Data overload!

We are all experiencing it – the bombardment of emails and the overload and pressure this creates. All too often, the emails are ones that need attending to and/or are actionable. The teachers are experiencing this in ever greater volumes – please be mindful of this!

As the digital age engulfs us how can we get on top of the gigabytes of data that clamber for our attention in every waking moment? Neuroscientist Daniel Levitan - The Organised Mind - has always stated that multitasking is a myth. Levitin reveals that the phrase "paying attention" is scientifically true. Multitasking comes at an actual metabolic cost: switching back and forth between tasks burns a lot more oxygenated glucose (the fuel the brain runs on) than focusing on one task and can lead quickly to mental exhaustion.

Uni-taskers get more done, are more creative and produce higher quality work output than multi-taskers. Other industries recognize this phenomenon and have instituted policies to mitigate it.  For example, pilots cannot have unnecessary conversations below 10,000 feet.

We are taking in 5 – 6 times the amount of information (on average) per day than we did in 1986 – the equivalent of 175 newspapers read cover to cover. In leisure time alone we are taking in 34 gigabytes of data.

In 1976 the average supermarket had on average 9000 items – today the same store has over 40 000 items. Most of us get our shopping needs satisfied in buying 150 items which means we have to ignore 38 500 items every time you go shopping. Ignoring comes at a cognitive cost because you have to pay attention to it to decide you want to ignore it. We have created a world that has 300 Exabyte’s of information (that’s 300 followed by 18 zeros). A few years ago Google estimates there was 30 Exabytes of information and we have created more information in the past two years than in all of history before us.

Levitan’s book answers three fundamental questions: Why does the brain pay attention to some things and not others? Why do we remember some things and not others? And how can we use that knowledge to better organize our home and workplaces, our time, social world, and decision making?

Suggestions to better cope in a data overload world include:

• Importance of Naps and Breaks. Dr. Levitin said we don’t fully understand why a 15-minute break if done correctly, can hit the “neuro reset” button in the brain. Dr. Levitin encouraged attendees to incorporate 10 to 15 minutes of mind-wandering a day while working in the Emergency Department (E.D.).
• Externalizing Your Memory. “Writing things down reduces the burden of having to remember them,” he explained. “We tend to think our memories are better than they are. Memory is fallible, so it’s best to put things out in the world, so they don’t have to stay in your brain.” Writing things down on note cards is a mind-clearing exercise. Studies have shown that people who write things down remember them better than those that type them. 
• Managing Channels of Communication. “In this era of connectivity, we must figure out ways to manage how people reach us,” he said. “We have to train people in our social networks about how we want to be reached and when.
• Ways to Handle Information Overload Better. No interruption zones are a great idea, as are mandatory short breaks that allow for mind wandering. Checklists provide an important avenue for externalizing memory.

There are many obvious messages here for children. I don’t think our brains were designed to cope well with all of the massive overdrive of a constantly switched-on world. Finding time to reflect and distil and ponder is undervalued and has to be prioritised. The rise in children’s depressive illnesses has many causes but first and foremost we want our kids to find time to do nothing, to put their phones down, and to ignore social media.

Take the kids camping – in fact – join the Mount Sinai annual camping trip on 22 March – 24 March. Cherish Shabbat and make sure it is observed with the focus being on quality family time. It isn’t hard to find ways to avoid the overload – but perhaps it is hard to find the will.