30 Passive Inputs that can inspire Active Outputs
Spend more time creating than consuming. Get inspired and turn passive into active.
Random Observation/Comment #898: I should add another section of related to random activities/actions.
Why this List?
We spend so much of our time consuming via scrolling, watching, listening, reading. None of that is bad. But too often, it stops there. This list explores how every passive input has the potential to be flipped into a small but meaningful creative output. It’s not about hustle. It’s about balance. It's about agency.
We want passive inputs to become active outputs. The list is structured as matched pairs where each passive activity is immediately followed by its corresponding active counterpart.
The big idea is that we’re not just meant to be sponges and maybe it’ll reframe how we watch certain activities by being more deliberate and purposeful with our search.
Passive: Watching a cooking show (much love for Beat Bobby Flay). Active: Trying out the recipe in with my own flair.
Passive: Scrolling through home decor ideas. Active: Saving ideas into lists/pinterest boards. Then rearranging or redecorating a corner of the house.
Passive: Binge-watching a travel vlog. Active: Planning a day trip or weekend getaway to a place that caught your eye.
Passive: Reading about gardening techniques. Active: Planting a small herb garden or tending to a new type of houseplant.
Passive: Listening to a podcast about market movement. Active: Completing analysis with trading strategies and executing at next market open.
Passive: Browsing a photography gallery or seeing some of those shorts that look at different poses. Active: Taking my DLSR out and doing a photo walk. I would like to rent a lens and do some birding photos in the arsenal.
Passive: Watching dance videos. Active: Trying to learn a few dance steps so I’m not doing the same twitches on the dance floor. I miss having rhythm and sad that one can actually lose it.
Passive: Reading about mindfulness or meditation. Active: Practicing a short meditation or mindfulness exercise.
Passive: Scrolling through DIY craft ideas and drawings. Active: Picking a simple craft and making it with Evie. Also doing random drawings in my nightly sketchbook.
Passive: Watching fitness influencers. Active: Doing a workout based on one of their routines (but then losing steam because it seems like a lot of work). I’m probably better off investing in fun activities that include its own level of exercise.
Passive: Reading about a new language. Active: Practicing speaking or writing a few phrases in that language.
Passive: Watching someone play a musical instrument. There’s a video of this guy just playing jazz chords with random interstitial jamming. Active: Breaking out the keyboard and testing some tunes. With enough practice, I may actually fake it.
Passive: Reading about urban hikes. Active: Organizing a 14er (if not this year, let’s do one next).
Passive: Watching someone else paint or draw online. Active: Creating my own sketch, doodle, or painting. I do want to try some different mediums.
Passive: Playing a mobile puzzle game. Active: Solving a real-life jigsaw puzzle or board game with friends. I’ve also thought about creating an easy sudoku+crossword physical book for me to play. There’s some Canva action in there.
Passive: Listening to a TED Talk about gratitude. Active: Writing a thank-you note to someone who made an impact on you. It’s important to reconnect.
Passive: Browsing recipes from YouTube cooking deep dives. Active: Meal-prepping a week's worth of lunches on Sunday. Some of these need active planning so it’s a good idea to put that intention into activity with some calendar blocking.
Passive: Reading self-help quotes and poetry. Active: Writing down my own mantra for the week and putting it somewhere visible.
Passive: Watching comedy clips. Active: Writing and telling my own joke to someone (yes, dad jokes count). I’ll probably retell the joke poorly.
Passive: Reading gear reviews because it was in a consumer report article. Active: Renting or borrowing the gear and trying it out once.
Passive: Listening to interviews with interesting people. Active: Reaching out to someone from the podcast for a quick coffee chat or message exchange. Fun fact, I did this as a part of a 30 day challenge during COVID
Passive: Scrolling inspirational home office setups. Active: Rearranging or upgrading one thing in my current workspace. I sometimes think about how I can get more random knickknacks and showcasing them in a better way.
Passive: Reading financial independence blogs. FIRE! Active: Making one small tweak to the budget or setting up an automatic savings transfer. I think this is a great conversation with the family.
Passive: Watching someone else clean or organize their house. Active: Setting a timer for 10 minutes and doing a speed clean. Maybe I’ll go all out and do one of those carpet cleaning videos. So satisfying.
Passive: Listening to a productivity podcast like NPR’s Life Kit. Active: Writing your to-do list and tackling one hard thing first.
Passive: Seeing videos on how to improve my disc golf throwing distance. Active: Building an indoor disc golf simulator for the future finished basement.
Passive: Rewatching awesome movies. Active: Keeping track of a rewatch list and sharing it as a list of 30 for those who want to know my taste in shows. Rewatching 24 has been pretty fun.
Passive: Watching time-lapse videos of 3D printing. Active: Designing something small and printing it at your local library or makerspace. I’ve always wanted to get into the 3d printing space.
Passive: Playing games with a lot of ad interruptions. Active: Building an ad-free version of the game to save yourself time from ads.
Passive: Watching endless AI tooling videos. Active: Sending links to myself for the magic time of testing tools (11pm-midnight). I really do like chatting with Clembot and improving my n8n workflow game.
~See Lemons Be More Active
I like the ideas to turn the passive input as our active motivation.