Information Overload? Disconnect for a Day

These days we're deluged with information, and it's coming at us from every angle: emails, RSS feeds, blogs, social networking sites, You Tube, the whole damn internet for that matter; television, magazines, newspapers, memos, radio, fax machine, Blackberries and on and on. It's like our minds are becoming as crowded as the screen of a cable news program-there's breaking news crawling at the bottom, headline themes on top, somewhere in between people's names and titles flash by in an instant, there might be sports scores and weather reports and the show's logo taking up more space-as a viewer it's sometimes hard to know where to focus your attention, never mind how to digest and store what you're watching. Knowledge may be power, but information overload is neither knowledge nor power.

When we gorge on media, it's about as satisfying as downing a vat of cotton candy, and in both cases, you will eventually feel the aftereffects. The age of information saturation has made us all a little ADD, and more than a little overwhelmed and exhausted.

No matter how hard we try we can never catch up to the backlog of information. As it is, we spend countless hours trying, to the detriment of important things-like relationships, health and energy. (According to a study of 1300 managers, information overload also leads to procrastination and time wasting, distraction from important work, tension, stress and loss of job satisfaction.) 

So here's a suggestion: Don't even try to catch up (for 24-hours anyway). Take a media-free day. No internet, no email, no television, no newspapers, or magazines. Oh yeah, and no Blackberries. For one day consider there is nothing you need to know. Instead, experience. Now you may have to do this on a weekend, but that's okay. With your free hours have leisurely meals with family or friends, have real conversations, take time to think, take a hike, take a swim, take a nap, And the end of your day off, take stock. Did the world as we know it end because you weren't plugged in? Assess how you feel, I'm guessing you'll feel energized (unless of course, you are too far gone as an information junkie, then it may takes several days to get over withdrawal symptoms).

If you end the day more relaxed, more satisfied and more energized, consider limiting your media intake everyday-perhaps you do without television on Mondays, ban web-surfing on Tuesdays, leave your Blackberry in the office during lunch, and so on. You might find that a little less useless information makes you a lot more productive and energized.

Jonny Bowden, PhD, C.N.S., is the author of The 150 Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The surprising unbiased truth about what you should eat and why, and The 150 Healthiest Meals on Earth. This article is adapted from his latest book, The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy. For more information, visit www.jonnybowden.com