Consume less media to increase your productivity

Posted by Rahna on May 1, 2008 under Strategy | Be the First to Comment

I’m reading Timothy Ferris’ The 4-Hour Work Week, and I am finding that, according to him, being clueless about the world around you is actually a measure of high productivity. Who knew?  I wish he’d tell my husband that; he’s a news channel junkie.  My husband thinks I should watch the news more often.  I don’t really read the newspaper or watch a lot of news. My husband is addicted to MSNBC, Fox News and all the other news channels and keeps it on the background as he works all day. He is an architect and can somehow do that. Me, I need focus.  

In the book (which I highly recommend), Ferris talks about the fact about you should only be consuming information that you need.  I thought that was an interesting concept. When I need news, I seek it out.  I subscribe to several marketing e-newsletters to keep me informed about what’s going on the marketing and media world—to understand others’ strategies and how changes in the business world will affect my clients. In addition, I have subscription to Inc, Fast Company, Business Week and a few other industry magazines that I can consume while I eat my lunch.  Whenever I need information and inspiration for development of programs for one of my clients, I find that inspiration often comes from a combination of my background and experience mixed with fresh ideas found on-line. That’s one of the beauties of the internet.  

I must admit, there are days when I just need to get connected to the world. But for the most part, I’m happy not knowing all the garbage that goes on in the world. While I’m interested in how China reacts to an earthquake and what aid they may need, I’m not as concerned about what Obama’s minster said the day before yesterday.  So if you’re looking for a way to add more time to your day, do what I do – don’t read the newspaper, don’t watch TV, just do whatever it is that you want to do. As Timothy Ferris states in his book, you’ll be surprised how little you’ll miss.