Information Sanity

October 20^th is Information Overload Awareness Day, a day started by information overload expert Jonathan Spira that calls attention to the problem of information overload and how it impacts both individuals and organizations in the workplace.

Since information overload is a phenomenon that’s not going away anytime soon, perhaps borrowing from another holiday may be in order.  So, I’ve made a list of Information Overload Awareness Day resolutions. 

Hopefully, unlike their New Year’s counterparts, these will actually be useful and easier to keep.

• No more time in mail jail- According to the Information Awareness Day Study, the average knowledge worker receives 93 email messages per day and many are unnecessary.    So in recognition of the day, I pledge to delete and unsubscribe to unnecessary Google alerts and delete and file emails that have been read each day.  
• Live…and work in each moment-According to Jonathan Spira, it takes five minutes to get back on track after a mere 30-second interruption.  To fix this, I will eliminate distractions.  For example in the case of conference calls, there have been instances where a well-timed “I agree with the group” or “could you please repeat that” has covered up ill-timed multitasking.  It’s time to focus.
• Pick up the phone- Composing an email is often more time consuming than just picking up the phone. A quick call is also more personal. (For six months now; I have been either Charles or Alex.  Occasionally, I get an Eric.)  I pledge to stop sending emails when a call with a teammate would suffice. Less email also saves money. According to the Information Overload Awareness Day Study, if every knowledge worker in the United States were to send 10-percent fewer messages, the cost of Information Overload would be reduced by as much as $180 billion per year.

 As William Pollard once said information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.

So, Happy Information Overload Awareness Day! This is a chance to stop and think about what steps you can take to make a change – without even breaking a sweat. Feel free to comment.

If process and simplification are the first steps toward understanding an area, then many organizations have a ways to go in terms of content management.

In a recent article, InformationWeek shared results of their Content Management in the Enterprise Survey of 425 business technology professionals.  The survey shows that most companies do not have a content management strategy. Specifically, 48 percent of respondents say one does not exist and only 36 percent indicate their organization does have a strategy, while 16 percent say they don’t know if they have a strategy at all.

What’s most interesting about the survey is why professionals are hoarding data.  Almost half of the respondents say they don’t get rid of data because a business user might need it, 25 percent say we might violate a compliance requirement or regulation by deleting and 23 percent indicate it might be relevant to an ongoing or anticipated legal action.

The reasons above sound like the approach I use when preparing for tax day; just save everything.  Around, the first of each year I begin the process of grabbing whatever documents I think my tax preparer may need and put it in a drawer. Nothing is thrown out of fear my tax preparer will ask for something I should have.

But thankfully out of chaos comes order.

When it’s time to settle up with the government, I grab the contents of my drawer and let my tax preparer determine which pieces of information I need and don’t need.   

However, for those who manage data for companies, there are better methods than “keep it all till next year.”  Our own DocuShare technology can save companies time spent finding information by 80 percent.  DocuShare is an intuitive interface that accepts content such as paper, digital files, video, and images that is managed virtually in a secure centralized repository. 

Instead of saving information your company may or may not need; why not use technology like DocuShare that lets users access, share and process information in just a few clicks?

Sometimes efficiency is just keeping it simple.

A Scottish poet once pointed out that people often use data and statistics in the same way drunken men lean on lamp posts – for support rather than for illumination.

The image raises lots of questions in my mind about how we use information to make decisions.  There have been instances when, faced with a decision, I’ve spent lots of time gathering a surplus of information. When it was time to finally make a move, I would get stuck on which way to go. The hesitation usually is due to information overload, a phenomenon that leads to more questions than certainty.

When certainty is lacking, analysis paralysis or decision paralysis can set in. This occurs when a clear course of action isn’t apparent but you continue to amass information in hopes of one materializing. An everyday example is the difficulty we sometimes face when ordering a meal at a restaurant. 

If you’ve heard the words, “do you need a few minutes” or “we’re still looking”, then you may have experienced decision paralysis or been in the company of someone who has.

By the way, I like when my girlfriend speaks to me; so I wager we suffer from an acceptable equal rate of decision paralysis when ordering.

