Edit Your Life, Part 6: A Media Fast

Quick note: Every Wedneday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits, and for the next few weeks, these posts will be a series called “Edit Your Life,” looking at ways to simplify different parts of your life.

I’m a former newspaper editor, and one of the things I learned was to edit brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don’t do that with my blog posts). Cut out everything that’s not necessary, and you’ve got a more meaningful story.

I highly recommend editing your life.

Today’s edit: A Media Fast.

This is going to be a controversial post, undoubtedly, as it will ask you to consider giving up some of the things you’re addicted to most: television, DVDs, movies, news, magazines, newspapers, and … gasp! … the Internet. Don’t tune out yet, though: this is not a permanent thing, but call it an experiment instead.

Take a minute to think about how much information you process every day. If you’re like me and a lot of other people, you get a lot of your news on the Internet, and you also read a lot of blogs. You might also read books and magazines and newspapers. You probably also watch a lot of TV, where you get entertainment and news. You might watch a lot of DVDs, and listen to the radio on the way to work. At work, you might get memos and emails and a billion other pieces of information coming at you. You might be a part of an online forum, or social site, or newsgroup, or mailing list (or several!).

It’s information overload.

Our brains are not made to process this much information. We can do it, but it gives us a lot of stress, and we cannot think about any of the information long enough for it to give us real value. We are in the middle of a vast river of information, and it just flows by us constantly.

And then there’s all the time we spend on all this media.

Take a minute to think about how much time you spend online (typically a few hours), watching TV or DVDs (typically a few more hours), and reading all the other stuff mentioned above (another hour or two). Now think about how many goals you could accomplish if you cut those activities out of your life. The time you would gain would be tremendous.

So what do you do about it? Sometimes it’s good to get drastic. Try a media fast. But is it even possible? Yes, it is. Here are some ideas:

If you’re feeling bold, cut out everything for a week. Well, everything that isn’t completely essential — you might need things like email for work, but can you really say that reading your blogs is essential? Is TV essential? Most likely not. Cut it out and see if you can make it a week.
Fast for a day. Can’t hack a week? Try one day. Cutting all Internet, TV, radio, and reading (other than fiction) for a day would be pretty drastic for most of us. See if you can last.
Fast on specific media, and take turns. Instead of cutting out everything, try cutting out only TV for a week. Then try cutting out newspapers and magazines. Then … if you dare … try cutting out your blogs. Then your favorite websites (whether it’s Digg, Netscape, a forum, wherever).
When you fast, work on specific goals. Don’t replace one media with another, or with another time-waster. Have a goal that you’d like to accomplish for that day, or week. See if you can use the time you’d normally spend on media to accomplish actions that further your goals.
If you’re not sold, track your time. Try logging your time spent on media for one day, without actually cutting back. Add it up in a spreadsheet at the end of the day. See how many minutes you devote to each type of media. It might be an eye-opener.
Once your fast is over, re-think your media intake. You may discover that cutting out TV, for example, wasn’t as hard as you thought, and that you were able to get a lot done. Maybe you want to stay off TV for good, or at least cut back on it drastically. Instead of launching right back into your old media habits, use your media more thoughtfully from now on. See if you can live with less, and work on your personal goals more.

Imagine the peace of mind that could come from shutting off the river of information that comes at you daily. Imagine the focus you could find without all the distractions. Imagine that your life can be changed for the better with this one little edit. It may seem difficult to quit an addition, but don’t you think it might be worth it? At least give it a try.

Related articles elsewhere:

See also:

Edit Your Life, Part 6: A Media Fast

I highly recommend editing your life.

Today’s edit: A Media Fast.

It’s information overload.

And then there’s all the time we spend on all this media.

So what do you do about it? Sometimes it’s good to get drastic. Try a media fast. But is it even possible? Yes, it is. Here are some ideas:

If you’re feeling bold, cut out everything for a week. Well, everything that isn’t completely essential — you might need things like email for work, but can you really say that reading your blogs is essential? Is TV essential? Most likely not. Cut it out and see if you can make it a week.
Fast for a day. Can’t hack a week? Try one day. Cutting all Internet, TV, radio, and reading (other than fiction) for a day would be pretty drastic for most of us. See if you can last.
Fast on specific media, and take turns. Instead of cutting out everything, try cutting out only TV for a week. Then try cutting out newspapers and magazines. Then … if you dare … try cutting out your blogs. Then your favorite websites (whether it’s Digg, Netscape, a forum, wherever).
When you fast, work on specific goals. Don’t replace one media with another, or with another time-waster. Have a goal that you’d like to accomplish for that day, or week. See if you can use the time you’d normally spend on media to accomplish actions that further your goals.
If you’re not sold, track your time. Try logging your time spent on media for one day, without actually cutting back. Add it up in a spreadsheet at the end of the day. See how many minutes you devote to each type of media. It might be an eye-opener.
Once your fast is over, re-think your media intake. You may discover that cutting out TV, for example, wasn’t as hard as you thought, and that you were able to get a lot done. Maybe you want to stay off TV for good, or at least cut back on it drastically. Instead of launching right back into your old media habits, use your media more thoughtfully from now on. See if you can live with less, and work on your personal goals more.

