Curated Series - Tips, Stats and Wisdom (issue 24)

As well as building the Unified Inbox  software product , we are currently curating a Twitter series that focuses on information useful to people working with information.  If you would like to receive these daily - please follow us on Twitter :

• Tips for dealing with information and email overload
• Stats - all the numbers you ever wanted to see about email, internet and information
• Wisdom - because sometimes in amongst the information overload, we all need to take a step back and reflect.

Tips

• Don't Send That Email. Pick up the Phone! more
• Stop the Insanity: How To Crush Communication Overload more
• Communication Overload: A Simple Technique more
• Information overload more
• Nine Easy Ways To Eliminate E-mail Overload more
• Solving information overload: the role of manual content curation more
• Tech Talk: Tips for managing your information overload more
• New social media? Same old, same old, say Stanford experts more

Statistics

• 59% of respondants say that the amount of info they have to process at work has increased since the economic downturn more

Wisdom

• True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information. Winston Churchill

 

Can information overload affect your physical health?

We've seen a lot of statistics published in the last year about the growing amount of information available and the impact it has on individuals and businesses. There are three stats we wanted to look at more closely.

• Employee stress levels are increased when their inboxes grow by more than 50 messages a day... source
• 46.9% of respondents unable to answer all email... source
• 35% of knowledge workers suffer from health problems traceable back to information overload... source

The reason that stress can have a negative effect is in our biology. The oldest part of our brain is charged with keeping us alive and when it comes across a situation that requires action, it pumps us full of adrenaline so that we can either fight or run away - the "fight or flight" response. When we fight or flee we burn through the adrenaline. The problem in our modern workplaces, is that neither fighting or fleeing are typically seen as appropriate responses, meaning the adrenaline stays within our systems.

Too much adrenaline in our systems can effect every part of our body from hair, brain, mouth, muscles, heart, lungs, digestive tract, reproductive organs to skin. The American Institute of Stress has information outlining the many manifestations of stress. 

Now consider a typical modern work-day where a constant stream of messages arrive demanding a portion of your attention and a response. For many information workers that stream of messages can appear never-ending and they may feel unable to keep up the incoming torrent. These are classic conditions for developing stress related conditions.

In our next blog we look at how we can be healthy in our work even with the ever increasing volumes of information being created in the world today.

 

 

Curated Series - Tips, Stats and Wisdom (issue 23)

As well as building the Unified Inbox  software product , we are currently curating a Twitter series that focuses on information useful to people working with information.  If you would like to receive these daily - please follow us on Twitter :

• Tips for dealing with information and email overload
• Stats - all the numbers you ever wanted to see about email, internet and information
• Wisdom - because sometimes in amongst the information overload, we all need to take a step back and reflect.

Tips

• Email overload, Twitter updates, monster slippers... Top 10 ways to avoid distractions at work more
• Email Management Tips for Improved Productivity more
• Your Wheelhouse (In or Out of your Inbox) more
• Conquer Email Overload - Some Quick and Simple Solutions more
• Information Overload – Finding Balance On-Line more
• This Is What a Healthy Information Diet Looks Like more
• Dealing with "Information Overload" more
• Conquering Information Overload more
• Ending email overload more
• Have you got Goldfish Memory Syndrome? more

Statistics

• 53% of people believe that less than half the information they receive is valuable more

Wisdom

• Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events.- Albert Einstein
• To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all - Oscar Wilde