June/July 2010
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The Information Fast: A Vacation for your Mind and Soul by Michelle Barry Franco 
In October of last year, I packed my huge stack of parenting books, every self-help, psychology, and communication book I own (this is no small packing job) and sent all of my magazines to new homes or recycling.
"I am officially launching my Information Fast!" I exclaimed, still heaving from carrying the large box of books into the garage. My husband just flashed me a supportive, yet knowing smile. For the Love of Information I am, no doubt, an information junkie. For me, walking into a bookstore is exhilarating. My nerves get tingly, my head spins at the opportunities, and my heart beats a little faster. Somewhere, among all of that brilliance and creativity is the answer to my every desire. And if it's not there inside those bookstore beauties, surely I can find it on the Internet. On a whim, I can diagnose strange new rashes as well as look for tips on Waldorf-inspired birthday parties for my kids, all without interrupting a doctor or a party planner. The possibilities are thrilling! Research indicates I am not alone in my love affair with information. More than 181 million websites await our inquiring minds on the always-open World Wide Web and somewhere near 210 billion emails are sent every day worldwide. While nearly 70% of those are possible spam, that still leaves 63 billion legitimate emails generated per day in the U.S. And during one summer month alone, Americans spent $1.5 billion on books. As parents we are constantly seeking guidance and support, so easy access to the information we think that we need can seem like a blessing. Sometimes, however, our own research steals hours of our time and leaves us feeling overloaded and unsure. The Paradox It's a paradox, this blessed opportunity to take in tons of new information, anytime. The pleasurable component is evident in the usage statistics mentioned above. However, when we become overwhelmed with new data, our productivity as well as our connections with other human beings suffers. In some cases, researchers have determined that the resultant anxiety from information overload can even contribute to clinical depression and loneliness. This is why I ventured on my Information Fast. While I find the intellectual stimulation of new information thrilling, the cost in time and energy to apply and manage the information was stifling me. Information Fasting, Applied Even just the two-week information break I took made a huge difference in my presence and energy level in virtually all activities in my life. Suddenly I had chunks of time to play grocery store with my girls and make dinner for my family. I even cleaned out my purse. If you identify with any of what I have described, try an Information Fast (after you read this article, of course!) Here are some tips and ideas to maximize the experience: Make Your Rules & Stick to Them My first rule was "No advice books of any kind, unless my children's health depended on it or I had an immediate business need." I literally had to hide some of my favorite parenting and business books from myself in the garage. Many of them remain there now, months later. Some additional rules to consider based on your own information-seeking tendencies could include cutting out blogs, online shopping, emails after 6pm (or another designated period of time during the day), social networking sites, or bookstore visits. Be ruthless about naming your biggest problem areas — and outlawing them. Step Away From Your Email! Close your email program entirely or at least turn off your new email notifier. Research done by Dr. Thomas Jackson of Loughborough University in England, concluded that it takes 64 seconds for a person to recover his or her train of thought after an email interruption, regardless of whether they read the email content (2007). Multiply that by your number of email interruptions and you've got a significant time waster right there. One of the greatest dangers is that email can take you off on unintended information journeys, like shopping an advertised sale or researching the validity of the latest email hoax. Don't let your inbox decide where you spend your precious moments. Prepare an Activities List As you begin to notice the extra time in your day, spend time writing out what you'd like to do with those pockets of time. Go for a walk. Paint your toenails. Play "Go Fish" with your kids. Try that Kickboxing class. Organize your family photos. That way, when you get that itch to flip open your laptop and surf the internet mindlessly, you'll have alternative ideas for ways to spend your time. Use Your Intuition Many of us have lost our connection with our intuition. You'll need that connection back if you are going to successfully complete your Information Fast since research is mostly off-limits. If you've lost connection, how do you know when your intuition is talking? Jane Meyers, a counselor, hypnotherapist, author and speaker in Central Oregon suggests suggests connecting with your intuition through visualization. Imagine that you are literally at a crossroads, in any location you choose. Decide which path symbolizes which decision you might make. Then, picture yourself taking one path. Notice what you see and feel as you venture down that visualized path. Do you see and experience things you love and feel excitement about on that path? Or are you uncomfortable and see things that are negative to you? Do the same on the "other" path. This exercise will tell you which path your intuition wants you to take. Be Intentional and Specific When you do have legitimate research you need to conduct during your Information Fast, stay conscious as you gather the data. Don't let yourself wander off into unrelated websites, blogs, or research databases. Lisa Smith, a mother of a three-year-old and the Creative Director of her own design firm in Bend, has a useful approach to information seeking. When she is curious about a topic, she lets her friends provide her first level of research information. She listens to and seeks advice from those who she knows will always do extensive research before they make decisions. If one of those friends has decided to avoid particular plastic products, for example, then Lisa knows the issue is worthy of more research. She will then research the topic until she is satisfied that she has gathered enough information, make a decision, and move on. After the Fast When your Information Fast is over, hold tight to what you have learned. Remember how much more time you had. Try to integrate even just a few of the things that freed you up a bit into your day-to-day life. Do give yourself a break, though. Not only is information essential for our health and safety, it can also be genuinely fun. Smith allows for time to "play" online. She virtually never surfs the internet when she is with her son and her work hours don't allow much time for non-work related surfing during the day. So, when she does get online on some evenings after her son is in bed, she will consciously allow herself to venture off into explorations of cupcake recipes or her favorite online chat forums for limited periods of time. While she sometimes ends up surfing for longer than she planned, she regards it as pleasurable entertainment. The key is, she is making her decisions intentionally and happily and she closes her computer before she is overwhelmed. As for me, I still occasionally find myself checking my email unnecessarily and I sometimes wind up reading the blog of a random natural-birth-loving mom from across the globe because I got sidetracked. For the most part, though, I am enlightened and changed. I can feel the difference in my presence with my kids, my husband, and my work when I keep my information seeking in check. So, I keep the email alert signal turned off and I (with a bit of resistance) close my computer when I realize I am wasting time on unnecessary information. |
