What are we going to watch or read tonight? Have you done your due diligence?

Just a few decades ago, there were only three TV channels to watch.

Worse, it was pretty common for people to continue watching the same channel all night, rather than checking out the two alternatives. The 8 pm lead in was critical.

TV Guide, at one point the most valuable magazine in the United States, changed that posture. The entire magazine was devoted to answering just one question: What’s on right now?

It turned consumption into a bit more of an intentional act. I mean, people were still hiding out, glued to their TVs, but at least they were actively choosing which thing to watch.

The internet, of course, multiplies the number of choices by infinity.

And our screen time has only gone up.

But here’s the question: The next thing you read, the next thing you watch–how did you decide that it was next?

Was it because it was the nearest click that was handy?

Or are you intentional about what you’re learning, or connecting with, or the entertainment you’re investing in?

We don’t have a lot of time. It seems to me that being intentional about how we spend our precious attention is the least we can do for it.