So, one of my New Years resolutions is cutting back on my information intake. Since I’ve started blogging, I feel that I have spent a lot more time consuming information, especially reading blogs and providing updates in Twitter. And you know what? I’m not enjoying it. Sure, there are blogs out there I love to read and I do genuinely like to provide updates on Twitter, however, I’ve had this overwhelming feeling that I need to keep up with it, instead of doing it because I actually want to do it.
I don’t know, maybe it’s this feeling I have that in order to be successful in the blogging community I have to keep up with countless blogs and not miss any of the chatter on Twitter. Kind of this, ‘the more the better’ mentality. The more I read, the more I comment, the more I Twitter, the more connected I am. Well, more isn’t better for me. More seems to be stressing me out more. More seems to be worrying me more and has me thinking more, such as I’m not doing enough.
Most importantly, more isn’t helping me be ‘me’…..whoever that is. That’s the goal of all of this. Self inquiry. Serious soul searching, with all the good and bad that comes with that. The worry I have with the information overload out there is twofold:
- People (yes, I’ll include myself in this) start believing the hype. That you have to do x,y,z to be successful, including how many blog posts you need to post on a weekly basis, the content you should be writing and of course, the social media you should use. More than anything, I don’t want people to start chasing something for unauthentic reasons, which is why I continually recommend and strive myself to question everything I do. In a somewhat paradoxical twist, less thinking is good too. Listening more to your gut and how you feel about something.
- The increased intake of information can actually make you more confused. Yes, this might seem obvious, but there seems to be this feeling out there that you need to keep up with everything. More TV shows, more blogs, more e-mails, more work. This can be incredibly stressful for individuals. I personally want to promote less doing. More time for yourself because how often do we really take the time to look into who we really are? Do we really know?
How have your information habits changed over the last year? Are you taking in more information? How has it affected your life?
I’ll end with a passage worth pondering. It’s from a book called Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn:
It is the challenge of this era to stay sane in an increasingly insane world. How are we ever going to do it if we are continually caught up in the chatter of our own minds and the bewilderment of feeling lost or isolated or out of touch with what it all means and with who we really are when all the doing and accomplishing is sensed as being in some way empty, and we realize how short life is? Ultimately, it is only love that can give us insight into what is real and what is important. And so, a radical act of love makes sense – love for life and for the emergence of one’s truest self.
I liked this post a lot Nate. As a new blogger, I felt similar e.g. having to do x, y,z and comment on so many blogs etc. I have tried to pull back recently too, as I figure there is only so much you can do and really the content of my own blog should be the focus too. One thing I do is turn my laptop and blackberry off at weekends and I am trying to link in with other bloggers (like you) who’s work I enjoy and I feel an affinity with and not worry too much about numbers.
Jen´s last blog ..Who will you BE in 2010?
Hi Jen! Good to hear from you.
It’s kind of a weird twist. I do like reading and before I started blogging, I read plenty of blogs. I’ve noticed this shift in myself though. It seems that it’s almost become work to do it. A feeling that I have to read everything or somehow I’m missing something or not networking enough. I’ll definitely still use Twitter and connect with people there, but I’m going to stop concerning myself so much with the need to constantly stay connected via that medium.
I think it is amazing that you turn off your phone and computer during the weekend. I try to do the same myself. I like to spend that time connecting with myself and even my community.
Hi again Nate.
I can completely identify.
I really enjoy reading too, but at times as per the title of your post I get information overload. I’ve definately had the feeling of trying to get to all posts and not ‘miss out’ on anything but recently have pulled back as I said and am just concentrating on connecting with people I have met already like yourself and others as they come on my radar naturally, as I think you can drive yourself mad otherwise!
I think creating great posts like you do, is a big part of being successful, and by doing that people will come to you too. I try to remind myself of that, as otherwise you can feel like there is a lot of work to do!
also like you, having the balance in my offline life helps me to feel rejuvenated when I come back online.
