Digital Creator
The show for creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who want simpler, smarter ways to create standout content and grow their online presence.
Each week, Dylan Schmidt shares practical strategies, creative insights, and clear guidance on leveraging social media, podcasts, and AI to simplify your workflow and connect with more people in less time.
Dylan Schmidt is the founder of Content Clips, a done-for-you service that transforms one weekly recording into polished podcasts and social media clips, helping creators consistently share their best ideas effortlessly.
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Digital Creator
When Consuming Content Drowns Your Voice
Feel like you're constantly consuming content but struggling to create your own? In this short but powerful episode, Dylan explores the sneaky ways that excessive content consumption can undermine your creative confidence and productivity.
You'll discover:
- The warning signs that you're consuming too much content
- Why "research" and "staying informed" might actually be sabotaging your creative voice
- How comparison disguised as inspiration can make you second-guess yourself
- A simple approach to regain your creative momentum when you feel stuck
Whether you're a content creator or just someone trying to find balance in a world of infinite scrolling, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on giving your ideas the space they need to flourish. Learn why sometimes the best way to improve your output isn't more input – it's creating space for your own voice to emerge.
I've been thinking about how easy it is to blur the lines between consuming content and creating it. We are so inundated with content, which is kind of ironic because what do I talk about? Mostly is content creation. And as content creators, we're not at all immune. If anything, we're more aware of all the content that we're seeing. It's really easy for myself. I'll speak for myself. It's really easy as a creator to tell yourself that you're doing research or you're taking a break and you're just consuming content and you're getting ideas, you're getting inspiration. But oftentimes left unchecked, what you're really doing is you're crowding your head and these things pop up later and don't serve us and help us be at our best. I've noticed when I'm consuming too much, there's a couple key indicators. My output slows down. I second guess myself. It doesn't feel as fun anymore. Feels like I'm swimming upstream instead of just going with the flow. And now granted in the very beginning, sometimes everything kind of feels like swimming upstream. But when you've been doing it for a while, you can pick up on the nuances of if something is feeling off or not. And what's sneaky is that consuming content can feel productive. And I say consuming content very broadly. We're talking about scrolling social media platforms. For example, I don't really post on X, but I'll consume AI type content on X. So it might feel productive of staying in the know on Reddit, even though I don't really post on Reddit or feel like I'm learning because it's passive, but it creates comparison in disguise. The more content you take in, the more your own voice starts to get drowned out because it's being filled by others' voices and it becomes harder to trust yourself. And if I was like, Hey, do you wanna make it harder to trust yourself and second guess and make basically all of your productivity just a little bit more difficult? You, of course, would be like, no way. That sounds terrible. Why would I this is the opposite of what I want from this episode, Dylan. Right? Well, that's exactly what can happen when you're over consuming. It becomes harder to trust yourself. Now this isn't a new idea I've had, but it's something that's come up to me recently because I've just become a little bit more mindful of how I feel when I'm creating. And if it has felt like I'm going uphill, I know I've consumed too much. And the fix is relatively simple. It's just giving your ideas space, less input, more output, or different types of input instead of input as research and just switching your brain off scrolling. Maybe it's finding other activities to put in place of that. And I bet the output fixes itself naturally without you having to jam more input, if that makes sense. Publish, then learn from the doing. You know, podcasts are great, but sometimes I wish they weren't so one-sided. I mean, I love sharing these insights with you each week, but I also love hearing your thoughts, seeing what you're creating, and just connecting more directly. That's why I'm pretty active over on social media, particularly Instagram and occasionally TikTok, where you can find me at the Dylan Schmidt on both platforms. While the podcast is where I deep dive into topics, social media is where I share those quick shower thoughts style insights that you can implement right away. And if you do decide to follow along, please don't be shy. Drop me a message and let me know you came from the podcast. I always love hearing from you and learning more about what you're working on. It's pretty simple to find me. Just look up@TheDylanSchmidt on either Instagram or TikTok. Those are my main hangout spots these days. Alright. Thanks again for joining me today. Until next time. Keep creating.
