Software to help cope with distractions
Steven Berlin Johnson has an article in Discover about software to cut through the data smog:Strategies for dealing with infomania-a term coined by those researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry-involve variations of pulling the plug. Some people detox by retreating to a cabin with old-fashioned print on paper for a week once a year (Bill Gates does that). Others restrict their time on the computer to no more than an hour a day (Discover associate editor Kathy Svitil, who works from home, says her kids’ constant cry is, “Mommy, when are you going to get off the computer?”). Limited-time tactics are creeping into the corporate workplace too: The marketing department at Veritas Software recently instituted a policy of e-mail-free Fridays.
A better solution may lie in the design of interfaces. Data smog is prevalent because modern software has become increasingly adept at displaying multiple streams of information on a screen. Perhaps, instead of time away from the screen, what we really need are better screens: interfaces built for focus and contemplation and not a barrage of distractions.
More on Steven's blog here.
I wrote about something similar a couple of weeks ago.
A better solution may lie in the design of interfaces. Data smog is prevalent because modern software has become increasingly adept at displaying multiple streams of information on a screen. Perhaps, instead of time away from the screen, what we really need are better screens: interfaces built for focus and contemplation and not a barrage of distractions.
More on Steven's blog here.
I wrote about something similar a couple of weeks ago.