The Benefits of Being a Content Producer (Vs a Content Consumer)

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The information environment is smothering.

We are flooded with more information (usually, at the tip of our fingers) than at any other time in history. This is an outstanding achievement. But there will always be tradeoffs. Other things in our lives will suffer. I have been producing written content since the beginning of this year and, although it has been difficult, I have found it to be beneficial.

Personally, I’ve found 5 benefits to increasing my production-to-consumption ratio:

1. I am more present. Writing and publishing daily doesn’t happen without a bucket of ideas from which to choose. Ideas don’t accumulate in that bucket unless you’re paying attention. Every moment in your day has the potential to be that day’s essay. Because I know I have a self-imposed duty to publish, I must pay attention to my experiences throughout the day.
2. Clearer thinking. When you write for someone else, your writing must be clear and generally free of grammatical errors. That isn’t always the case with my writing, but at least it’s a goal I strive towards with every piece.
3. Doing difficult things has had positive impacts in other areas of my life. Writing and publishing daily is a chore. I resolved to write and publish daily back in January. I made it to mid-May and stopped for two months. So it’s definitely tough and you start succumbing to the smallest of excuses the tougher it gets. But this has taught me grit. It has taught me that it’s the “noble things that are difficult.” (to use a phrase from my reading program, Online Great Books)
4. Production forces me to tune out the “noise” of political discourse that seems to be omnipresent on the internet. Writing can be time-consuming, but because I’ve made it a priority, other things fall by the wayside. For the most part, I don’t pay attention to politics. Politics has a way of injecting itself in every aspect of everyday life so avoiding it is turning out to be quite an effort. It’s easier with a writing practice (provided you’re not writing about politics). Although purely, anecdotal, I think my mental health is much better for avoiding politics.
5. I tend to focus on the important things in my life. Because I’ve chosen to make writing and reading classical material my priority, I don’t have time for much else. I still fall into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through Twitter or YouTube, but I’m more intentional about it.

Producing content has been a game changer for me this past year. I’m certain anyone can benefit from it as much as I have. I highly recommend giving it a shot.