30 Days Favorites: Combat Information Overload
As I read through 30 Days to a Simpler Life
What Is Information Overload?
Information overload is what happens when the stream of data that flows into our lives is not a positive influence in our lives. There are two flavors of overload: those that come from absorbing too much information, and those that come from having a backlog of information.
A classic example of absorbing too much information happened to many people after 9/11/2001. People were glued to their televisions, watching the horror unfold and then replay over the following months. I learned during Desert Storm that I cannot watch television during times like that; the images burn into my brain and haunt me. I watched so many people get depressed after 9/11, though, as they watched everything unfold, only to replay in their brains that night.
A backlog of information comes from too little time to read with too much to read. How many unread magazines do you have around you? How many unread books do you have? You will never have time to read all those books, and in my case, I lost interest in many of them by the time I had time to read them
How Do You Combat Information Overload?
In the case of too much information, you need to stop watching and listening to the news. When I read Tim Ferris’s The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
To combat the stockpile, you have to cut off the flow and match what you have on hand to read with the amount of time you have to read. You have to cut off magazine subscriptions, and get rid of unread books.
What I Did to Get Rid of Overload
As I have said before, taking the media fast rid me of the news programs. It has been so effective I haven’t gone back to watching and reading. I still read the Sunday paper, but the only part I read is the comics.
Ridding myself of the backlog has been a work in progress for me for the past few years. Three years ago I purged my magazine subscriptions. I had been getting technical magazines, “women’s” magazines, interest magazines and the magazines that come with membership in many organizations. I let my subscriptions lapse in all but two magazines: Mother Earth News and Utne Reader. My organizational magazines generally go right into the recycle bin, since I have not found a way not to get them.
About eighteen months ago I purged my books. I couldn’t take the weight of the unread books at my back in my office anymore. I was ruthless. We went from three full sized bookcases to one, with only one shelf filled with my books. The three bookcases in my bedroom were also purged, and are going to undergo another purge here soon as I rid myself of almost 30 books I had accumulated in a mystery series.
It has been a challenge for me not to keep buying books. I still do. However, I will try and get a book from the library first, and then if I feel I want it for a reference, I will buy it. I will also buy books if I cannot get them through the local libraries (I have privileges at two cities here), and the reviews indicate that they would be worth a read.
Summary
Getting rid of the information has been a major help in getting me in a more simple and peaceful state. I recommend that you try it. It doesn’t have to be done all at once, but even a little bit can lighten the load.
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