Information is thrown at us at every turn, from every website and every media outlet possible every single day. It’s overwhelming!
If you are anything like me, you pour a cup of coffee, and you check your email and social media sites first thing every morning. You catch up on your RSS feeds, checking on all the blogs you follow, you read the news, you probably go back again to check your email and social media sites, pour some more coffee, and then sit down to work. But by this time, you have spent at least an hour of your day, and your mind already needs a break. You are on information overload. According to an article written by Maria Popova, 800,000 petabytes (a million gigabytes per petabyte) in the storage universe and 3.6 zettabytes (a million petabytes per zettabyte) are consumed by American homes per day, and is expected to increase 44-fold by 2020.
“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.” –Robert J. Sawyer
Is ignoring something a form of neglect? Not necessarily. We have become so obsessed with knowing everything that is going on, that we are not able to efficiently allocate our attention to the areas of our lives that are most important. We are spread too thin, and we are not giving enough of ourselves to the more necessary things. A lot of articles have been written about how multi-tasking is overrated, and that we actually perform much more efficiently if we focus on one task at a time because it helps us to put all of our energy and focus into a task that is pertinent to complete right now. The less important tasks may not be tended to, but that’s ok! Did I really need to search for dinner options on Pinterest while I researched information for a new article? (Note to myself for later.)
We will also perform more efficiently if we only consume the information we need to consume. How do we choose what information to listen to or read?
Here are some questions to ask yourself.
Does it help me complete my current task or project?
Does it fit in with my goals for this day or week?
Does it help me solve a current problem?
Will this help me become more efficient in my current (professional or personal) goals?
Is this relevant to an issue I am currently experiencing?
Does this keep me focused on my current (personal or professional) objectives?
Will I be happier or healthier after consuming this information?
Does this information protect me or loved ones from something harmful?
Will I be hurt or harmed if I do not consume this information?
Will my life be better if I consume this information?
Will my life be worse if I consume this information?
Is reading this hindering me from completing a task I should be working on?
“You are a mashup of what you let into your life,” artist Austin Kleon
Ways to Limit your Information Intake
AwayFind
I batch my email response times so that I don’t get distracted by emails popping up all day. I check my email 3 times a day, thanks to AwayFind. It helps you to stay connected with people that are important by letting you “follow” people or topics that you choose. The application notifies you via text when someone on your list emails you, so that you can choose to respond now or when you reach a stopping point. This has helped me stay focused during the times that I need to be working on other projects, while also making sure I don’t miss time-sensitive client emails throughout a work day. My list is made up of only 3 people.
RescueTime
RescueTime keeps track of what you are working on, and what sites you visit while on your computer. I used the free version and set it up as a contest for myself during the first couple of weeks. I was determined to visit all of my “fun” sites half the time that I did before. Using the first week as a reference point, I increased my production time during the second week by 71%. This is a really helpful site if you wonder where all your time went at the end of a day.
Evernote
For me, when I’m weak, this is a very helpful tool. Because I do so much research on a wide variety of subjects, I come across all kinds of things that peak my interest. Instead of letting myself be interrupted by the rabbit trails of information consummation, I simply keep a note for “Articles to Read in My Free Time” or “Fun Research” or “I’m so Focused and Disciplined that I Deserve to Enjoy This Later”.
Just say no!
Ok, this isn’t a technological app or a plea to keep you off drugs. But it is definitely worth practicing. Entrepreneurs and business owners are “Yes!” people. We say yes to so many things because it could be an opportunity, and we like to take those. But learning how to say “No” or better “No, thank you”, will help you weed out a lot of information, people, events (the list goes on) that we do not need to pollute our brain space with.
The Challenge
For one week, try to limit yourself on the information you consume.
Before agreeing to read, look at, research, or pin (Pinterest!) something that takes up time and brain bandwidth, say “no”.
Stay off of your RSS feeds.
Don’t read any websites or news sites.
Don’t read any books or listen to any audio books.
Don’t surf the web at all unless if helps you complete that day’s work task.
After 7 days, see how clear your mind is, how focused you were on your tasks during the past week, and how much your productivity increased. We would love to hear your stories and even see your RescueTime productivity percentages if you used it!