Escape the Doomscroll, Build Your Knowledge Vault

I worked in retail. I was the guy that greeted people as customers walked in.

The job was easy. I felt my potential slipping through my hands, and that was what was hard.

The more I worked, the more I craved something else. But that "something" wasn't so easy to define.

When I was off from work, I was hanging out with friends, playing in bands, and gaming. I thought this was the "something" I was looking for.

Despite being around friends, I felt loneliness, anger, and overthinking.

My Boiling Point

My entire body feels covered with ice cubes. The kayak next to me turned over.

I had just watched a friend glide around in his kayak. He slid down the ramp and into the river.

It was graceful. It was flashy. And I was looking to do the same.

Fast-forward a few steps and here I am; dead in the water. A single turd floating in a toilet bowl.

I hoist myself out of the water using the dock. And then I start stomping around. The wood beneath me vibrates like a cartoon character. I am fuming as I pace along the jiggles of the boards.

Now, I'm looking back on the scene. It is pure comic relief. But at the time it was embarrassing — I wasn't a toddler in my terrible twos. I was a grown man who had turned twenty-two.

Yet here I was; having a temper tantrum in public.

Changing State

It was a wake-up call. I needed to make a change.

I realized that I had lost control of myself. Now was an opportunity to do something about it.

I decided to get inspired. I began reading self-help books, listening to podcasts, and learning from thought leaders. It all helped me create my own content.

Creating daily reignited a sense of childlike joy in me. It felt like breaking free and playing by my own rules.

This allowed me to realize that I could change.

"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." — William Pollard

Now, I can stop consuming and start creating on my own terms. I'm not special. Anyone can do this. That's what I'm aiming to achieve by posting this.

If you find yourself in the cycle of work and consumption, it might be time for your change.

Understanding Consumption

The best way to navigate anything is to predict common obstacles. I found that you want a plan before they appear.

Let's take a look at consumption. There are two variables we should consider:

• What are the problems with consumption?
• What causes the problems to occur?

The Problem With Consumption?

All consumption depletes energy.

We mistake entertainment for relaxation. But real relaxation recharges us. Entertainment is costing us. So what is going on?

All forms of consumption are work. Social media, movies, and even books need digestion.

When we put food into our bodies, it has to be run through our factory. Cellular agents break down food before it's converted into energy. These organic workers won't start without an up-front payment of stored energy.

Consuming is costing us. Pay attention to what you're digesting up front.

Heed the call. Run lean. Your body will thank you for it.

Let's be clear about the process. Consumption is an energy-spending operation. It requires resources to start the system.

But what are we going to do? You're not going to stop eating to avoid digestion. And you won't renounce yourself from entertainment to avoid processing it. So what's the plan?

The truth is — spending energy can benefit us. It's the careless spending that leads to lack. Intentional investment can be great. So let's get deliberate.

When mindful of our consumption habits, we have enough energy left over for the creative act. That's the goal.

What is the Main Cause of Consumption?

The driving force behind consumption is a perceived sense of not having enough.

Sometimes our perception is correct — we may not have any food on the table. But oftentimes, it's wrong; You don't need to watch another episode. You want the feel-good chemicals produced by watching more.

When you desire anything, you create tension between where you're at and where you want to be. We stretch that elastic band each time we have an unhealthy relationship with our goals. The mirage of the finish line strains our band until it snaps. Next thing we know, we have given up. We start doomscrolling.

We're in a game of tug-of-war between unrealistic goals and chronic boredom. No matter which one wins, we still lose.

This phenomenon comes from perceiving the present as not enough. We tell ourselves we aren't where we want to be, then list all the domains we're unhappy in.

To make matters worse, marketing entities play a role in influencing us. There are active campaigns to influence how you think about yourself. Without meeting their criteria, they say you can't be happy.

But you can. We can change how our perspective.

The Solution to The Consumption Problem

All is not doom and gloom. When you change how you perceive information, you change its ability to influence you.

If you remind yourself that you don't need new things, it doesn't matter how effective an ad campaign is. It won't have an effect on you.

Information can transform from a black hole to a research tool. You go from passive consumption habits to active ones.

Think of yourself as a detective. If you're grabbing all the information, it adds more friction. You end up needing to filter through extra junk.

Grab the most relevant information. You'll spend less time filtering, and more time getting closer to cracking the code.

