{"id":12946,"date":"2021-05-04T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=12946"},"modified":"2022-09-01T01:28:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T01:28:57","slug":"the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/","title":{"rendered":"The best subscription service costs $25 a month"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takeaway:<\/b>Try replacing online news with a subscription to the local paper. This is a way of buying back your time, attention, energy, and mental health\u2014you stay informed while also calming your mind. Physical newspapers \u201crefresh\u201d once a day (versus every few minutes). They also offer perspective, let you connect with what\u2019s happening in your community, and put the onus on the newspaper to keep you informed. Estimated Reading Time:<\/b>3 minutes, 20s.<\/div><\/div>\n

\"The<\/p>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A few months into the pandemic, I noticed two things:\u00a0that\u00a0news was becoming far more stressful to consume and\u00a0that\u00a0I was also checking it more often. This was when I made the decision to subscribe to the local newspaper. It didn\u2019t take long before I started to enjoy my newfound morning ritual of quietly reading the paper over a strong cup of coffee or tea.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Newspapers are perhaps one of the world\u2019s oldest subscription services\u2014and subscribing came with a few surprises. For starters, it\u2019s\u00a0surprisingly affordable<\/strong>, especially when you consider what you\u2019re getting: a daily briefing of what\u2019s happening in your city and around the world, printed and dropped on your doorstep, all before you wake up (if you\u2019re like me and use the news to inform your work, it\u2019s also a business expense).\u00a0The subscription fee for my local newspaper<\/a>\u00a0clocks in at $25 a month. The national paper I subscribe to,\u00a0The Globe and Mail<\/em><\/a>, costs\u00a0about\u00a0$45 over the same period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Nearly a year into my subscription, I\u2019m realizing something far more significant than the value-for-money.\u00a0S<\/strong>ubscribing to a physical newspaper\u00a0<\/strong>has been<\/strong>\u00a0an investment in\u00a0<\/strong>my\u00a0<\/strong>mental health<\/strong>. When it comes to the news, the medium is the message. Online news is reactive, anxiety-inducing, and a large source of chronic stress in our modern lives. Chronic stress is what\u00a0causes burnout<\/a>, and so the cost of consuming online news can be high. While news sites\u00a0and apps\u00a0refresh every few minutes,\u00a0a physical news<\/strong>paper refreshes once a day<\/strong>: when\u00a0it arrives on your doorstep.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A newspaper also exposes you to new perspectives and a diversity of voices.<\/strong>\u00a0We all know about clickbait news headlines. Online, the loudest voices and most\u00a0urgent\u00a0news stories rise to the top of our feeds,\u00a0meaning\u00a0this is the information we\u2019re most likely to\u00a0engage with. That engagement\u00a0creates a\u00a0cycle\u2014the more a story is read, the more\u00a0prominently it will be showcased on a news website. A quality\u00a0newspaper is (usually) filled with more\u00a0pragmatic, balanced opinions, something that isn\u2019t always easy to find in today\u2019s polarized world. This\u00a0is an especially good time to support local journalism:\u00a0filtering through and thoughtfully sharing what\u2019s going on\u00a0in our stressful world\u00a0isn\u2019t easy and\u00a0deserves our support.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Local papers\u00a0<\/strong>provide<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>perspective on multiple levels.<\/strong>\u00a0They share what\u2019s going on in our city, but also zoom out\u00a0to\u00a0offer\u00a0a window into\u00a0our province or state, country, and\u00a0world.\u00a0At a local level, you can learn about cool events,\u00a0updates, and resources that\u00a0may\u00a0never float to the surface\u00a0through\u00a0an online algorithm.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On top of these benefits, a newspaper will\u00a0save you time, attention, and energy<\/strong>\u2014the three ingredients of productivity. You\u00a0safeguard your\u00a0time because you\u00a0won\u2019t constantly\u00a0feel the compulsion to\u00a0check the news throughout the day\u2014you can\u00a0instead\u00a0compartmentalize it into a calm morning reading ritual. You\u00a0conserve\u00a0energy because you\u00a0won\u2019t burn out\u00a0due to the chronic stress and anxiety that comes with reading online news. And you\u00a0defend your\u00a0attentional space\u00a0because you\u00a0will\u00a0be less\u00a0distracted\u00a0by\u00a0ongoing\u00a0stressful updates.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But here\u2019s what I consider the best part:\u00a0subscribing to a physical newspaper puts the onus on t<\/strong>hat media outlet\u00a0<\/strong>to keep you informed.\u00a0<\/strong>You\u2019re not forced to fend for yourself on news websites\u00a0filled with\u00a0an overwhelming amount of\u00a0constantly updating\u00a0content. There\u2019s a lot of\u00a0unnecessary\u00a0noise out there\u2014and\u00a0a\u00a0newspaper primarily gives us\u00a0a\u00a0signal.\u00a0Further,\u00a0a newspaper is\u00a0analog, not digital,\u00a0which forces us to slow down. In my opinion,\u00a0subscribing to a paper is\u00a0a 10\/10\u00a0deliberate, reasoned, analytical, and\u00a0all around\u00a0excellent\u00a0antidote to an overstressed world.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I probably sound ridiculous extolling the virtues of\u00a0a\u00a0subscription service that feels as old as time.\u00a0And\u00a0yet, in\u00a0today\u2019s anxious\u00a0world, if you\u00a0pause and think about it, you may just find a newspaper\u00a0is\u00a0exactly the type of subscription\u00a0you need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An ode to my favorite pandemic subscription service…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3785],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe best subscription service costs $25 a month - Chris Bailey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best subscription service costs $25 a month - Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An ode to my favorite pandemic subscription service...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-04T12:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-01T01:28:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/roman-kraft-_Zua2hyvTBk-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1618\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/chris_bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@chris_bailey\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Bailey\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"headline\":\"The best subscription service costs $25 a month\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-04T12:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-01T01:28:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\"},\"wordCount\":763,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/roman-kraft-_Zua2hyvTBk-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Energy\",\"Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/the-best-subscription-service-costs-25-a-month\/\",\"name\":\"The best subscription service costs $25 a month - 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