Consume vs Create
How much time in a week do you devote to creating content versus consuming it? This is a question I post to myself all the time. When I get home from work and boot up the laptop I ask myself “shoot a video? write a post? upload photos? Go through Google Reader?”
Most often it seems because I have very little time during the week that I am in consume mode and just plug away at RSS when I can. On the weekends where I tend to have a bit more time is when I catch up on my own things. I’m not saying that’s the way I like it but it seems that’s the way it goes.
How do you break up your time? Is it easy for you to do so? Do you produce more than you consume or vice-versa?
I definitely consume more than I produce. I actually find it hard to keep up with consuming these days too.
Trying to put more time into “me” time these days and enjoy life
Wow! A written blog post and no video attached? Are you sick Clintus?
I normally did about 99.9% consuming until a few days ago. Now I am in create mode for the most part. So right now I would say I consume and create about 50% each. So 50/50. I hope I maintain that in the future, but you know how emotions go and how your mind changes from day to day on certain things.
I have been in the bad habit of consuming a lot more than I create, but I am making a conscious effort to turn the tables. Although consuming information is a valuable way to spend time–you learn a lot from the ideas of others–I feel like I learn more when I am forced to work out my own ideas and turn them into a finished product.
I consume much, much less than I used to and I seldom read anything in depth anymore.
Nothing bad about it really, just a style. Someone has to read what others write.
For me – it is mostly consume (about 70/30 split). Time is mainly the reason – poor excuse, but one that is hard to really get straight.
Goal is to be 50/50 – but right now I will settle for 60/40.
Is there any value in being a pure creator? I feel that input shapes what we produce – granted, the latest Mashable piece about Twitter may not be the best input, but I have little respect for most of those who simply produce without any eternal feedback or context whatsoever. I feel it’s a rare genius who is capable of creating something of value to me without checking the winds once in a while. I guess that means I value timeliness, and have a hard time finding timelessness in what I consume.
Great feedback everyone. I will say that I believe once you get to a certain level of creation, meaning that you are producing stuff pretty consistently, that your level of consumption does down automatically. I know that a lot of friends that went from casual video bloggers or producing a show once a week or every two weeks now produce really high end stuff weekly and sometimes twice a week now and hardly every read and watch stuff that they used to. Most of the time they dont even blog anymore. They just dont have time.
I used to be heavy into creating, but lately I’ve been almost 100% consumption (except for Tweeting). I need to get into gear!