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- Herausgeber: Anthony Ekanem
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Welcome to the digital age. While we take for granted much of the technology that surrounds us and the way it has changed the way we work and relax; it's actually very important to recognize just how much it has impacted our lives. Today we are constantly bombarded by information and stimulation and it is taking its toll on our brains. Meanwhile, the expectations placed on us by our work have only increased as a result of greater productivity tools and enhanced connectivity. And it's not just technology that has changed life for us either. The demands placed on us in other areas have also increased. The world is more populous, living costs have gone up and our roles in society have changed. More and more women are now working full time, which while a good thing, has created new challenges in trying to raise and care for our children. The roles of men have likewise become increasingly uncertain and competition for employment is fiercer than ever. Don't get me wrong – none of this is bad in itself! Having greater access to entertainment, being able to communicate with anyone in the world and enjoying greater equality than ever before are all good things. The state of the economy is a little less rosy. But all in all, times are good. The problem? We're having a hard time keeping up with all this change! And it's leading to burnout. For a great number of us, the demands placed on us are simply too great for us to shoulder. The constant stimulation and constant bombardment of information is leading to burnout. And knowing how to get what we want from life is seemingly impossible. Our brains evolved in entirely different environments and they simply aren't designed to thrive under these conditions. The result is what we call 'overwhelm'. That means too much information, too much pressure, too much to do and too little time. We end up stressed, exhausted and disorganized and it's just not good for our health.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
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The Organized Life
Anthony Ekanem
Introduction
Welcome to the digital age.While we take for granted much of the technology that surrounds us andthe way it has changed the way we work and relax; it’s actually very importantto recognize just how much it has impacted our lives.Today we are constantly bombarded by information and stimulation and itis taking its toll on our brains. Meanwhile, the expectations placed on us byour work have only increased as a result of greater productivity tools andenhanced connectivity.
And it’s not just technology that has changed life for us either. The demandsplaced on us in other areas have also increased. The world is morepopulous, living costs have gone up and our roles in society have changed.More and more women are now working full time, which while a good thing,has created new challenges in trying to raise and care for our children. Theroles of men have likewise become increasingly uncertain and competitionfor employment is fiercer than ever.Don’t get me wrong – none of this is bad in itself! Having greater access toentertainment, being able to communicate with anyone in the world and enjoyinggreater equality than ever before are all good things.
The state of theeconomy is a little less rosy. But all in all, times are good.The problem? We’re having a hard time keeping up with all this change!And it’s leading to burnout.
For a great number of us, the demands placed on us are simply too greatfor us to shoulder. The constant stimulation and constant bombardment ofinformation is leading to burnout. And knowing how to get what we wantfrom life is seemingly impossible.
Our brains evolved in entirely different environments and they simply aren’tdesigned to thrive under these conditions. The result is what we call ‘overwhelm’.That means too much information, too much pressure, too much todo and too little time. We end up stressed, exhausted and disorganized andit’s just not good for our health.
The Modern Dilemma
Perhaps this sounds familiar:You wake up first thing in the morning with a jolt because your alarm hasgone off. In a rush, you clean your teeth and get ready for work whilewatching the news on whichever device you prefer.You pack your family off for school and work respectively and then you setoff yourself. You’re late, because it took you 20 minutes to choose whatyou were going to wear and to find your keys. And because you lay thereon the couch for 5 minutes doing nothing.
What follows is a tedious and frustrating 10-90 minutes of commuting –complete with angry fellow commuters, stuffy carriages and probably a fairamount of time spent playing Candy Crush. By the time you get into work,you’re already stressed, late and feeling a headache come on from peeringat a small screen under artificial lighting.
You then have a strong coffee, leaving you feeling wired, and you openyour inbox to 10,000 emails (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration but youget the point!). You set yourself some things to achieve for the day – just soyou can get back to feeling ‘on top’ of work, but then you spend the next 20minutes on Facebook and YouTube watching cat videos.And staring at photos of your friends on sunny holidays wondering whatwent so wrong with your life…
Lunch comes and you feel like you’ve barely done anything. You head outfor lunch and grab the cheapest thing you can find that’s sugary and haveanother strong coffee.This doesn’t exactly fuel you with energy for the second half of the day,which is spent largely putting out fires. How can you be expected to progressin your career and to get the kind of lifestyle you want, when you’respending the whole time treading water?By the end of the day, you’ve spent most of your time responding to emailsand trying not to get distracted. You end up leaving an hour late, which isfollowed by another hour of commuting.
You’re now home at 7pm. You should make a healthy meal for your family,maybe suggest a fun activity that you can all get up to?But you’re completely stuck for inspiration, so instead you put on a pizzaand a film and crash on the couch for the next hour.The house is untidy and messy though, so you feel generally anxious andstressed instead of getting any relaxation.
There were things you were meant to do this evening too: calling yourfriend who you haven’t spoken to in ages for example was high on the list.So was paying that bill. Only you can’t face the idea of paying that bill becauseyou don’t want to rummage through the piles of documents on yourdesk. You’re not even sure you can find the bill anymore. Which wouldmean calling them on your lunch break to get them to send out anotherone.
You haven’t even looked at your bank account because you don’t want toknow how bad it is. You’re supposed to be saving for a mortgage/your kids’college fund, but you have that stag/hen party coming up that you can’treally afford but can’t really get out of either…And you don’t want to call your friend because you’ve now only got an hourleft before you start getting ready for bed. And how can you justify callingthat friend when you haven’t paid the bill? So you avoid looking at theWhatsApp message because you don’t want them to see that you’ve seenit.Let alone spending any time with your wife/husband?
Then you get an email from work reminding you how much you have to dotomorrow, which only stressed you out further. You browse Facebook a bitmore and respond to some notifications from Candy Crush.Then you hit the sack – later than planned – and having done barely any ofthe things you wanted to do. You still haven’t read that new book youbought and were excited about.
Maybe tomorrow will be a better day?Except you can’t get any sleep because you’re stressed and you just spentthe last hours before bed looking at screens. And the coffee is still in yoursystem…And at the weekend you have about 20 things to do and that dinner partyyou’re supposed to be going to.
Conquering Information Overload – What You Will Learn
That last section wasn’t designed to make you feel even more stressed andanxious than perhaps you already are. Rather, it was intended to draw attentionto some of the very real issues that we face on a daily basis.
