Simple, practical ideas that YOU can apply to cope with information overload! 

We're sharing tips and techniques here that IORG members find useful in dealing with information overload. We'll discuss one tip in more detail each month.

Current Tip

• When sending someone a meeting request, phrase the subject and location so they make sense to all parties to the meeting. For instance, if Jill sends Jack a calendar item that says "Meeting with Jack - my office" it will be quite meaningless when viewed by Jack on his calendar. Always include both names and an absolute address - as in "Jack/Jill on budget proposal - Jill's office".

Previous tips

• How often have you kicked yourself after hitting Send? Give yourself a chance to change your mind or intercept a gaffe by setting your email client, if it can do this, to send messages out with a short delay (In Microsoft Outlook you can use the "schedule an automatic send/receive every __ minutes" option).
• Whenever possible, send a message that is only a subject line, so recipients don't have to open the email to read a single line. End the subject line with < EOM> , the acronym for End of Message.
   
• Set up a “Five Weeks Folder” that deletes its content automatically after five weeks. Use it as a repository for incoming messages you hesitate to delete, such as that email you probably don't need, but you’re not sure if the guy’s going to call you tomorrow and ask about it.
   
• Turn email notifications off - save yourself from being constantly interrupted as new emails arrive.
   
• Read the entire thread before responding - ensure you are responding to the latest posts and not repeating points already covered.
   
• Set aside time for email - designate blocks of time in your day to focus on processing your email.
   
• Limit your cc's and replies to all - only copy people on emails who really need to get the email.
   
• Be concise - write clear and concise subject lines and have each email focus on only one topic.