Information-free day: fighting information overload
This year summary: 300 articles are marked as “read” in my Instapaper account; 13 books are finished; hours and hours of podcasts are listened. That is a lot.
Does it mean, that I am really good at information processing? Meh…
I’m one of those, who are obsessed with new information. I read a lot but I use a little. I don’t have time to process the knowledge, to think it through. When I finish an amazing and eye-opening article, I immediately move to a new one.
Interlude
“New”. “New” makes everyting more important and more interesting that it really is. We like new things. For information “new” ≠ “good”. In contrast, time is very good at filtering out the evergreen minutae.
The quality of information piece can be anything from brilliant to poor; from useful to harmful.
Information can influence our emotions, it can bring excitement as well as it can bring anxiety or stress. For example, information from social networks can make us unhappy.
If we would not control our information flow, somebody else will, to its own benefit. You might also benefit from it. Or not. (see. Facebook’s Mood experiment)
Bo-o-o-ring!
Who likes to be bored? I don’t. I got used to avoid boredom by consuming new information. Whether I was standing in line in a grocery store, or waiting for a train, I was always reading something.
It is useful, I thougt: I was discovering and learning something new. Except there are some problems with that.
Firstly, my mind didn’t wander and didn’t connect the information pieces together. It was busy by consuming new facts and opinions. My creativity and problem-solving abilities suffered from the lack of boredom.
Secondly, I didn’t think about the quality of the information I consume. My brain didn’t have time to think and analyse it.
“Information-free day”
There is a technique to help I use to help me to restore my ability to prioritise and filter the information. I call it “information-free day”.
It is really simple. I schedule a day once in a few weeks, and on this day I do my best in blocking the flow of incoming information. I also I allow myself to be bored and let my mind wander to find new and interesting connections between what I already knew.
There are some rules for this day:
- Turn off the internet. Completely.
- No books of any kind, no articles, no podcasts.
- No TV and radio shows.
- If you have a TODO list, keep it on paper for this day.
- Carry a notebook with you to write thoughts or to doodle something.
- Journal your experiences during the day.
The experience was really thought-provoking for me.
There are some of my observations.
On the day itself:
- I didn’t really starve for new information. Turns out, it is way less important for me, than I thought.
- My mood was very stable.
- I discovered new solutions to the problems I wanted to solve.
On the following days:
- It was way easier to get rid of useless sources of information.
- I felt way less urged to stare at my smartphone when I have a spare minute.
Nevertheless, the information overload is still there and our ability to resist it is challenged every day. Without repetition, the positive effect made by the technique fades away. It is very important to do it on a regular basis.
Our ability to prioritise and filter the flow of incoming information is very important. The “information-free day” practice helps to keep and improve it. Your brain gets a chance to process the information you gathered, to find creative solutions to problems you are facing.
