Information Overload Is Simpler Than You Think - DBR 080

Episode 80 of the Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast podcast, hosted by Larry Tribble, Ph.D., titled "Information Overload Is Simpler Than You Think - DBR 080" was published on May 17, 2025 and runs 52 minutes.

May 17, 2025 ·52m · Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast

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Episode Description

Eradicating information overload.

The goal of personal information management is to put processes and tools around our information so we can "manage" it – that means control it, tame it, have fewer emergencies around it. Our fear that we don't have it well-managed causes us stress and anxiety – we call this 'information overload'.

So, a feeling of information overload is an indication that we don't have our information managed well. After all, if you have a feeling of "bill overload", you would look at your finances and budget, right?

But is information overload a USEFUL term? Does it help us understand and deal with the problem? Or is it just a clickbait?

Here, we'll look into the definition of information - understanding the situation is a key to success.

If Information Overload and/or the associated stress is a primary concern for you, this is your episode.

Definition of information

We don't really have a good one – and that's coming from an expert
We think we can dimly grasp what information is… its related to some way of conveying 'something'.
We even use information to convey 'something' to ourselves with notes, etc.
For more, see James Gleick's book The Information

But is information an independent thing?

Information and attention are symbiotic.
Example – regular radio pulses from astronomy. Is that information?

How does this relate to overload?

Information itself is not something that impinges on us. It can't do that.
But we do feel stress – meaning we feel like there's more than we can deal with - about 'something'.

Is our problem really communication overload?

Communication impinges on us.
Communication means information used in a way that has a message (content) and usually has a signal. (we refer to both content and signal as information)
We get shouted at - communicated AT

Is our problem really content overload?

There's no such thing as information overload in a library - content, in itself, has no means to impinge on us
If books hollered at you and they weren't well organized, the library would be a horror show.
So, this is Information that's well managed and has organizational schemes.
In personal information management, one of the better metaphors is to have one's own personal library

Is our problem really signal overload?

The amount of incoming signal has never been so high
The informational content of a signal itself is pretty low.
Phones ring, computers beep, screens flash. We think this the right approach. But almost every signal is under our control
It's signal overload. So, we've also got to think about the signals that we allow and those that we create for ourselves

Conclusion/recap

www.linkedin/in/larrytribble

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