Recap
I created a Read It All plan last week with the notion of reading/listening to all my personal media (blog posts, podcasts, magazine articles and misc. online articles) on a consistent basis. How did I do? Well, here are the results.
First, the numbers
| Date | Blog posts | Podcasts | Mag articles | Misc online articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/14 – Tue | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6/15 – Wed | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6/16 -Thu | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6/17 – Fri | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6/18 – Sat | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6/19 – Sun | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6/20 – Mon | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
How I spent my time
I was fairly consistent with staying on schedule. There were a few hiccups but I either re-scheduled or let it go. As I soon realized, I scheduled more than enough time to consume all the media I wanted. Better to over estimate than come up short.
This past weekend was a bit tougher due to family activities but I still squeezed in some time. Judging from my Google reader, I think everyone was on the same wavelength and enjoying the weekend as well. This lead to quite a revelation. In the past, my reader was so backed up, I was always playing catch up. I probably never noticed that people seem to post less on weekends. Granted, it’s only been one week but I have a hunch it’ll be a consistent trend.
Whatever time I had left over was used for online articles from various websites. These mainly turned out to be for entertainment, news, sports, etc.
In the end, my epiphany was this… be consistent with your reading during the week. Then, schedule an hour or two on the weekends for those diehard bloggers and all should be good.
What I learned about my media consumption
I read all the blog posts in my Google reader. With a set time, I found myself more focused and investing 100% of my brain power. Prior to this plan, I would begin reading a post, get distracted and end up starting another activity. The worst time vampires were email and Twitter. By having them open in my browser tabs, the temptation to check was too great. For this exercise, I logged out of everything and only had my reader open. Simple yet quite effective.
Another revelation was that I didn’t have to read everything in my reader. For example, there was a “how-to” post for video creation on the iMac (I’m a PCer) that didn’t relate to me in anyway. Therefore, I didn’t waste one second on it. I applied this same methodology to other similar posts as well. In the name of focus and time management, I just let them go and moved on.
Other than my drive time commute (where I’m basically confined), I found it difficult to stay in one place and listen to podcasts that typically lasted from 30-60 minutes. On the work commute? No problem. Out and about? I couldn’t sit still and concentrate. I think I’ll be fine with commuter time podcast listening.
Lastly, I just couldn’t get myself to read any magazine articles. I subscribe to three mags and earmarked many articles but it just didn’t happen. I was left wondering why I even subscribed to them. Come to think of it, the last time I remember reading (and that’s a loose interpretation) any magazines was in a doctor’s office. Perhaps, I’m just not into “paper” reading anymore. However, I still prefer reading my business books on paper but if I pick-up an iPad or Kindle one day, maybe that will change.
Final thoughts
This exercise was a definite eye-opener and I was pleasantly surprised with a few things. I’m happy to say that I’ve been consistent with my schedule and even added a few more blogs to the reader. Thanks to Ian M Rountree for the inspiration.
Image by Wonderlane via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.
Hey Alan, looks like the challenge went pretty well for you! I doubt I can do that many in a day especially this week when I am literally swamped – I have to admit that I’ve abandoned much readings and even Twitter engagement (sigh).
Perhaps the main objective of this challenge was to build discipline – to filter out distractions and focus on a task (or a read) at time to be more effective. Some gurus out there also suggests taking notes after every read on a notebook or something (Evernote, perhaps) for a greater learning experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience in this challenge, Alan!
Yes, I believe you’re right. I think how much we read/listen is besides the point. Building the discipline and keeping to a schedule was the main point of this exercise. I just added 8 more blogs to my reader and as I suspected, it’s starting to get backed up. Now, I realize I have to really focus on what I consume and what needs to be let go. A work in progress without doubt….
Thanks for your thoughts Jan!