On Content Consumption

We’re living in an age of information overflow. So many things to read… so much to listen to… so much to watch… and so little time. I’m always somewhat baffled by the amount of content people close to me are able to consume regularly. I struggle to keep up with new shows on top of everything I do, yet some people have seen everything that Netflix, HBO, and Showtime offer and still have time to read and work their regular schedules.

Letting people into your life on a daily/weekly basis is a big deal and should be treated as such. There are only so many hours in the day and even fewer when you can focus on new content. I wrote about my daily routine a while back, but I wanted to dive a bit deeper into my content consumption as I know it’s something I always am curious about from those I admire.

There is only so much content you can consume daily.

This exercise also helped me step back and take a look at what I digest and evaluate how I feel about it from a 30,000 foot view. There is so much content out there, and a lot of great things that I’m sure I would enjoy reading and listening to. But I just don’t have time for it all. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to get through morning email subscriptions, news sites and other articles that things just get left to the wayside.

Essentials: my daily must-hits

Fred Wilson: AVC — I think Fred is one of the best tech/business minds we have, and I feel fortunate that he gives us an inside look at his thoughts every single day. Lately, in addition to his regular morning posts, I’ve I’ve been going back through the archives and reading Fred’s old posts that are filed under “MBA Monday’s”, where he dives into various business topics that you’d cover in an MBA program. He always be sure to tie those back to his world of venture investing and startups. 3 min/day

Axios: Pro Rata — Dan Primack (who I followed over to Axios from Fortune) brings an insider’s perspective on venture capital and private equity. He goes through recent deals, fundings, people movement and touches on politics major political events with the tie-ins of their effects on business. Dan also has a great 10 minute podcast that’s released daily that I try to find time for, as well as a new HBO series. This content gives me a great look at high-level tech trends — where the money is going, how funds are investing, and Dan does a great job talking through the logistics of many of these deals. Axios has other newsletters I subscribe to as well that come less-frequently, such as their Autonomous Vehicles weekly newsletter. 10 min/day

Morning Brew — the quick, easy-to-read business news letter is a great one to knock out on the subway ride to the office. It always arrives early and helps set the stage at a high level of what’s going on in business and what to expect out of the markets that day, in a very conversational tone. 5 min/day

New York Post — I know it’s not the most educational content, but reading The Post is a guilty pleasure of mine. If you want to know the latest on the Ariana Grande/Pete Davidson split I can probably tell you more than any person with zero ties to either of them should know. I will say that I do get a lot of local NYC news out of The Post. 15 min/day

The Real Deal/Bisnow/Commercial Observer/ — Because of my role in the real estate space, these are essential publications I read regularly so I have a pulse on the latest news, trends and deals. It’s very important to keep a pulse of what’s happening with my biggest partners and projects. 1 hour/day

ESPN — I am a big football and hoops fan, so those are the two main areas I focus my attention towards. I will read anything that Rich Cimini writes about my Jets, but lately it’s been nothing too smile-worthy. 10 min/day

Books — This one’s obvious. I try to read either at the beginning (or more likely the end) of my day. Right now, I’m reading Thirst by Scott Harrison (Founder & CEO of Charity Water). Sadly, I don’t think I allocate enough time here. 30 min/day

Twitter — I find Twitter to be one of the most engaging platforms there is, especially when it comes to getting candid thoughts from influencers in business, sports and entertainment. I get a lot out of scrolling Twitter when news breaks, and I also get a lot of the articles I save to my pocket through other’s tweets. 30 min/day

Pocket articles — Going through the articles from various publications that I save in my pocket is a big part of how I learn. I’ve experimented with pocket’s new audible feature but it’s far too robotic-sounding to be able to tolerate right now. Printing out articles I know I want to get through and keeping them on me is also a great way to ensure I get to certain things. 30 min/day

Picking and choosing: ideal when I have time

Aside from the sites and newsletters I don’t miss, there’s a lot of content that I’m subscribed to that I just don’t have time get to every day (although I wish I could).

Wait But Why: Tim Urban — After meeting Tim and hearing him present at the Floored offices almost four years ago, I was instantly hooked. His blogs are long, and released every so often, but they are the types of articles that will make you think deeply about life. He has written on topics such as what makes you, you, how to pick a career, and has also published several articles on the artificial intelligence revolution. He was even asked by Elon Musk himself to write a series of profiles on him and his companies, which he did masterfully. I always look forward to these posts. 25 min/week

Gary’s Guide — Weekly newsletter highlighting the latest in NYC tech (events, fundraising, hiring, etc.). Gary does a great job curating relevant news and articles and giving a broad overview of events (with some great giveaways). 5 min/week

The Tim Ferris Show — After reading Tools of Titans, I gained a ton of respect for Tim Ferris’ process and daily approach to finding success and meaning in life. Tim’s recent podcast with LeBron James was an awesome deep-dive into the nuances of Lebron’s routine, process, and preparation. 1 hour every few weeks

Brandon Donnelly: Architect This City — I’d say I have read about 90% of the posts Brandon has written over the past four years. He is very thoughtful in his writing about city building, development, architecture and technology trends and I always find his posts highly relevant to my world at the intersection of real estate and tech. 3 min/day

Pardon My Take — PFT Commenter and Big Cat make me laugh like no one else can. I’ve been an award-winning listener since their first episode about two years ago. I usually catch 2/3 of their weekly podcasts. 2 hours/week

How I Built This with Guy Raz — Guy interviews some of the world’s best entrepreneurs and has a way of getting them to tell their stories in such a unique and genuine way. 1 hour / week

TV: I don’t watch a ton of TV aside from live sports, but I always try to have one show that I’m working through. Right now, I am watching The Office. 30 min/day (aside from far more than this on football Sundays… or when the Jets and Michigan play)

Honorable mentions: still a minor part of my life

Reading:

• The New York Times
• The Wall Street Journal
• The New Yorker
• Bleacher Report/other sports reading

Podcasts:

• The Bill Simmons Podcast
• The Herd with Colin Cowherd
• The Twenty Minute VC with Harry Stebbings
• The Gary Vee Audio Experience

Social:

• Instagram/Facebook — These are a bigger part of my life than I’d like to admit. I have put limits on my phone to only allow these to be used for certain hours of the day, which has helped lower my overall consumption of these. I’m trying to be more conscious about my social media usage. 1 hour/day

Overall, I found this to be a very effective exercise as I stepped back to re-evaluate my tendencies. Laying it all out there shows how much time I allocate towards work-related education vs. personal education vs. pure pleasure content consumption. Over time, as my interests and roles change I’m sure this mix will continue to evolve. Taking stock can help choose who to eliminate and what areas might need to be more to deliberately focused on. Right now, the areas I am going to look to more intently focus on are books (I am going to try Audible) and the New York Times (paying for a subscription will force me into reading it more).

Feel free to share any suggestions you have in the comments below — would love to discover new content.