Getting Things Done: Information Overload

It used to be the "To Read" list consisted of just a stack on the shelf of all those books that I wanted to get around to reading. Now with the explosion of information on the Web, with blogs and sites being updated every minute, it seems like the virtual stack of reading material to keep up with is endless. I'm easily overwhelmed by the information onslaught, so I'm always on the lookout for different ways to manage the influx of reading material in a way that makes it timely and useful.

Web Worker Daily has an excellent post that deals with this very problem. Some of their tips for keeping reading material accessible and digestable include:

  • Using features in your RSS feedreader to mark or clip material so you can easily round it up for later reading
  • Using social bookmarking tags to tag content you want to save and review

But by far the most important tip in the post: set up a regular time to go through the "read later" material. Having a system for reading and reviewing is imperative to make your organizing and saving methods effective and worthwhile. Some of it requires some trial and error to find a method that works best for you. I know it's a challenge of the information world I continue to grapple with.

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