In the age of information overload, I find it pretty easy to tune out instead of in. Why is it that more information makes me less likely to read or engage with it? I like to think of information as having value, and if we map information to the supply and demand curve, it’s clear that the market is oversaturated, driving down information’s value. With the constant barrage of viral videos, facebook shares, tweets, instagrams, snapchats etc. etc. do you feel like throwing in the towel before you even begin digesting anything? Or do you spend your currency (in this case, time) on random bits with no prioritization? Information has become a commodity, but there’s an obvious flaw to this logic: all information is not created equal. The onus is on us, the consumer, to individually assess what content is valuable to us. However, we’re often too overloaded with information to find those diamonds in the rough.
So you have an excuse to tune out, right? No one would blame you for clicking ‘select all’ and wiping all 3,500 email newsletters from your inbox into oblivion, or de-activating your Facebook account to avoid the endless stream of political debate comment-threads. But you should recognize that you might be missing out on a meaningful article, or your favorite cousin’s baby announcement. When it comes to our industry, you won’t find many financial services influencers arguing about Trump’s hair on Facebook, but there’s just as much noise coming from content creators, and probably just as much fatigue.
This is where I say, step away from the delete key and think about the supply and demand curve. Your competitors are treating new information as a commodity—or worse, as holding no value whatsoever. They aren’t going to read that newsletter and realize their vendor introduced a new module that is going to save you 20 hours of processing a week. They aren’t going to read the whitepaper on process improvement that you discuss with your boss, leading to a new project to overhaul your middle office operations. They are going to continue doing their day job with blinders, as the competition creeps ahead. You’re probably familiar with the quote ‘innovate or die’? Well finding and tuning into valuable information is the first step toward innovation.
What many people are lacking is an actionable plan for organizing information and prioritizing what they focus their valuable time on. I’m no expert, but as a product of the internet age (and content curator), I have a few tips that might help you get a game plan in place:
Tip #1
Think about the top technologies or resources you use to do your job and make a short list of their associated companies. The list is probably fairly short (mine is less than 5). Visit their websites and subscribe to their updates, newsletters, whitepapers etc. and set up a folder in your email inbox that these communications will filter to. Check this folder about once per week for intel on new features, best practices, and industry trends. Make sure Citisoft is the top of this list (come on, I had to).
Tip #2
Are you subscribed via email to a bunch of communications that fall outside this core list? Time to unsubscribe and delete. Accept that this filtering will be an ongoing process and like anything, try to stay ahead of it before you’re thousands of unread emails deep. I like to make a big unsubscribe push about once per quarter. And if you’re like me, you may actually find this to be cathartic.
Tip #3
The aforementioned core list will be most applicable to your daily job, but there’s a ton of valuable information waiting to be uncovered on blogs and news sites. I like to keep my inbox more akin to a workspace, however, and separate news streams to an RSS reader. I use one called Feedly which groups news sites by my chosen topic e.g. financial technology, marketing, investment management, personal. Set aside 30 minutes each day to scan the headlines and you’ll be amazed at how much more in tune you are with the industry.
Tip #4
Don’t shy away from social media since your network may help you hone in on valuable information, but don’t get bogged down by feeling the need to constantly keep up. I suggest following your ‘core list’ on LinkedIn and on Twitter if you use it. If you are involved in industry associations, join those groups as well and follow their pages if they have them. There are as many opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations on social media as there are pointless ones, so be sure to budget your time wisely.
Most of the people reading this are probably very familiar with managing tight schedules and planning out their time (I’m looking at you, consultants!). But I’d wager few of you have taken the 20 minutes to think about what content is most meaningful to you and how you’ll go about consuming that information. I challenge you to make a game plan and stick to it for a week—by the time Friday comes around, you may very well be feeling more in tune with your work and less fatigued by information overload.
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