So here I am, writing something else for you to read. Thanks for passing by. But I’m guessing that this is not the only thing you have to do today. Perhaps you also have work to do. Perhaps you also have things to write yourself. Perhaps you have other blogs you want or need to read. Some days, does it all seem too much? Do you also get frustrated by all the online work you have to do in addition to the “normal” stuff – like commenting on Facebook or Tweeting on Twitter? Now you’ve also got to think about the new Google +1 too. When will it ever end? Every day the amount of online work just keeps on piling up – then there’s all the mobile work as well. Oh for the days when all we had was a pen and some paper…!
If you feel overwhelmed by all the additional communications work you have to do these days, fear not, you are not alone. Indeed, according to a new study performed by the University of Cambridge for BT, 34% of adults get the same sinking feeling. In fact the study showed that frustration with online communication was considerable.
But the study also revealed an interesting feature. The participants were asked to record a diary of their technological communications.It seems that merely keeping this diary helped change behaviour. After making hour by hour notes of their online communications activities people in the study were able to see what they were doing and took action to change things. Prior to that, it seems, they were only guessing.
Result? Less frustration – and probably better communications too.
Often we get annoyed, frustrated and stressed as a result of assumption. We assume we have to do all that emailing, Tweeting and Facebook wall posting. But if you keep a diary of exactly what you do with these kinds of services, you might get a different picture to what you think happens. Your perception may not be reality.
What the BT study actually reveals is that our online communications activities stresses us out because we have no real “handle” on what we are doing. Keeping a journal or diary of online communications may help you see the wood from the trees. And that may well reduce your frustration or stress.
Related articles
- Journal Your Way to Stress Relief (everydayhealth.com)
- Is Technology Overwhelming Society? (bigthink.com)
2 thoughts on “Overwhelmed by the web? Keep a diary..!”
Excellent advice, could be used for other time management issues, as well as recording how much you eat if you want to lose weight. Being aware of what you do (and being honest in your recording activities) can be an eye opener, revealing some truths that may have been avoided, overlooked, ignored or just plain not realised.
Thanks for the comment Alice – yes, you are right, keeping a recording of what we do can be an eye opener. A year or so ago I was convinced I was spending one day a week on a specific activity and I thought that was too much. So I invested in an online time and activity recording system only to find my perception was incorrect – I was spending less than half a day a week in total. That helped me work out why I thought it was taking longer and enabled a change in approach.
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