DEALING WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Most days I end up being miserable. There are an infinite number of things to do and I struggle to tick most of the boxes in my To-do list. Every day I am over-stimulated by information from my feeds and real life that leaves me anxious. I cannot seem to process everything happening in my space (both virtually and physically). This is often tagged as information overload.

Have you ever been in a situation where you are in the middle of something and another thing comes to mind which prompts you to abandon your initial task for another? This just happened while writing this post. A notification popped up on my screen. My usual response would be to halt writing to check my notification which would lead to more actions away from my initial goal of writing this post. This is the type of struggle we encounter every day in our personal lives and workspaces. There are just too many distractions.

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD

One of the major impacts of information overload is that it leads to forgetfulness/Procrastination. Most people develop the bad habit of procrastinating things when they are bombarded by a plethora of other (insignificant) things. In such scenarios, people often opt for the easiest task and forgo the more difficult and productive activities just so they can have some sense of control or direction.

Also, the individual who finds him(her)self trapped in the sea of information tends to forget a lot (which is often mistaken for procrastination). This is normal considering how limited our cognitive abilities are compared to the amount of stimuli it has to process. Even right now as you read this post your brain is filtering a lot of things in your environment giving you the ability to focus. However, in this day and age where we are bombarded with information(consciously and unconsciously), our attention has been stretched to a point where we can only focus for a short period of time.

Confusion, anxiety and depression can also be a byproduct of overstimulation. On some days I am on edge for no apparent reason. I might have completed all my important tasks that day but somehow I feel anxious or unsatisfied. My dopamine receptors have been overstimulated to the point where normal activities seem mundane. Usually, I would attribute this to poor organization, however, despite having a simplified to-do list I still struggle with these emotions. Unfortunately, I have learnt to work it regardless of how I feel which in some way impacts the quality of work I produced.

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR ATTENTION

One of the things I am doing to reclaim my life/mind is to limit the amount of (conflicting) information I consume every day. This doesn't mean less screen time for me since I am a content creator, however, I can streamline the type of content I consume. I take things a step further by consuming long-form content i.e movies, podcasts, and books rather than tweets, reels and YouTube shorts. This way I am able to focus longer and better.

In addition, I am limiting the number of applications on my phone to cut down on notifications/pop-ups. For apps I must have, I turn off notifications and pop-ups. This way I am able to stay focused on the things that matter and the anxiety that comes with having a lot of things to do.

Lastly, the most important and hardest task of all: practising mindfulness. Mindfulness is the purest state of consciousness. It is the acknowledgement of one's thoughts and feelings, and environment. This can be achieved through medication or just being by yourself with little external stimuli.

Conclusion

We all need to make a conscious effort to control our information intake. It determines how not just our productivity but also put mental well-being. I believe with these few tips in this article you can improve the quality of your life by limiting external noises and focusing on the things that matter. Cheers!

Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha