More on information overload, technology, and life-hacking

Getting out from under: Beset by interruptions, information overload, and irksome technology, knowledge workers need help. A survival guide.
Fortune Magazine
By Ellen McGirt, FORTUNE
March 8, 2006: 5:35 PM EST

including these tips:

Five Paths to SANITY

It ain't rocket science. And these SIMPLE RULES can help.

1. Keep your meetings rare. Surveys show that most people find meetings a major time waster. Use them sparingly, keep to an agenda, start and end on time. And unless someone is expecting a baby, or using technology is a key part of the meeting, turn off all cellphones and BlackBerries. No passing digital notes.

2. Show your technology who's boss. Most of today's devices and software actually can be set to be less intrusive. You just need to learn how: Switch off the ping that heralds the arrival of an e-mail, create folders into which incoming messages are automatically shunted. When busy, let outgoing messages alert others to when they might reasonably expect to hear back from you.

3. Give yourself a time-out. Devote an hour to uninterrupted thinking and planning every day. First thing in the morning is safest, but anytime is good. No calls, no e-mail, no chitchat. "If there's an emergency, someone will come get you," says organization expert Julie Morgenstern. "Use this time to think strategically about your work."

4. Say no. "Sorry" isn't the hardest word--"no" is. But not saying it to desperate colleagues or harried bosses is the quickest way to overload your schedule and muck up more important goals. Focus first on meeting your stated objectives. Also, consider family and personal time when filling your calendar: Work-centric employees are more
likely to report feeling overloaded than those who plan for their personal lives.

5. Delete. Surveys show we waste 20% of our day on nonproductive activities. Cut out or delegate anything on your to-do list that doesn't have long-term consequences for your work. Be ruthless. And while you're at it, don't let a stuffed e-mail in-box sap your will to live. When reviewing each e-mail, make an on-the-spot call to delete, file, or reply to
each one--even if the response is, "I'll get back to you on this later."

From the March 20, 2006 issue of FORTUNE

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see also this, this, this, and this.