Today’s world is overloaded with so much good information all over the internet. But how do you manage and keep track of that information?The problem of today is not finding the information you need but it is a problem of how to filter, learn and store the content which adds value to you. There is so much information and content all over that it’s really easy to get lost and waste a few hours.

Too Much Information

When you are spending time on LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter, Youtube, or something else, look for opportunities to learn. Ask yourself:Does this post/video add value to me? Do I want to remember it?Do I want to see more content from this creator?If any content adds value, save it digitally using a note taking app or Google/Notion.

Every Minute You Spend Online Is an Opportunity to Learn!

The content you consume can be divided into 2 categories:<ul><li>Text Content</li><li>Video Content</li></ul>Content consumption can be divided into 5 categories/tags:<ul><li>Computer Science</li><li>Productivity</li><li>Startups</li><li>Finance</li><li>Writing</li></ul>These categories/tags are the same across different services, like Google or Notion.

A Digital Note-Taking System Setup

Text content includes Kindle, Medium, Web Articles, etc.Video content includes youtube, online conferences, etc.Taking notes while watching videos online is very important. Think it this way: You know there is an awesome video about a topic that you watched in past. You want to review it for some work but don’t have enough time. If you had created notes while watching the video it would have been a matter of a few seconds. Because watching videos takes 10+ minutes but browsing through content with images and notes takes less than 2–3 minutes.

Handling Text And Video Notes

When you create your notes. You have context about what the notes are about so it takes less time to review. If you read some notes written by another person they won’t be the same as the ones you create yourself.Information overload is real. There are all kinds of information Good, Bad, Right, Wrong, etc. The content we consume directly impacts our personality as well as our knowledge. So, it is important to follow people who inspire you to grow and become better. And in order to not forget the good content you are consuming, you must save it somewhere and review it regularly.

Review Your Notes

The problem of today is not finding the information you need but it is a problem of how to filter, learn and store the content which adds value to you. There is so much information and content all…

Stashed ideas

How Do I Deal with Information Overload?

Before smartphones, our heads would have held a cache of phone numbers and our memories would contain a cognitive map, built up over time, which would allow us to navigate – for smartphone users, that is no longer true.Our brains and our smartphones form a complex web of interactions: the smartphonification of life has been rising since the mid-2000s but was accelerated by the pandemic, as was internet use in general. Prolonged periods of stress, isolation and exhaustion – common themes since March 2020 – are well known for their impact on memory.

We Keep Forgetting Stuff

In a 2021 survey, 80% felt that their memories were worse than before the pandemic. We are – still – shattered, not just by Covid-19, but also by the miserable national and global news cycle. Many of us self-soothe with distractions like social media. Meanwhile, endless scrolling can, at times, create its own distress, and phone notifications and self-interrupting to check for them, also seem to affect what, how and if we remember.

Smartphone And The Loss Of Memory

Are we so reliant on smartphones that they will ultimately change how our memories work (sometimes called digital amnesia)?Apps that make money by taking our attention are designed to interrupt us.Smartphone use can even change the brain.Cortical thinning is a normal part of growing up and then ageing, and in much later life can be associated with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as well as migraines.

Attention Stealing Machines

<ul><li>Start by doing whatever on your devices for one minute and then set an alarm for 15 minutes of time.</li><li>Place your phone upside down and within your view as a stimulus to tell your brain that you will have another one-minute tech break after the 15-minute alarm</li><li>Continue until you adapt to 15 minutes focus time and then increase to 20.</li></ul>

The Tech Break: Use Your Smartphone For One Minute And Then Leave It For Fifteen Minutes

‘I can’t remember anything’ is a common complaint these days. But is it because we rely so heavily on our smartphones? And do the endless alerts and distractions stop us forming new memories?

Is your smartphone ruining your memory? A special report on the rise of ‘digital amnesia’

There is the great difference between what is effective and what is efficient as most of the people tend to confuse them and use them interchangeably in their perspective teams.

Effective vs Efficient

The term "Efficient" simply means doing things right. Simply note that you have to be perfect in what you are doing. This may be moving faster with your activities, either accomplishing more with few resources, or anything associated with a perfect thing.

Efficient

This term "Effective" means that you have to do what is right. In our everyday life, we make decisions and not always we make a better choice but what we consider must consider is if our actions are the best choice we should have made.

Effective

The summation of the two in the team will only result to the best of your team's achievements as well as you will have to do right things right and that is what every team leader and team member shall be proud of.

Effective + Efficient

Some people always use the two terms interchangeably and it is time we do the right things right starting with our communication.

