Do you study the right type of content that helps you meet your goals? Or do you keep reading publications that you think will help you, but you don’t end up acting on the advice they offer? While she was at Target, she could browse what the store actually offers, rather than look for something she probably wouldn’t find there. Our Target shopper likely got other items she needed during her visit, but if she always went to Target looking for something “fancy” and left empty-handed, she’d likely stop going there. Unsubscribe to emails or newsletters with advice you haven’t put into practice in the last six months. Can you reduce the amount of time you spend on other things? Perhaps reading fiction you love every day helps you do better work.
It was 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night.
As I returned home, the battery in my garage door opener ran out of juice and I was unable to enter my car hole.
I knew I’d have to buy a nine-volt battery for the device at some point in the near future, so I decided to go to Target right away … which was convenient because I also needed trash bags, candles, gum, and other impulse-buy items I hadn’t thought of yet.
While browsing throw blankets (Autumn has arrived in the Northern hemisphere), I observed a Target staff member in the next aisle direct a woman to soap dispensers.
The customer looked at the options for a few seconds and then asked her guide, “But do you have anything fancy?”
After my fellow shopper rolled away her cart in disappointment, I walked over to view the soap dispenser selection.
There were several options that one might describe as “fancy,” but Target isn’t a high-end household goods store. It’s not the best place to look for a soap dispenser that is objectively “fancy.”
Then I started thinking about this situation in terms of how we search for content and subscribe to publications.
Just as high-quality content should be intentionally crafted to serve a purpose for your business …
High-quality content consumption is also intentional
So, what’s your daily routine online?
Do you study the right type of content that helps you meet your goals? Or do you keep reading publications that you think will help you, but you don’t end up acting on the advice they offer?
I’m not asking those questions to criticize your choices — we all fall down rabbit holes online and check out blog posts and videos that aren’t particularly productive.
But reviewing how you spend your time and energy is one of the most important things you can do. It helps you assess your current habits and change them, if necessary, to focus on more meaningful work.
Sometimes it just takes a little fine-tuning to get more out of the content you read, listen to, and watch.
Don’t look for what you need at a place that doesn’t have it
Let’s say the consumer on a mission to purchase a fancy soap dispenser was “subscribed” to Target, just as someone could be subscribed to an email list.
While she was at Target, she could browse what the store actually offers, rather than look for something she probably wouldn’t find there.
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