February 8, 2018 ~ 1 min read

Creation Vs Consumption


One of the most common recommendations I hear from people trying to "level up" or learn new things is to read more.

Gary Vaynerchuk has become popular for sometimes preaching the exact opposite. Reading and pontificating is often a waste of time. Practitionership is the game.

So who's right? Sometimes I have days where I feel like I'm spending too much time reading on my kindle or thinking about things. But ignoring books is silly.

It's important to note that it doesn't have to be a zero-sum relationship. Ideally you consume content that helps you and inspires you to create more. But at a certain point, time you spend one is time you cannot spend doing the other.

The balance is likely different for all of us, and it doesn't need to be consistent either. You might go a few weeks obsessed with a project, then a few weeks obsessed with a good book. If I find myself always doing one or the other, I try to switch it up. Otherwise, I think following your interest it a pretty good heuristic.


Maxi Ferreira

Hi, I'm Taylor . I'm a software engineer/maker/amateur chef currently living in San Francisco. You can follow me on Twitter , see some of my work on GitHub , or read about my life on Substack .