Efficiency vs. effectiveness in business: Why your team needs both

Although we’re well aware of the dangers of certain types of tech habits, what could simply checking our phones hurt?We might not realize it, but each time we compulsively check our phones, we’re programming ourselves to develop a technology addiction, one that can start our innocent and derail your life in the long run. <ul><li>On average, Americans check their phones at least 47 times a day</li><li>Americans spend more than 4 hours on their phones every day</li><li>80% of Americans check their phones within half an hour after waking up</li><li>Half of all smartphone owners check their phone in the middle of the night.</li></ul>

The Reason To Break Up

Several studies show a relationship between heavy smartphone use and negative effects such as neuroticism, self-esteem, depression, impulsivity, self-identity, empathy, and <a href="https://dansilvestre.com/good-daily-habits/">sleep problems</a>.Smartphones engage in disruptive behaviors that have traditionally been performed only by extremely annoying people. What’s more, they give us access to the entire internet. And, unlike previous technologies, we keep them near us at all times.Smartphones and other digital products not only have neurological effects but are explicitly designed to trigger them.

Your Phone Can Lead To Deep Trouble

To maximize the amount of time that we spend on our phones, designers manipulate our brain chemistry in ways that create addictive behaviors.Many of the techniques that they use involve a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is central to motivation, and its release is what makes us excited.Smartphones take advantage of the fact that dopamine is also released in anticipation of a reward.

Putting The Dope In Dopamine

If your brain learns that checking your phone usually results in a reward, it won’t take long before your brain releases dopamine any time it’s reminded of your phone.

To hook users on their products, social media apps rely on the power of intermittent reinforcements.Intermittent reinforcements are variable reinforcements that are always new and surprising.Smartphones also tap into our fear of missing out (FOMO). They make it easier to know about the things that we are missing out on. And make us convinced that the only way to keep up-to-date is by constantly checking our phones.People want their posts to be liked by others and will go to great lengths to be popular on social media. This need is taken advantage of by Big Tech.

The Tricks Of The Trade

Your attention is what gets sold on Social Media. Every moment we spend on social media is attention spent making money for someone else.The unfortunate thing about this is that attention is the most valuable thing we have. In other words, we experience that which we pay attention to.

Selling Our Attention

Once you’re aware of the motives behind social media platforms— namely, attention stealing and information gathering—you’ll begin to notice how these motives are incorporated into their designs.

<ul><li>Studies show that the more we use social media, the less happy we become.</li><li>Humans are terrible at multitasking. Even those who believe that they are great at multitasking are not. Our brains can only process one cognitively demanding task at a time.</li><li>Multitasking is not only exhausting, but it also makes us unproductive.</li></ul>

The Problem With Multitasking

<ul><li>Your brain is constantly changing, and your smartphone is accelerating the change. Through thought and practice, we can change the structure and function of our brains.</li><li>When we are using our phones, we are in a state of focused distraction. A state that is particularly good at creating long-lasting changes in our brain.</li><li>Smartphones also limit our ability to focus and to work on demanding tasks while limiting our working memory.</li></ul>

Your Phone Is Changing Your Brain

You’ve probably heard this one before — about how the blue light given off by your phone can wreak havoc on your sleep patterns. Your brain needs to identify the absence of blue light in order to produce the sleep hormone melatonin? And because melatonin is what regulates your sleep cycle and tells your body to start winding down for the night, your entire sleep cycle can be disrupted by that last drowsy text you send from bed.

The Sleep Disruption Problem

The damage that smartphones do to our brains is reversible. You can improve your concentration, rebuild your attention span and improve your memories.The first step to taking back your life is to practice mindfulness. Practice paying attention to how your cravings feel emotionally and physically and relaxing into them.

How To Take Back Your Life

The more you practice being mindful, the more it becomes obvious that your brain has a mind of its own

Paying deliberate attention to your moment-to-moment experience also gives you more fodder for memories that don’t involve your phone.

This action plan should be spread out over the course of 30 days, divided in four weeks:<ol><li>Day 1: Download a tracking app: A tracking app will tell you how many hours you spend on your phone</li><li>Day 2: Assess your current relationship with your phone.</li><li>Day 3: Start paying attention to how and when you use your phone. </li><li>Day 4: Take stock and take action:  Look at the results of your tracking app. </li><li>Day 5: Delete social media apps.</li><li>Day 6: Come back to real life: Now that you have free time on your hands, find something that you always wanted to do and do it</li><li>Day 7: Start doing physical activities.</li></ol>

Week 1 Of The Break Up: Technology Triage

<ol><li>Day 8: Say no to notifications: Turn all notifications on your phone off except call and messaging.</li><li>Day 9: The life-changing magic of tidying app: Tidy your apps based on two criteria: steal your time and improve your daily life.</li><li>Day 10: Change where you charge.  If you charge your phone in the bedroom, change the location.</li><li>Day 11: Set yourself up for success:  Create routines that make it easier for you to succeed in your endeavor. </li><li>Day 12: Download an app blocker.</li><li>Day 13: Set boundaries: Set no-phone zones</li><li>Day 14: Stop interacting with your phone if you are actively interacting with other people</li></ol>

Week 2: Changing Your Habits

<ol><li>Day 15: Stop, breathe and be: When tempted to reach for your phone, stop what you are doing, take a slow breath, and feel what you are experiencing.</li><li>Day 16: Practice pausing: Practice pausing before you reach out for your phone.</li><li>Day 17: Exercise your attention span.  Try to actively focus on something and see how long you can hold.</li><li>Day 18: Meditate:  Choose something like your breathing to focus on.</li><li>Day 19: Prepare to separate yourself from your phone for 24 hours.</li><li>Day 20 -21: Separate yourself from your phone for 24 hours.</li></ol>

