Say ‘No’ By Default To Reduce Information Overload

Say ‘No’ By Default To Reduce Information Overload

“Everyone needs to read this!” is frequently a lie. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff in the neve-ending flood of “important” links in your feeds? As with most time-management techniques, start by saying “No” a lot.

Picture: BuzzFarmer

There’s no shortage of news, galleries, videos and other content for virtually any topic in the world, and they’re all important. You need to be up to date on what’s going on with the new iPhone, Syria, the minimum wage, the most recent natural disaster and Twitter’s IPO, right? Well, maybe not, according to Unclutterer:

Here’s some final advice from Rhone, about deciding whether or not to let an information source into your life, be it an article someone linked to, a podcast, an RSS feed, a magazine, or anything else: “No is the default.” If something is truly important, he says, multiple people will point him to it, and that might lead to a Yes.

Waiting for multiple recommendations can help sift through more than just internet links. Chances are that if there’s a TV show, movie or event you really need to spend time or money on, you can find a few friends who are willing to share it with you.

Obviously, you don’t have to wait for the crowd to confirm every decision you make, but stick with the “no” until given a reason to do otherwise unless you’re doing your own research or exploration.

Time management vs. the unending flow of interesting information [Unclutterer]


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