Content consumption vs creation

It took me a while to really get it, but now I see it, bright as day. When I consume content, it's harder for me to create content. I'm a writer and I love to write. But with some experimentation, I have confirmed that it is harder for me to write when or after I consume content.

I like to write first thing in the morning. These are my active thinking hours, between 4 and 7 am. If I spend any of that time looking at social media, my capacity to generate content is impaired. Social media at night is OK. But social media first thing in the morning leaves me lost and rudderless.

If I watch any content the night before, my capacity to generate content is impaired, too. That means, even YouTube for short how-to videos are out. Netflix is out. I'm thinking of pausing or canceling my subscription anyway. Life is far more interesting. Though I must admit, I like their documentaries. Besides, it's hard for me to watch any fictional drama these days. I keep deconstructing the plots down to characters that lack the skills to express their needs and get them met.

As I write this, I have this sort of prayer nailed to my wall, before me now:

Great Creator, I will take care of the quantity. You will take care
of the quality.

I see that prayer every day when I sit to write. What that means for me is that I am better off writing on an empty mind. I need no other inspiration in the morning, other than a mind buzzing with article ideas. I only need to pick one and write about it, spontaneously. I keep writing until I'm empty or run out of time and then I stop to edit and post.

This is one of the things I love about writing. Writing for me is the best form of introspection. I peer deep within my mind to find something to talk about, write it up, and then share it.

There is a part of me that wishes I were not so sensitive to consuming other content. But that sensitivity is also what I enjoy about writing. Consuming content can jade me. That sensitivity is a self-awareness, a consciousness awakening. I don't know many people I can talk to about it, and I tend to organize my thoughts better in writing. So I write about it and share it to see if anything comes back. You know, like a message in a bottle.