Cutting Down the Overload: Ask Yourself What's Important

As we head into the weekend, I’m sure I’m not the only web worker planning on working on Saturday and Sunday to catch up on tasks that didn’t get completed during the week. Indeed, it seems that a state of chronic overload is common in web worker circles. I don’t think there’s any great mystery why this is so: we’re all working in such a swirl of electronic distraction, pummeled daily by inputs from many directions, with so many shiny new things to chase, that it would be a wonder if we were not overloaded.

Still, from time to time it’s worth taking a step back to consider your obligations and activities, if only to avoid physical or nervous breakdown. Along those lines, I recently ran across a blog posting from University of Calgary educational technology developer D’Arcy Norman. I urge you to read the whole thing, but I’ll quote the central set of questions that are fueling his own career re-examination:

Is this the most important thing I could be doing? If not, what should I be doing instead? And what do I have to do to get to a point where I could be doing that?

Three little questions, but thinking seriously about them can really help you focus. Are all those RSS feeds an important part of some life strategy, or just accumulated cruft? Are you getting anything out of those social networking sites, or did you just go with the herd? Ultimately, is your work contributing to your life goals, and if not, what do you need to change?

I don’t think every waking moment needs to be devoted to making the world a better place and myself a better person – I personally spend plenty of time being productively unproductive. But if you’ve gotten to the point where your routine is perennially unproductive or unfulfilling, maybe it’s time to cut back on the overload a bit. Asking yourself what’s important is a good way to start.

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