"Too Much Information?" Well, Tim Ferriss says ignore it....

This past Sunday there was an article in the New York Times about the author of a book called: "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss. In this book Mr. Ferriss says that there is way too much communication and information going on in our totally connected world, and it needs to stop if we are all singularly and / or corporately going to be successful. The idea of a 4-hour work week seems absurd to most, but it is quite possible that this extreme that Mr. Ferris holds steadfast to is his attempt to get our attention.

It is no big surprise that Americans work longer work weeks than the rest of the world, and also have less vacation time per employee as well (Germans have 5 to 6 weeks off every year). We are a driven race of people, not just by trying to follow the great American dream, but also by example from the great corporations for which we work.

There has been some movement on the part of some corporations, like Google, for example, to try to ease the stress of the extended-worklife (that's the new term --- like work and life are symbiotic) by giving such perks as a gourmet cafe, occasional masseuse days, day care services and an on-site doctor. Other corporations have found that having an "e-mail free Friday" actually increases individual productivity.

And what do these corporations and Mr. Ferriss suggest? They actually suggest that we talk to each other. Imagine that?

I am wondering if anyone out there in my blogland has thought about scaling back? Do you look at how much time you are spending on unnecessary digital interactions? Do you make quick phone calls instead of sending an email? Are you using your time in a reactive way or a proactive way?

One of my students made note of the following comment from the New York Times article: "Nevertheless, without appearing on Oprah Winfrey's show or doing a book tour, Mr. Ferriss has seen his book quickly become a bestseller, largely on the strength of blog chatter in the tech community." She said that it seems funny that the thing he proposes not to do is the source of his success.

Ferris says, "Blackberrys and e-mail aren't inherently bad," he said. "It's just like medicine: it's the dose that makes the poison," added another student, who whole-heartedly supported that position.

Please let me know what you think?

New York Times Article: Too Much Information? Ignore it.