Related articles elsewhere:

See also:

Posted on 12 April 2007 in Simplicity |
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Comments (18)

Balfour Says:

April 12th, 2007, 10:06 am

I got rid of my TV about 4 months ago and hardly ever miss it and never significantly. If I miss it for a moment, it just passes. There’s a few things that I miss somewhat - The Colbert Report, for example - but there’s a lot of clips on the internet so I can get a hit of some of my faves when I want to. I have gotten so used to the luxury of having the extra time and the extra space in my home from not having that big box, the second box, and all that clutter. I do spend a lot of time on the internet, it’s true, but I also spent a lot of time on the net when I still had the TV and the internet at home is much more controllable for me than the TV ever was. I get Netflix DVDs twice a month, which is just right. I watch these on my laptop. I listen to a lot more music and public radio, by way of laptop also.

My best way to have a complete media fast is to either get out into nature or stay at my favorite hot springs in CA, where there is no media and no internet access.

Pierre Lourens Says:

April 12th, 2007, 10:27 am

I am 15, and my family has 3 TVs in our house. I choose not to watch any of them. Before, I was like every other addicted teenager and I watched TV all the time. I completed my homework in front of the TV, and my grades were bad. Since I quit, the time I’ve gained is amazing, and I’ve found more time for hobbies, blogging, and journaling. Also, I’ve reinstituted my love for reading, which is phenominal to me.

Gary Says:

April 12th, 2007, 10:37 am

You say “Our brains are not made to process this much information.” How do you know this? While I understand and embrace the notions of simplifying one’s life that you so eloquently describe - I do challenge the premise that a reason to divest yourself of content is that we are somehow biologically incapable of handling it.

Kirsten Says:

April 12th, 2007, 11:59 am

Why would I cut out the few things I do for pleasure and relaxation? I agree that one shouldn’t spend half the day in front of the TV, just to waste the other half on the Internet, but giving all of this up would completely deprive me of things I enjoy - why?

7001 Says:

April 12th, 2007, 12:01 pm

Sorry about this long comment..

Usually when people talk about information overload they mean they are supposed to remember more than they are able to remember. Not that they are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sense data.

As far as I know no matter if you’re meditating in a dark room or watching Japanese commercials in double speed the amount of data your brains receive don’t vary that much. Maybe not at all.

Actually those who think they are overloaded usually have slimmer information intake than those who don’t. They just have their short term memories clogged with unstructured data.

I’ve lived most of my adult life without the television, and occasionally cut back all other information sources drastically in order to be able to concentrate better on something I thought was valuable.

Actually it didn’t work out that well. Nowadays I try to keep my daily information/data intake at somewhat higher level than what I can take. It helps me to discern what information is relevant and what is not.

There is something else I learned from these experiments of mine: it is not the extra information but the time used. Watching sports on TV doesn’t harm learning calculus, but the time used in watching instead of studying does.

And this applies only the time one could really use in studies: most of us can study effectively some 2-4 hours a day and using the spare time to something completely else often helps learning more than forcing oneself to delve into something one can’t concentrate in anymore.

Besides, when one gets seriously bored, the productivity dives into zero. Been there, done that.

David Says:

April 12th, 2007, 12:24 pm

Cut out blogs? Are you crazy? What would I do? :-)

Shannon Says:

April 12th, 2007, 12:39 pm

I’m glad you didn’t suggest giving up books. :-)

I don’t think it is the media you are getting but how you are using it. I watch very little TV but when I do so, I usually watch with my husband as part of our together time. We discuss what we are watching and other things as well.

Sometimes you just need some downtime from being productive. TV and movies are really good for that. So is a little blog surfing between tasks.

But if you are using these things to escape or to distract yoursel from happiness, then I agree that a media fast might be good for you. I just don’t agree that these tools are inherently bad for you.

Leo Says:

April 12th, 2007, 16:03 pm

@Balfour and Pierre: Thanks for sharing your positive experiences. I’ve had similar experiences when giving up TV — in fact, I gave up cable TV a few years ago and never regretted it.

@Gary: good question. I was speaking from an evolutionary perspective — our brains evolved for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and while the amount of information that our brains must process has certainly increased gradually over the last 100,000 years, the change in the last hundred years (and especially in the last 10-15) has been so rapid that it’s impossible for our brains to have adapted yet. Our brains can certainly process a lot of information and are pretty amazing computers, but I think we become stressed when we get too much, too fast.

@Kirsten: Well, if it’s one of the only things that gives you pleasure, maybe you shouldn’t give it up. This article, of course, is just a suggestion, but I think it’s something worth considering. There are other ways of relaxing that I actually find more relaxing than the Internet or TV — reading a good novel, spending some quiet time with my wife and kids, exercising, going to the beach or a park, playing board games with the kids … there are a lot of alternatives you could consider. If you don’t think that such a change would give your life value, I wouldn’t make the change. But it’s something to think about.

