Info, info, info, info, info, info, info, info….everywhere but not a drop to think?

Are you bobbing, almost drowning, in a sea of information?

Take this article, why are you reading it? Don’t go away just yet, I have my own simple answer at the end.

We have reached the point where the productivity experts are just adding to that sea of information with their habits, tips, and endless suggestions about how to cope with our terrible information plight.

According to a recent article in msnbc a majority of workers feel overwhelmed by a deluge of data:

• 7 out of 10 office workers in the United States feel overwhelmed by information in the workplace.
• 2 in 5 say  they are headed for a data “breaking point,”
• 62 percent of professionals report that they spend a lot of time sifting through irrelevant information to find what they need;
• 68 percent wish they could spend less time organizing information and more time using the information that comes their way.
• Workers admit that not being able to lay their hands on the right information at the right time impedes their ability to work efficiently; 85 percent agree that not being able to access the right information at the right time is a huge time-waster.
• More than 40 percent of the survey participants indicate an inability to handle future increases in information flow.
• While an average workday for white-collar workers is 8.89 hours, the survey finds that on average, 7.89 working hours are used conducting research, attending meetings, and searching for previously created documents.
• White-collar professionals spend an average of 2.3 hours daily conducting online research, with one in 10 spending four hours or more on an average day.

This strikes me as a bunch of data moaning with the covert message actually being…Hey MOM, look at how important I am with all the information I have to monitor, consume, and shuffle.

Too many people have a self-induced sense of over-importance with all the information they consume. I suggest we stop whining and complaining about this. If you don’t like the data, dump it.

Or change your approach: You can’t stop the waves of information but you can learn to surf.

If you don’t enjoy the waves stop surfing, close the book, turn off your PDA, set you e-mail inbox to stun, and spend time contemplating your belly button.

But if you enjoy information, like I do, stop whining and pretending to be so important — get back on your keyboard and surf the awesome waves in your sea of endless information.

SURF’S UP!

Photo Credit: Pile of papers by http://flickr.com/photos/jepoirrier/376900808/

David Zinger

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