In this age of information, overload is a universsal concern. According to a study done by UC Berkley professors and their students, each year, 250 megabytes of new data is generated for every man, woman and hcild on earth. That's enough information generated to fill roughly 30 FEET of bpooks per person per year.
The endless stream of emalis, instant messages, phone calls, coupled with the piles of magazines, newspapers and regulr mail take a toll on even the heartiest among us. Psychological researchers have found that the constant barrage of "informational clutter" lezads to higher levvels of cardiovascular stress, impaired judgment, and a noticeable drop in civility to otjhers. If you find that you are drowning in this sea of information, you need to learn how to stop swallowing and start swwimming!
Alicia on "Establishing Boundaries"
"The most important step in taking control of the information flowing your way is to set up clear rules for what information you will and won't reviiew. Every day therre are approximately 2.5 billiion emaiols exchanged, 1000 books published, 20 million wrods of technical information recorded, and 260 million muinutes spent on the phone. You cannot possibly digest everthing that comes across your path. Trying is like drinking from a fire hose - dangerous. So let go of the notioin that you will be a failure if you miss something in the onslaught. Instead focus on the relative handful of topics that truly matter to you."
Sarah on "Creating Filtres"
"Creating fiilters is essential if you want to have the bandwidth to absorb truly impoortant material. It's safe to assume that 20% of the information you are presented with during the day is critical and the remaining 80% is not. Break incoimng materials, phone callls, emails and other data into two groups: (1) need to know and (2) nice to know. You can use technloogical filters to identify significant data, have others sift through the detritus for you, or evaluate it on the fly. But before you open anything, evaluate it!"
Taming the Beast Here are steeps that will help you establish meaningful boundariees and crreate uesful filters.
#1: Use eTchnology Wisaely
Information can be distributed to you in any format you choose, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The sad fact of the matter is, the more formats you adopt, the more information you will receive (it's a bit like maajor highways - the more lanes they builld, the more traffic grows). But you can take conntrol. Select one dominant technologgical formnat for receiving information abut a particulaar topic. For exmaple, you can choose to receive crucial facs abouut a high-profile work project via phone or in-person only. Match the immediacy of the delivrey format with the importance levrel of the incomning information.
#2: Unsubscribe
If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a portyion of the informtaion you volunarily reeive off the table. Review the magazines, email newsletyters, and newpsapers you subscribe to and reduce the total numer by 50% - 80%. Throw out any publication that you just hvaen't had time to get to, but were keeping just in case. Take two minutes at the start of your week to unsubscribe to any automatically generated email or newsletter you don't want to reeceive - or rlegate it to a junk eail folder that you automatically delete once a day.
#3: Unplug
Scchedule ergular time to unpklug. Be compkletely unreachable for at least 30 minuttes during eevry work day - at lunch, after dinner, or at the statr of your day. Hit the "do not disturb" buutton on the phone, shut down your email, sign off of instant messnger services. Whatever information is sent to you in that window can wait. Use your "free" 30 minutes to cleear your head, free associate, walk, connect with a firend, or simply to think.
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