Let’s be honest: the world today is a scary place. News headlines are harrowing, and most of us feel uncertain about the future. It’s hard to feel motivated to check the news when it’s likely to put you in a negative place. I have felt this a lot recently, but one of my New Year’s resolutions was to be more intentional about following current events. To fulfill my goal, I found a few ways to incorporate the news into my life without it becoming overwhelming.
1. Podcasts: Clear and Convenient
The best way I discovered to stay informed was listening to podcasts that give an overview of the top headlines of the day. Listening to a quick 10- or 15-minute podcast episode on my morning walk to class has been a new routine. Once the episode is over, I feel caught up, but don’t have to keep thinking about the news. Podcasts help me stay informed without taking up a large part of my day.
My top podcast recommendation is Up First from NPR, which is always under 15 minutes and discusses the major headlines in an easy-to-understand way. The hosts often consult journalists from around the world, providing on-site, live updates. Up First is what I usually listen to in the mornings, as it perfectly fills the time it takes to get from my dorm to class. A second recommendation is The Headlines from The New York Times. The episodes are typically less than 10 minutes and operate similarly to Up First, but the news discussed may be different. Another way to find the best podcast for you is to search your go-to news outlet on Spotify or Apple Music and see if it has its own daily news show. I think podcasts are a great way to stay informed because, as someone who is typically listening to music anyway, they conveniently provide the most urgent updates.
2. Subscribe to a Newsletter
If you find yourself getting too distracted listening to a podcast or are more of a reader, I suggest subscribing to an email newsletter. Sometimes I get to the end of my daily podcast and realize I was tuned out half the time. Receiving a newsletter each day helps supplement whatever I might miss and provides resources to look into any of the events. It is another succinct and convenient way to stay updated on current events.
Many news outlets have their own email subscriptions, so there are a lot to choose from. My recommendation is In Short from The New York Times. This daily newsletter provides the day’s top global news headlines as well as pop culture, sports, health, and other news. In Short contains a digestible variety that balances the important current events with more light-hearted stories, making it my newsletter of choice. The mix of news is informative, and the inclusion of lighter topics helps me remember that other things are going on in the world besides conflict. Other than In Short, The New York Times has a ton of newsletter choices, including ones focused on lifestyle topics like wellness and cooking. Subscribing to a bunch and seeing which one fits your interests could be your path to staying informed. I think email newsletters are especially helpful because they provide the information that matters, so you don’t have to scroll through cluttered news sites.
3. Seek Out Good News
While learning about current events may bring you down, it’s important to keep in mind that good things happen every day. After you read a newsletter or listen to a podcast, it could be helpful to take the time to search for good news. There are numerous outlets that have a sole focus on good news, such as the Good News Network and Positive News. Vox has a weekly newsletter devoted to good news that might help boost optimism. It’s easy to feel hopeless about things going on in the world, so being intentional about consuming positive content can lighten your mood and make it easier to digest the harsher current events.
4. Protecting Your Peace: Set limits
Regardless of how you choose to stay informed, it’s important to limit how much you consume to protect your mental health. In this fast-paced age of technology, posts and videos continuously pop up on our feeds, whether we choose to see them or not. Sometimes this can lead to information overload, when our brains are exposed to more information than we are reasonably capable of processing. This can cause anxiety and stress, and make it difficult to focus on the tasks in front of us. That’s why it’s important to be intentional with how much we consume, because our bodies weren’t meant to handle the knowledge of so many crises in the world. Choosing specific methods of news consumption can help prevent overload and the negative impacts it can have on our daily lives.
Setting aside time to check the news and limiting how long we spend on it can help combat information overload and the stress that comes with it. This is where the other tips come into play. If you sign up for a newsletter sent every morning, reading through it could be your block of time devoted to getting updated. Listening to a podcast once a day is another great example, and the information is condensed in a straightforward way. Find a method and set limits for yourself so you can feel informed without dwelling on the news for too long and reaching a point of overload.
At the end of the day, we all want to know what is going on in the world, even if it may be hard to face. My advice is to use these tips to find your own balance. Staying informed doesn’t have to mean bearing the weight of every crisis in the world, and I have found that implementing these strategies has helped me feel aware without being distracted or overwhelmed. Find a podcast, set limits on your news consumption, subscribe to a newsletter, and make sure to find some positivity along the way.