An update on the universal playlist

I've been keeping all of my entertainment in one big playlist for a little while now, allowing me to focus on books, movies, podcasts or TV shows that seem most important to me at the time. I vote for them against each other, deciding which of two items I would most like to be doing at that time. When a few rounds of voting are done, some clear winners emerge, and it's much easier to choose something fun from that smaller list. Incidentally, this is also how I choose which blog posts to make here, out of the huge backlog I have in storage.

The first observation is that, because of the way the list works, new items don't get voted down immediately. They don't have to fight for position against the top performers. This means new items actually have an advantage over older ones that already got voted down. I will often get something brand new come to the top of the list despite only having added it the day before. This is a bit against the ideal I set out to embody with the list, but I don't think it's been too big a deal yet. We'll see.

The second observation is that I really don't have as much time as I thought. I'm not getting through any more entertainment than I used to. I'm just getting more variety and more quality. It's good, but the list does continue to grow. As I write, I have over 400 items on the list. As I add more, they're not going to go away more quickly. It is likely that this list will continue to grow longer as long as I use it, unless I look at the tail end and decide there are some items I will never need to bother with at all. Those I can cut out.

It's funny how the size of the list still plays on my mind. I know I don't have to get it all done. That's why I use it in the first place. If I can't do everything, I'd better do what's important or most fun. Perhaps this means I just haven't accepted my own mortality.

Sometimes the voting is hard. Two items that I'd really like to do come up against each other, just at random, and I have to choose between them. Or two really bad ones. That's just as difficult.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - On the whole, though, it's working pretty well.
PPS - I've changed software once since I started. I wrote both myself.