# Repeat versus fresh content

By [Mickey Mellen](https://paragraph.com/@mickey-mellen) · 2024-05-16

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[**Repeat versus fresh content**](https://www.mickmel.com/repeat-versus-fresh-content/)

When deciding what content to dig into (books, podcasts, etc), I’m often faced with an interesting decision: **do I want to explore something new, or revisit an old favorite?**

Over the last year, I’ve been doing a lot of revisiting in place of new content. I’m still reading a few new books every month, but I’m also working on revisiting old content to help better understand it and solidify it in my brain. [My new “Stacking Knowledge” podcast](https://www.mickmel.com/getting-more-out-of-the-books-i-read/) is a great example of that.

I thought more about this today while listening to a new(?) episode of Seth Godin’s “[Akimbo](https://www.akimbo.link/)” podcast. I wasn’t sure about the word “new” in that sentence, because while it was a fresh podcast in his feed, it began with “this is a special archived episode of Akimbo”, as many of his often do. It’s a rerun.

**My initial thought was disappointment.** I love Seth’s insights on various topics, and was sad to not have a new one to enjoy. However, this particular episode was a few years old and I had forgotten pretty much everything about it. To me, it _was_ new! While parts of it were familiar, I still picked up quite a bit of info from it even though I had heard it before.

Generally speaking, if I’m consuming content I prefer for it to be new, but I’m slowly changing on that. My strategy for the past few years has been to consume quite a lot of new content, but also to find creative ways to revisit old content (like that podcast, or a book club, or some other event that will force me to dive back in).

It’s a tough balance, but there’s not a wrong answer. If I’m spending time digging into quality content, both the fresh content and the reruns are helping me to become a better person, so the exact mix of the two isn’t important.

**Where do you stand on this?** Do you intentionally try to focus on new content, or do you frequently revisit your old favorites?

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*Originally published on [Mickey Mellen](https://paragraph.com/@mickey-mellen/repeat-versus-fresh-content)*