You too can do the same. Before you go down a rabbit hole, ask yourself: what am I looking for? Am I going to find that here? How much time will it take?

You'll notice a lot of material won't help you. Avoid it.

Note: simple heuristics:

• Can I use this information right now?
  • If so, take action now.
• Is it useful later?
  • If so, take notes.
  • Organize them in a retrievable way.

How a Notebook Can Break the Cycle of Passive Consumption

Imagine not needing to hold thoughts in your head. All that remembering — ideas, to-dos, dates — disappears. Yet you find yourself completing the same things you would have otherwise. Only now you're not paying the mental cost of memorization. How?

Notes.

Not only notes but a system. Let me explain.

You're familiar with taking notes, but you may not know how to make them useful. It took me three years of trial and error to figure out I was doing something wrong. Yet, it doesn't have to take more than 5 minutes.

I'm distilling it right here. Right now. Cue the explosions and camera shake. I'm trying to drop some knowledge bombs.

What should you write in your notes?:

• Things you're currently consuming and what has inspired you.
• Go for daily walks and write down ideas.
• Make a note each time someone asks for your advice.

When we start creating, it's easy to get writer's block. But with this method, you can have a library of ideas when it's time to start creating.

Learning From Things You're Currently Consuming

If you're watching something and you like it. Why not use it?

Dissect it, reverse-engineer it, and understand it. Play around. See what happens.

I'm not suggesting copying. I'm talking about learning.

Instead of grabbing inspiration from one source, retrieve information from many. You'll create a library of information tailored to your taste.

Hip-hop uses sampling to make new music. Rock used hip-hop to create new genres. Artists like Björk use a little bit of everything. You don't think you can do the same?

Explore old books, enroll in courses, and venture into uncharted territory. Poke around and find out.

Take Notes

It took me a few years of reading to realize that I wasn't retaining all the information. I had forgotten entire sections of my favorite books.

But that all changed after I started writing things down.

Having excerpts to look back on is not only distilled but explained in a way you can best understand. The whole book is captured in a few lines. Created by you, for you.

Notes are a game changer. You make the material easier to retrieve.

More accessible information means you're more likely to actually use it.

Note: When you make notes, you can later synthesize them. The Letter Box System (as discussed by Ryan Holiday in a video about a system for not only memorizing but putting different ideas together that I will link here) is a system that's designed for organizing small notes that can later be turned into larger original works.

Content Lists

All the note-taking in the world can't protect you from consuming the wrong stuff.

We consume what is easiest. If something is within arms reach, you're going to eat it. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. It's there.

You've heard about people starting a diet by removing junk food from their houses. You might want to do the same with content. The stuff you're avoiding will have less pull at a distance.

Social media has made it easy to watch their videos. Yet we can make it even easier to access our curated material by creating a Watch Later List.

You get all the practical material without all the distractions.

It can be a mood board or a playlist, yet it can all act as building blocks for your next project.

It's all high-quality raw material. A pure source to feed into the system.

By feeding your projects the right stuff, you ensure the highest quality fuel and thus, the highest potential performance.

Your content list can be like a buffet of leafy greens. If you list nutrient-dense information, you can operate at your best. The list makes the process frictionless.

Conclusion

Using this method creates a virtuous cycle. You feed invaluable information, organize it, and find missing data. Then it's all about starting the process over to refine your results.

This will result in your own personal library. You can check out the information most relevant to you. You can compile much of it to create projects that are unique to you.

You don't have to get frustrated by wasting time doomscrolling. You'll have a system to avoid it. All by using a few notes. And a few more ways to organize what you're digesting online.

Tips and Takeaways

• Make the journal easy to access. Make your phone hard to get to.
• Organize how you consume content using playlists and reading lists
• Take notes on what you're already consuming.
• Go for walks to get creative ideas.
• Write down what people ask for your advice on.
• The best ideas are the ones you'll be using forever. Distinguish them from the others by highlighting them.

More Resources

Looking to start creating? Consider making short form content. I found it to be the fastest way to stop doomscrolling and start making things. You can find my post on making short form videos quickly using AI here. Great for anyone getting started.

• Naphtali's notebook explained in under 2 minutes
• How I start my book notes using a mindmap
• Here's how to organize notes for reuse using Ryan Holiday's take on slip boxing
  • Overview of having your own documentation (she uses the phrase digital garden instead of slip boxing)
  • Technical details of organizing notes (Invaluable if you're serious about this)