How to Find Balance in the Age of Limitless Content
Throughout my life, I have always been an avid reader. I don’t have motion sickness so I've always been able to read on long car rides and I was definitely that girl who was reading under her desk during school. Do you ever think back to what you did as a child in school and realize that the teachers definitely knew? There was no way I was being that sneaky (but I was never actually caught so I don't know). It’s not hard to for me to choose to pick up a book as my chosen form of relaxation at the end of the day.
However, sometimes I am completely overwhelmed by my choices. We are living in an age of limitless content and nearly limitless ways of consuming it. From books, to social media, to YouTube, to streaming services, to blogs, and a 24 hour news cycle—where does one begin?
I was talking to a friend recently about the stock market, how something had fallen or whatever the term is. I don’t follow stocks at all because a.) I don’t really have an interest in it and b.) my To Be Read list in LONG. On top of those reasons, I'm an actor so I’m also trying to stay on top of auditions, new plays, and finding new audition material. I mentioned to her that if it wasn’t a news blurb sent to my phone via push notification, I didn’t know about it.
Is this something I’m proud of? No. Is it something I needed to say to wake up and read more of the news? Yes.
I am working on finding balance in the age of limitless content, inspired by this documentary. I linked it in a Weekly Wrap Up post a few weeks ago and if you haven’t watched it yet, you NEED to. It’s so good.
Here are 5 Ways to Find Balance in the Age of Limitless Content
Prioritize What Matters to You
For me, this is books, The New York Times, audition websites, and one TV show at a time. I will always choose reading first, so I make sure I read every day. Typically it’s at least an hour on my commute to and from work (25-30 mins each way), one hour at lunch, and one hour in the evening. If I have a busy day, I know I’m at least reading on the subway.
I have a NYT subscription now because I want to support free, capitalist press. Watch the Theranos documentary on HBO if you’re able! My friend who sparked this idea told me about it and holy guacamole.
I check audition websites daily, typically in the morning and at night. And I really only choose one show at a time to watch via streaming service. Right now its Angel on Hulu. Though I do keep up with RuPaul’s Drag Race and Game of Thrones each week.
2. Replace a Habit
If you have the urge to check social media too often, replace the urge with something else. Maybe it’s the Kindle app on your phone or the News App. Or maybe it’s listening to a new or political podcast during your workout instead of Spotify. Eventually it will stick and your need to check social media to fill boredom will be replaced with the urge to keep up with the world.
3. Choose Content that Means Something to You
I will shout it to the rough tops for my whole life, but there is no reason to shame people for what they choose to read. I hate when people are embarrassed to love a book because it’s not high brow. If you enjoyed it, good for you! You read a book and connected to it, that’s what matters!
4. Hold Yourself Accountable
If you don’t use Goodreads yet, you need to. I started setting reading goals for myself back in 2013 and have stuck to them ever since. If you’re working towards something, it’s so satisfying to track your progress. With Goodreads, you can set a goal for yourself and how many books you want to read that year. You can keep track of what you’ve read and what you want to read! My goal for the year is 80 books.
5. Consume Your Media in an Individualized Way
Whether it’s audiobooks, podcasts, the News App, ebooks, the physical paper or the NYT on your iPad, consume your media if a way that is beneficial to YOU. Audiobooks count toward reading goals. Political podcasts count as the news. What is important is that it is bettering YOU and making YOU a productive member of society by being informed. For me, maybe that means picking up one of the memoirs written by the current presidential candidates, so I can get to know them better.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these ideas and let me know if you’ve watched either documentary mentioned!