The Media Fast

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I recently picked up a book with an irresistible title, The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (aff). I’m still not sure what I think of it after a quick read, so I’m going back through it.

One point struck me as applicable and desirous right away: a low-information diet kicked off with the media fast. I had to go cold turkey after the start of the first Gulf war and also after 9/11/2001 because the media images were invading my dreams and really distressing me. Reading this chapter about a media fast made me wonder if I could benefit from it without a crisis situation?

Here are the basic points to a media fast:

No newspapers, magazines, audio books, or non-music radio. Music is permitted at all times.
No news websites whatsoever.
No television at all, except for one hour of pleasure viewing each evening.
No reading books, except for this book and one hour of fiction pleasure reading prior to bed.
No web surfing at the desk unless it is necessary to complete a work task for that day. Necessary means necessary, not nice to have.

What would this mean to my life? The big impact would be the reading of non-fiction books and the web surfing. I would also have to give up my classical music station or change the channel during the half-hourly news reports.

I think I will try this starting tomorrow (5/26/2007) and report back in one week.