I checked out of following mainstream news some time ago, and I only use social media for very specific purposes. I get most of my information about the things I care about from books, podcasts and Substack. But I’ve noticed the same dynamic you describe with the latter - I would have to spend all day reading to get through everything I have subscribed to now, and it becomes overwhelming, more like a chore than a pleasure. Similar with podcasts, the never ending up next list. The reason the library is different I guess is that you don’t stand in the library and stare at all the books multiple times a day - perhaps if you did you would start to get the same feeling? But yes, you can’t possibly consume all the information out there, you have to pick and choose, and be content with not knowing about every subject or news story.
Thanks for lending a highly pragmatic perspective.
I checked out of following mainstream news some time ago, and I only use social media for very specific purposes. I get most of my information about the things I care about from books, podcasts and Substack. But I’ve noticed the same dynamic you describe with the latter - I would have to spend all day reading to get through everything I have subscribed to now, and it becomes overwhelming, more like a chore than a pleasure. Similar with podcasts, the never ending up next list. The reason the library is different I guess is that you don’t stand in the library and stare at all the books multiple times a day - perhaps if you did you would start to get the same feeling? But yes, you can’t possibly consume all the information out there, you have to pick and choose, and be content with not knowing about every subject or news story.
Amazing post and I definitely needed to hear this due to my book reading list being over 20 at the moment!
So on point. And while I'm throwing my bucket in the water, I'm not getting my own stuff done. Sometimes you just have to float.