Before information overload became commonplace, those in search of information had fewer avenues, making information sharing streamlined and targeted.   In other words, if a menu only has three items, you would probably order more quickly than if you were faced with an array of choices.

But how do you avoid the decision paralysis trap when you have a continuous stream of information at your fingertips?

When appropriate, I use intuition based on experience.  By leveraging similar experiences I can come to a decision much quicker; eliminating the chance of research or analysis slowing my decision making process.  

For example at Xerox, I’m asked to blog on a variety of topics. Although I don’t have specific blogging experience, I do have experience writing columns on behalf of subject matter experts. So I’ve leveraged my experience writing columns to help me with my blogging process.

Although information should illuminate your decision making, it can be thin unless it’s sometimes mixed with experience.

Alexander Charles
Xerox public relations coordinator, Global Public Relations

With everyone concerned about information overload – and now conversation overload – there are applications for your mobile device that tell you when to unplug and take a break.

But is this really necessary?

When I was a college student, I learned about the importance of taking a break while working summers in a call center. On an average day, I answered about 200 phone calls (you might call it my introduction to information overload 101).  The type of call ranged from a gentle “can you help me reload my postage machine” to the more aggressive “you can find your machine outside on the curb.” During my shift, I was allowed a 30-minute lunch and two ten-minute breaks.

After the mental timeouts, I always felt better prepared to tackle the rest of my day. It was a good lesson, but at times difficult to follow.  As one’s career progresses, the wisdom of taking a well-timed break gets overshadowed by multitasking and navigating today’s world of information overload. 

Have you ever gone out to lunch and realized you’ve forgotten your mobile phone? The realization is often accompanied by a momentary feeling of dread and a few choice words for Murphy. But more likely than not, the sky did not fall, the company didn’t collapse and all continued to be right with the world. But even with this realization, the need to be plugged in at all times has created a market for applications that tell you when to recharge and relax. 

I’m not sure if I need that sort of application, and if I ever do, it may be a symptom of a larger problem. For now I rely on a very large water bottle to facilitate breaks, and it seems to do the trick.

Alexander Charles
Xerox public relations coordinator, Global Public Relations

“How do you avoid conversation overload?” The question has recently gained traction with the introduction of a new social network, Google+. 

On the surface, a new communications tool seems like a great idea. But I have lots of ways to engage in a conversation.  There’s email, mobile phone, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instant Messenger and a landline (yes, it still counts). With so many tools at your disposal, do you need one more? Do you ever feel a bit overwhelmed?

These questions remind me of one of my favorite commercials. It depicts a woman and her boyfriend sitting across from each other.  The woman proceeds to send a text.  The man responds and says, “You just sent me a text we’re breaking up?”  The woman goes on to say not to worry she’s switched data plans.  She proceeds to send an email, change Facebook status and then makes  a call.   The commercial shows the variety of ways we have to communicate, and illustrates how hard it is to remain in the present moment.

When I’m on a conference call, I follow the agenda on my computer.  But I’m tempted when an email notification pops up and tells me someone either needs something or is sharing pertinent information I need.  Taught to multitask, I’ll peek at the email to see what it’s about but then my attention is divided and it’s hard to fully engage in the call.

Diluting your attention with the plethora of communication vehicles could dilute the quality of your work or ability to retain ideas. To fix this, try eliminating distractions. In the case of email; disable the pop-up message notifications and block out time to ignore your inbox.  Then focus on the task at hand.  

Before diving into a new communications tool, stop and take a breath and ask yourself- “Does this add value?” Remember, it’s still the message that’s important not the medium.

-  Laurie Riedman, Xerox public relations consultant

New Year’s resolutions are the subject du jour in early January – aren’t they?

While the most common resolutions usually have something to do with eating better or getting to the gym – I was surprised a few of  my friends have resolved to deal with their overflowing in-boxes and find solutions to help them manage all the information coming at them from the Über-Connected techno-crazed world we live in.

Considering the fact that I still play ‘remote-roulette‘ every time I try to turn on our mega HDTV surround-sound set up in our family room (we’ve had it well over a year now and I still can’t turn the thing on …. ) — I’m probably not the best person to suggest technology solutions.

