National Information Overload Day
Log out of your e-mail and switch your phone to silent on #NationalInformationOverloadDay
20 October is National Information Overload Day, which was created to remind us that there is such a thing as too much information.
The world is constantly buzzing around us, filling our ears with noise. From the ding of your phone announcing the arrival of a text message to the alert to advise you of the arrival of another piece of important information, we are surrounded by ringing phones, televisions chirping out advertisements and admonishments, and the endless droning of the radio. And more often than not, the massive amount of information received has a negative impact on our happiness and productivity.
National Information Overload Day is about taking control of the flow of information into your life – and where necessary – limiting it.
National Information Overload Day was established by a group of companies to raise awareness of the consequences of overloading employees and customers with too much information. Research showed that productivity is actually hurt by the amount of information flowing through our lives – an average employee receives as many as 93 emails daily!
If you combine this with social media, the constant buzz of new text messages and web-browsing, becoming overwhelmed is understandable. The economic impact is severe, as most of the time spent on these media is not business-related – it’s personal. Think about the times that you have been in the middle of a project and received a new email – you stop what you are doing to first read, and reply to, the mail. Then, you have to refocus on your project before you can start working again – before receiving another mail. These little pauses have a huge impact economically and something needs to be done about it.
To celebrate, first you have to stop checking your email every time it dings. Log out of your mail client, and to help limit the number of interruptions during your day, only log in five times a day. Put your phone on silent and take the same steps as with your mail when replying to text messages and returning calls.The cost of these interruptions is more than you think, and you will be surprised how productive you could become by eliminating them from your life.
Post on social media using #NationalInformationOverloadDay.
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