Move from passive to active consumption

And then creation

Mar 25, 2023

If you want to be *better* at your hobbies, even if you don’t sell your wares or your services, you have to make a shift.

From passive to active consumption to creation.

Traditionally, consumption and creation have been at odds, binaries wrestling for the pole position.

For better creation, your consumption habits have to change. However, “consumption” is still a foundational part of creation.

They’re not at odds. It’s a progression.

Here’s an example.

Think about watching TV. There’s probably a silly show you like to watch (perhaps a guilty / non-guilty show). It could be The Great British Baking Show.

You watch it. And enjoy it. That appetite, it’s whetted.

You want more and keep watching. You want to know how to make cakes and desserts like that.

You re-watch the show and take notes. You try the recipes at home. You re-watch the shows again to see how you did.

Then you re-do the same recipe, this time taking notes on how you’re doing.

Pretty soon, you’re not watching The Great British Baking Show to pass the time, you’re doing it to get better and improve your baking.

This is the pathway from passive to active consumption.

The Passive to Active Consumption Pipeline

Let’s break down the stages of the passive to active consumption pipeline.

We’ll use TV as an example.

Mindlessly

Watch whatever is on

Avidly

Find a show that you like and watch most, if not all of the episodes.

Engaged

Watch every episode. Read recaps and participate in fan communities. Take notes. Research.

Experimenting

Apply what you learn. This could be tips from what the show teaches (like in a cooking show or renovation show) or you glean inspiration from the narrative. You begin experimenting with how to do this yourself.

Creating

Inspired and with notes in hand, you begin creating or writing. You go back to the engaged state and pick up the techniques they employ—whether it be how to build a porch or write a comedic scene.

Next, you continuously create.

Repeat the above steps for a book, a game, a play, YouTube videos.

You don’t have to do the cycle for every piece of art or show that you consume. It’s okay to have some passive entertainment, because that’s what it is.

The pipeline may be fast and short in some cases, like when you need information, you search for it and quickly implement it. In that case, you’re problem-solving, and not spending much time consuming.

The pipeline may be slow and take years in other cases, like when you have a book on your shelf for years or something saved in your bookmarks for a long time.

Your own interest and inspiration will determine the speed.

But! Don’t get fooled by passively watching active consumption

All of this should come with a warning…and I’ll break it to you here.

Heads up: There’s a whole industry built on helping you “actively” consume.

This is when you think you’re learning something and think you’ll be engaged and then you do nothing with it.

There’s a whole streaming platform devoted to this: Masterclass.

I watched one of the episodes about barbecue. Aaron Franklin took notes on each of his cooks, like the wind speed and the temperature of the coals. He’d be ready for next time. Taking notes? Noticing the conditions?

All good habits that I could use. I was watching him be engaged and create, but here’s the thing: I don’t have a good grill and I’m not really into barbecuing. I’ll probably never use anything that I learned.

I was mindlessly-passively consuming with the guise of actively consuming.

Another MasterClass I watched before my subscription ended (lol) was from the Duffer Brothers. Those are the filmmakers who created Stranger Things. They talked about log lines (simple sentences about what would happen in their stories) and how to pitch ideas even to themselves. Basically, they teased out a lot of their ideas before they started writing.

Good tips about writing for sure.

But, guess what? I passively watched their Masterclass. I didn’t actively take notes or seek to apply it. Not everyone is going to be a famous creative writer like that, but I didn’t get any closer to that goal because I wasn’t actively consuming. It was mindless It looked like I was going to take action, but no.

Masterclass is the bougie example, but this is the premise of YouTube videos in many ways.

“Make $$$ MILLIONS In Passive Income with 3 Easy Steps.” Ever seen a title like that?

Let’s assume it is generally easy. How many people do the steps? Not that many.

It goes on with courses and classes. Ever signed up for an online course to teach you dropshipping or coding or SEO1?

The average completion rate is somewhere between 5 and 15% according to this random article I just found.

Many of us buy a course and then never complete it. I’ve done this. Heck, I’m in courses now that I haven’t finished.

But it makes us feel like we’re actively doing something even when we’re passively taking it in.

How to balance passive and active consumption

Know what is what and which is which
Decide if you’re going to passively consume something or take notes
The line gets tricky with works of art. That’s what grad school taught me to do. Not enjoy anything that’s supposed to be enjoyed.
One way to beat that is to read things twice. The first time is for fun. If that goes well, and you want to actively consume it, read it again and take notes along the way. Yes, they may mean marginalia.
Some books and works of art you set out knowing that active consumption is the goal. That’s what business books and videos are for, or craft books, or how-to books. That’s great — your goal is clear from the start. Just don’t fall into the actively-passive trap like we discussed above with Masterclass and courses.
Be aware of how much time you devote to passive consumption. Make a strong effort towards the active side of things — take notes, bookmark YouTube clips, and then revisit those.
This may mean blocking out time in your calendar to watch a movie, to re-watch a YouTube video, to sit down at a desk and read a book. A little like work.
If that sounds like work, I get it. It could be on a regular basis. But it could be for a short season or a sprint on a project. It depends on how you want to schedule and plan your creative work.

Share Create Make Write by Josh Spilker