I really cherish time alone … solitude. Those that know me probably laugh at that statement because I’m extroverted and talk way too much. But there’s always another side to people that you don’t see.

Photo – Me sharing a a Stand Up session with good friend Chris Corrigan a few years ago … Bowen Is. CA

This morning I left home at 5.15am to beat the Geelong Road traffic into Melbourne. I switched off the news because it’s all just too much of the same … and to be honest my life would be richer without it. I turned on my favourite CD (Keb Mo’) and let my mind wander and reflect on things.

My reflections centred on the stuff we pay attention to – me and the things that grab our kid’s attention. In our house, we are not dominated totally by digital media … but the focus on getting the sport’s results, the weather forecast, the latest political gaff/drama and the latest video doing the rounds on Facebook creeps in. Then there’s the public persona we all create by sharing and reposting the stuff that grabs our attention. It’s not all unhealthy, but it’s ever present. We also know (from the world of neuro & social sciences) that the things we pay attention to changes us … whether we like it or not.

Until a couple of years ago I spent a lot of time writing at this blog. Then, I was a producer and creator of my own content based on things I was learning in my working life. For whatever reason that time is now spent as a consumer of the mass, public media … particularly the news headlines.

So, my little experiment will start by doing more of this and less of that.

This involves more of …

• Writing here about things that I’m learning, noticing and reading –> and this is the only stuff I will share on social media for a while
• Reading stuff of depth like considered blogs (long form), books etc.

That involves less of …

• Tuning into the constant stream of headlines, status updates and micro-news (without any depth) of Facebook, Twitter etc.
• The Repost/Share buttons on social media

Experiment start now and will share my learnings in a fortnight.