Episode 94 - The Overconsumption of Knowledge: When Learning Becomes a Liability

In this podcast episode, I look at overconsuming knowledge and its detrimental impact on our lives.  Because constantly seeking new information without taking the time to process and apply it can lead to overwhelm and a lack of focus. 

In this digital age, we're blessed with an abundance of information at our fingertips. But, have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of knowledge you're consuming? I've been there, with a book collection growing faster than I could read and a reading list longer than my expected lifespan.

Here's the thing: Overconsumption of knowledge can actually hinder us from taking action and fully experiencing life. It can become a buffer, preventing us from applying what we learn. I've found myself guilty of this, using learning as a way to avoid other tasks or uncomfortable emotions.

So, what's the solution? It's all about balance. Here are some strategies I've found helpful:

• Limit the amount of new information you consume.
• Cap your learning hours.
• Apply the 50/50 rule - spend equal time learning and applying what you learn.

And if you struggle with saying no to new courses or certifications, I've got an "emergency intervention protocol" for you.

In the end, it's about identifying that one thing that would make your life 20% easier and prioritizing it.

Main teachings and takeaways:
- Overconsuming knowledge can hinder us from taking action and making progress in our lives.
- Constantly seeking new information without processing and applying it can lead to overwhelm and a lack of focus.
- Strategies to strike a balance include setting boundaries on information consumption, prioritizing quality over quantity, and allowing time for reflection and implementation.

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Transcript

Else Kramer (00:00:09) - This is episode 94 The Overconsumption of Knowledge When Learning Becomes a Liability. Hello, smart humans. This is Elsa Kramer, your host, and go to coach for the fast break. And today I'm going to dive into a topic that is as seductive as it is dangerous over consuming knowledge. Yes, you heard me right. This is about your bad learning habits. And this episode may be the wake up call that you didn't know you needed. It's actually something I woke up to earlier this week myself. But first, let me take you back to ancient pre-internet times. Picture me as a very knowledge hungry 15 year old wanting to learn more about this thing called the Fibonacci sequence, which had been mentioned in passing my math class. The only option available to me at the time, other than interacting with, say, math teacher, was to bike into town around 16 minutes there and back, visit the local library, look for a book that could tell me more on this thing called the Fibonacci sequence and compare that to the current knowledge at your fingertips situation where it takes you less than a second.

Else Kramer (00:01:34) - To search for Fibonacci and get a search engine to serve up. Even more than you would ever want to know about it. It's insane. I mean, I love it. Of course, it's a great time to be alive. It does beat biking to the library and then, you know, getting out a book and then realizing, Oh, now I know about this thing and I want to know about ten other things, so I'm going to buy back to the library. It's it's amazing. But it's also very easy to consume way more knowledge than is good for you and your smart mind. Now, I have to admit, I personally didn't quite realize how I was overconsuming knowledge. I mean, the 40 opened tabs didn't register. And it wasn't until I started noticing the crazy rate with which my actual books were procreating. And I, you know, as an aside, I prefer physical copies of books. I have several reasons for that, which I think I've explained in another episode. But every time I finished a book, especially a non-fiction book, it leaves me, of course, with more questions and more things to figure out and more stuff to learn about.

Else Kramer (00:02:53) - And then for each book that I read, I end up ordering at least three new ones. Well, you do the math on that, right? My books are having babies at a crazy rate. My bookcases are bursting at the seams and my reading list is no longer than my expected lifespan. Yeah, let that sink in. Right. My overconsumption of knowledge is hitting me in the face. Now, aside from these sort of personal shelving issues, you may be thinking also get a Kindle and how could there be anything wrong with learning? Is it not the noblest pursuit? And of course, there's nothing wrong with learning per se. It's fucking delightful. Until it starts eating into your life, your relationships and your well-being. Overconsuming knowledge is like overeating, but for your brain, you're gorging on information. But are you digesting it? Are you integrating it? Are you applying it? Or is all this knowledge actually just creating a buffer between you and the outside world or a lived experience? And what is all this learning stopping you from doing what important things are being left undone? What are you avoiding? I want you to pause for a second.

