Monday, August 30, 2010

Information Overload

I have a confession, that I have to get out as soon as possible. I have a voracious thirst for knowledge. I love to read, almost anything, although I don’t like fiction, if I’m not learning something I have better things to do with my time. I also don’t like to read the newspaper, too much depressing news going on in the world that every time I read sad news I get sad for hours.

Hello my name is Susan and I am an information junkie. Definition: Someone who so frequently occupies themselves with receiving or sending information or communication that it resembles an addiction. Usually a computer, and often the Internet are used.

It all started with books on cooking, books on healthy eating, self help books to help make me a better person. Then the world of blogs opened up to me and I was hooked. I have 110 subscriptions to blogs on a very wide variety of information. Just look down the side of my blog at my blog list to see that variety.

While I ingest all of this information and it percolates around in my brain, I wonder if there is such a thing as information overload. Possibly yes, but it has not concerned me yet. I can read 50 or more articles in a day and take from it what interests me or what fits into my life and easily disregard the rest. Maybe in a few months or years I may have enough and give it all up, but for right now I am enjoying all of the resources I happen upon in a day.

The ways I keep information overload at bay:

I use https://www.instapaper.com/ read later feature to keep all of the articles I want to reread or read later in one place, that way I have no stress related to reading an article now.
A rule of thumb is that if in the first two paragraphs an article doesn’t grab my attention it never will. I don’t waste my time on something that does not captivate me.
Also, if I’m not interested in a topic, I don’t read it, I move on to the next, believe me no one will be hurt by not reading their article.
Reading and ingesting information should be a joy. If it is not find other ways to keep current with the world around you.


I think more people should read to learn more about themselves and how to make themselves, their families and the world around them better. More information can never be a bad thing.

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