Surviving Information Overload

Description:
The course was designed to cover critical business and professional development topics in the shortest time possible. With a wealth of hands-on exercises, the course keeps you engaged and help you retain critical skills.

Newspapers, books, magazines, and the Internet tell us what we want to know when we want to know it. Reports, memos, e-mails, and voice mail help us transmit and receive information quickly and easily. With so much information coming at us constantly, it’s no wonder many of us are living with information anxiety. Odette Pollar, productivity specialist, empowers readers to dig out of the avalanche of information they are bombarded with daily and to take back control of their time in her new course, Surviving Information Overload.

Duration: One day

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part 1: Information Anxiety
Do You Have Information Anxiety?
Calculating the Weight of Information Overload
How Are You Managing Now?
Three Steps to Managing Information

Part 2: Multi-Tasking
Is Multi-Tasking Really Such a Good Idea?
What the Experts Say
Five Steps Out of the Multi-Tasking Maze
Step 1: Estimate Task Times Accurately
Step 2: Use a To-Do List
Step 3: Limit Interruptions
Step 4: Concentrate
Step 5: Multi-Task Smart

Part 3: Filtering Information
Balancing Your Data Diet
Information You Get vs. Information You Use
Identifying Quality Information
Limiting Your Information Gathering
Using Information Filters
Sorting the Information to Keep

Part 4: Managing Messaging Systems
Taking Control
Evaluating Your Use of E-Mail
Easing E-Mail Congestion
E-Mail Do’s and Don’ts
Reducing Spam
Voice Mail Give and Take
Considering Instant and Unified Messaging
At the Controls

Part 5: Processing Paper
The Worsening Paper Pile-Up
Understanding Your Resistance to Proper Processing
Developing an Effective File System
Reducing Disposable Incoming Mail
Creating New Ways to Reduce Paper Pile-Ups
Paper Wrap-Up

Part 6: Taming Technology
Mind Over Machine
Taking Stock of the Technologies You Have
Rethinking Your Use of Technology
Stop Before You Shop
Guiding Principles

Part 7: Coping at Home
Balancing Work and Home Life
Making a Wish List
Making Your Wishes Come True
Taking Action on Your Newfound Knowledge
Committing to Change
When Home and Office Collide
Setting Boundaries Between Home and Office

Summary
Quick-Step Review
Recommended Reading
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