What is Information Overload?

In today’s world, we cannot survive without information. We all seek information on matters related to our profession or business, as a consumer, for health, for knowledge, for personal growth, for socials, to keep abreast  of what is happening in the world and so on.

Today, the volume, the speed of creation and sharing of information far exceeds the  processing capability of any human being. Inability to process information as fast as it arrives creates a condition of  information overload. If not handled properly it can affect your physical health, peace of mind and productivity.

Are You a Victim of Information Overload? To know, answer these Questions

• Are you distracted every now and then by notifications of emails or text messages that come on your devices?
• Are you being bombarded by hundreds of pages of information everyday through emails, text messages, social media and  so on?
• Are you receiving information of which most of it is irrelevant and of no use to you?
• Are you habituated to checking your mobile phone at every  now and then to see what is new?
• Does the digital exposure make your feel fatigued and exhaustedat the end of the day?
• Has the screen time on your mobile increased over a period of time?
• Do you find it difficult to get adequate time to pursue your outdoor activities like playing games?
• Is your socialising more online than face to face?
• Is your sleep cycle disturbed. Are you finding it difficult to get a good sleep for 8 hrs?
• Do you always feel short of time to complete you important tasks?
• Has  your working hours increased without corresponding increase in productivity ?
• Are you tempted to go to unintended but attractive web pages while surfing the internet?
• Are you a member of multiple Social networking and messaging groups and you are unable to cope up with the number of posts you receive?
• Have you ever taken your devices to the toilet when going for the big job?

If the answer to any of these 3 and more questions is “Yes”, then you are definitely  a victim of Information overload. First step is to identify and admit that you are a victim of Information overload. The next is to manage all the information that you receive and prevent it from harming you.

Extent of information overload

• We have created more information in the last 10 years than in all of human history before that.
• 90% of all the data in the world has been generated over the last two years
• Nearly 500 hours of new video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.
• Only 0.5 percent of all data is ever analyzed or used.
• By 2020, 1.7 megabytes of new information will be created every second, for every human being on the earth.
• By 2020, some futurists predict information will double every 70 days.

Adverse Effects of Too Much Information

Easy availability of Information you need and use is a boon but being bombarded by information, 95% of  which is not relevant to you is a curse. Huge volume of information is a double-edged sword. There is no simple method for quickly comparing and evaluating information sources. Efforts to do so increases the stress levels. It adversely affects our  health and limits our ability to perform our tasks.Even after Filtering and segregating information you are faced with a problem of  how do you identify true and genuine information from the rest. There are conflicting views, contradictory opinions and inaccurate or unverified pieces of information which leaves you more confused than before.Heavy reliance on computers and smartphones for online shopping and social connectivity has practically made every user a Digital Addict.Expectations regarding response times have changed dramatically.  Laptops and smartphones have enabled us to continue working from home when not in office. Now we’re expected to respond almost instantaneously. The demands placed on us have grown exponentially.

15 Steps to Manage Information Overload

1. Unsubscribe from the sites which are not relevant or useful to you. Always ask “Does the information from this site contribute to my professional or personal growth” in any way.

2. Restrict your membership to the number of social media and messaging sites like WhatsApp, Facebook etc 

3. Do not open your email first thing in the morning. Fix time slots for handling your emails and text messages everyday. Segregate and Prioritise  them into which requires action, which is only for information and which can be easily ignored. Always create filters on your e-mail inbox and in your searches to reduce the amount of information you get. 

4. While seeking information, give more importance to quality than quantity. 

 5. Spend time in identifying genuine and trustworthy sources through research and keep this number limited. Always subscribe to these source for your information needs.

6. Collect more information only after you have analysed, assimilated and digested the information already available with you.

7. Do not add to information load of others by forwarding messages and emails which you feel are not absolutely relevant

8. Lay limit to you total screen time for social media. Do not exceed this time

9. While sifting information always put your mental filters on and ignore the irrelevant information straight away. Focus on what adds value. 

10. For News, get feed from a news feed or news aggregator site which gives you filtered news of your interest.  

11. When on internet, fix your goal and time limit. Seek information which impacts your work, life or goal within the limits fixed.

12. Follow the need to know principle. Concentrate on “must know stuff’ and ignore “may know” information

13. Your information in useless unless it is converted into action. Keep a check on your information collection and  concentrate on your action plan. Therefore your information gathering must stop somewhere and lead to action. 

14. Switch off and detach from you devices for a while and take a break

15. Exercise self control while dealing with information. Be the master to technology and not its slave. 

If you follow these 15 steps meticulously, you will, in all likelihood, be able to able to float and even swim in the ‘Flood of Information’