October 20 is approaching, the day of information overload. It has been "celebrated" since 2009. So what else to focus on than just this phenomenon of our time.
How many times have you said to yourself that there is simply too much information? Thanks to the Internet, we have easy access to information anytime, anywhere. However, just like a smartphone, our mind has a limited capacity.
It is an irony of our time that the information that was supposed to increase productivity stands in its way. It was assumed that the flow of information would bring clarity and facilitate the exchange of ideas. It was supposed to empower employees and help make decisions faster. That enough quality information will help us make better decisions. But information overload is now one of the biggest problems facing organizations across industries. It often leads to reduced employee engagement and decision fatigue. Or straight to decision paralysis.
How much data do we have and the impact of being overwhelmed in numbers
In 2018, the company International Data Corporation predicted that the volume of data in the world will increase to 175 zettabytes in 2025. About 5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day. how much is it I'll refer you to the Wiki instead PULL and take a picture yourself. The data that the world will create in the next three years will be more than all the data created in the last 30 years. Interestingly, only about 0.5 percent of all data generated is analyzed and further used. By the way, our media consumption across all channels and formats is estimated to take more than 13 and a half hours each day.
Impact on employees and their productivity
Losses that are a direct or indirect result of information overload are estimated to be approximately $650 billion per year. It's the cost of interrupting productivity. In a company with 1,000 employees, all workers together waste approximately 655,000 hours per year searching for information for their work. How can it look in practice? It is necessary to search for the latest version of a document in e-mails, some information on the Internet, intranet, Sharepoint, network drive, etc.
The most interesting outputs from the International Data Corporation study from 2018:
- Knowledge workers jump between tasks every three minutes
- The IQ of employees dropped by about ten points due to the distraction of phone calls and e-mails
- Employees deal with e-mails on average 20 hours a week, i.e. half of their working time
- Employees consider a third of all emails they receive to be unnecessary
What is information overload?
Date information overload is used for situations where there is an excess of information and we are unable to work with it. This condition can cause stress and fatigue. Modern technology and the Internet give us quick access to information, but they also bring risks that have an impact on our health.
Between causes information overload is classified as:
- An increase in the production of new information, where the quality of news has been overtaken by the speed of its publication.
- The number of available information tools (telephone, TV, computer).
- A large amount of information sources (email, social networks, applications, news servers).
- Duplication of information thanks to the instant transfer of data on the Internet.
- Inaccurate and irrelevant information whose authenticity cannot be verified.
The supply of a large volume of data is also associated with risks:
- Technostress is the result of information overload. A person feels that he cannot disconnect, he does not have time to relax and he needs to be constantly on the receiving end.
- Inability to process information. There is too much information and the brain is unable to process it.
- An excessive amount of information causes fatigue.
- Diversification of information flows brings distraction. Do you also write a work email and check your mobile while doing so?
Basics of information hygiene
Information hygiene is one of the solutions to the problems associated with information overload.
- Verify that you really need all the emails that go to your inbox.
- Unsubscribe your email from advertising marketing campaigns.
- Separate personal and business correspondence.
- Try it limit time spent on the Internet. Smartphones help you measure your surfing time. You can find a video tutorial here.
- Limit it information smog. Maybe you don't need to always have the TV or music playing in the background.
- Turn off notifications. Decide for yourself when you will work with applications. Don't let notifications get over your head. Turning off notifications is the basis of everything, I wrote about it for example here.
- Try to recognize quality data. A lot of news on the internet is low quality and fake.
- Think in advance about what information you are looking for. Setting priorities helps you eliminate aimless browsing in the online world.
- Take your time on your activities, including time spent on the Internet. This is where the Pomodoro method comes in handy. Instructions for it were published in another article here.
- Try starting and ending your day differently than with your phone in your hand.
The above ten can help you set new habits to combat information overload. They work for me, even if it's a long run. Try it too and let me know.
Want to know more? Are you dealing with a healthy relationship with technology at home, with your team or at home with your children? Take a look at the topics of digital balance courses, you choose!
