A column in today’s New York Times Business section, titled “Life’s Too Short for So Much E-Mail,” suggests that the deluge of email is so overwhelming that we lose more than we gain by using it. Younger people shun it in favor of texting and tweeting. The writer, Nick Bilton, cites a study reporting that…
Here’s a great Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post talking about the advice Eric Schmidt gave to graduates. There are so many reasons we need to unplug at least once a day: 1) using our brain to its fullest; 2) being creative; 3) reducing our stress; and 4) maintaining real relationships with real people.
Today’s Sunday New York Times has an article about the pro’s and cons of open-plan offices: while they promote interaction between co-workers, the sound of others talking also leads to distraction from focus and interference with private conversations. These same issues come up with our wonderful digital devices: it’s good to have ready access to…
I have the good fortune to be at the beach this week, and I already think I see a difference on the same beach over last year. More walkers seem to have earbuds in their ears and more people seem to be using their smart phones either while walking or as they lounge on their…
On a recent airing of “The Writer’s Almanac,” Garrison Keillor quoted an interview with J.K. Rowling on how she got the idea of writing a novel about Harry Potter:
She was on a train coming home to London from a weekend looking at flats in Manchester in 1990, when she suddenly got the idea for a…
I was in the Verizon store picking up an iPhone for my son, when I saw that one of its touted features was improved multitasking. Knowing what research says about how multitasking slows you down and interferes with the quality and accuracy of what you’re doing, I was intrigued. But thinking more about this, I…
“To have a major breakthrough in policy, you have to be able to stop and think.” In today’s The New York Times, Newt Gingrich was quoted as saying this to justify taking a two-week cruise to Greece with his wife shortly after announcing his run for the presidency.
He’s correct about the necessity to stop and think…
The author of a new book “The Digital Diet,” agrees with many of the things I said in my 2009 book “Conquer CyberOverload.” Former science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg agrees that many people find it hard to break free from the digital distractions that hinder their lives. However, I disagree with the Quiz he…
I was giving a presentation to a group of students a few weeks ago about Thriving on Campus AND in Cyberspace, with the message that you can get more done in less time if you quit multitasking and take well-timed, brain-enhancing breaks. The students were fascinated by the brain exercises I gave them to prove…
While we’re celebrating Administrative Professionals Week, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the things many of us have lost as we take care of everything ourselves. The independence is great — who would want to go back to the old days of dictation or writing everything out by hand for someone…