Archive for March, 2010

A great article by David Allen (the creator of the Getting Things Done methodology) which I highly recommend.

E-mail overload has gotten a lot of press lately – the quantity, the distraction it creates, and our inability to do much about it. There was even a recent debate in a global newspaper between readers voting for keeping e-mail at zero vs. those who use the digital in-basket as a giant library keeping useful information at hand with no concern for the volume. The issue is tied closely with the popular concern about our always-on culture – that we seem to never unhook from the incessant demands of being in touch, put upon us by our clients, our bosses and ourselves.

Source:
The Problem is Not Information Overload | GTD Times.

I couldn’t agree more. The perceived problem is not the sheer amount of information we see and collect every day; it’s the pressure we put upon ourselves to find the meaning of it, if any.

Having a set of guidelines (rules anyone?) that help you process this information, and by banishing information flows you do not need nor want you are in the the better position to give the information you want or need the attention it deserves.

It’s not about sorting things out. It’s about filtering the ‘junk’ out and then sorting the meaningful items.

So in case anyone wonders how I keep my in box at work empty? See above. I process the email (based on subject-line, sender, the placement of my email-address in To, CC or BCC) and action it accordingly. That’s how I processed nearly 5 to 6000 emails a month. Over time I managed to cut this down to a more manageable number of 2 to 3000 a month (give or take a 100 a day). And that number will dwindle further. Yet I still have the same amount of time.

So, think about it. 6000 emails a month, versus 2000 emails a month. In which scenario of the 2 do you think I can spend the most time and attention on something that deserves it?