@7001: Re: your statement that “Usually when people talk about information overload they mean they are supposed to remember more than they are able to remember. Not that they are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sense data.”

I don’t think the two are exclusive — they’re very related. The sheer amount of sense data overwhelms your short-term memory.

You also said, “Actually those who think they are overloaded usually have slimmer information intake than those who don’t. They just have their short term memories clogged with unstructured data.” But consider the rest of us: if we have a greater information intake, but receive and try to process a much greater amount of information (as most of us do), couldn’t our short term memories become clogged with unstructured data? I think this is the case with most of us. If it’s not the case with you, you might not consider a media fast — but also consider the second point about the amount of time we spend on media, and how it could be used otherwise.

@everyone: thanks for all the thoughtful responses. I didn’t expect everyone to love this idea, but I still think it’s worth considering.

I’d like to clear up one notion, though: I didn’t mean to imply that all media mentioned in the article are inherently bad. They’re tools, and like any tools, they can be used well for a specific purpose. However, like any tools, they can be overused and misused. I don’t think you should give all of them up forever — but a media fast is kind of like a cleansing — you come out of it refreshed, and with a new perspective on how you want to use the media in your life. You’ll still add the media back in (in most cases), but now you’ll be doing so more consciously, with an idea of its effects on you and of the good alternatives available. I think many of us use all this media without stopping to give it enough thought. At any rate, I hope this has given you something to think about.

Thanks, everyone!

Gary Says:

April 12th, 2007, 16:13 pm

@ Leo

I understand your point - I”m just questioning the validity. Do you have a reference for this? I’m not convinced that our brains don’t have the ability to process the amount of information you’re talking about…

Leo Says:

April 12th, 2007, 16:20 pm

Hi Gary … actually, I know I’ve read this before, but I don’t have a reference. I wish I did. If I find one, I’ll let you know.

Texafornia Says:

April 12th, 2007, 17:01 pm

I train for Ironman triathlons, which takes 8 to 15 hours a week. People ask how I find the time to do that and be married with a kid and have a full time job. I say it’s easy; any time that I would typically watch TV, I just go for a run or bike or swim instead. Now I’m a triathlete instead of a couch potato. I can download news and entertainment podcasts and listen to those while I bike or run, so I’m never out of the news loop.

Wanna do the same? Check out http://www.zentriathlon.com

Pierre Lourens Says:

April 12th, 2007, 17:24 pm

@Leo and everyone else:

After reading the other comments, I think it’s fair to come to the conclusion that good things are good in *moderation*, and it is my opinion that all things (not just media) can be harmful in excess.

Teri Pittman Says:

April 12th, 2007, 18:46 pm

We’ve pitched the tv (again) and do not have internet access or a phone at home. The change is wonderful. I spend more time outside and reading than before.

You have a limited amount of time. Do you really want to fill those hours with tv or a computer game? Ten years from now, what do you want to look back on?

Leo Says:

April 12th, 2007, 18:59 pm

Thanks for all the great comments, guys! @Texafornia: I did the same thing when training for my marathon last year, and training for triathlon this year! Very cool.

Ann M. Says:

April 12th, 2007, 23:39 pm

2 Points….

1. I really enjoy the way you serialize things. I loved your Motivation Hacks series and I am enjoying the Edit Your Life Series.

2. TV/Media Fast…If I had to choose between books (fiction) and TV I would definitely keep the books. However, I almost always watch a certain set of shows on Thursday night (and often 1 hour of TV on Tuesday nights). I live by myself and often don’t get home until 6-8pm. At that point, I am usually too tired to go to the gym. Watching TV during those specific times is a relaxing “me” time for me because it is “scheduled” and I can look forward to it during the week. It’s also good because I can limit the time I spend on it. If I am reading a book, I often promise myself “just one more chapter” and 2 hours later I stop. When watching TV, as soon as the show I’m watching is over I shut it off.

Leo Says:

April 12th, 2007, 23:43 pm

Hi Ann … well, it doesn’t sound like your media is out of control. You might not need this edit as much as others. But it’s always something to consider!

Buz Says:

April 13th, 2007, 9:28 am

I seem to remember reading that media, like movies and TV and even newspapers, stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. Essentially causing the flight or fight engine to kick in. A lot of people use TV to relax themselves and studies show that while on one level the body relaxes on a deeper level the constant changes in lighting and images keep the brain in a less than restful state. Be removing or limiting these stimuli you should find that you feel less stress as the parasympathetic system gets a chance to do its job.
Caveat: I’m not a mental health professional, I’m just interested in this stuff.

Matthias Says:

May 27th, 2007, 10:03 am

I recently decided to do an entertainment fast for 6 months for some of the same reasons you outline. The principle reason for me is that entertainment became an escape from the *challenges* of real life and replaced time with my wife, my family and getting stuff done. I have been fasting now for a good couple of weeks and I honestly don’t miss TV (except Heroes) and don’t miss my Apple blogs and tech podcasts and video podcasts. It has been very freeing and my wife is loving all the new attention!