How do you handle too much of a good thing

As with most media, there always seems to be too much of a good thing (not to mention even more bad things), but the question is...how do you react?

Assuming you can do three things: produce, acquire, consume - how do you balance the above options when the supply is limitless the cost to acquire is (virtually) free?

A good example for me was mp3's in college, and now there's been a similar pattern with reading blogs. Acquiring songs or links was/is free and to respond I normally went on an acquisition binge. Meaning that most of the time I couldn't consume all that I was acquiring and the thought of producing anything was almost an afterthought. So what do you think is the right proportion of P, A, and C?

Comments

[dennis]

Stephen King discussed this balance in his book "On Writing". Though you might not want to be a professional writer, there is still plenty of relevant insight to be gained. Here's a quote:

If you want to be a writer," King says, "you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." King calls reading the creative center of a writer's life. He advocates reading in small sips as well as long drinks - in waiting rooms, in line at the theater, in the checkout line at the grocery store, on the treadmill at the gym and in the john.

He's "Producing" books, so he spends most of his time reading and writing books-- that mean's no TV and hardly any other media.

What % of time to spend Consuming and Acquiring? It depends on what you're trying to Produce. Your goal will drive the plan. If you're like me-- and the plan is fuzzy or perhaps secondary to having fun along the way-- then does the proportion even matter? What is the real issue behind the imbalance of Consumption and Production? Do you have a production quota?

I like to look at it in terms of preparation and action. How much preparation do you need for the action you want to take (running a marathon, for example)? If there's preparation with no action, that's okay, too. I read technical books partly for enjoyment and mostly for career development. But I read books on travel/science/nature purely as a means to its own end. There might eventually be an output-- a trip, for example-- but usually not. Might want to ask yourself why you are consuming information. Just because you like a band's music doesn't mean you're obliged to learn how to play steel guitar. Hope that might be a worthwhile perspective for you.

Dennis

[Chris Rummel]

Who cares, the raptures is upon us anyway!!!