The author arguments that the huge volume of information is a constant interruption of people's attention, thus affecting performance. While the author is correct about the effects, I would suggest that the main cause is something else:
WE are the ones decide what's important for us and WE are the ones who don't know to say no to (useless) information. As in other aspects of performance, we should actively have an information management policy. I'm almost all the time connected to the internet and the information I get is just helping me, not overwhelming:
- I almost never use Yahoo Messenger / GTalk during business hours (actually I rarely use both of them). Yes, it's fun to talk with old friends, but the discussions can take a lot of time, there are a lot of interruption (we both are at work and have urgent tasks). If I need to talk with somebody, I just call him/her: it's faster, more efficient and it also improves relationship.
- I never start my day by opening Outlook or internet. I have my priorities, I know them and they are first on my agenda. Do you have urgencies? Call me. And remember that something an issue is an urgency because you didn't solve it in time.
- When I have important stuff to do I disconnect the internet connection for up to one hour - new messages can't interrupt me any more
- Email rules are one of the best ideas. It's a very good feeling to see that out of the 50 emails you have into your inbox - 15 are different standard reports or newsletters, 10 are system-generated by the approving system, 2 are from the director and only the rest of then need your attention.
Understanding shoppers it's a much more interesting activity than any of the interruptions.
No comments:
Post a Comment