How much time in a day do you spend consuming content?
Now when I say content, I don't just mean stuff like YouTube, Netflix, etc. I'm also referring to the time you spend scrolling through Instagram and Twitter, playing your favourite games, reading a book/newsletter/article or any piece of content that pops up on your radar during the day. Not to forget the music or podcasts you consume and the stuff you share between friends and family on all those chat apps you use.
Feels like your entire day doesn't it?!!
Even if you went back a few years, the mix would have involved many more things ( stuff we did outdoors, hanging out with friends, etc.). But in a post-COVID world content consumption is at an all-time high and has become so integrated into human behaviour that while we might cut back on it over time, it's now more ingrained in our daily process than ever before.
So one begins to wonder. " Am I just wasting my time with all this stuff I put into my mind?" Or could this be balanced to be a net positive for us as individuals? Because what we consume dictates how we're wired as individuals and it enables our heart, mind and soul to function, grow, bloom and balance themselves out. ( Statutory warning: too much screen time is wrong for you and your eyes) .
I've come to believe there is a way; I call it our consumption matrix or "the balanced information diet".
To understand it lets first segment everything we consume into three essential boxes.
The heart consumes all the stuff that connects to our value system. All the things that affect how we feel about the world around us. And end up driving our emotions and reactions like the tides in the sea.
The mind consumes all the information that drives learning into our brain cells. Things that make us know about the world around us, whether real or false, fact or un-truth drive our understanding of the world.
The Belly is what we feed ourselves for pure joy, for that occasional binge, for moments to reset our mind and heart by letting them relax and not get overly stimulated. The stuff we most times consume when we need our entire being to rest and relax.
The balance of these three help balance our heart, mind and soul. So whenever you feel out of sorts, overtly emotional, tired in your brain or endless sloth mode. Draw these boxes out and write down all the things you consume into them. Too much or too little of any one or more might just be disturbing your balance. So always gauge what you consume and make sure your information diet is genuinely balanced.
Weekly recommendations
A fabulous thread by @gaganbiyani on the underlying skills that help you succeed at anything. I’ve re-read this a few times and its so insightful that i might just keep going back to it from time to time.
A great prelude to the launch of Adam Grant’s new book “Think again”. He’s one of my favourite writers for the simple reason that he constantly makes me think 💭 with every insight he drives home in his books and podcast.
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Weekly Quote
“Our greatest strength is the exact opposite of narrow specialisation. It is the ability to integrate broadly”
David Epstein ( In his book Range)
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