And, Listening It All for that matter (love my podcasts…).
I just happened to catch my tweetstream at just the right moment. I read a re-tweet by Justin Kownacki for Ian M Rountree‘s #ReadItAll challenge for 2011. It stated that if you subscribe to more blogs than you can read, Mr. Rountree has a solution for you. Quite honestly, that hit me right between the eyes. For months, my Google reader was like a raging wave, ebbing and flowing with subscribes and unsubscribes as I tried to manage a behemoth of unread blog posts and articles. Even after cutting it to a manageable 26 (thank goodness they all don’t post everyday!), I still felt overwhelmed and frustrated. This couldn’t have come at a better time.
I won’t go over the specifics (you can check out his post for that: #ReadItAll challenge for 2011. Here are my goals for this challenge:
Preparation:
- Mark everything as read. I’m actually starting a day late so I decided to just go with it and read all 16 posts (as of right now) by tonight.
- Set-up a specific time to read/listen.
- 0.5 hr. – morning relaxation time
2.0 hrs. – morning/evening commute (yes, my commutes sucks)
0.5 hr. – lunch time
1.0 hr. – evening
4.0 hrs. Total
- I’ll be reading blog posts, magazines, listening to podcasts and reading miscellaneous online articles.
- I plan on committing to at least the following amount of content per day:
- Blog posts: 10
Podcasts: 2
Magazine articles: 1
Misc. online articles: 2
During the week:
- Actually read/listen to everything.
- Don’t subscribe to new blogs during this time. Bookmark them for later review.
- Take notes of your experiencing (hashtag: #readitall)
After doing this, write down how it felt… did I actually absorb the materials or did it feel like I was rushing just so I can could “finish” everything. These and other feelings should be written down for the challenge.
If I can clear my reader consistently or get close, and absorb the materials while doing so, I think I’ll be alright. I’m looking forward to see how I do.
Fantastic. I love your specificity here – I’m just trying to consume everything, but you’re actually building a media consumption practice the way people build meditation practices. Excellent.
Good luck! Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Thanks Ian! So far, I’ve kept up with everything and it feels good. It definitely helps to have a plan and put it into action instead of trying to bulldoze your way through.
Wow, this is a very good idea. I totally get what you mean by the overwhelmed bit. My readers can get a little crazy at times especially when sites like socialmediatoday, socialexaminer and allfacebook updates multiple times daily. Sometimes I get caught up in reading and spend almost the entire day just reading through posts after posts and this method may just be the remedy to it.
Can’t say I’ll try it out right away but I’d want to know how is it working out for you. Let me know how it goes
I can only imagine the amount of materials that you must read! Crazy indeed. I’ll definitely keep you posted and let you know how it goes. Thanks for your thoughts!