How do you turn off the fire hose?

By

Disclaimer: I’m guilty of this myself. We all are. It’s not meant as a criticism.

If I read another blog post, hear another radio interview or read another article that tries to explain either how fast the world is moving or how busy we are, I’m going to scream. You know what I mean:

“In today’s busy world…”

“Our society is moving ever faster…”

“There’s more and more to pay attention to every day…”

While I haven’t done any in depth research, I’m sure that people have been writing and saying things like that for generations. It’s become a cliché.

Unfortunately, it’s also true. Depending on what you choose to pay attention to, the sheer mass of information can be numbing. And let’s face it, neither you, nor I, nor any room full of random monkeys for that matter, could absorb and understand all the content that is being produced on any given day. There’s just too much. Even if you narrow it to the Independent Sector (nonprofits and philanthropy), no one can digest it all.

Each of us sees hundreds of the following week in and week out:

  • FB posts
  • Tweets
  • Twitter Chats
  • Requests to connect
  • Online conferences, webinars, workshops
  • eBooks
  • Blogs
  • Email newsletters
  • Email marketing offers
  • Email solicitations
  • Requests for information

That’s not mentioning the amount of content that bombards you in more traditional ways. Where does it stop? I think it stops when you make conscious decisions about what you ignore and what you read.

Questions of the day: How do you choose? How do you filter? Are you proactive? Do you have a plan?

Or do you just feel overwhelmed and ignore it all?

photo credit: ZeroOne via photopin cc