Out Of Office

Everyone needs a holiday from their interests once and awhile

For better or worse, I've chosen hobbies and interests that take up a large amount of mental and physical bandwidth and time. Prepping for marathons isn't a small order, or something that can be condensed. Writing a newsletter on various topics is always hovering over my shoulder, whether I just hit publish the day before or if I'm beginning a new draft. Maintaining a steady diet of pop culture takes time as well; sports, podcasts, shows fill up evenings. All of these are extracurriculars to my career and family responsibilities. Life is busy. All of these things are incredibly interesting and important in their different ways. And when I find something I'm passionate about I dive in. But some times, it becomes a lot.

Which is exactly the feeling I had Saturday morning as I confronted the 2 and half hour long run on my training plan at 6 am. If I was going to go, I had to do it then given our plans for the day. But I'd had a heck of a week, hadn't slept very well, and was longing for a quiet Saturday morning filled with coffee and silence. I bargained for a bit while I stared at the ceiling, went downstairs, filled a mug, and sat myself down in my favorite chair.

Guilt persisted. Will I ever accomplish my goals with my upcoming race if I don't do things exactly to plan? Am I cheating myself? Am I weak? When it comes to running, the reality is that no, missing one long run doesn't have that much impact. There isn't a runner out there who hits every workout in their training plan. It doesn't feel that way, based on what we see and hear on the Internet, but everyone has their version of this Saturday morning I was experiencing. That run might have cost me 30 extra seconds on race day, but that's fine. I needed a day off.

Overtraining or adherence to a strict training schedule is a big topic in the running community. Filled with type-A personalities, there is a belief that every day we don’t lace up our shoes, we are sacrificing something, rather than gaining. If a race doesn’t go well, it’s easy to point to these skipped runs or days we took it easy. It’s typical of someone new to the sport to think this way. But I’ve learned over the years there is value in not running sometimes, so long as it doesn’t become a habit that impacts fitness. One day off isn’t going ruin that. You have to put guardrails up so running stays fun, interesting, and impactful. My run on Monday evening felt that way, rather than something I had to do.

The same principles can be applied toward media consumption.

My inbox was filling up on this particular Saturday. I consume a heavy dose of news on a daily basis, whether it be scanning the New York Times, my local paper, or various media newsletters that give me material to keep me informed and consider in my writing. My daily and weekly updates across the news ecosystem were sending their notifications, telling me it was time to eat up the world's events. It was time for my media long run. Unrest in the Middle East, protests, a military parade, recaps from the NBA Finals, merger and acquisition talks, and other happenings we're waiting for me.

Readers of this newsletter can tell I've been obsessed with the happenings in the media world lately. At a high-level, I believe its still prudent to understand what is happening in the world. And there is a level of due diligence and synthesis that can be found in legacy News outlets that don't exist in a lot of nu-media ventures, although those parties are making efforts to look like the other. I also find it fascinating to watch what happens in the media from a business perspective. The strategic decisions made at news organizations, streamers, or other media companies have downstream effects on all of us, budgetary or otherwise.

But even with an above-average appetite for media, I found myself being worn down by the deluge of information. What is really important? What analysis is worth the deep dive? It was feeling like my training plan, a long run that I had to do, instead of something I wanted to do. Similar fears came to mind with my media diet as with my running. What am I sacrificing by not staying informed? What was I missing out on?

It turns out that I was experiencing the effects of the media overload, which studies have shown to lead to increased stress and anxiety, lack of sleep, and all sorts of negative effects. All the indicators were there that I needed a break. So, that’s what I did. I waited to consume any of those newsletters or apps until Monday, getting a recharge from family time. It turns out that I didn’t miss too much over the weekend, although a lot of things happened. I was still up to date 48 hours later. Similar to skipping my long run, I wasn’t sacrificing the results. I’m still informed, still interested, and still fascinated, although I got to the finish line a bit slower than I would have if I opened the email.

Of course, the key to all of this is balance, something that is becoming harder to achieve nowadays. The holiday from the media and my run were important. I was able to relieve some pressure to follow the routine, and focus on what was in front of me instead of what the universe demanded. We all need that from time to time, even if it comes in a simple form, like a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair.