For most of us, today marks the first full work day of the New Year. At very least, its the first day back blogging after a holiday hiatus. So, it seemed appropriate to share one of my media-related resolutions to get things rolling again.
My first resolution is simple: to read more.
I consume a lot of media — I read a dozen newspapers online each morning (plus the New York Times in print); I subscribe to 20+ magazines; I have more than 300 blogs in my aggregator; my two TiVo’s are each are filled with great programming (and that doesn’t stop me from tuning in to simply surf around what’s on TV at any given time); I spend my travel time, whether on foot to work or in the car running errands, listening to NPR. You get the idea.
What I don’t spend nearly enough time doing is reading. I have at least a dozen books sitting by my bed – I have started them all, and finished none of them. My new Kindle (a birthday gift from my wife!) is already filling up. I have a pile of studies and reports I have been meaning to read, as well as long articles from the New Yorker that I put aside and never returned to.
Every day, for an hour, I plan to read. I will have to make time – around my work, and my responsibilities as a husband and a father to a 13-month old. But I am committed. Maybe while I work out, instead of listening to music I’ll plug in a book (I count that as reading). For sure, I can make time to read instead of watching that Family Guy episode which, while funny, will almost certainly be on again (many times). I can resist the urge to log back on to my computer when I get home to ‘send one more quick email’ or Twitter an update. Perhaps things will just fall off the list completely. Its ok, its worth it.
So that’s my resolution — to read more.
Brian is Managing Director of little m media which provides strategic guidance and support to organizations around the use of the internet and technology to facilitate communications, engagement, education, and mobilization.