Information overload

I've always had a thirst for knowledge. Some people would probably list this as a strength, Jim Logan certainly thinks so, but as with most things, execution is everything. The pursuit of knowledge has always manifested itself in me as a weakness I have to overcome if I am to acheive anything.

When I let it take over me, I want to know everything... and I want to know it now. I find I can't concentrate on the information I'm looking at because I'm already looking forward, planning the next book or subject, and that just leads me into a circle of frustration in which I learn nothing. In the days before the internet, this was naturally constrained by the availability of the subject matter, I at least had to work with what I had in the house. Now I have a whole world of information at my disposal, and someone has taken the time to index it all, and stuff it full of interesting relevant and completely irrelevant links. The irrelevant ones are always the best ones, opening up a completely new avenue of thought, taking me somewhere I never expected to be when I started reading, but they also walk me right into my weakness's hands.

I guess I need to work on my self-discipline. Steve Pavlina suggests that I get up early, and just do whatever it is I'm supposed to do, ignoring all other distractions. He's right, that does work when I do it. He also suggests small steps, building up to your ultimate goal rather than shooting for the moon on the first day. He's right about that too, I still get the same level of satisfaction, and I see sustained acheivement for a longer period of time.

But sometimes it's just fun to let the web take you wherever it wants to take you, it's amazing how few clicks you can be away from something completely unexpected. Yesterday, checking out Brandon Doyle's blog link over on the JoS forums led me to some guy's financial history and forecast in blog form. Then, after noting Michael Pollock's new and improved site design, I checked out some of the sites he used for inspiration. This led me to a world where not having an iPod, not knowing the available iPod models, pretending you have an iPod, and using iPod earphones when you don't have an iPod, is a serious crime against your community.

Around that point I started to wonder how I ever got anything done, and the idea for this post was born.