Thoughts on Last Week's News Blackout

I embarked upon my news blackout primarily because the election coverage and the Cubs slump causing me fits of anxiety over things I had no control. I also figured I might see an increase in productivity as a result.

I learned a number of things. Yes, my anxiety levels were slackened somewhat. I regained some perspective on the world and now I read election and Cubs coverage without the same tightening feeling in my chest or numbness in my left arm.

I also learned that I spend a lot time during the day reading the news. I didn’t necessarily experience a huge spike in my productivity, but I certainly got more work done, both personal and professional. I’m a curious person, by nature, and I read the news so I can learn things. Unfortunately, I get sucked in by one article which leads me to another and another until suddenly I’ve lost time and the ability to concentrate. I want to just read interesting things all day instead of working or doing more important things, like blogging.

All in all, it was a worth experiment. I now know I need to cut back on my news surfing at work in favor of more productive pursuits, but I also learned that I don’t want to be completely cut off form the news all the time either.

I also learned how impossible it is to completely cut yourself off form the news. Things still filtered down to me. I think I’d have to go live in a cave somewhere to really experience a news blackout. But I don’t think I’ll go that far.

(Photo: Men and a woman reading headlines posted in street-corner window of Brockton Enterprise newspaper office on Christmas Eve 1914. From the Flickr Commons.)