Content Burnout Is Real
In a recent episode of Adam Grant’s excellent podcast Work/Life called Burnout Is Everyone’s Problem, Grant explains:
“Research shows that one of the major causes of burnout is a lack of efficacy: feeling incapable of making an impact.”
In this moment when we are staying in our homes disconnected from physical human contact, many of us are turning to all sorts of media to keep us company. We are inundated with more content than a person can possibly handle. In 60 seconds of scrolling your social media feed, for example, you are likely to find:
Classes
Lectures
Workout routines
Recipes
Photos
Videos
And on and on and on and on and on and on….
Suddenly everyone else has become a content creator, and you have become a person who is consuming so much content it is like drinking out of a fire hose.
It is exhausting. Especially when the content you are consuming isn’t actually helping.
When there is a lack of efficacy in your content consumption, when you feel like you are consuming more and progressing less, you are experiencing content burnout.
Content burnout is real. AND you have the power to avoid it.
Consider limiting your content intake overall.
Consider only consuming content that offers ideas for how to apply the learnings.
Consider narrowing your focus and only consuming content of a specific genre or subject.
Consider instituting a practice for immediately putting your learnings into action.
Consider only engaging with a specific kind of media.
Consider creating a content consumption code of conduct and living by it.
I’m sure there are dozens of other ideas to add here (feel free to do so in the comments). These will at least get you started in your efforts to avoid content burnout.
One final thought from Adam Grant:
“When people feel ineffective, helping others buffers against burnout. It makes them feel competent which leaves them energized, rather than exhausted.”
How might you help someone today? Perhaps you’ll call a friend who lives alone to see how they are holding up. Perhaps you’ll offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor. Perhaps you’ll read a story to your friend’s children over Zoom.
Wherever you are right now, dear reader, I hope you are safe and healthy. I am sending you lots of strength and resilience.
If you are looking for content to consume that is specifically about how to move through this moment with optimism and integrity, I’ll point you to these two episodes of The Long and the Short of It.