Saturday, January 15, 2022

On Creating My Own Newsfeed

 On a lark at the beginning of the year and through a link at Rural Revolution, I started following a blog called Home Living .  It is this very nice, old fashioned sort of blog run by a Miss Lydia who writes about (and puts out regular Video Blog entries) the home and home making.  It is, as I as say, a sort of old fashioned sort of blog where people like me feel about at ease as a rhinoceros keeper coming in from the pen into a tea room:  slightly out of my element, thinking I should have at least wiped my feet and (probably) changed before I entered, and pretty sure I am going to be asked to leave any minute now.  (Full disclosure:  She spends a fair amount of time speaking about making a good home (in the 18th-19th England way), Christian Living, and a cornucopia of other topics. Your mileage may vary.)

As it turns out, the video blog is just at the right level of mental involvement to allow one to do a second activity (say, Weight Training) while one listens, and so when the music is not the Heart-Stopping Pulse-Pounding "Life More Weights, You Fools!" that I prefer, I listen to her (admittedly, quite a variation).

In an episode from this week, she mentioned the idea of controlling the input of information and media when we first get up in the morning, the "flow of news" that at one time used to be characterized by flipping open the newspaper or flicking on the television or radio for the morning news.  Her point was that our intake often set our mood for the day and what we do with it.  Instead, she suggested that we "create our own news" by selecting the inputs that we read and listen to in this time, whether they be other blogs, readings, podcasts - whatever.  

Said another way, create your own newsfeed.

Interesting thought, I pondered as I struggled to get the safety squat bar back into the holder before I moved to my next exercise (stupid heavy piece of steel!), when I realized that accidentally, I had been doing the exact same thing all week.

This week our church, as they have done for many years, is doing a fast and pray event as part of the New Year.  A week of fasting, to someone who is weight training, is pretty much anathema (and not being Catholic or Orthodox, not a specific requirement), so I fasted from something I have fasted from before: media.  For the past week I have confined myself to the blogs I follow and a single board.

The results, I realized when I heard her comment and pondered, were staggering.

For the past five days, beyond my usual Pray/Read/Exercise/Walk/Write practices, I have eschewed any media (as I have during the day as well).  I have kept myself to reading the blogs that I follow and perhaps exploring one or two more.  For walks, I either find a podcast (non-media or current events) or listen to music from Two Steps From Hell (Heroic, Video Game sort of music).

The results?  I am literally less stressed - not only in the morning, but throughout the day.  I suddenly have time I did not used to have, both from not checking the news not only in the morning but throughout the day.  My "InterWeb" wandering - when I am bored and just clicking - has ceased as well:  after all, unless I am actually looking something up, I am already up to date on most of the blogs I follow - why look at what I have already seen?  Suddenly, I have time to start doing some of the things that I have said I very much want to do:  memorizing the names of the heads of my sword school, finishing Quintillian - you know, the sorts of things that get pushed to the side when you are agitated about the news.

Funny how all that works.

I might recommend it to your attention.  It is easy enough to do:  just choose consciously what you will read and listen to in the morning.  Maybe yours will involve media (mine does not) - but no matter what it is, make it a conscious choice instead of a habit or an accident.  And try it for a week, or as much time as you feel you need to judge results.

At least for me, again a fairly stark reminder of how a seemingly small change can create a big difference in my life.


13 comments:

  1. I am nothing if not practical. I like this common sense approach. Very timely. I can stop reading when I need to, but if there isn't a need, then I can wander for hours. I DO have other things I want to do. And have wondered how to manage time to do them.

    Thank you for your insight. Very much appreciated.

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    1. You are welcome STxAR. And I have the ability to run down rabbit holes like nobody's business if I let myself.

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  2. You all be safe, stay warm and God bless, TB. :)

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  3. Trying to get a meaningful newsfeed is like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant. I think the best way is as you say - shut the darn thing right off... catch your breath... and then slowly and cautiously crack it open again and take care about what comes out...

    It's like eating - you can eat anything that comes across your plate or you can pick and choose what's good for you. It's tough and takes discipline. Fortunately for you, you have lots of that...

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    1. Glen, that is actually a really good analogy (and, I am totally borrowing it). That is is exactly what practically did happen: I shut it down, and then slowly turned the tap back on.

      I took a dab into the larger waters last night. Funny thing: everything being discussed the week before was still be discussed with no resolution. Most of the major media going-on - "They said", "No they said" - going full force again, without resolution. Excepting the explosion of the Tonga volcano, it appears I missed nothing.

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    2. I don't recall the volcano, but I did hear about the Synagogue in Texas.
      God bless.

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    3. Ah, I did come across that last night as well, Linda.

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  4. Great idea, TB, and truly what fasting is about -- learning discipline and turning our minds toward what is important. I read a great book, Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport, a few years ago, that suggested something similar to what you did. We suffer from information overload these days, as if something dreadful will befall us if we are not informed on an up-to-the minute basis. In fact, in my opinion, just the opposite is true. Great thoughts, as usual.

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    1. Bob, I was very happy with the experiment. I have not read the Cal Newport book but he is on the list to read this year per the Art of Manliness recommendation.

      In terms of information overload, yes - as I noted to STxAR, none of the issues that I saw before were still there. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is a real thing.

      Thank you so much as always for reading and the comments!

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  5. I wholeheartedly agree with this idea too. There was a habit to break initially, but after doing that, I can see that what we consider "news" seems to be based more on formula than actual information. In understanding that, it just doesn't elicit an emotional response like it used to.

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    1. Leigh, I find your "emotional response" comment super interesting. I find it to be exactly the case now for me as well: the longer I am "away", the less I react with emotion or anxiety over developments, sometimes on a minute by minute basis. If I had to explain how I feel at the moment, it is "moderate interest" for the unexpected news (Tonga Volcano, for example) and "supreme indifference" to almost everything else.

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  6. I think it is a great idea too and generally do fast from news whenever I'm on vacation. Although I don't fast from news when not on vacation, I do limit my intake to mostly just the evening news told in a 30 minute time slot so probably closer to 20 minutes of actual news. I could see myself being addicted to news if I wasn't political an Independent. I just can't stand listening to any of the standard 24 hour news channels either side listens too and if they came up with a truly Independent focused news channel, I would probably be in trouble.

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    1. Ed, as I commented back in November one of the most unexpected and freeing things of the Grand Canyon hike was the complete news shutdown - in that sense it is a good idea and something that I practiced to some extent when I have traveled (especially when traveling to Japan to train, as we are just too darn tired to keep up).

      In terms of a reliable source for intake - I still struggle. I, like you, cannot watch any of the 24 hour sites or visit their websites. I am struggling to find a site which is as neutral as possible but also actually has news.

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