A podcaster, commenting once on how people find and stick with podcasts said,

"People come for the content and stay for the voices."

I agree. This "maxim" if you will, over the last 7 years, has helped me find several of the podcasts I listen to. I am currently...

MINI SPOILER ALERT: At least before I started writing this post...

...actively listening to 24 podcasts. Eight of these podcasts represent content and voices I have just recently started listening to. By "recently" I mean within the last year or so. That means that the remaining 16 podcasts include content and voices I've been listening to for a long time. That content, and the voices that deliver it, for the most part, align with some of the things I value in life; learning, thinking, and laughter.

The whole reason I came to podcasting, circa 2015, was to gain a better understanding (in an entertaining format) with the latest developments in technlogy of all kinds. That purpose seems to support the values I mentioned in the previous paragraph. My podcast player app of choice was, and still is; Overcast. It is through this app that I have listened to all of my podcasts. Since downloading Overcast, many years ago and using its Smart Speed function, I have "saved...an extra 629 hours beyond speed adjustments alone." Why share that factoid with you? That factoid, coupled with a recent insight and thinking I've been doing (as a result of a book I'm reading) has led me to a re-examination of the role listening to podcasts has in my life, the amount of time I've "saved" listening to these podcasts at "Smart Speed," and what I could be doing with all of that extra time if I chose to declutter some of what I'm "allowing into my ears".

Not all of the podcasts I was listening to before writing this post were technlogy focused. Over the course of my podcast listening time, my interests have grown. As my interests have grown, so too did the number of podcasts I was listening to. More podcasts to listen to means more time spent listening and less time doing other things that I value; like spending time with my wife, reading, meditating, doing yoga or writing. Just recently, as the number of podcasts piled up, I started to notice that some of the voices I have "allowed into my ears" over the 7 years are just not resonating with me. This was bound to happen and I am a little concerned that it's actually taken this long for me to come to this realization. That said, this realization could not have come at a more opportune time as I have been trying really hard to read more.

I'm currently reading Cal Newport's book, Digital Minimalism. I mentioned Newport in my last blog post as one of the things I'm really enjoying this summer. In his most recent book, he argues, among other things, that a focused, digital decluttering can help us be more purposeful and intentional as we use technology to support that which we value. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I value learning, I value thinking, and I value laughter. I say this because reading Cal's book has shown me...

1. I do not need 24 podcasts in my podcast player to learn, think, and laugh from.

2. Decluttering the number of podcasts I listen to can better help me utilize the tools I have (namely the Overcast app) to better enjoy the experience.

3. One way to think about decluttering is to re-define and re-clarify why I listen to podcasts; taking a moment to re-visit some of what I value.

That's exactly what I've done. By naming some of the things I value, I was able to go through my list of podcasts and declutter it, bringing it down from 24 to 10. That's almost a 58% reduction. Here are the steps that helped me decide what stayed and what "got the ax..."

1. Am I supporting this podcast(er) financially? For example, I support a few podcaster's efforts via Patreon, Club MacStories, and Memberful. If yes, proceed to step 2. If no, go to step 3.

2. Should I continue to financially support these podcast(s)(ers)? Are they providing me value?

3. Is the podcaster's "voice," in my ears, still relevant? By relevant...is the podcaster's "voice" providing me value? If yes, go to step 4.

4. Do I listen to the podcaster on more than one podcast? If yes, see number 3 above.

I thought that the decluttering was going to be painful. It actually wasn't. It was actually liberating. I say that because as I deleted each of the 14 podcasts that did not make it through the steps mentioned above, I started to imagine what I would do with the extra time I was going to be getting back from each of them. Also, taking the time to write down what I value really helped generate the four steps I used to make the decisions I made.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens moving forward. One reason I did this was because I hope the time I am getting back, from the 14 podcasts I "gave the ax to" will be used spending more time with my wife, writing, doing yoga, meditating, going for walks! One way to determine the benefits of this decluttering is to time track my time spent listening to podcasts, reading, writing, meditating, doing yoga, taking walks with my wife. I already do this and because I really want to know if things are going to change, tracking my time has become more than just a hobby of mine.

Early data that I can report, over the course of just two days...

• I read twice as long yesterday than I did listening to podcasts.

• I wrote longer yesterday than I did listening to podcasts.

Having something to replace listening to podcasts with, that I value, is crucial to making this decision to declutter the number of podcasts in my life successful. I have plenty of things to replace podcast listening with and hope to find more things, that align with my values; now that I've given myself back that time.