Information Overload…Are You Keeping Too Much?
April 1, 2010
Because of my recent involvement with TLC’s series, Hoarding Buried Alive, I’ve given a lot of thought to hoarding issues. Often visions of homes filled to the brim with a variety of things come to mind. However, many professionals and entrepreneurs deal with collections of a different kind.
As I was working with a small business owner to clear out stacks and stacks of paper from her office, she remarked “I think I may be a paper hoarder!” The issue is all too common for individuals who are experts or specialists in a particular field. We tend to collect massive amounts of information related to our topic.
It’s easy to hide this type of collection since we can tuck papers away in file cabinets and amass volumes of information on our computers. But how useful is all this information we’ve collected?
In the earlier years of my career as a professional organizer, I did this very same thing. I scoured the internet for information on productivity and organizing. I bought every book and information product I could get my hands on to help educate me on my chosen profession. After a while, my bookcases were overflowing and my file cabinet was filled. Now, my information was well organized, but I had to ask myself what was the value of having all this information?
The primary issue that we deal with is that we feel the information we’ve collected has some value to it. There is good information in there that you might use someday when writing or teaching. It can be very difficult to let go of this type of information because sometimes it also involves letting go of a project or idea.
I took a good look at my research habits and the truth was that I rarely accessed any of the information I had collected. I was using Google and finding fresh information. Aside from a few choice white papers and training manuals, I let it all go. It wasn’t quite as easy as I made that sound, but it was very liberating once the process was complete.
My client went through the same process. She realized that she wasn’t using most of the information that she was holding on to. In fact, in many cases, the information was outdated and completely irrelevant. Another realization was that she could find just about anything she needed to know on the internet and didn’t need to keep everything in hard copy form.
So, how about you? Can you identify with this business owner’s struggle? If you are struggling with paper and information clutter, here are some tips to help you get started downsizing that collection.
1) Clear off your desktop. A clear surface will help to clear your mind and enable you to make better decisions
2) Create a plan for downsizing. Decide what types of documents you might be able to let go. If you have trade magazine collections, you may decide to pull out certain articles of interest.
3) Get started! Begin sorting your collection. Be sure to have plenty of trash bags or the recycle bin close at hand.
Happy Organizing!
Ellen
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