Website design By BotEap.comWhat is information overload? Information overload is a state of inability to understand a problem and make a decision due to too much information. This term was further popularized by Alvin Toffler, a futurist, writer, and journalist.

Website design By BotEap.comCauses of Information Overload: Causes of information overload include rapid technological advances that have made the retrieval, production, and distribution of information much easier to access than in earlier times. This has reduced the processes of natural selection that would otherwise have filtered out irrelevant information and made the most vital information available.

Website design By BotEap.comWhether at home or in the office, we are bombarded with too much information and some of this information may come from the following sources: email, voicemail, phone calls, meetings, business/personal journals, faxes, memos, manuals, research web, blogs, television. This list is not exhaustive because technological innovations have increased as we speak, as have the causes and sources of information overload.

Website design By BotEap.comEffects of information overload:

1. decreasing efficiency – whether in the workplace or at home. For example, in the December 20, 2007 issue of The New York Times “Is Information Overload a $650 Billion Drag on the Economy?” Basex, a business research firm, identified the emails, instant messages and phone calls as the cause of lost productivity and innovation. Also in the same article, Nathan Zeldes, an Intel engineer, states that information overload affected every knowledge worker at Intel, up to eight hours a week! That’s the work of a full day spent answering phone calls, responding to emails, and researching the web. At home, we turn on the TV as soon as we walk in the door and stay glued to the TV for hours, which also limits our productivity at home.

2. Fatigue Syndrome Information – Due to the need to keep up with technological advances to maintain their job or position as “leader of the pack”, people succumb to increased stress and poor health.

3. Anxiety due to in-decision.

4. bad decision making because we are not focused on one thing at a time.

5. Difficulty memorizing and remembering as a result of too much information.

6. reduced attention span because we are trapped in the maze.

Website design By BotEap.comThese effects only add to the stress caused by the need to constantly adapt to changing technological advances.

Website design By BotEap.comHow to overcome information overload:

1. understand the tools then you just have to apply only some of them. For example: Don’t send an email and, seconds later, follow up with an instant message or phone call.

2. Don’t overload others with unnecessary emails, especially one-word responses like “Thanks!, Okay! or Great!” and avoid using “reply all” or “CC” unless absolutely necessary.

3. Focus on one task at a time, avoid switching until you have finished the task at hand.

4. Set clear and concise goals. breaking goals down into manageable tasks for the year, month, week, day, and then hour just to keep you on track.

5. Responsible be it to your group, clients, spouse or employer. By holding yourself accountable to someone, you’ll be motivated to finish the task at hand before moving on to something else.

6. log off – Take a few hours during the day away from computers, TV, and phones just to reconnect with nature, family, and friends.

Website design By BotEap.comConclution: We are increasingly connected to technology in the hope of improving productivity, but what we really need is to disconnect from everything from time to time and refocus our energy. Too much of a good thing is dangerous and thus the need for moderation. The technological tools that we have at our disposal are designed to improve and optimize our natural abilities to manage and process information. Instead, we have become so dependent on all these sources of information that we feel strange without them. And now, with the introduction of Apple’s iPad, we want to take advantage of that as well so we don’t miss out on the latest advancements, even though it’s pretty clear that the tools at hand are enough to accomplish the tasks at hand. According to PC Magazines, John C. Dvorak’s article on PCMag.com dated February 2, 2010 “Apple’s Good for Nothing iPad” John says that the iPad has nothing good to offer and is destined to fail. Chances are you already have an iPod, smartphone, and/or MP3 player, which is basically what an iPad is, so why not save some money and use the tools you already have on hand? Let the technology work for you and not you for the technology.