JISC

Information overload is an all too familiar modern malady, and we can’t all have a personal assistant on hand to help out. But strategies do exist to help people deal with today’s constant information barrage, as the recent study ‘Being wired or being tired’ explains. To help combat everything from interruptive texts, IM and status update messages to emails, ‘phone calls and television, here are ten suggestions for a healthier, less cluttered desk and a more serene state of mind.

1. Read up on and develop some ‘point of entry’ organisational techniques. Think before sending information out, and schedule in the unscheduled.
2. Do some weeding, and unplug at will. Cull unnecessary or overlapping feeds and updates, and don’t be afraid to drop off the map entirely when need be.
3. Limit your RSS web feeds or make them work for you, i.e. with reminders.
4. Eradicate non-essential interruptions such as IM (instant messaging), and update and respect status messages.
5. Guard your telephone numbers to avoid unnecessary interruptions, turning it off altogether when appropriate. Don’t check work messages at home! ‘We’ve become far more proficient in generating information than in managing it.’
6. Set aside times to receive emails to avoid drip-drip-drip interruption. Deal with urgent matters first. Send less, receive less, and avoid ‘Reply All’.
7. With print media, cancel old subscriptions and if you don’t need it, throw it out.
8. Choose multimedia entertainment carefully. Use your commute to listen to downloaded podcasts or use the silence to recharge your mental batteries.
9. Schedule time on social networks, limit IM, and aim to stick to a primary site.
10. Keep one central diary to save time and limit stress. Examine your day-to-day activities and learn from them to help keep all areas of life balanced.

To explore these management strategies in more depth, to live a more productive life away from suffocating layers of information, read the full article