Stop reading the news every day 9/25/20

I recently finished a book by Rolf Dobelli titled Stop Reading the News. Dobelli makes a compelling case to switch from daily news consumption to reviewing news once a week or not at all. As Dobelli argues that there’s not a lot you can do about the news literally as it happens, so why amp up your anxiety by consuming it every single day?

Now, I’m not ready to totally abandon the news — especially these days with COVID-19 raging in my home country — so I’m trying out the once a week strategy with a subscription to the print edition of The Economist. They give you the week’s news in a relatively condensed format that you can read in one sitting. Also, since it’s the print edition, I’m not getting lost following links all around the web. I’m also keeping tabs on COVID-19 cases in my area with tools like then Google News Coronavirus map, and as Dobelli suggests, I still read news about tech and development that have an impact on my career.

Stop Reading the News is a short book and I’d suggest giving it a read if you’re at all interested in understanding Dobelli’s reasoning for cutting back on the news and strategies for how to replace news in your life.