If you’ve been having trouble keeping up with all of the information available at your disposal, then you’re not alone. In fact, the average person is overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that they encounter in a given day. Much of this is the direct result of technology making information more accessible.
It’s time to turn things around and use technology to manage the information overload. The following are five great ways for making that happen:
1. Use an application to take notes.
Taking notes has always been a sure-fire way to retain information. Whether you want to remember key details during lectures or while reading a textbook, a reliable note-taking app can help. With the sheer amount of content available online, it can be difficult to maintain these key pieces of information. The human brain barely has enough time to place an idea into long-term memory before another piece of information arises. There are many applications that can be used to take notes while reading or listening to content online. Some of these solutions can come in the form of a notes app, Google Doc, and more. Whichever method you choose will prove to be a vast improvement to the traditional pen and paper.
2. Make flashcards online.
In addition to taking notes, flashcards have also been proven to help with memorization. This is especially true when people need to memorize a lot of information in a short period of time. Flashcards work well for smaller pieces of information such as definitions, dates, and names. Fortunately, there are several websites and smartphone applications that simulate flashcards. Users can customize these flashcards, quiz themselves, and keep track of their right and wrong answers. These flash card simulators also make it easy to separate key pieces of information from frivolous details.
3. Use online templates to categorize and organize information.
Humans are visual creatures that require special diagrams and graphs to make sense of complex pieces of information. These visual aids are especially helpful when dealing with a lot of information at one time. When using the internet, this is almost always the case. Even a detailed Google search can yield over a million results. It can be helpful to create visual aids with online templates in order to process, organize, and retain all of this information. Whether you want to use a Venn diagram, plot a graph, or create a brainstorming sheet, there are countless applications that can provide these helpful templates.
4. Set reminders or alerts for checking information in the future.
There are times when users won’t be able to keep up with the amount of information accessible online. The rate at which this information can be provided far exceeds the human capacity for organizing, analyzing, and understanding information. Fortunately, users can use applications to set alerts that will remind them to search for certain pieces of information in the future. Accessing this info later is better than missing out overall.
5. Use digital books and other online resources to learn faster.
Books represent one of the most reliable and holistic sources of information. This has been true for hundreds of years, and the internet hasn't changed the reliability or popularity of books. Instead, technology has actually made it easier for the average person to access, read, and own an impressive number of books. Due to the technology offered by tablets and compact files, people can now read books at any time and in any place. These advancements can make it easier to organize and manage books along with their accompanying information. There are even websites that will provide accurate summaries of major works. These sites ensure that you receive key pieces of information without being overwhelmed by details.
Technology is the reason why we’re swamped with so much information on a daily basis. It’s also the way we can keep up with all of it.
