6 Things You Consume

Consumption vs. Creation- What Wins?

For busy couples to consider what you're feeding yourself

Last week I wrote about the things we create – our partnerships, kids, careers, ourselves. Amazing stuff worth celebrating.

This week? Let's talk about what we're shoving in our faces. Consumption is inevitable but is yours too lopsided?

No judgment b/c I struggle with it daily. What I know is there are 10 million choices per day. The paradox of choice working overtime – so many things to watch, read, buy, eat, consume... that we piledrive a smorgasbord into our guts.

And we're often left really bloated. But not satisfied. Not content.

As a parent this becomes staggering, sickening even. But I think there’s a different way to look at consumption- let’s do it together.

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The Simple Reframe

Here's something I'm doing that I'm hoping we can all benefit from. Simple, low effort, practical: I'm trying to understand consumption with my creation in mind. "Why am I consuming this?"

The answer doesn't always have to be "to be a better [parent/partner/professional]." Sometimes it's "I need a 30-minute reality escape from solving problems for everyone I come in contact with."

But really it starts with: what do you want? In that moment. This week. In life?

If we consume just because it's there, that's how you end up in a spiral having no clue how much time you've given away. The unseen tradeoff – your time and energy given to the thing you're consuming. Did it give anything back worth a sh*t?

It’s consuming you. But…

If it teaches you something... that consumption aids creation.

If it educates you on what matters today... that consumption aids your contribution.

If it helps you be truly thankful... that consumption aids contentment.

You've morphed pure consumption into conversion. It fuels your ability to create better.

Here’s what that eval looks like to me across Appairent-worthy domains.

What Conversion Looks Like

Online Content: Studying sales funnels for a few hours to apply to my business? Conversion. Clicking the 19th hour of similar videos? Consumption delaying actual building steps.

Your Kids: I watched my almost-4-year-old running freely around a new park, owning nets, slides and hills. I was amazed. I GET to watch this journey, be proud of what we're developing, and get a front row seat to my own creation every single day. Trumps any TikTok binge I could “rot on” (hate that term so much) for 3 hours.

Your Relationship: This was harder for me but then it clicked... that's why I've been chasing how to get it back in the front seat! It's the 1-on-1 coffee time you make. The date night that lets you create memories and enjoy the contrast from daily operations. This is the good stuff you swore you got the career and the house for! When you get to enjoy it, that’s consumption! We GOTTA find time to consume every bit of goodness here. B/c it most definitely converts into better energy and creation in literally everything else you’re doing.

Friend Time: I got a little drunk with neighborhood friends on a Friday afternoon out on the boat followed by pizza and pong at home in garage. The thing we thought we could do monthly took 16 months to do for the 2nd time. Dragging the next morning... with a huge grin. I needed that time. Now do I have to make up some ritual that enables me to do that every Friday and avoid my family? Probably not. That’s not a judgement - everyone’s ratio is different, that’s why we have to eval.

Personal Time: My daily workouts are required for my sanity and the wellbeing of those in my household. This time consumption is conversion. Stress relief, blue sky thinking, above-benchmark longevity and productivity for work, family support and side hustle energy all come from me taking that time from everything else. That’s good conversion efficiency! 6 hour workouts every weekend training for something? Probably over-consumption for me but again use the consumption←→ creation eval to figure out the right ratio for you.

Financial Planning: You need to review numbers and have a sense of it to be responsible. But if you spend all your time watching figures ebb and flow daily or weekly... are you consuming or being consumed by it?

Convert to Conversion

Take 5 minutes. Pick one area above. Ask yourself: "Is what I'm consuming here converting into something I'm creating? Or am I just bloated?" I'm using this simple audit for a while. I've already found 20% of the time I wasn't happy with the value exchange.

Share it with your spouse. With a friend. Reply to this email and tell me.

The creation you've built deserves fuel that actually works. Consumption is fantastic when it has real calories that leave you ready to create, thrive and do what it is you really want to be doing.

🍻

Hat