News Action Hour ("NAH")
A Practice for Digesting the News You Don't Want to See, but Need to Process Somehow
TLDR: a 3 step process to digest the news and take action based on it.
Read time: 4 minutes
The “news” is toxic.
In the age of print newspapers and the evening broadcast, we had time and space to think, to be present, to discuss, and to process.
We certainly didn't hear independent voices enough, and important stories never surfaced.
But we also didn’t swim in a sea of misinformation and advertisement the way we do now.
Our digital environment pushes news into our pockets. “Feeds” and “inboxes” exist on every critical digital surface.
Our business and political environment rewards actors who command our attention by the day, the hour, the second.
We know the world is changing. We know some current events require us to respond.
We know that the work we do every day is trying itself to be newsworthy… newsworthy because we’re trying to make the world a better place.
And yet….
How do we filter the news?
How do we integrate the news and stay proactive?
In several conversations I’ve had with Timeless Leaders recently, the difficulty of managing the flow of news has come up. I shared with them a strategy I created earlier this year to manage my own news intake.
They seemed to like my approach, so I’m sharing it with you now.
I haven’t followed it to a T, but I find it’s helpful. Maybe you will too.
Introducing “NAH”
Nah, like “Nah, I don’t want to deal with this $hit.”
But I have to deal with it - and not just consume passively.
That’s why it’s the News ACTION Hour.
It has three parts.
1. The Setup
This is mostly a digital thing.
My calendar has 3 NAH blocks per week.
I avoid checking or reading the news outside of those blocks.
I set up filters in my email on various senders so they skip my inbox and go directly to my “NAH” folder.
2. The Hour
The hour has three sections to it.
First, I scan my inboxes and the NAH folder for senders and subject lines I want to dig into. I pick 1-2 topics, and star the messages and/or open them in separate tabs.
Next, I dedicate 10-15 minutes to diving into each topic. I make sure I’m looking at more than one source. I note requests that a sender is making (donation, petition, event, etc) and actions that I think of that I could take.
In the final 10 minutes, I take at least one action to respond to the news. I could share the news with others. I could schedule time to do a more involved action. I could make a purchase or give a donation.
At the end of the hour, I close out all the tabs, archive messages (maybe), and do my best to move on with the day.
3. The Iteration
I’ve experienced a few challenges implementing this process faithfully. In particular:
I often have to book over NAH with a more urgent work task or meeting.
The volume of news can be hard to sort through in only an hour.
Every time I log into various apps, I’m still hit with news.
My hope is that with practice and iteration, I’ll overcome these challenges.
In my weekly and monthly reviews, I keep track of how well this process is working, and I make changes.
For example, a few months ago I moved from 1 to 3 NAH blocks per week as one was never enough.
I also remain on the lookout for compelling AI tools that can help with news sorting, synthesizing, and curation, but I’ve yet to find something that gives me the right balance of control and efficiency.
If you know something that works great, please share!
Finding Signal in the Noise
NAH is about truth, clarity, and action.
I’ve noticed there’s a certain mix of source types that help me achieve all three:
Traditional media such as The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Business Insider.
Independent journalists and commentators, especially on Substack.
Newsletters and CTAs (Calls to Action) from political organizations, PACs, elected officials and their campaigns, nonprofit groups
I can process all of these from my email. I haven’t found a way to incorporate multi-media sources, books, or social media posts into this practice.
I also have refined my lens for what to look for:
Underlying structural shifts (culture, policy, economics) with large scale impact
Disruptive issues with the potential to change power dynamics and discourse
Instances of Timeless Leadership of individuals or orgs that deserve support
Clear and compelling CTAs that resonate
When I apply this lens, I typically come away with an idea that’s worth sharing, an event that’s worth attending, or a campaign that’s worth supporting.
Action this Week
On Saturday, it’s possible the largest public gathering in American history will take place in over 1,500 locations nationwide.
If you’re concerned with rising authoritarianism in the US and abroad, join with others and help show the world that We the People see the patterns in the chaos, know our rights, and will not be silenced.
We may not have time to act on every bit of news that stirs us.
But when we look at the news in aggregate and strategically, we can see clearly:
Things are not ok
We have the power to respond
United, we have the power to make change
Claim your voice, claim your power, and claim your time all at once.
Are you ready to respond to information overload with “NAH”?
Or if you have a better system - leave a comment so we can learn about it!
-Joe