Opting Out: Conscious Filters in the Age of Information Overload
Being relentless about filtering out extraneous info (aka: bull$#!+)
is a powerful tool for wellbeing and success.
These days it’s almost cliche to talk about the epidemic of information overload in our daily lives. But even though we all know that we’re overloaded, not many of us are actively culling the extraneous BS that’s not contributing to our health, happiness and success.
We are living in a time of always on and constantly connected. In our individual and varied quests for success and happiness, we lean in—work, family, friends. Early morning workouts, late night board meetings, taking conference calls from the kids’ soccer games, and cramming in podcasts during our commutes. And through all of this is the ubiquitous smart phone—blasting us with incoming alerts about emails, texts, breaking news, and the latest diet trends.
The number of messaging platforms we manage is spiraling out of control. Here’s the (comparatively modest) list that I’m currently managing on my iPhone: Email, texting, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, SnapChat, Voxer, Squarespace, MailChimp, news alerts, stock alerts, multiple reminders from Headspace to have mindful moments (the irony is not lost on me), and a daily notification that the next day’s NYT Crossword is ready.
I remember sitting in a board room in Boulder on an all-day video conference meeting watching my boss in Connecticut email, instant message and text almost simultaneously for six hours straight while participating in the live meeting. Sometimes she’d send me a text, an IM and an email all within a five-minute period about three different things. It was a thing to behold and also… madness!
One result of all of these super highways of information to our brains may be increased productivity, but my gut says that what we’re really doing to ourselves is diffusing our focus to the point of irrelevance and allowing our overwhelm to become an excuse for not taking action.
We know that when we’re stuck in the swirl of information flooding, we’re skipping along on the surface—skimming email, videos, Facebook updates—and more often than not we end up frittering away valuable productivity time in the endless stream of unconscious information consumption.
We don’t leave time to slow down and reflect on what’s really the most important. We don’t have time to sink into the information and data that really matters to our goals. To quote a dear friend of mine, our knowledge is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Which is okay for general functioning in the world, but not so great when you’re trying to achieve something.
Last year, I Kon-Mari-ed my physical space—taking great delight in deciding which jeans “sparked joy” and gently giving gratitude to sweaters that no longer served (read: itched like mad) as I placed them in the Goodwill bag and sent them to a new life. This year, I’m going more minimalistic on my online information consumption. I’m opting out. Here’s how.
Step One: Unsubscribe.
I have two email accounts, as most of us do these days. My personal and my business account. While I’ve been meticulous in my business account about not subscribing to marketing messages, newsletters etc., my personal account is 98% crap: one-time purchases that resulted in my name on a list; curiosity about self-help schemes and free downloads mean I get multiple emails a week that offer me ‘free’ webinars, group coaching, lessons, etc.
There’s some part of us that believes that we’re going to miss out if we opt out. We’ll miss a big sale, we’ll miss the brilliant idea that propels us to fame and fortune, we’ll be caught out in our ignorance if we haven’t seen the latest viral cat video. You know this is silly - but FOMO is a powerful force.
Go through your email and unsubscribe from anything that isn’t contributing to your health, success or happiness. Declutter that email! Go through your Facebook groups and leave things that aren’t supporting your happiness or your goals. Be relentless.
(Note: This includes my newsletter. While I hope it serves and inspires you, if it doesn’t—unsubscribe!).
Step Two: Pull vs. Push
Get disciplined about consuming real news from a balanced mix of reliable sources. I’m shutting off my news alerts. I now deliberately spend dedicated time pulling the information that I need rather than having it pushed to me. I reserve an hour in the mornings and am developing a ritual of 1. Skimming the WSJ front page so I understand the macro business trends my executive clients are following. 2. Reading the New York Times - as much of the daily issue as I can. 3. Buzzing over to Fox’s headlines to see the counter points. 4. And then checking NPR’s splash page because I appreciate their balanced coverage of politics.
Figure out what’s important to know, and how to build discipline in pulling what you need rather than having extra noise pushed at you at all hours of the day.
Step Three: Train your Environment
You’re setting expectations every time you respond to a text or email or IM. One way or the other. If you respond within seconds—that’s an expectation you’re setting. If you respond within 24 hours—again, expectation set.
As a rule, I try to avoid expectations—preferring instead to create powerful agreements with the people in my life—my family, my teams, my clients. Obviously we can’t have a negotiation with every person who contacts us. But you can use consistency to demonstrate your response times and set expectations that work for YOU.
I worked with a very successful sales executive who put an auto response on his emails that said: “Thanks for your email. I reserve the hours of 4-5:30 to manage my email and will respond at that time. If your matter is more urgent, please text or call me at….” It’s a very clear expectation, and allowed him space and time to be present with his team and customers without distraction.
Less Fuzz, More Focus
When you opt out or unsubscribe to noise that doesn’t have direct bearing on your wellbeing, happiness or success, you’ll be able to opt in to things that do make a difference. A clutter-free mind can be a powerful force. What will you do with yours?