Just start

For over a decade I’ve had a deep desire to start a blog, YouTube channel, and business. This post is one of the first inklings of progress I have made towards that goal. However, this doesn’t mean I haven’t invested time into it. In fact, I guarantee that if you looked at the thousands of hours I spend researching, taking notes, and ruminating on these topics, you would assume I was a professional productivity guru. I am not. Instead, I am a complete amateur clumsily writing his first blog post.

Todays post is to make the small status upgrade from desiring to do, to actually doing. This decision comes after many life changing events, but ultimately, it was catalyzed by an underlying conviction to stop wasting time. Also, I felt like it was a sign when today I picked up Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings and read the following:

“If we do nothing with the knowledge we gain, then we have wasted our study.” - Jasnah Kholin

Jasnah is a highly intelligent and academic woman and said this to her new ward, Shallan. How fortuitous.

I have fallen into this trap - pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge - many times, and what I have found is that it will make you miserable. I got to the point where I was only consuming. I was anxious and irritable. I started feeling despair over things that were not remotely related to my life. Worst of all, my brain was always fatigued and on the edge of explosion. I could barely focus on anything, and things that should have been bringing me joy seemed like burdens. I needed to make a change and stop consuming.

My go-to channels for consumption were podcasts and YouTube. So, I stopped taking in both. My drive to and from work I left empty. My lunch breaks became quiet. And my evenings were content free. The result was absolutely alarming. About two days in, I started to get severe withdrawal symptoms. This is not an exaggeration, and I hope someone else can relate! Typically, when I tell people this, they look at me in disbelief, but I experienced physical symptoms from stopping podcasts and YouTube. One day, I was driving to work, and my head was throbbing. It didn't feel like a headache. It felt like pressure. It felt similar to the brain pain you feel after a long, hard exam but ten times worse. My wife happened to call me that morning, and as soon as I picked up and she started talking, my brain broke. I hung up immediately. Thankfully, I have a patient and gracious wife, but that was a terrible feeling. I literally couldn't take in even the small stimulus of a voice.

The reason I share this is because my information addiction was preventing me from creating any outputs in my life, and it was making me physically and mentally sick. If this is you, there is hope. I am happy to say I am over a year clean. I have slowly introduced content back into my life, but my relationship with it has completely changed. Most importantly, I am allowing the things I consume to flow in and out. One thing I consumed recently, at the recommendation of YouTuber and productivity expert Ali Abdaal, is the book Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. This blog is an outflow from that inflow. When you take pieces of other people’s knowledge and insights and materialize them in your own life, it begins to change the way you view content consumption and creation.

I will close with one last thought. If you feel anxious or stressed, try starting the thing you know you need to do. In my case, I was feeling anxious about not pursuing my dream of creating content on the internet. This quote from Show Your Work helped me put things in perspective enough to take action:

“The best way to get started on the path to sharing your work is to think about what you want to learn, and make a commitment to learning it in front of others.”

This is my formal written acknowledgement of learning how to be a content creator. I am planning to share as I learn and hopefully expand my connections of people to both learn from and teach. At first my posts might seem random, but I am going to try to start by being consistent and not necessarily consistently good. If you happen to have a similar desire in your life, join with me on this adventure. Stop overthinking it and just start!

This is finally the end and if you are still reading this, thank you! If you feel compelled I would love to hear your story, feedback, and advice. Use the contact tab at the top.

If you are interested in the books I referenced, stay tuned. I plan to do book reviews on Show Your Work by Austin Kleon, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, and Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal.