You just reminded me of a study I ready years ago, from MIT, which found that the people who were getting the best use out of social media were constantly evaluating and culling. Thanks for sharing this, Mike, and thanks for your support of this newsletter!
I’ve started being more ruthless and steadily reducing the number of newsletters that I’m subscribed to on Substack- you just can’t read everything, even if you have an interest in whatever the author has to say.
On a related point, I’ve noticed that some of the authors with large readership often don’t subscribe to a lot of newsletters themselves. So that’s quite telling.
Feels like gardening to me :) And though my wife is great at cutting back, I struggle. To train myself, I've tasked myself with pruning our orchard trees. ... I'm getting much better at hacking back.
So good. And it just begs the question: after some subtraction audits, what is a thing or two that you were surprised that you missed? Or surprised that you didn't miss?
I missed LitHub, and Letsrun.com;) I was surprised that I didn't miss the NY Review of Books. I used to absolutely love it. But I think it got a little, I don't know, predictable or something? And I was continuing to read it out of momentum, and when I stopped briefly, I didn't go back. A little sad because I was so enamored of it for a while. Oh, New Scientist, actually, that was the one that I missed the most—in actual print.
I can tell this is going to be a great book (and I love the title)! On the matter of managing reading, I will share a strategy that has helped me. Every day, religiously, I read something (including your post for today) and take at least five notes (usually about a sentence for each “note”) on what I read (or occasionally on something I learned in a lecture)—2346 consecutive days and counting! The beauty of this system—for me anyway—is that I am constantly adding to my store of knowledge (and experiencing the written word—good for a writer), BUT I don’t beat myself up for not reading and learning enough. Like you (and many of your readers, probably), I feel compelled to read and learn, so I have to take care not to overdo it—at the expense of my health and sanity. In short, I scratch the itch without scratching it raw.
I’m forever culling my list of things I read! Unsubscribing, deleting without reading, etc. I used to request books automatically from the library when I came across something I wanted to read, but then they began to pile up! And I wouldn’t get through them. Now I add them to my GoodReads list, and when I find myself in need of a book, I go to that and then request it from the library. The book thing I think I’ve figured out, mostly— but all the infinite newsletters and substacks, etc. that I find appealing? That is a little harder, and is non-stop. Too many people are doing too many interesting things. But the idea of deleting/unsubscribing and then going back to the ones that you miss, tends to work the best for me. Your new book is on my goodreads list— so I’ll get to it eventually, maybe sooner than later, as the topic might be more directly applicable to my current life needs, than some other ones. But we’ll see. And your newsletter, has never made the chopping block, as it is typically an easy enough/short read and I tend to get at least a couple nuggets to take along with me. So thanks!
reminds me of the core message of the book essentialism.
We acquire habits, responsibilities, follows, information sources, clothes, books, everything. Every so often you need to ask is this task or information source essential.
You can always come back.
Interestingly the writing of David Epstein I had subscribed and then unsubscribed when I found it wasn't essential.
I recently resubscribed because I was interested in your new book (which I brought and am reading). So good news David, you are back on the essential list
"the headlines of most feature articles appeal to me. They often make me feel like I simply must know whatever’s in the article or I’ll go through life ill-informed." Same! That dopamine lure is strong.
Developing a "read/watch later" list has saved me too. If you're not already familiar with it, the Reader application is a godsend.
This is timely - between my subscription to the WSJ, my career related newsletters, podcasts and the various Substack authors I subscribe to, I find myself waking up every day to a larger inbox and feel a sense of urgency in my free time to hurry up and read everything in order to get the list down to zero. I had lost the joy in consuming the information because the backlog was growing too large. But then I would feel guilt over not reading everything that I had committed to when I saved the article or hit Subscribe to that Substack. I think this weekend I will organize my funnel and see just how much I can cull so that I can get back to enjoying my quiet reading time on the weekend rather than feeling a sense of urgency to "hurry up and get it done."
When I first joined Substack, I signed up for many interesting newsletters but regretted it shortly after when my inbox got overloaded with emails from Substack. I ended up unsubscribing to most of them and following them instead. I do try to have regular culling sessions on social media and in my inbox, as it's the only way to keep control – so thanks for the reminder. I will start putting your 50% rule idea into practice!
Thanks for this article! I've struggled lately with subscribing to many newsletters and my email is getting clogged by it. I definitely need to do a cull, at least starting with a list.
Apparently, Subtraction Neglect Bias is the name of my statistical pop pseudo-ska-billy saxophone cover band…and, less fortunately, my todo list mismanagement manifesto. 😬
In unrelated news, I deleted all the social media apps from my devices in 2024 only to find myself compulsively opening Apple News looking for the same "omgthatscrazycanyoubelieveit" feeling. And found it. 🫠 So, I deleted Apple News, and here I am. Doh.
The bookmarking-as-funnel-management concept is great and I came here to comment that it's satisfying to see here that other people have independently developed the same concept. Relatedly, there are things that sit in my Gmail inbox for a week and then it's "sorry dude (ie, self), I know it's tempting, but you're not going to get around to this one, just archive it."
Love this. I constantly cull who I follow on Instagram. If I don’t find the content interesting I cut it. Same with Substack. I reevaluate frequently.
You just reminded me of a study I ready years ago, from MIT, which found that the people who were getting the best use out of social media were constantly evaluating and culling. Thanks for sharing this, Mike, and thanks for your support of this newsletter!
Library books: take some back and check some new ones out.
I’ve started being more ruthless and steadily reducing the number of newsletters that I’m subscribed to on Substack- you just can’t read everything, even if you have an interest in whatever the author has to say.
On a related point, I’ve noticed that some of the authors with large readership often don’t subscribe to a lot of newsletters themselves. So that’s quite telling.
Timely and empowering. The technique for curating a reading "diet" also works for smartphone apps.
Absolutely! Thanks to Cal Newport, I did that with my phone, and Twitter never went back.
Feels like gardening to me :) And though my wife is great at cutting back, I struggle. To train myself, I've tasked myself with pruning our orchard trees. ... I'm getting much better at hacking back.
So good. And it just begs the question: after some subtraction audits, what is a thing or two that you were surprised that you missed? Or surprised that you didn't miss?
I missed LitHub, and Letsrun.com;) I was surprised that I didn't miss the NY Review of Books. I used to absolutely love it. But I think it got a little, I don't know, predictable or something? And I was continuing to read it out of momentum, and when I stopped briefly, I didn't go back. A little sad because I was so enamored of it for a while. Oh, New Scientist, actually, that was the one that I missed the most—in actual print.
I can tell this is going to be a great book (and I love the title)! On the matter of managing reading, I will share a strategy that has helped me. Every day, religiously, I read something (including your post for today) and take at least five notes (usually about a sentence for each “note”) on what I read (or occasionally on something I learned in a lecture)—2346 consecutive days and counting! The beauty of this system—for me anyway—is that I am constantly adding to my store of knowledge (and experiencing the written word—good for a writer), BUT I don’t beat myself up for not reading and learning enough. Like you (and many of your readers, probably), I feel compelled to read and learn, so I have to take care not to overdo it—at the expense of my health and sanity. In short, I scratch the itch without scratching it raw.
I’m forever culling my list of things I read! Unsubscribing, deleting without reading, etc. I used to request books automatically from the library when I came across something I wanted to read, but then they began to pile up! And I wouldn’t get through them. Now I add them to my GoodReads list, and when I find myself in need of a book, I go to that and then request it from the library. The book thing I think I’ve figured out, mostly— but all the infinite newsletters and substacks, etc. that I find appealing? That is a little harder, and is non-stop. Too many people are doing too many interesting things. But the idea of deleting/unsubscribing and then going back to the ones that you miss, tends to work the best for me. Your new book is on my goodreads list— so I’ll get to it eventually, maybe sooner than later, as the topic might be more directly applicable to my current life needs, than some other ones. But we’ll see. And your newsletter, has never made the chopping block, as it is typically an easy enough/short read and I tend to get at least a couple nuggets to take along with me. So thanks!
reminds me of the core message of the book essentialism.
We acquire habits, responsibilities, follows, information sources, clothes, books, everything. Every so often you need to ask is this task or information source essential.
You can always come back.
Interestingly the writing of David Epstein I had subscribed and then unsubscribed when I found it wasn't essential.
I recently resubscribed because I was interested in your new book (which I brought and am reading). So good news David, you are back on the essential list
Looking forward to read that section when I receive my copy. Ordered already.
"the headlines of most feature articles appeal to me. They often make me feel like I simply must know whatever’s in the article or I’ll go through life ill-informed." Same! That dopamine lure is strong.
Developing a "read/watch later" list has saved me too. If you're not already familiar with it, the Reader application is a godsend.
This is timely - between my subscription to the WSJ, my career related newsletters, podcasts and the various Substack authors I subscribe to, I find myself waking up every day to a larger inbox and feel a sense of urgency in my free time to hurry up and read everything in order to get the list down to zero. I had lost the joy in consuming the information because the backlog was growing too large. But then I would feel guilt over not reading everything that I had committed to when I saved the article or hit Subscribe to that Substack. I think this weekend I will organize my funnel and see just how much I can cull so that I can get back to enjoying my quiet reading time on the weekend rather than feeling a sense of urgency to "hurry up and get it done."
Will a visual of the funnel and hopper exercise be available in your new book?
Not an image, but a much more detailed description.
Excellent! Looking forward to receiving my preorder!
When I first joined Substack, I signed up for many interesting newsletters but regretted it shortly after when my inbox got overloaded with emails from Substack. I ended up unsubscribing to most of them and following them instead. I do try to have regular culling sessions on social media and in my inbox, as it's the only way to keep control – so thanks for the reminder. I will start putting your 50% rule idea into practice!
Thanks for this article! I've struggled lately with subscribing to many newsletters and my email is getting clogged by it. I definitely need to do a cull, at least starting with a list.
There’s no such thing as information overload. It’s really just bad filters.
Apparently, Subtraction Neglect Bias is the name of my statistical pop pseudo-ska-billy saxophone cover band…and, less fortunately, my todo list mismanagement manifesto. 😬
In unrelated news, I deleted all the social media apps from my devices in 2024 only to find myself compulsively opening Apple News looking for the same "omgthatscrazycanyoubelieveit" feeling. And found it. 🫠 So, I deleted Apple News, and here I am. Doh.
The bookmarking-as-funnel-management concept is great and I came here to comment that it's satisfying to see here that other people have independently developed the same concept. Relatedly, there are things that sit in my Gmail inbox for a week and then it's "sorry dude (ie, self), I know it's tempting, but you're not going to get around to this one, just archive it."