How to handle information overload

Philipp Lenssen recently had a good post on tips on information
overload by various
people. It got me
thinking about the various tips and tricks I’ve imbibed in the recent
past and which work reasonably well for me. So I tried to collate them
into one place:

Email

• Always bring the inbox down to zero regularly. ‘Regularly’ is
  defined by you.
• Never allow anything to be in your inbox > 2-3 days
  • If you’re not going to reply in that time frame, you never will.
    So simply archive it or reply with a one-liner saying you can’t
    look into it now.
• If you don’t have anything to add, don’t reply.
• Make sure you are clear on what is the action you are expecting
  from the recipient.
• Reply in bullet points. Because everybody
  skims.
• Once you’re done with the email (replying, taking action or
  reading), archive it.
• If it is not actionable, archive it. Don’t let it remain in your
  inbox.
• Use keyboard shortcuts.
• Mailing lists go into folders. I simulate them in Gmail using “Apply
  label, Skip Inbox” in the filters. The reason is that mails not
  directly addressed to me are not urgent, so I can process them
  whenever I have the inclination. Whatever is in my inbox is what
  deserves immediate attention.
• Minimize the number of times you need to check email. The minimum
  that is required for you to stop worrying about it. The beauty of
  email is that you can reply at your pace. Make use of that feature.
  If you end up constantly checking email, you’re better off resorting
  to phone calls or instant
  messenger.
• [new tip] Before you send the next email, go through the
  checklist.

Feeds

• Use your feed reader once in a few days. The world won’t stop
  without you.
• Use a desktop feed reader because it is faster to
  use.
• Have a ‘Try Before You Buy’ folder where you add feeds. If it
  doesn’t turn out to be useful, delete it.
• Have a number in mind, say 100 feeds. If you add a new feed, delete
  an old feed that is no longer interesting.
• If you end up doing a ‘Mark all as read’ on a feed 2-3 times in
  a row, delete it.
• Separate them into categories and/or priorities.
• Most importantly, read interesting things. Do not aim for reading
  500+ blog posts a day. Optimize, don’t maximize.
• Remember that the goal is to derive some value out of this reading
  and that value is usually knowledge. If it is not helping you
  towards that goal, delete it. Don’t think twice, just delete it.
• While working, if you feel the need to distract yourself once in
  a while or read something interesting, don’t use your feed reader
  but use good filters like TechMeme or programming.reddit or a good
  link-blogger on your subjects of interest. Have a separate dedicated
  time for reading feeds.
• Take
  notes.
  Over time, you’ll judge if a feed is useful or not depending on
  whether you’re taking (any) notes or not.
  • You can also use a mental version of the “McDowell
    Grid”.

Inlets

• Cut down on the types of inlets – Email, Feeds, Twitter, IRC,
  Messenger, Phone, etc. (this one is particularly hard for me)
• Spend at least 50% of your time at the computer with all these
  inlets shut down.

Focus

• Personally I find productivity inversely proportional to information
  overload. The days when I’m productive and “in the zone” turns out
  to be the days when I’m less affected by information overload. The
  vice-versa is true as well. So if you focus on the right things, the
  information overload problem will get solved by itself.
• Maintain focus by having a todo list. Have a big todo list and then
  pick random tasks from that list depending on your energy levels
  and get things done.
• Never indulge in tasks outside of your todo list. If you’re not in
  the mood for any of them, don’t indulge in
  wilfing.
  Go out instead – whether for a walk, or call up a friend or even
  read a paper book. If you’re not being productive, just get out of
  the chair.
• Don’t use fancy software for writing lists. Use a good plain text
  editor (like Vim).
• Use GTD.
• Use an auto-pilot
  schedule
  (I’m still learning this).

P.S. Many of these ideas have been borrowed from elsewhere. It’s been
a long time since I imbibed all these, so I don’t remember all the
sources from which I gleaned them.