There are so many things to consume, so how do we make good choices on what we consume? And how do we make the value from what we consume last longer?
It is easy to consume passively. Yet our time is still being used up and time is our most valuable resource.
The question is, therefore, how do we make that consumption more valuable to us?
Entertainment
Did we enjoy consuming it?
Education
Did we learn something from it?
Timeliness
Was it relevant for us?
Retention
How long does its impact last?
We live in an age of information overload. There will always be more to read, more to watch, more to listen to.
We need to be curators of our own consumption.
With so much information demanding our information, we will need to say 'no' to most of it.
Filtering systems like Using a 'read-it-later' service effectively help us filter out less valuable media by leaving the decision to consume it until a later time (can this make it more timely? If we choose which 'tag' playlist we choose to read/listen to?).
If we are curating our own consumption then we are also curating the sort of person we want to be. Distracting media may always distract us, but we should deliberately choose to consume things that fit with our curated image of ourselves.
Seek out the media your ideal self would want to consume.