Avoid becoming roadkill on the information highway
I doubt back in 1970 when futurologist Alvin Toffler first introduced the term ‘infobesity’ in his book Future Shock he imagined the global events of the past few months.
Wikipedia describes infobesity (AKA information overload, infoxication, information anxiety and information explosion) as the “difficulty in understanding an issue and effectively making decisions when one has too much information about that issue”.
Macmillan Dictionary defines it as “the condition of continually consuming large amounts of information, especially when it has a negative impact on a person’s well-being and ability to concentrate”.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the New Zealand government’s subsequent response has significantly increased the volume of information being generated by the media and the various communication channels of government, business, education and community sectors. Social and traditional media have been pumping out information at a rapid rate of knots. Not a single aspect of our lives has been immune to this overabundance of information.
Information overload results in numerous side effects including fatigue, lack of productivity, lack of confidence, memory loss, stress-related diseases and poor decision making – and the list goes on. I can certainly relate to a number of these effects.
How do we manage this overload? Whether we are thinking about the extraordinary circumstances of the last couple of months, or just the impacts of the information technology that prevails in our modern lifestyle, there are generally two approaches to dealing with excessive information. Firstly we can reduce the amount of information that is coming our way and secondly, we can enhance our ability to process information.
So what are some helpful ways we can manage information so that we can be as energised, productive, and engaged in our lives as possible? Here’s a few ideas to get you started.
It all starts with you
Identify what’s important/ the priorities in each aspect of your life – you and your well-being; those you are living with and your collective priorities; and those you work with and the direction and outcomes for your work – short, medium and long-term. Use this understanding to help determine the way you will engage with information across all aspects of your life.
Clear your mind – regularly do a brain dump. Use a pen and paper and write down everything that you are holding in your head. This frees up head space to focus on the things that really matter because you are not holding onto all the other bits and pieces of information.
Unplug
Get away from the computer, take regular breaks or at the very least disable notifications so that you are in charge of when you look at emails or other messages. Limit your exposure to things like social media and check your emails as little as possible. Take some time to go for a walk and clear your head, find a change of scenery, reboot and perhaps do some mindfulness activities.
Keep it simple
Make sure people know the best way to get in touch with you so that they don’t inundate every communication channel to try and get information to you. Be explicit about whether you prefer email, text or some other form of communication.
Get other people in your team involved to reduce duplication of information. Consider the information that you need as a team and what information you have to manage collectively. Share responsibility and tasks around.
Consider using infographics to convey or engage with complex information.
Be selective
The more information we have the greater the chances of confusion. Work out in advance what kind of information you need. Separate the wheat from the chaff – use tools that help prioritise information. Who is sharing the information? What is the source of the information? And, is the source reputable? You will be better off choosing a smaller number of reputable sources of information.
Be thoughtful with the information you share – break the cycle. Learn to be more discriminating when exchanging information. Make sure the information you share is reputable and easy to engage with - try to eliminate acronyms, abbreviations, and jargon.
While there are lots of strategies and tools available to manage information overload, they all seem to have one common denominator and that is discipline. So it seems fitting to finish this article with the words of American author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn ‘Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day’.
By Karen Stockmann
Community Advisor