For years, I scoffed at the idea of “information overload.” I kept up with MY emails, read several books a year, and felt perfectly able to stay on top of my calendar. I wrote articles for publications, spoke at conferences, entered awards competitions, and stayed in touch with colleagues around the world.
Sure, there was a “guilt pile” on my bed table, my filing cabinet needed attention, and the family photo albums hadn’t been updated since 1990 (still haven’t) – but information overload? No way.
Today? Way. The guilt pile has expanded to my hard drive, which now contains untold megabytes of stuff I’ll never read. (But would like to. Really.) Emails go unanswered for days if not weeks. I missed my most recent tax deadline. And it took me a year – yes, a year – to get this site started.
Some of that comes from building a business, some from doing lots of client work. But I’m no longer raising children (a huge consumer of time when done right), and I’m no busier than lots of people I know.
So what’s sucking up our time?
Recently, I spoke with the VP for internal communications of a nationwide health-care provider. I asked how concerned she was about “information overload.” She said what her people were experiencing was less information overload, and more “everything overload.”
I agree. Where once friendly (or not) employees answered business phones, now we have to navigate through layers of voice menus. Where not so long ago you could actually get help via hotline, now you have to read the FAQs online. And search for the hidden email link when they don’t answer your question. Where once our choices at the grocery store involved Rice, Wheat or Corn Chex, now there are more than a dozen varieties of Oreos. (Aren’t those by definition chocolate cookies with white icing between? Not anymore.)
Business has shifted a tremendous amount of work onto consumers and employees. We pump our own gas, pour our own soft drinks, and check out our own groceries. At work, we go online for HR transactions, order our own business cards, and manage our retirement plans (heaven help us). And whether we’re buying something, investing, or solving problems, we want to make good choices. And that takes time.
Combine all that with shifting corporate strategy, constant organizational change, 100 or more emails a day, web sites to check, iTunes, eBay, TiVo, blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, instant messaging, cell phone text messages – aaaaaaaaagghh! Make it stop!
No wonder 80 percent of the complaints treated by doctors are stress-related.
This community invites you to join the discussion on communications overload:
– How can we reduce the feeling among employees that they’re being bombarded (often with irrelevant information)?
– How can we cut (and cut through) the clutter?
– How can we help our employers and clients communicate the right amount in the right way at the right time? (And not forget that communications travel in many directions?)
I don’t know what we’re about to unleash here, but I’m certain the discussion will be passionate. I expect the input will range from the 30,000-foot view to the immensely practical. From heartfelt questions to best practices to links to articles published elsewhere. We welcome it all.
Hang on to your hats.
