Information Overload and How to Master it..
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What is information Overload
Before we get into the meat of this..We need to define what information overload really is.
Most people think information overload is caused by learning/reading or collecting too much information in a short span of time. (Hey, I did too!) But, the science says …that assumption is incorrect. Our mind IS capable of interpreting many pieces of information sent in not just in a short span of time but also at the same time.
And, if information overload was caused by too much information we’d walk into a library and collapse. That doesn’t quite happen. Too much information isn’t the root cause of what we call “information overload”.
So what is the real cause of information overload?
The answer is very simple. Information overload is caused by too much of unorganized information that your brain doesn’t know what to do with.
Don’t believe me?
Your thoughts are electrical signals
When you touch a hot object, your skin sends a signal (electrical signal) to your brain, the brain interprets it and sends a signal back to your muscles which causes you to take your hands off the hot object. It’s very much similar to how computers work (except that your brain is FAR complex than even the super computers we have today). A computer takes in words and commands, translates that into binary and acts on it.
Now, what happens when you have too many of these commands going on in your computer? When you have too many uncompleted tasks? If you’ve ever tried running a virus scan, downloading a software and listening to music at the same time you know what I’m talking about..The computer gets “overloaded” and usually crashes.
Your brain isn’t much different
Give Yourself time to Interpret Information
If you keep taking information in without doing anything with it, your brain will get confused. There’s no question on that. BUT, the most important thing is to realize that information overload can be fixed easily. Just like how most computer crashes can be prevented easily.
How to Deal with Information Overload.
There are many approaches to mastering information overload. Here’s a few of them.
a. Go on an information diet – This approach makes sense. If you’re overwhelmed by too much information just limit what you intake.
While this may work for a lot of people, info diet may not be realistic to some of us. I like keeping up with the latest news from around the world, major scientific developments, research and blogs that I like. So that wouldn’t be an option.
b. Make a list of good sources you want to listen to – This is generally a good advice. I do have a list of sources I listen to and take recommendations from. So you may want to consider doing the same. Whether it’s business advice or self help, make a list of trustworthy blogs. That will help you keep your information intake to trustworthy sources that don’t confuse you.
But, this isn’t always an option either. First you need to create a list of trustworthy sources..that in itself can be a big task.
There is one other way to deal with information overload (and I love this method)..We’ll talk about it this monday in the Subscriber Only Private Post. (You Can still sign up to receive the exclusive content for free).
We’ll talk about
- How to Master Information Overload easily and
- How to create a list of trustworthy source to master information overload.
Talk to you then..
photo credit: houseoftext
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