Self-Discipline is the Best Weapon Against Information Overload
There's been a bit of chatter over the recent NPR story about email overwhelming people's time in the workplace. The trendy news angle seems to be to convince us that email addiction and information overload is a serious problem, worthy of the attention of high-powered think tanks to help save us from drowning.
That's like saying there's a problem with people's bathtubs overflowing. The problem isn't too much water, its that they didn't turn off the tap!
I once worked with a guy in an email-intensive office who had an Outlook rule set to permanently delete any mail not directly addressed only to him. Amazingly, he didn't get fired, and was regarded as one of the most productive people on the team.
We are not the victims of information overload. We're victims of our own lack of discipline.
We're human beings. We run the world. We've split the atom. I think we can handle our own inboxes.
I know it can be hard to unplug from the stream of information. Lots of things are hard, but we still have to do them. It's sometimes referred to as being a professional.
That's like saying there's a problem with people's bathtubs overflowing. The problem isn't too much water, its that they didn't turn off the tap!
- If you feel like you spend too much time in email, turn off Outlook and Gmail for an hour.
- Getting pulled into thirteen different IM chats at a time? Close your messenger for a whole day.
- Keeping up with online news bogging you down? Unsubscribe or unclutter your feeds .
I once worked with a guy in an email-intensive office who had an Outlook rule set to permanently delete any mail not directly addressed only to him. Amazingly, he didn't get fired, and was regarded as one of the most productive people on the team.
We are not the victims of information overload. We're victims of our own lack of discipline.
We're human beings. We run the world. We've split the atom. I think we can handle our own inboxes.
I know it can be hard to unplug from the stream of information. Lots of things are hard, but we still have to do them. It's sometimes referred to as being a professional.
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I like this one. I think this is your best post so far, mainly because of the simplicity of it.
When Chef Ramsey comes to your disaster of a restaurant, he doesn't show you how to make extremely intricate, confusing, and "clever" meals. He shows you how to make a one-minute salad and how to cook a piece of chicken and a piece of fish that tastes good and looks good.
Who woulda thunk that common sense, simplicity, and quality are actually good things.
Thanks for the kind words, Dave. My fragile online self esteem needs all the help it can get :) .
It's funny you should mention our boy Gordon. Signal vs. Noise did a post echoing your sentiments about simplicity in the kitchen (and life).
I'm always amazed at how eager people are to make more work for themselves. Most times, just letting go makes things dang easy.
Great pointers. If you found this useful, check out Time Management for System Administrators. As the title suggests, it is targeted at system administrators, but it's a damn good read for anyone.
I was talking to a client this week, and explained that I've started checking my email only 3 times a day. His comment was:
"Well, in your line of work, its important that you stay focused. However, I'm constantly running around like a crazy person, so I need to be always checking my mail, even after work."
I didn't say anything to this, but I wondered if he ever contemplated the cause/effect relationship between his e-mail habits and his "crazy person" state.
Well if you communicate with others less like that you can get further in a day, but maybe you'll have gone in the wrong direction.
I'm not saying that I communicate less with people during the day, just not by e-mail.
If something changes drastically within 3 hours, I'll usually get a phone call rather than an e-mail. Plus, if the price of a little sanity is losing a few hours worth of work, then I guess I'm willing to pay it.
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