Information Overload? Go on an Information Diet

Is your brain mush at the end of the day? Med school or grad school introduces an overwhelming amount of information. How can you make sure that the important stuff stays in your head and not what happened on the latest episode of Scandal instead? My answer is to go on an information diet.

We are bombarded by info overload on a daily basis, from every angle. Twenty-four hours news ensures that there is always something “important” that you need to hear. It’s draining and eventually your brain can’t retain all this information.

An information diet makes sure that you are absorbing what’s actually important- not what everyone else tells you is important. Here are some steps to set up an information diet for yourself.



1. Decide what information is important to you.

Do you need to know all the news where you live or is it not important to you? Do you like to read political opinion articles or do you hate all politics? You have to decide what’s important to you and what you can live without. But remember, it’s a “diet”. Don’t only remove what’s easy.


2. Set restrictions on the unimportant.

For whatever you decide is off limits, establish your boundaries. Does that mean outlawing TV or reading blogs? You decide what your restrictions means.


3. Set limits on everything else.

For everything else, set limits. If you want to keep up with friends and family on Facebook, but don’t want to fall for clickbait articles, set a daily or weekly time limit. But actually stick to your established limit. If you don’t, what’s the point?


4. Take apps off your phone and block websites.

The easiest way to eliminate extra information is to make it difficult to access. Take the news apps off your phone or completely block the offending websites. Making it difficult to access these things makes it much easier to stick to your information diet.


5. Reward yourself when you’re done.

An information diet doesn’t have to last forever (of course unless you want it to). When your self imposed diet is finished, reward yourself with something you have previously restricted.

If used strategically, an information diet can alleviate some of the overstimulation of your brain and help you retain more of what’s actually important- your class material. Use this technique when you’re studying for your next big test and see if it helps.

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