Lately I’ve been thinking about how much I create vs consume things in my spare time. What is the ratio? How often do I write a poem vs watch Hulu? How would my life be different if I tried to consume less, and make more stuff?
So last week I tried an experiment. I wanted to write one blog post per day. I was inspired by this quote by Fred Wilson:
“I write every day because it makes me think every day”
And I almost made it! I wrote Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but didn’t write Friday because I was DJing my birthday party (I guess that still counts as creating something).
I noticed two things:
- Writing blog posts takes more time than you might imagine.
- Thinking, forming opinions and taking stands is more valuable than the final output (the blog post).
Looking back, most of my posts are a bit incoherent and don’t fully communicate the ideas in my head. But the point, for me, is that I now have new ideas in my head!
Like this semi-tangent….
I’m really into the idea that people should be defined by what they make, not what they like. What does it really say about me if I decide that I enjoy Burberry, MGMT and drinking PBR. It doesn’t take effort to like a brand, and it doesn’t reflect who a person really is, just how they want to be perceived. If I ever have to apply for a job again, I don’t plan to write a resume; I’ll just show a list of things I have made.
