schmotivation

Motivation? Schmotivation. I recently decided that I needed to get a little more motivated, and thought it would be a good idea to add some motivation blogs to my google reader list. After about a week, I've given up. I chose the wrong sites, so this morning I unsubscribed.

I first noticed these blogs on reddit coz people were up-voting them, and they've appeared enough times for me to somehow get the notion that they were worth subscribing to. After subscribing to the blogs, I realized that they may upload as many as 8 posts a day, not all of which are original -- like they saw something interesting and summarized the article and posted a link. Best/worst part is that some articles were kinda old and I've actually read the originals. So much for being motivation blogs. They were just sapping up my time (fortunately not lowering my productivity since productivity was already non-existent).

There are some other blogs that I have seen on reddit a few times. I might check those out and see how the hit:miss ratios look. A general trend I've noticed is that original content works a lot better -- duh! Just like how motivation blogs tend to point out the obvious.

Since I'm whining today, let me also add that I'm getting kind of sick of reddit. I guess there will be people who delight in reading about every little Republican/authority-related scandal. Occasionally, I find myself heading over to digg coz I can't find a single thing to read on reddit. On the bright side, it's easier to find something to read online these days. On the other hand, I'm also spending more time online coz I've to sift through all that junk.

Perhaps it's time to return to books. I don't have time for books anymore. Books are actually way better because once you find a good book, which isn't hard, you can sit down for hours and enjoy it. With blogs, it's like plunging into a haystack to find a needle. I can't tell which is more satisfying though.

It's the variety snack pack argument. If you're eating everything at once, it'll be more satisfying (you get more utility) to buy a variety pack. But if you spread one snack out over weeks, it makes more economical sense to buy things in bulk.

So I guess it depends on how you like to read. I used to dislike short stories. I still do. But articles work differently somehow, possibly because of the thrill of the search. I mean, why else would a scavenger hunt be interesting? Pink shoelaces anyone?