Week 3: Reclaiming Your Brain

<ol><li>Day 22: Trial separation recap: Reflect on your trial separation and see what you’ve learned.</li><li>Day 23: Phast: Practice turning your phone off occasionally.</li><li>Day 24: Manage your invitations.  Stop, and meditate when you feel the urge to reach out to your phone</li><li>Day 25: Clean up the rest of your digital life.</li><li>Day 26: Start being aware of why you are checking your phone. </li><li>Day 27: Experiment with breaks from your phone often.</li><li>Day 28: Create a plan to help you maintain a healthy relationship with your phone.</li><li>Day 29:  Schedule a regular check-in on yourself.</li><li>Day 30:  You made it!</li></ol>

Week 4: Your New Relationship

Science journalist Catherine Price explores the effects that our constant connectivity is having on our brains, bodies, relationships, and society at large. Then, she walks readers through what she calls the "break-up" period, helping them to identify their goals and priorities, tidy their apps, prune their email, and take time away. In the end, readers will be more mindful not only of how they use their phones, but also about how they choose to spend the moments of their lives. Print run 12,500.

How to Break Up with Your Phone

While some people understandably got tired of working from home during the pandemic, my time as a digital nomad has given me the opposite experience. There’s nothing like time spent trying to be productive from hotels and cafés to make you appreciate the benefits of a home office.If you’re thinking about taking off for far-flung locations so you can keep your job while seeing the world, think of this as a checklist of things to prepare for—and a warning that it won’t be as glamorous as you may imagine.

Work From Home Is Way Better Than A Digital Nomad

When you hit the road, you’re not bringing an ergonomic chair or standing desk with you. The chances that you’ll be able to set up a workstation that’s comfortable are slim, so prepare for <a href="https://ehs.unc.edu/workplace-safety/ergonomics/office/">back and neck pain</a> and carpal tunnel syndrome. That’s just for starters. You can’t do much to control the lighting, so you’re likely to experience eye strain as well. And temperature control can be evasive—during my months in Mexico and South America, I was almost never able to get a room to a comfortable temperature. This damages sleep as well.

Physical Discomforts And Time Spent Adjusting For Working

There’s a good chance that you need faster internet and more bandwidth than you realize. And an even better chance that you’ll have difficulty finding it when you travel. Most coffee shops and hotels that offer Wi-Fi often can’t match what you’re used to in an office or at home. This is especially true if you’re like the millions of people who keep <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/570709/yes-you-have-too-many-tabs-open-your-computer-and-your-brain-probably-blame">lots of tabs</a> open at once.

Wi-Fi Strength And Reliability

There’s also the crucial matter of security. Using public Wi-Fi can expose your information, and that of your employer, to hackers. It’s important to use technology like a VPN to protect your data. But there’s also the matter of “<a href="https://www.aura.com/learn/how-to-protect-your-personal-information-on-social-media">shoulder surfing</a>,” in which people nearby see what you’re typing. Hackers prey on digital nomads, and some have gotten very good at disguising what they’re up to.

Unsecure And Unsafe

In most American offices and restaurants, workers can count on a basic level of sanitation to be kept up—partly due to health codes. But in some other places, it’s just not the same. Unclean restrooms, unavailability of certain diet choices and food poisoning from water are quite possible. Be careful, and beware.

The Adventurous Outdoors: Sanitation Issues

Mosquitoes and spiders are a big nuisance while travelling and working across the world.The clamour of traffic, crowds, construction, nearby airports, and more can make it especially difficult to take calls or do Zoom meetings. Sound can also dramatically <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4844473/">decrease productivity</a> when you’re trying to concentrate, and noise-cancelling headphones can’t get rid of everything. Continuous <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/noise-pollution-health-effects#mental-health">noise pollution</a> can also make you more irritable and stressed.

Bugs And Noise

Some other digital nomads we encountered on our travels are the definition of lonely. Many people working remotely, even from home, have <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90544975/4-major-long-term-psychological-effects-of-continued-remote-work">wrestled with</a> loneliness in recent years. But in tourist sites, such as coastal cities and towns, where people are working remotely, they run into a tricky situation. Vacationers show up looking for a quick fling, but the digital nomads are looking for deeper connections and real conversation. It can lead to frustration.

Loneliness and Hookup Culture

Most people are likely to be most productive and have the best work experience when they’re stationary and within the comforts of a home office.A digital nomad sounds cool, and has the perks of going to new places and meeting new people. But when work is supposed to be done, nothing beats home!

The Verdict

Sometimes, there’s no place like home for the best remote work experience, says a tech professional after working abroad in Mexico and South America.


How Do I Deal with Information Overload?

Is your smartphone ruining your memory? A special report on the rise of ‘digital amnesia’

Efficiency vs. effectiveness in business: Why your team needs both

How to Break Up with Your Phone

The digital nomad life is not all it’s cracked up to be. Here’s why

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