Else Kramer (00:04:20) - Think about that. Are you maybe like me voraciously filling your brain with knowledge to avoid doing or thinking about something else, or maybe even to avoid feeling some of those not so great fields? Now my case. I know for sure, if I'm honest, that a lot of my learning is getting in the way of me getting more of my message out on social media. Let's learn more about neuroscience first before I write something on LinkedIn. And, you know, like so many other people, I fall into the trap of thinking more is better. Supersize me, right? When it comes to learning. Give me more. Give me another book. Give me a course. Well, first of all, yes, learning is beautiful, delicious, delightful. I think we can all agree on that. It is constructive, productive. It has zero calories. No one gets hurt when we learn new things, at least assuming we're not going to use the knowledge to blow stuff up. Right. Except. This is all true.

Else Kramer (00:05:26) - Except maybe. Someone does get hurt. Maybe you, maybe your loved ones, maybe your business or career because you spend so much time consuming knowledge. So press pause to think about this for a while. Really do it. How is your habit of over learning of overconsuming information actually hurting you? What are all the things you are not doing when you're following those webinars, checking out those books, reading the PDFs, however cool, fascinating and useful they may be. And if this is a bit of a slap in the face, don't worry, you can totally change this. But first, let's look at why we over learn in the first place. Why are we smart humans drawn to courses, books, webinars, certifications like Moths to the flame? Well, it's usually a couple of things. First of all, we're drawn towards something we're already pretty good at, right? We're good at learning, so it's fun to do it. We know we're going to be successful at it. You know, let's flex that learning muscle.

Else Kramer (00:06:44) - And then there's FOMO. What else? What could I be missing out on? What if there is something essential here that, you know, I really need to know and I'll look stupid if I don't know it? Stuff like that. And underneath all of that, often there lives at least one of these. A deep desire to be safe, to be enough to be worthy, to be taken seriously. So if you want to make it easier to stop over consuming knowledge, it can help to ask yourself. How am I already safe? How am I already enough? And worthy. And how can I take myself more seriously? And then deeply hear the answer. See it in your life. Feel it, integrate it. Right. That's like. One part of the equation of learning less and living more. And then there is awareness. I mean, how much time week do you spend learning new things? And yes, my answer does include watching Instagram reels on somewhat work related topics. I want you to be brutally honest.

Else Kramer (00:08:00) - I think for me, it's at least 15 hours. 15 hours, right. Which my brain immediately wants to justify by saying. But you know, it's useful and I need to keep abreast of all the developments in my field, yada, yada, yada. And sure, it would be nice, but my field is incredibly broad and there is no way I can catch up, let alone keep up with all the developments in my field. So get real. When you look at the time you spend consuming knowledge and think, Is this how I want to spend my time and my life? What is it costing you? What are you not doing in those hours that would make a massive difference to your life, your work, your relationships? And once you've got that part covered, then you can get to work on your knowledge consumption habits because that's probably what they are. And this part is relatively simple, right? You can treat over learning the same way you would treat overeating. You need a learning diet or learning protocol? Probably a mix of both.

Else Kramer (00:09:08) - And here are some suggestions to get you started. But of course, as always, I advise you to just these and make them work for your unique mind. Number one, put yourself on a learning diet. Limit yourself to one new book a month or one new course. One new webinar. Right. And zero exceptions. Number two, limit your learning time. Yeah. Allocate specific learning hours in your week. And once they run out, you have to wait until your learning bar fills up again. Right. Gets replenished the next week. And when you can't do the learning, you get to do all the other stuff that's essential for your wellbeing, like spending time in nature, creating art, making music. ET cetera. Number three, apply the 5050 rule ruthlessly. For every hour you spend learning something new. You have to spend an hour applying it, integrating it, using it to create something. Number four. And this is actually a super useful one. The emergency intervention protocol. This is for all my ADHD friends.

Else Kramer (00:10:25) - I see you. If you know you're going to have a hard time saying no to a shiny new course as a good or unmissable in your field bestseller, then you want to set up an emergency intervention protocol ahead of time. Find a fast brained friend and make a pact with them. And whenever you feel compelled to binge on learning on new knowledge, call them up instead. And they then get to talk you down from handing over your credit card details and pressing the buy Now button on yet another certification. And last but not least, ask yourself this great question. What is the one thing that if I would start doing it now, instead of reading that book, would make my life and work at least 20% easier? Spend your time thinking about that question. Answer it, then go do that thing. Have an amazing week with or without books. If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment, Share it with someone who needs to hear this and don't forget to subscribe for more episodes that help you manage that brilliant mind of yours.