Content Consumption Overload

Published: Thu, 06/06/24

Updated: Thu, 06/06/24

Hi,

NOTE: This is going to be a long email...considering while I type to break it up into parts. Let's see how it goes.

But first...It's been a while since I used that header. Do you like it?

Better than the one I've been using? Let me know. Just hit reply.

(By the way, that's probably the best way to contact me and actually get a response! Just hit reply to ANY of my emails.)

Moving on.

I'm continuously plagued by having too much to read and not enough time or energy to read it.

It's a thing that's really bothered me since I was about 9 years old.

Backstory: I used my own money to subscribe to a newsletter called "Pro Football Weekly." Yes, I was super into football back then. RAIDERS!

You know, before Al Davis moved them to LA...but I digress.

I used to endeavor to devour that weekly newsletter. I did my damnedest to read it cover to cover each week.

And each week, the new edition would come in before I'd finished reading the last one.

And it HURT. It made me sick to my stomach.

Pretty pathetic, huh?

But I felt like I was wasting my money if I didn't read the whole thing.

Plus, of course, there were books and newspapers to read, too.

So even back then, I was in information overload status on a constant basis.

It's far worse now. Content is being produced collectively faster than all of us can take it in.

Whereas before, one could say we suffered from too little info (we had to go to the library or bookstore to buy a book), we now are burdened by too much content.

It's like drinking from the proverbial firehose.

So what's a guy or gal to do? COPE.

I was going to make a witty acronym from that but I'm too lazy and don't have much creativity at the moment.

But what I am going to do is tell you how I deal with this TODAY.

Right now.

My primary mode of content consumption is email. Sure, I browse the web and watch YouTube.

You'll see how I process both email and web content below. Keep reading.

I'll tell you how I process YouTube/video content another email.

I've tried to be an "inbox zero" guy. But all it does is make me cringe. When the unread email gets to be too much, I simply archive it without reading it.

Out of sight, out of mind.

I find myself doing this every couple months. My threshold seems to be 1,000 emails.

However, I do TRY to process email as it comes in. Here's how it works:

I scan the sender and subject line. If neither of those piques my interest, I archive it. DONE. Sometimes, I even unsubscribe!
If one or both interests me, I open it. Then I break it down into two parts.
1. Read it now.
2. Read it later. If it's a read it later and I can open it in a browser (like a Substack article), I send it to Pocket. I love Pocket! If I can't open it in a browser, it stays in my inbox...until I archive it as described above. Sad.

Obviously, for web content I find, I either read it now or read it later. If it's "read it later," I send it to Pocket.

Of course, I have to remember to open Pocket from time to time and READ the articles I said I was going to read later.

This, of course, is a big job. And I admit, it kind of smacks of "kicking the can down the road."

In a later email, I will tell you how I deal with video. It's kind of neat, if I do say so myself.

Now, let's turn the tables a bit.

How do you deal with content consumption overload?

With love,

Bill

19514 142nd St E
Bonney Lake WA 98391
USA

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