Staying Afloat in a Digital Flood

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1. Communication: One Size Does Not Fit All
Employees should be trained to assess the business context before deciding whether to dial the phone or hit the ‘send’ button on an e-mail or instant message.

2. Five Tips for Taming Information Overload

3. Taking a Break From E-mail
One company’s experiment with “E-mail Free Fridays” offers some lessons in how to manage the flood of often unnecessary messages.

4. Measuring the Weight of Information Overload
Several recent analyses have highlighted the costs of information overload and its close cousin—interruptions.

5. Raising the Problem’s Profile
The newly formed Information Overload Research Group will promote research studies and delve into solutions for information overload, including technology tools and training strategies.

6. Taking Time to Think: The Irony of Bill Gates’ Legacy
Big thoughts, reinvention and career growth come not only from embracing all the benefits of technology, but also from finding the time away from the office and daily pressures.

7. Social Revolution: A Wired Workforce Community
The online social networking phenomenon has pervaded business. Whether it becomes a mere time-waster or a useful tool for recruitment, employee development and collaboration depends on how employers embrace the technology.

8. Building Business Value Through “Communities of Practice”
More and more companies are taking the time to think together and share knowledge from remote corners of the globe.

Five Tips for Taming Information Overload

Keeping focus in the face of digital distractions can be difficult. Here’s how you—and your organization’s employees—can make a start.
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ere are some simple ways to manage e-mail and keep your focus in the face of digital distractions.

    1. Turn off e-mail notifications: Save yourself from being constantly interrupted as new e-mails arrive.

    2. Read the entire thread before responding: Ensure you are responding to the latest posts and not repeating points already covered.

    3. Set aside time for e-mail: Designate blocks of time in your day to focus on processing your e-mail.

    4. Limit your CCs and "Replies to all": Only copy people on e-mails who really need to get the e-mail.

    5. Be concise: Write clear and concise subject lines and have each e-mail focus on only one topic.

Source: Information Overload Research Group

Workforce Management Online, July 2008 -- Register Now!

Next Article: 3. Taking a Break From E-mail
One company’s experiment with “E-mail Free Fridays” offers some lessons in how to manage the flood of often unnecessary messages.

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