In the beginning it was only hundreds of mails, hidden information inside, but in many cases formless and empty. And we said “let there be automation”, and there was automation. And we saw it was good. Automated decisions reduced the flow of not needed mails, we could spend more time on the valuable ones … then something unexpected happened with me …
No, it did not happen in one day … I can’t even recall exactly when did it happen. Roughly at the same time when I have started to be involved in social networking in my private life, the company just became part of it. First I got mails and messages to read this or that as part of my daily activities, then I had to react with responses and communication.
Still it was somehow well defined and part of the job. Then I was expected to be informed on my own, not only to read but follow this or that, establish my virtual network besides the “physical” one I had maintained … and suddenly I was in the midst of info sources I was not able to handle anymore.
Probably it is also coming from my personality, I am eager to learn … I am eager to convert information to knowledge what I can use and share. Unfortunately I did not find a course or a person to teach me how to deal with this when it was too much.
I was constantly under the water and just found more and more sources to consider when blogs and posts reached that number I could not ignore them anymore. Is there a way to escape? Escape in a way to use what is in reach wisely, but not overload my own brain?
I do not have an ultimate solution, but something I have learned as an analyst and a leader. I have to select a few people around me “worth” to follow. No, not necessarily “great leaders”, but people I can learn from and people are giving me “something” I value. (I know it is selfish a bit, but this is who I am.) I combine their view and interest with mine, and try figure out what lies there where the information pattern and randomness interlace.
