Podcasts - A Way to grow or a time sink

I have been listening to podcasts for several years. As I built my list of casts, I noticed that I had picked technology casts primarily from a single network. In doing so, I was getting a single focused view of technology and its impact on society.

I determined that everything I was listening to was technology focused. As a result there was no room for growth and the information I was getting was limited. 

I had roughly fifty podcasts that I was subscribed to, with frequencies ranging from daily to monthly. The episode lengths ranged from five minutes to two hours.  As things progressed I was falling more and more behind on episodes and it was beginning to create more and more stress. 

Is it worth it, I am not sure.

As I started thinking about this, I ran into a self help / inspirational podcast and added it to my subscription list as a priority so it was always at the top of the list. As I listened to this cast, I became more aware of the fact that I had been too focused on a single network and a single topic.  

I started reviewing my subscriptions and removing casts that were redundant. I began diversifying the networks where I was getting my information, which started giving me varyious views on how the technology world was perceived. In my professional life as a technology professional this seemed to be a better fit for my career. Then I got back into the stage where there were to many episodes and not enough time. Back to the stress of not listening to everything and a growing list of unlisteened to episodes. 

As I got through the inspirational casts, I started to realize that I was not paying attention to the fact that self imposed stress is really crazy and I needed to do something again. 

I ran into another podcast with a personal growth theme. Another wake up call. I pruned out a few more subscriptions from my list. As I moved along. I kept tuning my list and now I am up to sixty three subscriptions, more than ever. I am still have roughly one hundred twenty episodes to listen to, but the stress to complete everything is gone. I am getting a nice mix of technology, entertainment, travel and personal growth.

I am looking forward to each episode and very few of them are time sensitive like my original list, so the stress to keep up with the backlog is gone. 

For those episodes which are time sensitive, I set them as a priority and get to them once a day while walking the dog. After they are done, I start on a cast from the backlog. By time it is done, it is a new day and I start over.  More information, more entertainment, more learning, less stress.

I am at a point now where podcasts are now back to a way to learn and less of a time sink. I have also learned that to continue to grow I will need to revaluate the list of casts I am listening to periodically as I grow and as things change. 

It is interesting how the changes in technology that are supposed to help us place us in the same position we were in the years before it was so widely available. Which books to read, which tv shows to watch, which movies to watch, which courses to take, etc.  

Also here we go on a new endeavor using podcasts as an entertainment and educational tool. No more time sink and back to a way to learn.

Maybe this will be of use to some, maybe not.  I just fealt this was one more way for me to better understand what I am doing and will be a reminder to keep re-evaluating the tools I use and making timely adjustments.