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Today I’m starting an idea from the artist David Choe, for 8 weeks you only watch 8 movies, listen to 8 albums, and read 8 books. What are these items? Well, that’s just for me to know but I can say I curated things I want to revisit things important to me and things that have had a strong influence on me and my art. I think I’m going to use it as a way to reset my focus and head-off the weird “consumption spiral“ I find myself in every other month. The consumption spiral is just what I call a flurry of buying random things to feel satisfaction paired with a general overconsumption of content without any real reason other than “boredom“ or dissatisfaction.

The Problem

I wouldn’t go as far as calling it an addiction, my previous training and study taught me much about shopping addiction and the like, so its nothing clinical. The main problem is not really the content itself or the individual purchases but it’s the amount of distraction it spawns and how that distraction takes away from my time to create things. Everyone needs a break, time to chill out and not have everything you do connected to your work or practice but chill out time shouldn’t make you feel worse. The opportunity cost of dumping 100+ hours into an experience that makes me feel dissatisfied at the end of it is not lost on me and I’m not getting that time back. The consumption spiral also just plain makes feel out of whack. The momentary high I get from buying something new or starting a new game, book, tv series etc. is quickly eclipsed by a question of “why?“ and then a feeling of buyer’s remorse or sometimes anger around this “need“ to entertain myself with something that doesn’t enrich my experience at all. Then I find myself getting something else new again thinking “maybe if I get this I’ll feel good“.

When does it show up?

I notice the consumption spiral shows up when I’m right in-between projects or I just finished some art work that took a lot of time or effort. My most recent consumption spiral showed up at the tail end of a big project I was on. I sort think “now what?“ and then I find myself buying/starting videogames, starting a bunch of shows, or buying/starting a bunch of books that I could never finish because I’m already looking at the next thing to consume.

A fix?

I’m hoping by focusing on some things I already own more intently, I can interrupt that feeling that leads to the consumption spiral. I understand the power of media/marketing and the ubiquitous nature of digital storefronts drives a lot of my personal consumption. I’m also doing the work of un-hooking myself from those avenues of distraction or at least making it a lot less convenient to buy things on a whim. Ultimately, I’m searching for something, a distraction, a new rabbit hole, a new deep dive, a new source of inspiration but I wish it didn’t cost me so much.