roy

Reading 150+ sites every day, IMs (Skype, IM, MSN), emails (3 primary emails), real life, etc is not easy. Although I think some of these problems could be solved technologically, I much rather favor a social solution (e.g. one where I make a change in my lifestyle).

One of the issues at work that I've been seeing is the way groups organize content. The product I work on at Mindtouch is in essence a very open-ended content management system (in a nutshell, although it really goes beyond this). You can structure and organize your content in any way you want. Although we provide relationships between each item, we actually want the users of the system to determine their own hierarchies of data. This is an example of technology adapting to existing practices.

I've been struggling to deal with this "information overload," but I've finally worked out a system where I can manage my work, my friends, and my internet involvement without destroying my concentration (a big issue for people who work on the Internet). I've pared down the number of times I check email to 3 times a day (once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before I go to sleep). I only check my Internet reading list twice a day. I sign off of instant messaging programs when I really need to get work done (away messages are so evil, because I'm always curious to see if someone's responded to my latest "witty" away message).

It also helps to get away from the house every once in a while - splitting to Barnes has been an enormous help for me in getting stuff done.