How do you deal with information overwhelm

I don't know about you but ever since this thing hit, I am getting overloaded with online classes, courses, webinars, etc. And of course, I am sure you are catching up on some Netflix, hang out with your friends on Zoom, have been added to one or two extra Whatsapp group and maybe your operations went virtual also. It is awesome that this is possible but even from before the crisis we were already getting overwhelmed, and now this is 10x. So how do you deal with this?

The trick is getting to a point that you can enjoy all the possibilities and opportunities without having a negative effect, so how do you do this? Filter and limited your exposure.

1) Become aware of what information you consume and why

Lost of people are largely unaware of their behavior. This might sound strange to you but it is true. So the first step is to really question your actions. Become aware of what information you consume and why.

2) Be selective

Now that you have become aware, ask yourself whether:

1. Do you absolutely need to see this

2. Does this have a positive or negative influence on you

3) Say no and educate people

You don't have to be in every app group or virtual meeting. Find out which are really necessary and limited the others. Furthermore, you need to educate the people you frequently have contact with. Do you have a colleague who sends you text for every little thing? Tell him or her to send an email instead and inform you that you only check this a few times a day. You will find that suddenly not everything is urgent. And another big one: limit Whatsapp and call instead. Whatsapp is a very inefficient way of communicating and it will take up a lot of your attention and energy. Calling still trumps text. The first step to taking for the advantage of the beautiful things that come with the information or digital age is to curate that what you consume. In a nutshell, you want to eliminate everything that takes away your focus, sucks energy or negative influences it so that you can consume that which energizes you. Let's crap, more quality.