Information Overload? Seven Productivity and Learning Tips
Copyright © 2007 Fernandez
Hundreds of thousands
of new books, analyst reports, scientific papers published every year. Millions of websites at our googletips. The flow of
data, information and knowledge is growing exponentially, stretching the capacity of our not-so-evolved brains. We can complain
all day that we cannot process ALL this flow. Now, let me ask, should we even try?
Probably
not. Why engage in a losing proposition. Instead, let me offer a few strategies that can help manage this flow of information
better. From “process” to “manage”.
1. Prioritize: strategic consulting
firms such as McKinsey and BCG train their staff in the so-called 80/20 rule: 80% of effects are caused by the top 20% of
causes. In a company, 80% sales may come from 20% of the accounts. Implication: focus on that top 20%; don’t spend too
much time on the 80% that only account for 20%.
2. Leverage a scientific mindset. Scientists
learn how to manage information in systematic ways. How do they do it? By first stating a hypothesis and then looking for
data. A person lacking scientific skills may waste a lot of time reading thousands of pages of random information. A good
scientist would determine clear objectives for data gathering, such as “doing exercise like XYZ can help generate neurons
even in adults” and “exercise XYZ produces a larger effect than exercise ABC”, and then test those sentences
with real-world or lab data, allowing for a faster learning curve.
3. Link the new information
to previous one. One cannot process, or remember, millions of fragmented, random facts. Preparing concept maps, either in
paper or using software tools, is a great method to build expert knowledge and pattern-recognition over time, the opposite
of being lost in a sea of random tidbits.
4. Define clear objectives for this week. Maybe
3-5. Please write them in a notebook, and check often. Why is this useful? Because by stating those clear goals you are building
you own lens through which to filter information, and focus on the information you really care about. You set up your own
agenda, and not be at the mercy of someone else’s brain. You don’t need to know, you really don’t need to
know (unless you work in Entertainment Weekly), what is going on with celebrity XYZ this week.
5.
Review those goals at the end of the week/ month/ quarter. Did you achieve them? What could you have done differently?. The
goal here is to ensure a learning loop. You can “evolve your brain” in your lifetime by making sure you learn
a bit every day, every week, and accumulate knowledge and abilities over time.
6. Stress
and anxiety are enemies of good information processing. They can narrow your focus of attention too much and make you miss
the big picture. Why is this so? Well, imagine you are a gazelle about to be attacked by a tiger. You only care about running
as fast as possible to escape. It is not the time for complex thinking, for learning new skills. What happens is that much
of the blood flow gets reallocated from the brain to our muscles, to focus all energies on running. The same happens with
humans, when we see a real or imaginary “tigers”: one can not think clearly.
7.
Another enemy: excessive TV watching. Watching TV five hours a day has an effect on your brain: it trains one’s brain
to become a visual, usually unreflective, passive recipient of information. You may have heard the expression “Cells
that fire together wire together”. Our minds and brains contain billions of neurons and connections. Any thing we do
in life is going to activate a specific networks of neurons. Visualize a million neurons firing at the same time when you
watch a TV program. Now, the more TV you watch, the more those neurons will fire together, and therefore the more they will
wire together (meaning that the connections between them become, physically, stronger), which then creates automatic-like
reactions. A person who watches TV for too many hours is training his or her brain to become more passive. Exactly the opposite
of what one needs to apply the other tips described here.
I hope this is helpful and equips
you well for the challenge.
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Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains.com,
which provides the latest science-based information for Brain Training and Mental Workouts, and has been recognized by the Los Angeles Times, MarketWatch, Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education
and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. You
can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/
