Down the Rabbit hole

Today, we have ready access to information in a mind-boggling range of formats. If you like to read: newsletters and blogs; if you like to listen: podcasts and audiobooks; if you like to visualise your learning: videos, shorts, and animated mechanisms of action, and God forbid you like all three! When not practised in mindful moderation, this can lead to decision fatigue, stress, and anxiety, or, to take a morbid dig at the famous song from the movie Pocahontas, “you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew.”

So, how do you strike a balance while learning, so that you stay on track? These are a few points that I googled, read, and viewed that seemed to make sense:

1. Set 2–3 well-thought-out goals for your learning or continuing education efforts
2. Filter and prioritise actively manage and limit subscriptions to what truly matters to your learning goals
3. Regularly clean out your email. If using Gmail, move all subscriptions and newsletters to the Social/Promotions tab
4. If trying to learn a specific topic or skill, create a framework of questions you need to be able to answer at the end (learning outcomes), so that you have more structured learning
5. Be mindful of the time spent on social media platforms, even LinkedIn or educational sites
6. Set a time limit for such activities and a screen reminder for when you exceed it

So, while I have allowed myself the Faculty Lounge of Harvard Business School, among the other more scientific ones, the rest have been culled from regular reading for now.

Happy e-decluttering to you!

Dr. Tina Saldanha
Department of Pharmacology, AISSMSCOP