One of the best ways of optimising your life for success is consciously changing and optimising the content you consume.
It’s never been easier than right now to consume content. With the abundance of free content available across many different sites, we spend most of our time consuming.
But, this time doesn’t necessarily need to be wasted. By choosing what you consume wisely, you can better prepare yourself for the future. Choose to learn and improve rather than making someone else money.
Optimising consumption will result in more success in your life.
This is different from avoiding content altogether. You could delete social media and avoid ‘negative’ or ‘useless’ content, but content itself can be a very useful thing.
Granted, some social media channels, like YouTube, are more useful than others, such as Facebook or Twitter. These channels (YouTube) have a much broader array of content available, meaning it’s easier to find things worth consuming.
We’ll look at deleting social media in a future post.
Optimising consumption as a self-improvement practice
This self-improvement practice may not be obvious at first, but can have a significant impact on your life. I’ve been consuming in such a way for around 2 years now and the resulting change and life progress has been remarkable.
It starts with either self-awareness or the concept being brought to your attention. From here, you can take practical steps to changing and optimising what you consume.
Instead of watching viral videos or entertainment meme content, switch to self-improvement and educational content.
What content is valuable?
It’s difficult to outright decide what content is worth consuming. Generally, I prefer to stick to self-improvement or educational content. This type of content works for me and is applicable to my life and business.
The type of content you engage with will vary depending on your chosen platform. I focus on consuming via YouTube, since video is how I prefer to learn. You might prefer visual image content, in which case Instagram is a better option.
If a content creator shares relevant information that will help your specific future – such as medical tips if you want to become a doctor – then stay subscribed.
If the content a person is generally useful, such as self-improvement tips or life advice, then stay subscribed.
Think about whether each content creator provides you with value. Approach each content creator in this way, taking relevant action.
Of course, you by no means have to unsubscribe from all ‘unproductive’ entertainment channels. This exercise is to help you become aware of the content you consume and to spark appropriate action.
Taking Action
The first step is to view a complete list of all the content you currently consume, for each primary social media site: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. We’ll focus on these four as they are the easiest to change and are the most commonly used sites.
- On Facebook, this will be pages liked.
- On Twitter and Instagram, it will be the accounts you follow.
- On YouTube, this will be your subscriptions – you can view all subscriptions here.
From here, go through each list and think about the type of content each content creator provides. Do they provide valuable content that will benefit your future?
Now, unsubscribe or unfollow each account or page that doesn’t provide useful content.
Platform Uses
‘Value’ and usefulness will vary depending on the social media channel. Motivational images or inspirational quotes may be suitable on Instagram or Facebook but not so much on YouTube.
Tailor the content on each platform to what it’s best for. YouTube videos can go into a lot more detail, since videos require your attention for an extended period of time. With Facebook or Instagram however, content is usually short and used to grab your attention rather than maintain it.
YouTube is a good place to learn more in-depth about specific subject areas. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are best for short-term, bite-size content.
Take some time to find content creators that provide valuable content that you like, then follow these people.
Thanks for reading.
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