Changes In Consumption

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I recently made a major switch in my "content consumption" (hate that term) trends. Less noise, more signal.

I love podcasts. They're such a nice, pleasant way of sharing information, debate, discussion. They are available, well-made, and just convenient. I learned a lot from various podcasts over the years, and currently subscribe to 63. Here's a list if you're interested. I produce and host one podcast myself, and I'm working on a second one. So, podcasts = love for me.

But I realized that the ratio of time to knowledge isn't really that high in podcasts, at least for me. First, I usually listen to them while doing something, and so, I don't focus on them completely. Quite a few concepts get missed, just because I'm splitting my attention. Second, podcasts aren't that informative. I mean, they are. But, mostly, they're conversational-ish or semi-scripted. A podcast episode can't compare to a book written over a multiple-year period. It just can't.

So, that's why I switched from listening to ~2 hours of podcasts a day to reading books for 2 hours a day.

Books are more condensed, informative. Also, they can focus more attention on a single idea than any podcast can. They're long-form, long-term, and deliver their knowledge slowly. But they're so much more valuable. At least for me.

Invest in what is actually worthwhile.