Another thing I try to do, to not make blogging a chore, is if I feel tired of it I try and come away and also have committed to myself to post once a week so that I don’t feel under pressure (this has been a good structure for me so far … I could probably do more but I want to keep it as fun as possible.)
Jen´s last blog ..Who will you BE in 2010?
Jen – great advice here, thanks! Balance is definitely important and it’s something I’m striving for more. More than that, I really want to make sure whatever I do feels right. It’s not about being lazy or not thinking it takes ‘hard work,’ it’s more that I want to do what I do for the right reasons.
Thanks again for responding.
Hi Nate:
Let me congratulate you on your latest post–you’ve hit the hammer smack dab on the head of the nail, so to say. It got me thinking…
T.S. Eliot, who won a Nobel-Prize in Literature, bemoaned the problem of “information overload” in one of his poems: We seem to be searching for information without aspiring for knowledge. In turn, we acquire knowledge but lack the wisdom to apply it. Here, I am, of course, merely paraphrasing the great man because I don’t remember the exact quotation.
We tend to spend too much time sometimes on blogs, twitter (the internet, in general), and that leaves us with little “quality time” to spend on our hobbies, our family and with our friends.
Instead, maybe it would be wiser, as Eliot reminds us, to switch off and spend time in other pursuits: kick off your shoes and go for a stroll near the beach; watch the setting of the sun near your home or within the precincts of the park; or join your buddies for a nice meal at a local restaurant. It seems the more we interact on-line the less time we spend on face to face communication.
That’s why Jon Kabat-Zinn reminds us, time and again, to spend time more consciously. The mindful exercise of simply eating an apple and putting our heart and soul into that act should work as an antidote to multi-tasking and spending a life on auto-pilot.
Zinn’s approach is to try to make us conscious that we are human beings and not human doings. Your post reminded me of this fact and made me more aware of my priorities in life. Thanks.
I Archan – thank you very much for stopping by and commenting.
I think what you say is true and more importantly, quality time to spend with ourselves, right? As I said, do we really know who we are? Do we question what we are striving for and why we are striving for it?
I absolutely agree with more face to face communication. Not only face to face with others, but face to face communication with nature as you imply in your example.
Also, I love it. You do capture a lot of what Kabat-Zinn says. He is correct (and you paraphrasing) that we do need to focus more on the being-ness of being human as the name implies instead of being human doings.
Nate, I think you’ve spoken for a lot of people with this post. Over the weekend I read another online guide on how to become a successful blogger/lifestyle designer and the first thing that came into my mind upon finishing it was – “that sounds miserable, I don’t want to wake up at 4am to check comments,tweet about the fluffiness of my pillow or become a slave to my computer “.
The entire point of enjoying life is completely lost when we become social media maniacs. Sure, we might get an increase in followers, but we suffer a decrease in life enjoyment in the process (unless a person truly loves spending an extensive amount of time on Twitter and blogs). And that takes us right back to where we started.
I like what you said in response to Jen about it almost becoming like work to read and comment on other blogs. That’s a good indication that something isn’t right…
Less is more…I agree with that…
Earl´s last blog ..Jump Off a Cliff, Stick a Crayon in Your Mouth & FLYYYYY!
Yes, Earl, exactly. There are these so-called experts out there telling everyone that they have to do x,y,z with social media. I mention Gary Vaynerchuck a lot just because he’s recently exploded on the scene and people seem to be following him and his advice quite a bit.
The thing is, I think the guy is awesome, but…and this is a big but, not everyone is Gary Vaynerchuk. That dude absolutely loves social media because he’s a social person. It’s the nature of his personality and he was born that way. It’s not the answer for everyone though and I think it’s incorrect and almost dangerous to follow him and what he says as the be all, end all of success on the internet or in life in general.
“become a slave to your computer.”
Couldn’t have said it better.
