How to achieve focus by managing excess information
In an age of abundance of choice and excess information our focus is being stretched and divided.
Focus is defined by Google as “the centre of interest or activity”. Focus and attention is something that marketing teams up and down the country are vying for. Constantly bombarding consumers with messages in a bid to gain our attention. We are constantly being distracted by social media which leaves our attention divided.
Information can come in a variety of ways, some of the problems with this abundance of information are:
- Huge volumes of new information being constantly created
- The simplicity of creating, duplicating and sharing of information online
- The exponential increase in channels to receive information by; radio, television, print media, websites, e-mail, mobile telephony, RSS feeds, etc.
- High volumes of conflicting, contradictory and plain old inaccurate information
The problem is our focus is always split and being dragged away. Dual-screening is a very common activity for most people. So how can we manage this?
Limit the number of information streams
A bigger problem that people face isn’t’ that there’s too much content to keep up with, but they are consuming content from a number of different sources. Seeing the same news story on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provides no benefit.
Also finding and choosing a reliable news source can help prevent conflicting messages as opposed having to personally mediate the trustworthiness of a new source found on your Facebook news feed.
Don’t Multitask
Multitasking causes us to feel exhausted, disoriented and anxious. Although the idea of doing multiple things at once may make us feel we are being productive. In actual fact it reduces our ability to complete our given tasks. Our brains aren’t designed to multi-task and we aren’t nearly as good as we think we are at it.
Here is an article which explains the science behind multi-tasking:
https://www.verywellmind.com/multitasking-2795003
Focus on topics you care about
You can’t keep up with everything that’s happening so decide which ones are of greater priority for you and stick to it. If your discipline is technology, then just focus your efforts on that one topic. The more topics you try to cover, the less chance of you being able to retain what each article is about.
Tools like RSS readers or news aggregation sites can allow you to have greater control of the news you consume.
Take a break and relax
Regardless of all the ways we manage and navigate this media bombardment. Sometimes the best way to manage to is to simply not. Take a 15 minute break every so often, let your mind daydream and wonder.
Your brain sometimes needs to hit the reset button to allow for creativity which will allow for better, clearer thoughts when you arrive back to that task.
To conclude I think we need to be aware of the vast amount of media sources available to us today, which can cloud and impair our thinking. Taking a step back to think what we are trying to focus on and achieve requires clear focus. The minute you lose track of your goals, you are off track. So be aware that excess information can be harmful to your growth.
Sources used:
https://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-tips-and-tools-to-deal-with-information-overload/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/11/14/10-steps-to-conquering-information-overload/#281a74fc7b08