Surviving Information Overload The Clear, Practical Guide to Help You Stay on Top of What You Need to Know

Surviving Information Overload Copyright © 2004 by Kevin A. MillerThis title is also available as a Zondervan ebook product. Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks for more information.Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Miller, Kevin A., 1960- Surviving information overload : the clear, practical guide to help you stay on top of what you need to know / Kevin A. Miller. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-310-25115-X 1. Information resources management. 2. Time management. I. Title. T58.64.M554 2004 020-dc22 2003027901All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Individuals may make photocopies (or transparencies) of "My Key Information Areas" in chapter 2, "My Information Audit" in chapter 5, and "My Key Information/Consultants for This Area" in chapter 13 for personal use or for classroom or seminar use, not to exceed one copy per attendee.Interior design by Tracey MoranPrinted in the United States of America04 05 06 07 08 /. DC/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you. Contents c h a p t e r 1 WHAT WE''RE UP AGAINST Today''s unprecedented problem: too much information Read this chapter if:. You don''t understand why you feel so overloaded; you didn''t always feel that way.. You keep expecting things to get less stressful, but that day doesn''t seem to be coming.. You want to read this book but don''t feel you can spare the time.You''re normal. You''re not crazy. But too much information may be making you feel stressed, distracted, or overwhelmed. Do you recognize any of the following signs of information overload?1. You feel life has become just too complicated.2. You know your cell phone, PDA, or laptop can do a whole lot more than you''re using it for, but you don''t have time to read the manual or help programs.3. You miss a meeting and are upset that nobody told you about it. Then you find out you were sent an email that moved up the meeting date, but that email is still in your inbox, unread.4. You attended a great seminar and took notes, but as soon as you got back, the crazy pace picked up again, and you haven''t done anything with the notes yet.5. Someone mentions a book you haven''t read or a movie you haven''t seen. You nod as if you have.6. You find it nearly impossible to concentrate on a project because of phone calls, email, voice mail, and interruptions.7. You go to vote, and you don''t really know anything about most of the candidates on the ballot.8. Your mind keeps churning after you go to bed and keeps you awake.9. There was a time when you wanted the PC, digital camera, or DVD with the most features; now you just want the simplest.10. You recently had an important file or check in your office, but for the life of you, you can''t find it.11. A country has been in the news a lot lately, but you''re not exactly sure where that country is.12. You have a stack of journals, magazines, and books that never seems to shrink.13. You''re starting to wonder if your memory is slipping, and you''re writing things down more than ever because you can''t keep it all in your head.14. It seems like another peMiller, Kevin A. is the author of 'Surviving Information Overload The Clear, Practical Guide to Help You Stay on Top of What You Need to Know', published 2004 under ISBN 9780310251156 and ISBN 031025115X.