Ep 51 – How to consume content mindfully

Technology is fabulous, it helps us stay connected and offers unimaginable ease and convenience in our lives.

But it’s also harmful when we use it mindlessly. Research has proven that this constant addiction, the urge to stay connected, and trying to be Uber productive 24*7 overstimulates our brain – leaving us drained, exhausted, and famished despite a good night’s sleep.

Here’s what you can expect in today’s episode:

Have you experienced how when you’re on the go all day consuming excessive information all the time from what someone had for breakfast to weird games people play on reels for entertainment and go to bed – You wake up feeling just as distracted, drained, and tired? It’s because your mind is still processing all the information you consumed the previous day and got no time to rest or rejuvenate.

You might even wake up recollecting the ludicrous dream – a mash-up of random facts throughout the day combined in weird ways by your brain as it tries to process it. Dreams are repetitions of problems in the day, of things you’ve consumed but not processed. And such sleep is not restful because your mind is actively processing the information it hasn’t had the time to process – to file store and discard data consumed in the day. So no wonder you wake up feeling tired and restless.

Our minds are very impressionable and it’s important to be mindful of what content we consume.

Think of the information you consume like a pyramid similar to a food pyramid where news, social media are on top of the pyramid. Information you consume for work, emails, podcasts etc are the middle layer. The bottom of the pyramid is books, research papers, classics documentaries just like how you can’t have sugars all the time, you can’t consume social media and news all the time. Keep this as minimal as possible.

The middle layer is work, emails, or say blogs you subscribe to and podcasts like mine. Some are unavoidable and some you’re inclined or curious to follow and know more about (I’d like to assume the Being Meraklis podcast comes in the second category). You might have more of your waking hours consuming such information but make sure to synthesize what you consume through this by the end of the day. Maybe a reflective journaling practice at the end of your workday to choose what you’d like to keep and let go of useless information.

The final layer that you should consume most are verified validated facts and information. From books, documentaries, research papers etc., These are information that is well researched and you can consume without worry about losing your mental peace.

And the most important thing – do more than consume. Create something using that information, or add it to some other reflection or do something about it by taking some action. Your mind is a highly organized supercomputer- when you consume mindlessly without telling it what it needs to do with that information – it has no idea. So as much as you consume make time to put that information to use within your waking hours itself. Such acts become closure for your mind to rest at ease knowing it’s being taken care of.

Now when you have to do this, you can’t consume mindlessly can you? You’ll have to limit the time you consume information to allow yourself time to process it, and that’s the healthy way.

Own your everyday tip this week

Be mindful of the content you consume on a day to day basis and how much you consume. Plus, be doubly sure that you put that information to use in some way by creating something, reflecting on it, or by taking some action so that when you go to bed you can rest easy.

Do you like what you’re reading? Sign up to our weekly emails where I share more such food for thought to help you live more intentionally