Lucky for me I know and work with quite a few techno-hip people in the Xerox R&D group.  So, I did some searching and asked Dave Peck.  Peck works at the infamous Palo Alto Research Center and is part of a team of really smart folks who for all I know drive electric cars sporting bumper stickers that say ‘information is power’  or ‘tweet this’.

Clearly Peck could help me because he not only gets this whole information overload thing, but he is working on Meshin – a Xerox funded project to develop an email plug-in designed to help us filter, find and sort all kind of information — email messages, RSS feeds and social networks.

Peck feels our challenge today is not too much information but in filtering and finding the information we need when we need it.

Peck recently penned a great blog post titled “How Do We Stop Information Overload”.  Check it out because in it he describes the symptoms of information overload – loss of time, productivity and even losing your mind.  (O.K. — I added that last one). But he does mention the inability to concentrate and stay on one task at a time. (Hey — when was the last time you did less than three things at a time?   Flashback to those good ‘ol days when you simply just drove your car without talking, texting or fiddling with your iPod to select your driving playlist?)

While Peck doesn’t mention specific solutions in the post — Meshin is on it.  Check out this Meshin video that explains what they are up to.  I’m going to suggest my friends take Meshin for a spin by downloading a Meshin beta version here.    It just may help them keep their new year’s resolution.

Now, if they could only develop a plug in that will cut the calories in cheese cake – that would help me keep mine!

- Submitted by Chris Gilligan, ACS corporate communications manager

In this crazy hectic world we all live in, time is a valuable commodity. We have fast food restaurants, automatic bill pay for our monthly bills and instant coffee just to name a few time saving inventions that “buy” us more hours in our day, or at least let us get more done.

What I hate more then just about anything, though, is wasting time. Whether it’s sitting in an unproductive meeting or getting caught by a chatty neighbor, I can just feel the minutes slipping by, giving me less time to get things accomplished. The worst way to waste time in my opinion is waiting in line.

Even the most talented multi-tasker, can only do so much while waiting in line. These snippets of time are usually in a series of small doses, but add up to giant time loss: waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting to hop on public transit for example.

ACS, a Xerox Company, has ways to give people some time back in their day. Using smart card technology, people wanting to board public transportation can do so quickly and easily with a wave of a card, contactless ticketing as they say in the transportation industry, and pay their fare in seconds and whisk through the process.

Transit riders in the Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver and Lima’s Bus Rapid Transit line “Metropolitano” will notice a faster, more efficient and green experience as the city implements this advanced fare payment system. In Peru, ACS is also using fleet management tools, which include a Computer-Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) system, which helps waiting passengers know, in real-time, when the next bus will arrive. That information lets you know exactly how much time you have to finish that e-mail, end that call or to just sit and catch your breath for a minute.

ACS is the largest provider of public transportation technology services worldwide, supporting governments in 30 countries. The company’s Transportation Solutions Group provides support ranging from fare collection on various bus and rail routes and processing more than a million public transport tickets daily to toll solutions on some of the busiest highways by processing more than three billion tolls every year. ACS enables its clients to address traffic and congestion challenges by deploying end-to-end technology solutions that advance the movement of goods and services as well as millions of people every day.

The next time you’re stuck in line somewhere think how nice it would be if ACS was in charge and could speed the process up, so you could pay faster and get back to focusing on what really matters in your life.

-Submitted by Laurie Riedman, Xerox public relations consultant

I’ve written before about the tenuous relationship I have with my overflowing inbox.  Part of it is that I simply can’t keep track of everything that’s in there.  I hate to admit it but sometimes my inability to be “on top” of the documents, emails, RSS feeds – and whatever else that lands there — means it takes me longer to respond to clients and I may not appear as “smart” as I could be on conference calls or in meetings.

Sometimes I think the only way out is to hire my own personal assistant who understands what I need, how I think and can easily find everything I need so I can be smarter and do a better job.   Since hiring is out of the question– I wondered if Meshin, a new Outlook plug-in launched this week at Tech Crunch might help.

