On Producing v Consuming

By way of introduction, you probably know that I read the blogs of others. I have a whole linked list down the side, which lets me see when they have a new post up, and will often be the first to read/comment on them. There are 4 more blogs which I visit regularly, on an almost daily basis. They are:

- Daring Fireball, by John Gruber. Here I get insightful commentary into what is going on in the tech world, with a Mac-centric focus. Reasoned, articulate, and remarkably prescient.
- Seth's Blog, by Seth Godin. A focus on marketing, self development, and the new way of doing things heralded by the digital age. All posts have something to take away from, and there are some gems in there that occasionally change the way you think.
- Arseblog. The only Arsenal blog I read, and for good reason. Well informed and well formed opinions on pretty much anything Arsenal-related. I've yet to come across an opinion of his which I've disagreed with.
- Life Outside The Box, by Tynan. An unconventional blog for an unconventional person. Will always challenge your preconceptions. I don't agree with a large amount of what he believes in, but every now and then, like Seth, there are some gems in there that will change the way you think.

Which brings me to the topic of this post.

Tynan's post on producing resonated with me. I admit to being a consumer more than a producer - I like to read a lot, and watch a lot of movies. I don't watch that much TV, admittedly, which brings the balance slightly in my favour, but that is offset by the amount of web-surfing I do. Also known as procrastinating.

Since reading it, I've upped the focus on the amount of producing I do, as opposed to consuming. It's not where I want it to be, but it's a start. The focus mainly has been on writing articles, so that the work I do can have some impact, hopefully for good, on those outside my immediate circle. i highly doubt they will change the life of anyone who reads them, but at the very least I hope to increase the knowledge that people have, so that they may make an informed decision later on, should they ever have to. It's not just articles, though - some of the fiction I've been stuck on for ages is finally moving again, though not by much.

It is weird though. I already know the importance of doing versus non-doing. Or being proactive versus being passive. So why the new motivation? I guess its probably down to the way in which the retelling allows you to see a different facet to the part you already know. Or perhaps telling it with more rhetoric is more inspirational - showing that humans sometimes need an emotional impetus in addition to intellectual logic/knowledge in order to move forward.

I don't know. Maybe there's another post in that. But not now - I have to get back to a half finished article AND a half finished piece of fiction.

Writing is fun again :D.