside of those 2–3 objectives is just your leisure time. So there’s your first task. Go ahead and compartmentalize your goals and the consumption material.
Tip2: Set a deadline
Now that you know what to achieve, set a deadline after which you’ll start creating or inculcating the tools that you’re equipped with.
Give yourself the permission to consume a lot of content circling your goals with out feeling guilty of not creating anything out of it. But on that deadline, start writing your article, start recording the podcast, shoot that short film or get that online business started. It might not be of best quality but you’ve made a start and it’s only going to get better.
As the deadline approaches, you’ll be pressured to get better at your craft and might catch yourself consuming more. But that’s okay. As long as you’re not doing that after the deadline.
I have been trying to get better at chess during this lock down time and aim to reach a score of 1400 on Chess.com (You start with a mediocre 800). I have given myself another 6 days to learn opening moves, gambits, tactics and strategies. After which I need to just start playing opponents and get better by putting myself out there.
Tip3: Split your daily time between Consumption and Creation
Now post the deadline, we cannot just put a full stop to consumption. In fact a major catalyst for us to get better at any craft is to watch and observe how the pros do it.
“By spending 20 percent of your waking hours consuming material in your creative field, you can develop an intuitive, expert-level understanding of the level of familiarity of an idea” The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett
Let’s say you set aside deep work for about 3 hours a day. Consciously plan your day so that there is a balance between creation and consumption and not just the latter. I usually have a 50–50 split but you maintain what works for you. For instance, I’m taking this course on Podcast Recording and Monetization. I have to attend it and be focused during course hours. Later in the day I either record the podcast with my co-host or edit previous material and strike that balance.
I split my 3 hours of daily deep work in 6 chunks of 30 mins during which I’m fully focused with no distractions. Call it the Pomodoro. And while planning these 6 slots, I ensure that at least 2 are dedicated for creation everyday and tag them accordingly. Here’s what a typical day plan looks like for me.
The ones in blue are for creation and the ones in yellow are for consumption. PD stands for Pomodoro. This way, when I plan my day, it’s very easy to catch myself if I’m just consuming and not creating. You’ll eventually want to be in a state where, what you consume catalyses and enhances the caliber of what you create. That sweet spot is called Deliberate Practice and you will quickly master your craft even before you know it.
Summary:
- Be conscious if you’re falling prey to the “Consumption Loop”
- Define your growth purpose.
- Set a deadline after which you’ll stop consuming.
- Distribute your time between consumption and creation on a daily basis.
So there you go. Make the best use of your time don’t feel guilty about consuming content anymore.
