More and more lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of great stuff on the internet. I sit down at my computer, intending to spend a half-hour in my feed reader, and the next thing I know, it’s three hours later, and I’ve managed to clear out my unread list. But the trick is that I haven’t actually read any of it! All I did was bookmark it for later consumption. Typically, this pattern holds for a week or two until the backlog of bookmarks becomes so daunting that I’ve started avoiding it. Finally, I’ll sit down and plow through the list, skimming at best, wildly reblogging and saving links to delicious in the hopes that I’ll remember that one article next time I’m trying to use webfonts.

In a nutshell, my system is broken. I’m trying to consume too much, and it’s overwhelming me to the point where I’m barely consuming at all. The worst part, though, is that I’m spending so much time trying to stay “caught up,” that I’m not producing anything myself. I’m not blogging, designing, or even uploading photos. I spend what spare time I have watching TV with Annie or playing video games, and feeling guilty about the growing backlog of links, and the fact that I don’t blog anymore.

“I am fascinated,” I insisted, “That’s the problem. I am suffering from fascination burnout. Of all the things that are fascinating, I have to choose just one or two.”
– Neal Stephenson,Anathem

I know this is ridiculous. I have some kind of OCD when it comes to my feed reader. I can’t just skim, or read a little bit. I’m worried that if I don’t stay on top of things, I’ll miss the next big thing that everyone is talking about, or the hot new technique that will make my next site more awesome. It’s crazy, I know, but I can’t help it. I’m a completionist. I have the same problem with video games. Leaving audio logs unfound, or hidden packages uncollected makes me feel like I’m not getting my money’s worth, and sometimes it actually drives me to avoid finishing a game because I can’t handle the idea of just playing it without doing everything.

So. This post is an attempt to force myself to break the cycle. I’m announcing that I have a problem, and I’m going to do something about it. I’m going to go ruthlessly purge my feed reader and twitter list down to the absolute essentials. I’m going to plow through (and likely delete the majority of) my link backlog. I’m going to try to spend more time creating than consuming.