Handling information overload Sep17 '08

Like most people, I don't have a photographic memory. In a world of information overload coming from all directions, where constant requests and messages are competing for our attention, the only way for me to remember anything is by jotting it down and keeping organized lists and calendars.

Quite often I'll be simultaneously reading blogs/checking email/chatting on IM/writing SMS/doing work (among many other things), and I'll see something (or someone will mention something to me) that I'll need to remember at a later date. In most cases, I'll tell the person to just email me it, because I won't remember what they said five minutes from now. It's not that I'm being rude and not listening, it's just I'm doing so many things at once. Therefore, my brain won't absorb anything in long-term memory.

Email seems to be the best answer because it documents things permanently. Later on, when I'm less stimulated, I can organize and act on important email messages.

We all have our ways of organizing the information in our lives. What would be nice (even nicer than emailing me the information), is for people to consider these questions whenever you expect me to remember something:

What's the name of the event/occasion?
Provide applicable dates and times.
What do I need to bring, or what is required of me?
How much is it going to cost me?
Any other important details?

I don't think this is too much to ask for people that expect things from me. But naturally, most people supply only minimal information, then get upset that I don't remember specific details. If you'd like me to remember details, please provide them in a manner feasible to my remembering them.

Taking it a step further

I was thinking of building a web form with these questions on it. Submitting it would direct it to my email, my calender, my To-Do list - whatever I choose. The point is... whenever someone mentions something that I need to remember, I would just point them to the URL of the form.

Sort of like:

"Would you consider filling out this form rather than telling me directly?"

This behavior sounds kind of cold, but it's often necessary.

Categories: Organization

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matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.