Modern productivity advice often tells us to listen to content at greater speeds, such as 1.5 or 2x speed. I did this for years, but have found success primarily sticking to 1x speed the past year.
I try not to be overly dogmatic about this, however: I will still listen at higher speeds occasionally, for example, when skimming a video for information. But I find 1x to be a better default than 2x for most things.
Here’s my reasoning.
My mind moves at the speed of its input
Listening to content at higher speeds causes my brain to accelerate. I’m not sure what this is, and I haven’t seen anyone else talk about it, but it feels like overstimulation: 2x is a lot of information at once, and it feels like it causes my thoughts to run at 2x for the rest of the day, diminishing my ability to focus.
Some people argue that you can get used to speed over time. That you can train yourself at 1.25x, then move up to 1.5x, then 2x, then perhaps greater than 2x. I trained this for years, even varying the speed based on the speech rate in the original video. But as the speed increased, the rate of my thoughts increased. I improved my ability to process information quickly, but this never improved the feeling of overwhelm. If anything, I just got used to the feeling always being there - but it was definitely always there.
1x speed allows my mind and perception of time to move more slowly, allowing me to be more mindful and intentional. This is valuable to me.
Clarifying priority
1x speed, in a way, feels like calorie counting. When you count calories, you’re forced to be intentional about what you consume. If you’ve budgeted a certain number of calories for the day, you begin to second-guess using half of your daily calories on a single snack.
When listening at 1x speed, a two-hour video takes, well, two hours. That’s a lot of time, and sure, it would take less if it was sped up. But why do I need it to take less time? So I can listen to more content? Why do I need to listen to so much content, anyways?
When speed is no longer a lever you can pull, you’re forced to prioritize. What if I didn’t listen to that two-hour video? Would I be any different after having listened to it? Would I learn anything meaningful? Is there something else I’d rather listen to during that time? Why don’t I just listen to that? Or instead, could I have deeper insights by giving myself the space to think for those two hours?
I appreciate a system which allows me to train my ability to prioritize; in a modern productivity culture that promise you that can do everything you can think of, if you’d just adopt a system that would enable you to handle even more at once - being able to prioritize is an underdeveloped and valuable skill.