We consume a lot of information everyday (34GB on average). Similar to what we physically consume, what we put into our mind has a great impact on our mental AND physical health. We can’t resist the flood of information, nor can we just consume everything which is algorithmically tailored for us. What we could (and should) do, is to create a set of rules, a purifier that protects us from all of the unhealthy (but cheap and delicious) information fighting for our attention.
First, what NOT to consume?
Just as removing toxins from our diet is more impactful than adding superfoods, eliminating harmful information consumption yields greater benefits than simply adding “productive” content. You might exercise regularly and eat 3 healthy-and-balanced meals every day. But if you always stay up late drinking and smoking, all your efforts are at best wasted. This paradox is called “Via Negativa”, as Nassim Nicholas Taleb puts it:
The principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction. Also, it is easier to know that something is wrong than to find the fix. Actions that remove are more robust than those that add because addition may have unseen, complicated feedback loops.
That leads us to the ultimate rule of thumb: eliminate junk contents.
- Short contents: tiktok, youtube shorts, memes, you name it.
This type of content impairs our ruminating ability and drastically reduces our attention span. Nonetheless, they makes us always crave more easy and immediate dopamine. They’re the digital chips and burgers, with lots of sugar and salt. Watch out.
- Irrelevant information
Anything that is not action-oriented is a distraction. It gives us the illusion of being on top of things, that we’re “up-to-date”. When seeing something, ask yourself: “what can I do with this?”, if you can’t come up with an answer immediately (because your brain will try to make it up), leave it.
Examples:
- An old friend has bought a new car.
- Florida’s jungle fire (if you don’t live there).
- A celebrity’s wedding.
- All the trends/dramas/memes on the internet.
Have the audacity and confidence that if something is really important, it’ll find a way to come to you.
- Reactive information streams
This includes constantly checking news updates, market movements, or social media feeds. The reactive nature of these information streams puts us in a perpetual state of response rather than thoughtful contemplation. They create an illusion of productivity while actually preventing deep work and meaningful progress.
- Propaganda / indoctrination
You know something is a propaganda or indoctrination when you can’t fact-check it, when it’s only one-way communication. Politics mostly fall into this category (especially in you-know-where).
Now, what to consume?
After avoiding all the bad stuffs that could harm you more than benefit you, basically, you can consume “what’s left”. You avoid short contents, so now what’s left are all relatively in long form. You don’t care about trends and dramas, what’s left is knowledge that accelerates your growth. No more irrelevant pits, meaning you focus on information that remains their value over time. For example, reading about fundamental principles in physics, psychology, or philosophy provides more lasting value than consuming content about the latest technology trends that might become obsolete within months. And when you no longer buy propaganda, what remain are objective history and human psychology. What you choose to put into your brain, therefore, can be varied depending on what you do, your interests, and personal taste.
Here are some factors that I consider before consuming a piece of content:
1. The effort put into creating it
For example, given the same video length, a Veritasium‘s video (with many animations, experiments, and interviews with experts) requires far more effort than Ask American people on the street what they know about Vietnam, or a random guy talking to the camera.
2. The context of it
Because I want to take action out of what I consume, I will choose advice from someone who has the same (at least similar) background as me. So don’t tell me how hard you’ve worked to become a “self-made” millionaire if your parents are also millionaires (since mine are not).
Someone who holds many bitcoins is always yelling about how much value that “digital asset” worths. Someone who has gone through the golden age of the economy never understand why people are complaining about the job market (again, please don’t tell me how hard you’ve worked).
3. Creator’s style
A creator’s style encompasses more than just their presentation method—it reflects their thought process, research approach, and intellectual rigor. After a while, I’ll remove contents from creators that I don’t see fit anymore. In the same time, I keep some of the creators who have opposite opinions to me, so that I don’t become blind by confirmation bias.
Lastly, by how much?
Our stomach can’t digest foods all day, even when they’re all healthy, nutrient-dense foods. So as our mind. When we exceed the natural limits of our cognitive processing capacity, we experience diminishing returns and potentially negative effects on our learning and retention.
As the Vietnamese idiom goes: “too much of anything is bad”.
Here’s my anecdotal tips for identifying when you should stop consuming more information:
Signs of Information Overload:
- Decreased ability to make decisions
- Reduced quality of analytical thinking
- Increased mental fatigue
- Difficulty distinguishing between essential and non-essential information
The exact number of hours might vary between individuals. Think of it like lifting weights. If you exercise intensively and regularly, you need way more nutrients than somebody who sits for 12 hours in front of a screen everyday. So, the concrete amount of information you want to absorb a day depends on your level of creative activities: writing, editing, debating, etc.
My golden ratio for consuming/creating is 3:1, sometimes 4:1 (to follow the 80:20 rule): dedicate 75% of my learning time to high-quality information consumption, reserve 25% for active creation and application while including regular breaks in between.
The goal is to establish a sustainable information diet that promotes continuous growth while preventing mental fatigue. This approach ensures that, like physical nutrition, I can maintain a healthy balance between intake and processing, leading to optimal learning outcomes and professional development.