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Consumption vs Creation

chrislovejoy.substack.com

Consumption vs Creation

Christopher Lovejoy
Dec 22, 2019
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Share this post

Consumption vs Creation

chrislovejoy.substack.com

Last week I finished the first term of my Master’s degree. Since then, I’ve been enjoying much more flexibility with how I use my time.

Rather than just review the content from the term, I’ve made a conscious effort to work on mini-projects which apply what I’ve learnt. I personally find this a much more fun and effective way to “revise”.

Doing so reminds me of a dichotomy I like to enforce upon myself; that at any point in time I am predominantly focussed on either input or output.

Input vs Output

I count input as studying, reading, listening and learning, whereas output is creation; brainstorming ideas, writing blogs, working on project.

I’ve personally found it most productive to alternative between focussing on one then the other. For example, the last 2-3 months have been focussed on input. I studied a lot for the master’s and learnt a great deal. As of this week, I’m back on output and plan to be for the next month or two.

Why do I find this an effective approach? I’m not certain but here are a few ideas:

I find that by focussing on one aspect (input vs output), I can go deeper into it and make more progress.

Also, it’s more enjoyable. I can study and read until I get bored, then work on a project. I can work on that project until I get bored then go back to reading. Both flex different mental muscles but both are equally important and valuable.

There’s also a clear complementarity between the two; input feeds the next round of output, which guides the next round of input.

Does anyone else approach work this way?

Favourite links

Back and forth between super-hot and super-cold | Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers talks here about the idea of alternating between extreme approaches using saunas as an analogy

sivers.org • Share

No other links this week - haven’t consumed very much (focussing on output!)

Have a great week! (Merry Christmas and all that!)

Chris

By Chris Lovejoy

Hi! I'm Chris, a Cambridge medicine graduate now working as a doctor in London and exploring a career applying machine learning to medicine. Every weekend I send out an email sharing my experiences, life lessons as I learn them, and links to my favourite things on the internet.

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University College London, Gower Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6BT

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Consumption vs Creation

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