Escape the Noise: How an Information Diet Creates Peace and Productivity
Why cutting input might be the fastest way to get your focus back!
(Doubling down on this topic since it has resulted in such a positive impact on my life in the last 21 days!)
Are You Consuming or Being Consumed?
Every swipe, ping, and scroll is designed to pull you in. Social feeds aren’t neutral—they’re optimized to keep you hooked. And the more time you give them, the less you have for what actually matters.
But here’s the flip: peace doesn’t come from more input. It comes from less.
That’s why I started an information diet—and the results were surprising.
Life Before the Noise
Imagine living without the internet and endless notifications. Farmers once worked their fields in silence in the not so distant past. Drivers once sat alone with their thoughts before radios.
Limiting? Maybe. But freeing? Absolutely.
Today, one-third of your feed isn’t even from people you follow. It’s random content pushed at you by algorithms. You’re not choosing anymore, someone else is.
My Experiment: The Information Diet
Here’s what I cut, and what I kept.
Cut: music, podcasts, news, social media scrolls
Kept: my current book, my wife, my coworkers
Focused on: planning, building, creating, serving
At first, it was boring. But boredom turned out to be the gift. It forced me to think, reflect, and face reality without distraction.
What Changed
After just a short time, here’s what I noticed:
Faster progress. Without constant input, I had energy to execute.
Real peace. My days felt simple but fulfilling.
Sharper focus. Instead of reacting to others’ agendas, I worked on my own.
It sounds boring. But living it? It’s exciting. Because change happens faster when all your energy is aimed in one direction.
Why This Works
I’ve noticed when you cut the noise, you stop giving your brain away. Every scroll is a choice to let someone else control your attention. Every ad, every “trending” post, is a tax on your focus.
Flip it around. Choose silence. Choose output. Suddenly I’m not being used, and I’m using my mind.
What Social Media Could Be (But Isn’t)
Imagine a platform that only showed updates from people you care about. No ads. No random viral junk. Just “what’s new” from your circle.
That’s what social media should be. But the reality is profit-driven platforms aren’t prioritizing our peace.
Which means peace has to come from you as a result of the choices you make.
The Invitation: Try It Yourself
For one week, test an information diet.
Cut the unnecessary.
Keep only what truly matters.
Replace input with output—create, serve, build.
Notice what happens. Notice how quiet feels. Notice how fast change comes when your energy isn’t scattered.
Key Lessons
Algorithms don’t serve you—they use you.
Silence and boredom create focus.
Output beats input.
Your attention is your most valuable resource—protect it.
Call to Action
This week, cut one major input. Maybe it’s news, maybe it’s endless scrolling. Free up that space, and reinvest it into your goals, your relationships, and your work.
Then, share what you discovered.
Closing Quote
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
