Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?

[mikecarlooch]

You're doing great.. you're producing, feeling awesome, creative, amazing.

Then all of a sudden..

you see a forum post, a new book to read, you get sent down a rabbithole and all of a sudden you used all of your free time consuming content that you think is helping you but as soon as you stop reading you look back and think

"damn.. i don't remember 90% of the things I read!"

and all of a sudden, you can't stop consuming. you keep doing it day in day out and you go from feeling like a producer to feeling like a consumer again, and you get all of these inner anxieties trying to remember how you were producing.. how you were doing so good.. moving forward just a week ago..

I'm here to ask this:
How do you consume valuable content without falling back into consumer mode? It's honestly become terrifying to me.. and every single time it happens I always find a way out.. but I don't know how to keep myself out of this consumer rabbithole for good.

Thanks guys

 

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[hexelbyte]

Here's how I personally consume informative content:

1. When I'm on the toilet, if I have to wait for my body to do its thing, might as well use that time to "consume".

2. When I'm eating, I eat with my mouth and consume with my eyes and ears. Technically not "wasting" time in that sense.

3. When I'm driving. In this case I'm listening to the material (shoutout to @Kak for all his material to keep me company). I hate traffic but atleast I look forward to driving now since I can "consume" without regret.

I always see people around me say "I keep forgetting".
What do you do if you keep forgetting?
Write it down. Simple as that (for me atleast).
I forget things too, that's because I didn't write it down.

When I read a book or a forum post that I enjoyed, I tend to take a few notes on the side and bookmark them for later.

Looking forward to other's thoughts

 

[mikecarlooch]

Here's how I personally consume informative content:

1. When I'm on the toilet, if I have to wait for my body to do its thing, might as well use that time to "consume".

2. When I'm eating, I eat with my mouth and consume with my eyes and ears. Technically not "wasting" time in that sense.

3. When I'm driving. In this case I'm listening to the material (shoutout to @Kak for all his material to keep me company). I hate traffic but atleast I look forward to driving now since I can "consume" without regret.

I always see people around me say "I keep forgetting".
What do you do if you keep forgetting?
Write it down. Simple as that (for me atleast).
I forget things too, that's because I didn't write it down.

When I read a book or a forum post that I enjoyed, I tend to take a few notes on the side and bookmark them for later.

Looking forward to other's thoughts

Thank you for the response man! great tip on writing down. I've began bringing a notebook with me everywhere I go to write down anything interesting.. it's lead to some great ideas!

it's also been important for me to be working on going against my brain's desire to extend the things you mentioned in order to consume more, while simultaneously feeling like you're doing something productive because the information you're consuming is business related, but it really becomes an excuse to procrastinate.

 

[Jobless]

Related: GOLD! - The absolute BEST book you MUST read!

Most information is just noise, and I think it is hard to avoid or remember even 10% of it. Unless it strikes you as useful and you take action based on it, it will be forgotten.

You can also turn consuming into producing. If you truly enjoy reading books, watching film or playing video games, you can review it, analyze it, etc. Make content based on your reactions to it. There is a market for this.

Another option if you want less guilt when consuming is to become more efficient when producing. Example: do it in batches and release over time, giving the appearance of constant productivity. The anxiety is not a sign that consuming is bad necessarily, but that you have not done enough in producing.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Related: GOLD! - The absolute BEST book you MUST read!

Most information is just noise, and I think it is hard to avoid or remember even 10% of it. Unless it strikes you as useful and you take action based on it, it will be forgotten.

You can also turn consuming into producing. If you truly enjoy reading books, watching film or playing video games, you can review it, analyze it, etc. Make content based on your reactions to it. There is a market for this.

Another option if you want less guilt when consuming is to become more efficient when producing. Example: do it in batches and release over time, giving the appearance of constant productivity. The anxiety is not a sign that consuming is bad necessarily, but that you have not done enough in producing.

this is GOLD! Now that I think about it you're right. There's a few things I remember specifically that really hit me that I don't forget.. but most is always forgotten. It's crazy how it works to be honest.. I remember the times of reading books like "think and grow rich" and "the war of art" 6 months ago but can barely remember a single thing that was said..

But every time I get into a producer mode, I can feel a skill building up, something that can't be taken away from me.. it's like engrained inside of me when I take action.

You're also very right on the last sentence. Whenever I am heavy on producing and consuming on the side, I never feel guilt for consuming and I even remember more of the things I'm reading. The production phase gives off a real positive feedback loop that allows you to feel less guilty for taking in information

 

[Andreas Thiel]

You're doing great.. you're producing, feeling awesome, creative, amazing.

Then all of a sudden..

you see a forum post, a new book to read, you get sent down a rabbithole and all of a sudden you used all of your free time consuming content that you think is helping you but as soon as you stop reading you look back and think

"damn.. i don't remember 90% of the things I read!"

and all of a sudden, you can't stop consuming. you keep doing it day in day out and you go from feeling like a producer to feeling like a consumer again, and you get all of these inner anxieties trying to remember how you were producing.. how you were doing so good.. moving forward just a week ago..

I'm here to ask this:
How do you consume valuable content without falling back into consumer mode? It's honestly become terrifying to me.. and every single time it happens I always find a way out.. but I don't know how to keep myself out of this consumer rabbithole for good.

Thanks guys

Fell into a similar trap recently and I think there is another aspect worth thinking about.

It wasn't so much that I got distracted by something shiny or intriguing, it was that I was stuck with the items on my To Do list and waiting to get unstuck. Then I did things to fill the time and next thing I know I have not updated my To Do list for two weeks and am stuggling to stay organized with the processes that I have started.

I think it is important to keep a minimum routine (organization and awareness related) going even when your "producer tasks" are mostly blocked / on hold.

 

[BaiAnrui]

View: https://youtu.be/dmLTLkCBSN8


Tip: Look at this video....with a shout out to @MJ DeMarco

 

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[AnasHarn]

View: https://youtu.be/dmLTLkCBSN8


Tip: Look at this video....with a shout out to @MJ DeMarco

Thanks for this, now I have to think about a lot of things...