produce more, consume less

tried to take a christmas break. opened my laptop, started talking to claude about side projects, felt better than i had all day.

weird right? the “relaxation” drained me. the “work” recharged me.

the actual insight

your brain has two modes: input and output. most people are stuck in input mode 95% of the time. scrolling, watching, reading, consuming. input feels easy but it’s actually exhausting because you’re processing without purpose.

output is different. when you’re building something, your brain enters a focused state where time disappears. psychologists call it flow. i call it the only state worth being in.

think of it like gaming: watching a cutscene is input. grinding ranked and actually getting better at the game is output. the difference isn’t the activity - it’s whether you level up, not just your character.

the trick isn’t discipline. it’s realizing that output feels better than input once you get past the 10-minute startup cost.

the only metric that matters

at the end of each day ask: did something new exist because of me?

pushed code? yes
wrote something and posted it? yes
had an idea but didn’t write it down? no
watched a tutorial? no (unless you immediately built something with it)
“researched” for 4 hours? no

if the answer is no for 3 days straight, you’re in a hole. the hole gets deeper every day you stay in it.

why most people stay stuck

consumption is frictionless. open phone, scroll, dopamine. production has friction. you have to start, fail, restart, think. the first 10 minutes suck.

but here’s the thing: the first 10 minutes of consumption also suck if you’re honest about it. that vague anxiety while scrolling? that’s your brain knowing you’re wasting time. you’re just numbing the signal with more input.

production has a hard start and an easy middle. consumption has an easy start and a miserable end.

the actual move

don’t “balance” consumption and production. that’s cope. just bias toward output.

before you consume something, ask: will this become output? if no, skip it. if yes, set a timer for when you’ll stop consuming and start producing.

the goal isn’t to never watch a movie. it’s to stop using consumption as a default state. consume with intent, produce by default.

you’re not lazy. you’re just stuck in input mode. flip the switch.

question: can someone vibecode an app that hooks into screen time and gives you a produce vs consume score at the end of each day? categorize apps as input or output, track the ratio, show a daily report. would use this.