Stop Keeping Up With Current Events

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” - Thomas Jefferson Most of us are addicts. We’re addicted to news. As long as we get our regular fix, we can go about our day, comfortable in the knowledge that we’re informed regarding current events. But if we erect a wall between ourselves and the never-ending news cycle, shunning our “drug” of choice, we experience withdrawals. Like all addictions, an addiction to current events carries consequences. Those consequences adversely impact our lives in myriad ways. For example, we train ourselves to consider news bulletins a high priority that supersede everything else. And the more we indulge our habit, the more we reinforce it. Eventually, we become obsessed, looking for a fix when we should be working on the tasks on our to-do lists. It’s worth noting that few events reported in the news have any real longevity. Incidents that seem significant in the moment are forgotten the following week. Within two or three months, few even warrant the smallest of footnotes. Given that fact, the attention devoted to them today is wasted. Here’s another problem: much of the news we see on television, the internet or in newspapers is shallow. The stories are little more than sound bytes designed to draw us in. They feed our craving for current events, but keep us wanting more. Some stories masquerade as news, but are intended to amuse rather than inform. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said “It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.” He was kidding, of course. But his joke underscores the fact that news bulletins are seldom critical or deserving of our attention. You might assume your fondness for current events has little to no impact on your productivity. In truth, it has a much bigger impact than you might realize.

 How This Bad Habit Hurts Your Productivity

 First, most news announcements are negative. You may have heard the saying “if it bleeds, it leads.” That maxim reflects the news media’s prioritization of stories depicting violence, misery and death. The idea is that people are drawn to gloomy narratives more than they are drawn to positive narratives. The constant barrage of negativity makes you more passive. You become less likely to take action and less likely to look for ways to improve your circumstances. This effect can be seen with any type of passive entertainment. But it is especially prominent when it stems from an ongoing diet of negative, fear-based news. A second consequence of this type of addiction is an increased susceptibility to distractions. Current events are delivered in seductive, sensational sound bytes aimed at pulling you in. They hint at juicy details that promise to sate your inner voyeur. The result? The news items become irresistible. Third, your heightened vulnerability to distractions destroys your focus. You’re less able to concentrate on your work, and thus less able to work efficiently. In Day 12, we discussed the importance of momentum in your workflow. Each time your momentum is broken, you need 20 minutes to get back on track. Imagine how difficult it is to maintain a high level of productivity if you’re constantly distracted by the siren call of current events. Fourth, the more receptive you are to distractions, the more responsive you’ll be to interruptions. You may even seek them out if you’re bored. Fifth, a news addiction can cause you to lose motivation that might otherwise inspire you to work more productively. How did you feel the last time you watched an hour of your favorite news program on television? Did you feel inspired to get things done? Did the stories and bulletins rouse you to manage your time more effectively? If you’re like most people, they had the opposite effect. They drained your energy and made you feel lethargic. The constant negativity may have even caused you to feel depressed. Let’s assume you have a news addiction. You watch or read the news throughout the day to “stay informed.” How do you overcome your habit? Follow these six action steps.

 Action Steps 

1. Start a news fast. Refrain from watching news on television or reading it online. If you receive daily emails from your favorite news site (for example, CNN.com), unsubscribe. Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to read them every time they arrive in your inbox. I recommend continuing your fast for at least two weeks. Four weeks is better. That gives you enough time to break the habit and replace it with one that’s healthier and more rewarding over the long run. Fair warning: the first day of your fast will be difficult. You’ll be tempted to cheat (e.g. “I’ll just check CNN this one time.”) Realize it gets easier with each passing day. The longer your fast continues, the more you’ll feel in control of your addiction.

2. Write down a list of topics that interest you. For example, you might enjoy stories about technological breakthroughs. Or you might like news items regarding medical treatments for specific health conditions. Specify the types of announcements you have a particular interest in and only read those stories. Doing so limits your consumption of news. It allows you to avoid useless news bulletins involving violence, misery and mayhem. Instead, you’re able to focus your attention on the stories you enjoy, freeing up your time to get more work done.

3. Use Google Alerts to deliver a weekly digest of stories that address your interests. That eliminates the need to search for the topics you listed in Action Step #2. Your Alerts will notify you when news bulletins about them surface. For example, suppose you want to stay informed about the latest pharmacologic cancer treatments. You could scour the medical sections of your favorite news websites each day, looking for relevant stories. Or simply create a Google Alert to do the heavy lifting for you. You’ll receive short summaries of recently-published stories, along with links to where you can read them in their entirety, via email. Not only does this save you time and effort, but it also helps you to break the habit of actively checking for the latest news bulletins.

 4. Remove all bookmarks in your browser that point to your favorite news websites. Doing so will force you to type in the URLs for the sites you want to visit, which will dampen your motivation to visit them. The simple act of typing “NYTimes.com” or “CNN.com” into your browser may be enough to short-circuit the habit of checking for the latest headlines.

5. Brainstorm a short list of activities you can enjoy in the place of watching the news. This list will serve as a reminder of the activities you’re choosing to forfeit for your news addiction. Your list should reflect your priorities and proclivities. For example, you might include time spent talking with your spouse, playing with your children or listening to music. You might enjoy reading novels, playing tennis or exercising. The point is that every minute you spend chasing current events is a minute you can’t spend doing the things you love. Your list prevents you from overlooking that fact.

. Ask your family to refrain from watching the news on television in your home. You might otherwise be tempted to sit down and watch it with them. It is important that you remove the object of your addiction from your environment. Consider that during drug rehabilitation, patients are told to sever ties with friends and acquaintances who continue to take illicit substances. Failing to do so would provide too great a temptation to surrender to their cravings. So it is with your addiction to current events. Your family may not understand your desire to avoid watching the news. If that’s the case, sit down and explain it to them. Then, ask for their help. For example, if they must watch the news at home, ask them to do so in their rooms rather than in the living room