Recently I’ve seen a narrative that consumption without application is pointless. On the surface, I initially agreed. The intent behind this sentiment is valid: that consumption is often a distraction from starting.

A few years back I decided I wanted to buy some rental properties. But, before I did, I bought a bunch of books. I read at a high clip, so my thinking was I’d power through these books to build my “system” and then get started.

A few years have passed and I’ve still not bought my first rental property.

You could say I used consumption as an excuse to not start.
You could say I’ve procrastinated.
The reality is that both are true.

But, the reality is also this: that knowledge is still valuable.

I truly believe that you learn more from starting than you could from years or months of consumption on a topic. There is something about the fire of making a decision and having to iterate on the fly that teaches you in a way standing on the sidelines can’t.

But I also believe that consumption without action is a vital part of the process of creating.

It builds a habit

When the focus because strictly on application, you lose out on the valuable habit of regular consumption.

The reality is, we can only apply so many new skills, learnings, or habits.

If we limit our consumption to those periods when we’re able to apply, we significantly slow down our learning and creating a learning environment that’s inconsistent.

The reality is, consistent daily habits are the best way to learn more over the long haul.

I’ve focused for the last 10+ years on building a daily reading habit. The first year resulted in 15 books read. Last year I read over 75. That didn’t happen overnight.

It happened from plugging away day in and day out. It happened because I increased my ability to process information.

It builds your baseline knowledge

All knowledge, even if not applied, goes into the bank.

Just last year I reread a book I’d read back in 2013. When I got to a particular section, it started talking about a concept that I’d applied in my life without even realizing it.

For the last 9 years, I’d told everyone how to go about narrowing their focus to the most important items. Little did I know, I’d gotten it from a book. Despite never trying explicitly to apply it, it’d become part of my DNA.

This baseline knowledge comes out in your decisions, thought processes, and conversations with others.

It increases your range of interests

I’ve just started “creating” in the last 8 months, but even before then, I read books on running a creator business. I’d never planned to create, but the books were either recommended to me or written by authors I’d respected.

While I couldn’t apply it in the moment, it was an interesting topic at the time. It allowed me to look into the life of others and find new things.

Concepts I learned were applied in my corporate job, but also now that I’m creating they’re coming back to me.

Reading outside your actionable areas can provide an opportunity for a unique application, but often it provides nothing other than an interesting perspective.

Consumption is good for consumption’s sake.
But consumption as a procrastination tool is bad.

The key is finding the right middle ground. But I promise the middle ground isn’t only consuming for application.

Build a consumption habit, then regularly ask yourself: how can I apply this knowledge?

Sometimes the answer will be “I can’t.” But if there is an answer, move to apply quickly.

I’d love to hear other thoughts on this. In what ways can consumption be bad?

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