How to recover from Information Constipation

Here's something I've been doing recently that has helped stop my mind fizzing and flitting about in a sugary-panic - simplify the diet and digest things properly. Not my food diet (my cheese and caffeine intake remains a rock n' roll middle-finger to the 'rules'... man) but rather my information diet. 

While locked into a 'pull refresh' cycle on three different apps while also 'watching' something on Netflix, while also simultaneously reading a review of the show I'm meant to be watching , whilst also checking the Twitter consensus, and then opening six more as I investigate if that bit-part actor WAS in that thing from the 90s I realised I had a problem. When it came to information I was addicted to unsatisfying hits of sugary junk and just wanted more, MORE..... MOOORRE (*now screaming from a mountain top with clenched fists and lighting striking in background*). 

 So instead of a complete detox I took two simple steps:

MIxing up the Diet: I do like my lightweight easy-to-swallow fun bullshittery a lot but instead of eating all the chocolate-fudge brownies all the time (e.g that 9 hour Drag Race marathon) I try to save an indulgence and then savour it all the more.  I've not swapped Twitter for Tolstoy but I try to mix in a quality drama here and there for some solid sustenance, get a bit of brain fibre from reading longer articles about things I don't yet grasp, or get a wee hit of vitamins by flicking through Spotify playlists of music I haven't heard before.

Getting a good mixture is key - and making it appetising rather than punishing. Watching only worthy documentaries would be be as dull as dry muesli dust for me but I might flick through a short-story on the tube instead of dead-eye staring at the Evening Standard. As a chirpy Essex food & fitness guru would tell you - its about making those simple swaps. 

Leaving Time To Digest: Eat a lot of anything and it loses it's taste so I try to cut right down on my intake, leave time for it to settle, and to completely rinse it for inspiration. If you take in less the brain has time to make more of it.

At the moment I'm watching only Fargo series 3 (I was pretty much checked out until ep 8 - but now, wow) and reading a book of short stories. Nothing else on my plate, I have to digest this first. Also instead of binging on three or four podcasts while on a Sunday walk I'll listen to one (Edith Bowman's Soundtracking is a big favourite) and then leave half an hour or so of silence so I have time to think about what I've heard and give my mind the space to bounce off an idea and drift in its own direction - instead of stuffing it with another shovel-full of food.

So two simple tips to cut down on Information Constipation. Let me know if you've had a similar dietary rejig or think you're in need of one. I'm on Twitter @theroryjohn