Let’s face it, keeping up in a world ruled by beeps, pings, and breaking news flashes can start to consume the better part of your day. They can also start to keep you in a perpetual state of distraction, so that focusing for extended periods of time to get work finished can become the hardest thing you will accomplish while on the job today.
Think About What Areas You Want To Keep Up To Date About
The FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) movement seems to have arrived for all of us, and not just the teenagers in our lives. For most people, FOMO usually means the fear of missing out on Facebook updates, Instagram posts and what is happening in the news lately (both hard news, the sports scores, and yes, I admit it – who is voted out of Survivor or Big Brother).
When you are a part of the working world, the urgency to keep up to date on multiple sources of information can be overwhelming. This can include logging into LinkedIn, checking the stock market and keeping up to date with Industry Journals, Industry News Releases and Tweets that come fast and furious from the multiple professionals and companies you follow.
Set A Schedule, Prioritize Sites And Stick To Your Time Blocking
On your calendar, block in ten minute chunks. One block first thing in the morning, one at lunchtime, and one at the end of the day. Decide which media outlet will get your attention for each of those blocks. Many successful people often prioritize what their information needs are and rank them accordingly.
Conversely, you could set 30 minutes aside first thing in the morning and tackle all three outlets at once, so that you can satisfy your need to know what has been going on while you were asleep. The danger with this type of browsing is that you can get carried away and forget your timeline, which would defeat the entire purpose.
Find The Best Clearinghouse Sites
This is probably the best kept secret of ‘well-read’ people. You know, those people by the water cooler who somehow have heard of every story, and every bit of fresh news out there. They aren’t staying up hours later than you to find all of this information on the web, they just have chosen the best clearinghouse sites that will summarize a wide breadth of news in a concise and factual way.
Think Huffington Post, which, though it may sometimes have a 6-24 hour delay in covering breaking news, will tell you everything all the major news outlets will be reporting – but in one place.
“Another great trick is to read the online British papers for world and some business news.”
Since they are hours ahead of North America, one can usually find relevant and fact-checked news stories and feeds that will be breaking news in North America, making you the office go-to person for all things current.