Problems

  • 資訊爆炸/洪流的時代
    • In the age of
      • Information abundance/overload
      • Infinite information on the internet
    • We all live in a consumption-oriented life. Fast consumption, constant consumption, more consumption.
  • “The Never-Ending Now” by David Perell
  • 數位焦慮 FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
  • Most of us only consume contents created
    • within the last 24 hours (e.g., news)
    • recommended by the “For You” algorithm (e.g., YT videos, SM feeds)
  • Functional Illiteracy
  • Fast Digital Consumption
    • is harmful to the brain, mind, and soul.
    • making re-reading the same page feels like a waste of time because the short content I constantly consume has made my brain accustomed to this behavior.

Solutions

  • Just-In-Case information → Just-In-Time information
  • Reactive → Proactive
    • Develop the habit of asking yourself, “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important?” before consuming any content
  • Fast, excessive consumption → Slow, gradual consumption
  • FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) → JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out)
    • “Try to get to the bottom of things, not stay on top of things.”
    • 不要害怕錯過資訊,因為如果是真的很重要的資訊,它會再次出現在我們眼前
      • 就跟手機來電一樣,如果真的很重要,對方會再打一次,如果沒有再次來電,代表是不重要的事情
    • Strategic Ignorance → Ignorance is bliss!
    • News Sobriety
  • The Laundry Cycle Mentality
    • Think about the areas of your life where you are placing unnecessary pressure on yourself to have everything in a “completed” state, e.g., to-read pile (Read-It-Later → Never-Read-It).
    • Perhaps that area is better viewed as a RIVER than as a BUCKET — as a cycle, not a fixed state.
  • Build a note-taking habit and an idea-capturing system
  • Consume less. Reflect (= Review) or Build) More.
    • Embrace Low Information Diet to avoid the “Mental Squeeze Point
    • Spend more time connecting dots (convergent exploiting) than you do collecting them (divergent exploring)
    • Find a balance between consuming and digesting information—if you’re just consuming tons of content without processing it properly, you’re setting yourself up to forget most of it
    • If you decide to consume something:
      • Consume what you are going to create
        • Mindset Shift: Consumer → Producer
        • “The number of hours I spend consuming should never equal or exceed the number of hours I spend creating.” ― Nicolas Cole, The Art and Business of Online Writing
      • Only consume quality contents that have stood the test of time
      • Study history to predict the future
        • It’s all just history repeating itself (Historic Recurrence).
        • Humans tend to repeat the mistakes humans make.
        • “History never repeats itself. Man always does.” ― Voltaire
    • Remember: Information and knowledge are two different things!
      • 資訊並不代表知識 — 文化評論家南方朔
      • 「批判 & 獨立思考」的能力至關重要

Remember

  • You’re only as smart as the information you consume
  • What digital content we consume is as important as what we eat
  • 24 hours each day isn’t enough to consume 0.0001% of the world’s events