Life Without News
One of my favorite lessons from Tim Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week that immediately improved my quality of life and instantly implementable:
Stop Reading the News
By not reading the news I:
- Save time chasing the news cycle.
- Save mental anxiety by focusing on items important to me.
- Give opportunity to connect with others.
Essentially, I’m taking the news out of my life.
Saving Time
The news is everywhere and continuously changing. So there’s always something new in the news.
Keeping up with the news cycle is endless - with unlimited sources of news, interpretations of the news, reactions to the news - you can spend all your waking hours on the news.
If you get paid to keep up with the news - keep doing it, you’re getting paid to read the news!
Reduce Anxiety
By not reading the news, you also don’t pick up the anxiety inducing aspects of the news:
Bad News Sells
How much bad news about someone else can you handle? After reading so much about a tragedy, you create anxiety inside you.
It’s just not worth it for me.
Connect with Others
Well, if I am not reading the news, what do I do to keep up?
Ask others about the news
Someone is reading the news (unless all of your friends practice Four Hour Work Week) and a great way to get the news is to ask them what the news is.
I found that they read the news all day, they are more than happy to share the news. Heck, they probably are looking for someone to share their perspective on reading so much news.
You become an attentive listener for them while getting an update on the news (you didn’t chase!)
Better Life Without News
By connecting with others and listening to them share their news (whatever it may be,) you reduce your anxiety, and save time from not constantly chasing the news.
I love this approach to life and I live with greater clarity and connect better with others.
This is one of my favorite tips from Tim Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week.