Meshin is a Xerox funded start-up company located at PARC, a Xerox Company.  The new tool, also called Meshin, promises to make me look really smart really quickly because it reaches beyond keywords and gathers information via meaning and context.  It is the first time semantic technology has been applied to a search tool that scans not only email messages but also RSS feeds and social networks.

Sounds perfect….a tool that can actually think like I do.  Ok, a little scary but promising.

After watching this video I could really see how having a search tool that thinks like a human could come to my inbox rescue.  For example, recently a company I had done some work for a few years ago called me to talk about bidding on a new project.  I don’t know about you – but I can’t remember what happened last week let alone the specifics of what I did for a client two years ago.  So rather than spend hours combing thru files, my inbox or searching the web to get up to speed for the meeting – I bet Meshin could help by gathering the relevant information fast.

Check out the press release in our newsroom or go to www.meshin.com to download the beta and try it out.  I’m going to.  After all – Meshin may just be able to give my inbox a brain!  Now that would be something.  I’ll keep you posted.

- submitted by Karen Arena, Xerox public relations consultant, @arenak

Today is a big day for Xerox; it’s the launch of the company’s ad campaign, Ready for Real Business.  Well, I can say first hand that the PR teams have been working hard to get the word out about the new Xerox ads that will run through the end of the year and beyond.

Xerox’s core business is to partner with businesses and manage their back office technology and services so companies have the freedom to focus on their own business.  Young & Rubicam created a campaign to communicate that message in ways much different from other B2B advertising.

It’s fun; unique ads that imagine what businesses would be like if their focus shifted from what they do best.  Like, if Mr. Clean has to run P&G’s print operations while sparkling our kitchens.  If Bullseye, the Target dog, was responsible for customizing Target’s direct mail programs?  If a Marriott bellman also needed to process the hotel and resorts 11 million annual invoices.

As I look back on the heavy lifting in preparation for this campaign, my inbox was quickly inundated with press releases, briefing sheets, photos, videos and the like.  Suddenly, I felt like I was that bellman, and glad indeed that I too had Xerox behind-the-scenes.  It was useful to have at our fingertips some of the tools to keep the process moving and most importantly organized, like Xerox’s DocuShare. So, not only are Xerox customers happy to have Xerox by their side, sometimes the company’s employees are too!  Check out the new website, RealBusiness.com and the supporting PR materials at http://bit.ly/bap129

- submitted by Laurie Riedman, Xerox public relations consultant

Ok. I admit it.  I have a problem with my inbox.

It’s normal for me to have thousands of emails in my inbox – often staring at me in bold type and unread ;(

I simply can’t keep up with the flow of information. Much of it is essential – -and for the most part I do keep up with the critical ones — (emails from clients and journalists) – but with all the RSS feeds, technology blogs, Google Alerts and e-zine notifications coming in – I do get a tad behind.

That doesn’t include those great special offers (with valuable promo codes for free shipping) and all the important personal from my kids’ schools, coaches, music lessons, girl scouts or the many non-profit organizations I am involved in.  Oh, and let’s not forget the spam with the foreign language subject lines!

I try to keep up.   I really do!

In fact this week during a recent 14 hour drive with my family I went delete crazy and whittled down the ‘ol inbox from over 10,000 emails to just fewer than 2,000.  I’m guessing that even David Allen from Getting Things Done fame would be proud.

I’ve tried a number of tools, watched countless online tutorials and even begged my very organized husband to help. (Sorry Rich but the elaborate color coding system didn’t work either — but it did brighten up my inbox!)

You would think I could get one of my Xerox scientist friends to help me. As a PR consultant to the Xerox Innovation Group – I work with folks like Frederique Segond from Xerox Research Centre Europe who develops technology that helps customers make sense of their electronic information. Come to think of it I bet I wrote the press release on these tips from a Xerox Future of Work study a group of ethnographers did at Xerox Research Center Webster on how to handle Information Overload

Xerox has teams of talented folks creating innovative services that help customers tame their information and document management issues so they can get down to their real business at hand.

I guess I have to keep at it.  The information flow certainly isn’t going to stop.  If you have found a way to tame your inbox – please share your tips.  I can use all the help I can get!