Eradicating information overload.
The goal of personal information management is to put processes and tools around our information so we can “manage” it – that means control it, tame it, have fewer emergencies around it. Our fear that we don’t have it well-managed causes us stress and anxiety – we call this ‘information overload’.
So, a feeling of information overload is an indication that we don’t have our information managed well. After all, if you have a feeling of “bill overload”, you would look at your finances and budget, right?
But is information overload a USEFUL term? Does it help us understand and deal with the problem? Or is it just a clickbait?
Here, we’ll look into the definition of information - understanding the situation is a key to success.
If Information Overload and/or the associated stress is a primary concern for you, this is your episode.
Definition of information
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We don’t really have a good one – and that’s coming from an expert
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We think we can dimly grasp what information is… its related to some way of conveying 'something'.
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We even use information to convey 'something' to ourselves with notes, etc.
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For more, see James Gleick's book The Information
But is information an independent thing?
How does this relate to overload?
Is our problem really communication overload?
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Communication impinges on us.
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Communication means information used in a way that has a message (content) and usually has a signal. (we refer to both content and signal as information)
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We get shouted at - communicated AT
Is our problem really content overload?
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There's no such thing as information overload in a library - content, in itself, has no means to impinge on us
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If books hollered at you and they weren't well organized, the library would be a horror show.
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So, this is Information that's well managed and has organizational schemes.
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In personal information management, one of the better metaphors is to have one's own personal library
Is our problem really signal overload?
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The amount of incoming signal has never been so high
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The informational content of a signal itself is pretty low.
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Phones ring, computers beep, screens flash. We think this the right approach. But almost every signal is under our control
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It's signal overload. So, we've also got to think about the signals that we allow and those that we create for ourselves
Conclusion/recap
larry@doubsyright.com.
