RSS readers are a productivity hack

A few weeks ago, I pulled the feeds from my most-read websites into NetNewsWire. Here’s what I’ve found:

• The up-to-date nature of the reader means I feel permanently caught-up. I no longer mindlessly cycle through news site a random point in the day.
• Related: my work focus has drastically improved. The temptation for distraction has reduced.
• I only check the feed a couple of times a day.
• The feed surfaces content I would almost certainly miss (e.g. personal blogs).

I tried using RSS on somewhat of a whim, so these benefits have been somewhat of an unintentional, zero-effort revelation. In terms of reduced distraction, it feels similar in impact to when I deleted social media apps and email from my phone.