AdobeStock_30001437.jpeg

I’ve been traveling for 7 of the last 9 days and, as a result, haven’t kept up with the news as much as normally. And doing so has made me realize how little I miss it. There’s a lot of noise that, in the end, doesn’t matter much.

For example, I’ve heard something about what President Trump said to the mother of a soldier killed in action. I’ve learned over the years that I can almost never get enough accurate information from a headline or even from one whole news story. If I really want to know what happened, I need to read at least 3 news stories or blog posts from media and individuals with diverse viewpoints. That takes time. And it matters for what, exactly? Not much.

Ultimately, I will judge Trump on what he and his appointees do in policy. I will still follow that. Government policy is one of the main things I write about. But the other news items are not worth my becoming informed about, given my high opportunity cost.

And on top of all that, it’s simply very liberating to be disconnected from the 24/7 news cycle.