Ash´s last blog ..Is Lifestyle Design A Manifestation of Perfectionism In Disguise? A Self-Reflection
Nate, I think you definitely need to continue being a voice of sanity amongst the madness and desperation out there on some of the other blogs. I wish I could turn the computer off at weekends too but that is my main time to be creative, still I’m trying to keep Sundays mainly internet free which helps.
Milo´s last blog ..2009: The Ones That Got Away #5: Girls
Hi Milo – good to hear from you.
I don’t think it has to be a certain time and day…it can be whenever is good for you, but I think we should monitor and be conscious of how much time we spend on the internet and social media sites. Is it really any better than sitting in front of a TV? Well, I suppose you could argue that you’re doing it because it’s to build your business, etc, etc, but I still think there should be some balance.
Great post, Nate! It all depends on your goals. What matters most to you? I know, for myself, I have made decision to not care about size of the audience for Mind Deep blog. This is why I have not bothered w/ Google Analytics, or following the royal path to ’successful blogging’, as in visiting tons of blogs, and leaving tons of comments. I did that with my previous blog, and I found it became meaningless in the end. More important is the quality of sharing, and interactions, such as for instance between you and I. And of course, staying mindful, never losing sight of the depth of each moment.
Deep bow to you!
Marguerite Manteau-Rao´s last blog ..The Love Only a Mother Can Give
Thanks Marguerite! Right, I do think it does depend on your goals. I also believe it depends on those goals being honest and authentic. I too think quality and meaningful interactions is what’s more important. As cliche as it sounds, it’s about quality, not quantity…especially not quantity for the sake of quantity.
Hey Nate, as you now IO has been a 2009 problem for me, too. So I have begun to reduce since the end of 2009 – including my RSS time, which is why I only get to read this post today! I am trying to implement the “diet” step by step, following the Babauta approach. Started with RSS, now e.mail… I am writing about my progress in the Black Sheep Project Accountability Group (http://blacksheepproject.ning.com/).
Fabian´s last blog ..How low can you go?
Nate, one appendix: Apparently, re-evaluating our efforts on the web is a 2010 trend: http://blog.stevenpressfield.com/2010/01/whats-next/
Fabian´s last blog ..How low can you go?
Hi Fabian! Hope you’re doing well. That was a great link and I like the thought there. I think it’s worth evaluating how much is too much? How much reading is too much? How much Twittering is too much? Does more necessarily = better. It seems like an obvious answer, but at the same time I feel that ‘more is better’ is being preached out there, maybe not in so many words….but the message is there.
I went through a period of time where I got annoyed at taking in to much information. I just couldn’t focus.
But once I clearly defined my goals and my passions, I fount I could cope. I also now don’t use an RSS reader, or stay constantly on Twitter which helps
Anthony Feint´s last blog ..The Art of Zenware, and Why You Should be Using It
Hi Anthony – sorry for the delayed response on this. A bit of a hectic week for me!
I think it’s great that you don’t use Twitter too much. Everyone says you need to use it to be successful at internet marketing or social media, but what’s the price you pay? Do you really connect to people when you follow 100’s of people? I think it’s hard to do so.
Like Anthony above, I used to subscribe to an RSS reader. I open it and would feel complied to read every single thing. It made me unhappy especially since I was trying to digest 50 plus blogs in a hurry. I felt disconnected to the writer due to information overload. I may go back later to this method, but I find it unnecessary for now. I keep a notebook of the blogs I read and this allows me to take it step-by-step, and on my own time.
Hulbert´s last blog ..13 Reasons to Stop Complaining
Good advice there Hulbert. I guess another option is cutting down on the blogs you follow as well. Although there are positive things gained from the Internet, there are also some negative consequences One of those is ADD. We think we need to keep up with everything, so we skim 100+ blogs, constantly Twitter and never take the time to step back and concentrate on just being. Or, even spending time with ourselves. In a sense, we can lose who we are when we are in a perpetual state of doing, especially when it’s on the computer.