Information Overload

This fact from a guy's notes on a speech by the CEO of Yahoo: : "In fact, at the time of the US colonies were first settled, our forefathers read as much in their lifetimes what we scan in a single day (about 500,000 words)!"

He went on to talk about depression:

Tim quoted several studies that showed that people who spend a lot of time online, especially those that substitute online contact with "human" contact, tend to be more depressed. He defines NEDS as a combination of three things:
1) Information Overload (overwhelmed); 2) Constant Interruption (helpless); 3) Reduced Relationship Quality (isolated).

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He told of a report where 1/3 of all managers feel "overwhelmed," and nearly half of all "information workers" could be considered technically "depressed."

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Studies show that 5 hours a day of "screen time" is the tipping point that leads to significant problems if not addressed.

How do you fight it? Resiliency comes from what Tim calls "warm living."

He points out that there are three kids of personalities:
1) Where people have a great personal life, and work is impersonal (50% warm, 50% cold). The problem there is that research shows the "effects" of a vacation wear off in 3 days, and a kiss from the wife and kids will last until about 10AM (if there's no traffic).
2) People who have a life where 90% is cold, 10% is warm (work hard all day, get an hour with the kids, some time on the weekend). He estimates there are 14 million like this in the US (hardest hit)
3) People who have a life that's 30% cold, 70% warm. This is the goal. You get there by making work "personal."

Tim has several suggestions for making work more personal. He suggests "refresh stations" along the way. Take a break every two hours (10AM, noon, 2PM) to recharge, and spend time with one nice, positive person. Make sure your teams take this seriously.

I feel sorry for that one nice, positive person. They are going to get the life sucked out of them!!