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When was the last time you experienced information hunger? Unless you are traveling to corners of the world where civilization has not yet reached, or go on camping trips with tents, then you have probably already forgotten what it is. But you almost certainly know the feeling of information overload. This condition is fraught with nervous exhaustion, reduced efficiency and creativity. Fortunately, the barrage of information can be resisted.
“We are forced to think about everything at once, and this does not allow us to pay due attention to what is really important,” this quote from The Observer fully describes the state of affairs in 2019, but it is dated to the middle of the XNUMXth century – a time when information suddenly became widely available. In connection with the advent of the telegraph, for the first time in history, the speed of information dissemination began to exceed the speed of decision-making.
At first, everyone was very happy about this, but over time, the constant information mode “On.” began to turn into serious stress. Many began to experience a previously unknown state of neurasthenia. Neurologist George Miller Beard described it as “overloading the nerve circuits.” Constant real-time communication has made the world too complex, and it has happened too quickly. And the only recipe that can help is simplification.
Advances in technology have fundamentally changed the way we work. Today’s ability to create information was not dreamed of by people of the 2020th century. By 40, the global volume of digital information will be approximately 40 zettabytes – 34 trillion gigabytes. Each of us consumes about 100 gigabytes of information every day – it’s like swallowing 000 words a day. Information overload leads to cognitive overload and impairs the ability to concentrate on work and think creatively.
But there is good news: a few simple steps will help you resist the flurry of information right today, now.
1. Prioritize and be relentless
To begin with, we will have to conduct a complete revision of what is to be done tomorrow. Make a to-do list and underline the most important ones. You can start with those cases that are not marked: if possible, just cross them off the list.
The next step is to ruthlessly cut off all information that is irrelevant or interferes with important tasks. If, while working on them, you feel that you are being sucked into the whirlpool of information and are about to drown, refer back to the priority list.
2. Create your “architecture of choice”
Managing yourself is not easy: how to resist the temptation to distract yourself from a boring report and read a message that has just arrived? The architecture of choice will help, in other words, restrictions. For example, while working on a complex and important task, you can turn off notifications on your phone or close the messenger window on your computer for a couple of hours. After the time has elapsed, you can check your Inbox and reply to all messages. This not only saves time, but also reduces stress. When I need to focus on a creative task, I use offline mode. This is how I let my colleagues know that I am physically in the office, but busy with something important.
3. Allow yourself to be bored
The main task is to deliberately allow yourself to be bored. When attention isn’t focused on a to-do list, a growing email thread, or the news, fresh associations and new patterns are born in the brain. If you haven’t had a brilliant thought in a while, it might be because you don’t let your mind wander.
The next time you’re in a car service or airport lounge, put your smartphone away and let yourself get bored. You will see: the brain will please you with an unbanal idea. After all, as Pascal said, “all the problems of mankind are connected with the inability of a person to sit quietly in one room.”
About the Developer
Daniel Sivold Founder of Deliberate Innovation.