Thoughts

• What is information indigestion?

• What are the risks of prolonged information indigestion?

• What can you do to overcome information indigestion?

    Aam * went out of the weekly department meeting feeling as if his head was about to explode. No, it was not a headache but a sense of inability to think straight. The four hour meeting ended with a big pile of handouts, PowerPoint notes and all the slides that were presented.

Commenting to another manager Adam said, “This is nuts. I can’t think any more. Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” said his friend, “I feel as if I need the rest of the month to digest all of this stuff.”

If you feel like Adam and his friend you may be suffering from information overload or information indigestion that comes with similar feelings and risks as overeating.  Prolonged information indigestion has risks similar to those associated with overweight and obesity.

A 1996 study by Reuters news service suggested that:

·         43% of managers had difficulty making decisions because of information overload.

·         47% felt that information overload distracted them from their main responsibilities and high priorities.

* The names and titles are changed. The experience is based on participants in our Overcoming Overload Workshop.

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