InformationOverload

Having lots of InformationSources is good. Having too many, however, will paralyze you, as you get involved in too many things, have to read up on too many things.

InformationSources

One strategy to counter this is to only read the information sources that will actually change what you do on a regular basis. Surf the web from time to time and look for new stuff. If you are not going to act upon it, however, don’t subscribe.

There is a fine line between surfing due to curiosity and subscribing due to assumed future interest.

Another strategy is to separate information sources into two classes: The ones that need total attention, and the ones that need only partial attention. Make this distinction explicit and consciously start *skimming* for information instead of reading it all. Expire stuff that went unread for too long.

Comments

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On creativity and distraction, on Open Culture:

on Open Culture

neuroscientist Daniel Levitin brought his research to bear in arguing that “information overload keeps us mired in noise.... This saps us of not only willpower (of which we have a limited store) but creativity as well.”

Lots of links in that article that I’m not following up on because of information overload.

– Alex Schroeder 2019-09-08 08:40 UTC