I Forgot My AirPods and Maybe This Was the Best Thing That Happened Today

Day 3 of 30 – The surprising cost of “productive” consumption

Author

Selim Uysal
June 03, 2025

Hi friend,

Today I forgot my AirPods.

Not a big deal, right?

But it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me today.

Normally, I’m always listening to something; an audiobook, a podcast, a YouTube video. I justify it as “learning,” or “being productive.” But today, without my AirPods, I had nothing to consume.

So I created instead.

I answered emails. Completed an important task I’d been putting off.

And I outlined this very post by recording my voice while walking to the train station and transcribing it automatically.

It made me realize: maybe all those hours of input aren’t helping as much as I think.

One of my mentors, Dickie Bush, once wrote:

“99% of reading is procrastination.”

At first, I didn’t fully agree. But the more I notice my own habits, the more I see it.

Reading isn’t bad. But it’s safe. It feels like progress—but often, it delays the real work.

This isn’t just about reading. It’s about the trap of productive procrastination—when we consume instead of create.

Sometimes the best productivity tool is silence.

🧠 How AI Can Enhance Your Thinking (Without Distracting You)

Today’s experience was a reminder: AI can be an amazing thinking partner—if you use it well.

Here’s a simple way to use ChatGPT to replace consumption with creation:

🎙️ Try This Prompt:

“I’m going to speak for 2 minutes about a rough idea. Can you turn this into an outline for a blog post or short newsletter? Focus on clarity, flow, and engaging language.”

📱 Dictate your thoughts into your phone. (Or directly use ChatGPT’s voice function on the mobile app)

💬 Drop the transcript into ChatGPT.

🧠 Let it shape your raw thoughts into something shareable.

You don’t need AirPods. You need awareness.

📬 Want more clarity like this?

→ Subscribe to the full series: productiveknowledgeworker.com

→ Catch up on Day 1: Why Most Productivity Advice Fails

→ Catch up on Day 2: 🧠 How Knowledge Workers Can Leverage AI

Let’s redefine productivity together.

Selim

LinkedIn | Twitter/X

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