Information Skimming: More Can Be Better
Sometimes more is better (and we all know there is no limit to the amount of information available to us). More information makes it more likely you will find the most useful information, and it gives you more raw material to draw from when synthesizing information. It is also has the potential to drive you crazy. If you want to drink from the information fire hose, you must have a good strategy for information skimming. Information Skimming Helps You See the Big Picture In a nutshell, information skimming is about consuming more, highly focused (short), bits of information in order to be better informed, make better decisions, and seeing the big picture more clearly. Done well, this technique will give you a huge advantage over the rest of us who get bogged down with too much, or too little, useful information. Unlike the focused information consumption approach discussed previously on this blog, the goal of information skimming is to continuously scan and consume small bits of information that have relevance and meaning to you. Sometimes called environmental scanning, this approach works much like a radar–you continuously scan, and received signals from, your environment. If you quickly pick up the right signals, you can make better-than-average predictions of the future. For example, think of meteorologists who use radar to help them predict the weather. They are not always right, but continuously monitoring the environment sure helps them be more accurate. Lets look at what advantages you will have when you skim information really well: How many of us would not want to have more of these advantages? Is information skimming the only way to get them? Certainly not. Information skimming provides kindling for the fire, raw material for the production line, nutrients for the seedling. In other words, the best of us can not succeed without some quality information to chew on. So where do we start? Where do we go for the best raw information? The answer is highly personal. Everyone needs to find their own perfect combination of sources and consumption tools. These sources and tools have to fit your needs and your workflow, and you must find ways to use them efficiently. More on that later. To start with some basics, here are sources and tools that will probably end up on many people’s list: RSS Feeds: Pulling content from blogs, Internet news sites, and other sources, RSS feeds are a useful way to pull many sources together in one application for consumption. Tweets: Twitter, when used the right way, can be a tremendously useful source (and tool). Read our blog post on using Twitter for more ideas. Blogs: There is a ton of information published on blogs every day. Not all of it is useful or trustworthy, but some of it is perfect for information skimming. Magazines and Newspapers: These have been used for many years to get up-to-date and specialized information. Now, most of these publications are available digitally, and many can be accessed via the Internet. Television and Radio: The numbers may be dropping, but a most of us still rely (at least partly) on television and radio to consume information. Email: Newsletters, links from friends, and document attachments fill our inboxes every single day. Just about all of us need to make reading emails part of our daily routine. Discussions (online and in person): We learn a lot by communicating with other people. Whether it is face-to-face or in an online discussion group, this can be a great way to pick up new ideas and connections. YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler (and others): Digital videos can be produced and posted by anyone, and many contain potentially useful information (if you can find it). Podcasts: Podcasts can be a great way to consume short audio or audio/video content on the go. Some people do a fantastic job capturing their knowledge and experience in well-produced podcasts. They tend to target very specific subjects, so you must take the time to find the ones that are most relevant to your life. Computers, mobile devices, tablets, etc.: Unless you want to be tied completely to print, TV, and radio (and face-to-face conversations), some sort of a computing device is essential. The most exciting trend here is the combination of very powerful mobile devices, fast wireless communication, cloud computing, and the proliferation of digital content. More on that in our Mobile Tech to the Rescue post. Internet-Enabled Software Tools: There are far too many to mention, but ton of great software tools exist to help us keep up with, filter, consume, and share information. Just as technology has given us tools to create and access more information, technology also keeps giving us better tools to manage it. Find the ones that work best for you. Here are some ideas: I am really curious to know what other sources and tools people rely on. Please leave a comment (or email) with additional suggestions, and we will do a follow-up post that is more comprehensive. You can also enter your favorite tools and sources on our AnswerGarden poll. Your answer will immediately be shown in the answer cloud. Finding the right sources and tools is only the beginning. It is extremely important to figure out how to skim information effectively. This is the hard part, and it is what separates the super-skimmers from those who waste time on useless information or simple get overwhelmed and quit. Here are some tips: Be Mindful – Start by being mindful of what you are trying to achieve. What type of information is important for you? What is going to provide you the right connections to new people and ideas, and allow you to see the big picture more clearly? It might help to do some brainstorming and note down the key themes that emerge. Keeping these themes in mind as you skim information on a daily basis will help you focus on what is likely to help and ignore what only distracts. Diverse Sources – You want to receive signals from a full spectrum of information sources. Breadth and diversity will give you the best raw material to work with. You will be forming your own ideas and viewpoints (at least in part) from this information, so seeding your mind with any bias. Filters and Sorting – One of the most critical, and most difficult, parts of information skimming is quickly filtering, sorting, and prioritizing the gushing torrent of information signals coming at you. It is a skill that gets better with practice. There are many tools to help with this, but you ultimately need to decide was is true and untrue, useful and a waste of time. This theme was recently echoed by Seth Godin in his Management of Signals blog post. Fit Your Workflow – Information skimming works best when it is done regularly and consistently. To do that, you must find a way to make it part of your daily workflow, using whatever time you have available, and with whatever tools are at your disposal. It is helpful to map out your daily routines and look for ways to seamlessly fit information skimming into your days. The more natural it is, the more likely you will do it consistently and effectively. Share and Receive – Information skimming should not solely consist of consumption. When you come across some gems that others could benefit from, share them! In addition to making you feel good, the generosity will be contagious. You will more frequently become the recipient of the same behavior. The best part of this is that people are the ultimate information filters. Machines are getting better, but people reign supreme. In other words, your friends will feed you relevant information more often than Google search. “Right now, we take in information from many places, but we’re not particularly focused on filtering the information that might be false, and more important, what might be missing.” – Seth Godin To wrap up, we will add a few words of caution. These things are most likely to sabotage your path to “black-belt” information skimming–please avoid them! One-Sided Information Overdoing It Beware of The LOUD and FALSE All Consumption, No Sharing Effective information skimming is essential for taking control of the information that matters to you. If you think it is easy, work on adding more sources or spending less time with the same amount of benefit. If you are intimidated by all the information that comes rushing in when you open the door, we encourage you to keep practicing. Be mindful of what you want to accomplish and start from there. Have other ideas? We very much appreciate the opinions and advice from everyone else out there. Please comment!
Goals
Input Sources and Tools
Tips for Effective Information Skimming
Be Careful
Too much one-sided information from similar sources will limit your ability to make connections and see the big picture. You want get the complete story. Seek out sources that cover diverse topics and differing perspectives. Step back and think about what information you may be missing and then find ways to add it to your routine.
Information skimming can go to far. If all you do is skim, you will never get the opportunity to turn these input signals into meaningful knowledge. A balanced approach is best. Reading the headlines and opening paragraph of today’s news is a great way to see what is going on, but you should also find time to read that 2000 word article that appears insightful and relevant to your world. By the way, this article is almost 2000 words. If you are reading this, then you are NOT information skimming (thanks).
There are some really loud information signals out there, and many are false and misleading. Think of this as noise. You must avoid as much of the noise as possible, because it wastes your time and distracts from what is actually important. Be mindful and trust that your ability to filter information will improve with practice.
Most print, radio, and television is 100% consumption. Online and social media is different. It is extremely easy to share and create, and this behavior actually make it more useful. Make sharing part of your daily workflow.Summary
