Coping with overload / Status anxiety /Job opportunities / Chunk and Learn and Learn/ Clever Skills coming

Answers to overload

In the work world of too much information, it doesn't take long before we feel the effects of cognitive overload.

The pace and amount of information isn't slowing down, so we have to adapt to cope. Meetings, conversations, presentations, learning, to do lists, project tasks … there’s just too much to carry. Everyday.

The information deluge is forever incoming. And AI is creating more information to review, make sense of and filter.

Our mind space is limited. And when we don’t use that space well, we experience overload.

Conferences, offsites, team days and information-based events (remote or in person) create the perfect — and challenging — conditions for information overload.

I worked with a team recently who want to make this a focus for development this year.

They’re tackling overload and kind of saying, ‘no more; we need to do something differently.’

And our everyday life isn’t easier. We’re frequently drowning in the deluge of scrolling, reading, listening, shopping, packing, travelling and planning.

But we don’t need to suffer … or give up. There are techniques and practices that help give us a clearer mind and an optimistic outlook about all that information and what to do with it.

My new OPENING KEYNOTE for conferences, events, offsets and team days is a winner. It sets you up to get the most out of the day, 10x your learning takeaways, and makes you feel better at the end of the day.

Enquire now about these vital skills for your team, people and organisation.

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Where the job opportunities are

The short answer is: everywhere.

The longer answer is: jobs will continue to be needed.

As investment, opportunities, ideas and innovations emerge and evolve, new and additional careers will rise to the surface. And keep on emerging and changing.

As we need more and different things in life, we may outsource, delegate, distribute or invite others to help us with those things. To design them, collaborate, create, make or innovate them.

And we may not know what they are right now. But cycles come and go, rise and fall, ebb and flow.

Keep in touch with what’s changing and how it might impact your career — or the path you’re on right now, and where that path may lead.

Read more from the World Economic Forum in this article.

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Do you chunk

Dealing with information overload is a daily battle. Some things are most certainly worth remembering - while others are just … meh. Nope.

To help handle the load, chunking is still right up there with one of our greatest memory tools. Think mobile numbers, account numbers or other memorable details; they’re best recalled in chunks or small blocks.

And while some data doesn’t need remembering these days thanks to facial recognition or fingerprints, there’s some unique-to-you information that is worth retaining. Your expertise.

Don’t be too quick to delegate all of your ideas, information and experience to artificial intelligence.

You have case studies, stories, experiences and know-how that is worth remembering and reincorporating into your work, career and life whenever it’s required. Public speaking, coaching and leading are some situations where being able to draw from your memory could boost results and outcomes. And chunking could help with the recall.

Read more here in this article.

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Learn … and keep on learning

Our ability — and willingness — to learn really is one of our most wonderful capabilities.

Our capability to become more capable!

The world needs us to keep on learning. Don’t stop. It’s about becoming a renaissance person. Read on.

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New book coming - pre order

Clever Skills : How to use your greatest human capabilities for the unfolding future by Lynne Cazaly

Hello. How's it going? As the future arrives faster and faster, with more automation, artificial intelligence and augmentation than ever, how do you plan to adapt?

Do you know … or are you going with whatever happens happens?

While FOMO (fear of missing out) can be strong in life, there is an increasing and real FOBO (fear of being obsolete).

Our desire for relevance, meaning and purpose is strong. But is this default strong enough to handle the dizzying changes as they arrive and unfold?

3 questions for you:

1. How will you stay relevant?

2. How will you adapt your career so you are employable -- yet retain meaning in your work?

3. What will you need to do to stay with (and ahead) of changes in your industry, field and domain?

I am obsessed with picking trends, spotting themes before they are mainstream, and then adapting myself, my business and life to these shifts.

Here’s a project I’ve been gathering and curating over four years : CLEVER SKILLS: How to use your greatest human capabilities for the unfolding future

In Clever Skills I share 25 capabilities that will take you through times of rapid and/or mind blowing change.

With wise counsel and insights and experience from leading in companies, mentoring more than 150 business owners and developing teams and leaders, I’ve curated an in-depth list of clever. It’s presented as an easy-to-follow 'life-side-guide' on what to do now, next and in the unfolding future.

Pre-order at a special pre-order price

🥏 Released May 1, 2024 Unless the future unfolds even faster 😜

🥏🥏 Pre order the paperback here

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NEW SPEAKER KIT

Looking for a speaker for your offsite, team day, conference or event, get my 2024 speaker kit with details on:

• Opening Keynote on Cognitive Load Coping
• Plenary and Masterclass Topics
• Closing Conference Session - The Co-Creation Experience TM

Get it here

Struggling? Juggling? Drowning? Argh!

These experiences of overwhelm can be a common part of a normal day or week in our life. Yes, the world can be an overwhelming place. 

• We might have an emotional experience of being overwhelmed. 
• We can experience the ‘too much on’ of workload - too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. 
• Or we might feel like we’re submerged under an endless pile of information, reports, books and reading.

At other times we can just be plain 'drowning in' it from a wicked combination of all three: emotions, workload and information. 

In today’s world, it’s these three that can be the cause of repeated and unending overwhelm. And it’s not good for us. Burnout and health issues are waiting. We need to find ways to acknowledge our emotions, manage our workload … and filter all of that information. 

Our overwhelm CAN be outsmarted. Get the powerful techniques I've explained in my book ‘Argh! Too much information, not enough brain : A Practical Guide to Outsmarting Overwhelm’ you’ll find: 

• new ways to make sense of overwhelm,
• new ways to work, and 
• new ways to cope with information. 

You’ll be all over overwhelm… it won’t be all over you!

Listen to this

The audio book recording of my latest book ‘Argh!’ is available on Audible and other audio book channels. 

I shared some pics from the recording experience recently, using SquareSound / Soundfirm for the recording and production. Thanks to Maryanne Rowe for coordinating and Ryan for recording and production. 

As a self-publisher, this kind of extension of my book is funded by me, not a big bucks publisher or distributor. 

So it makes the process all the more easy and rewarding when you have control over important decisions and are consulted with throughout. It’s a true collaboration. 

I’ve been a radio broadcaster and voice over artist in the past and returning to ‘the booth’ was a joy. I hope you can hear that in my reading. (And I know that some audio books can be a drag to listen to - hopefully not this one 😁…!)

If you’ve got a book that you’d like to record into a format that increasingly more people are accessing for ‘reading’, I recommend these professionals. 

Too much information

The answer isn’t to communicate less. It’s to adopt some better practices. 

This article from the World Economic Forum ties nicely to some of the thinking in my book ‘Argh! Too much information, not enough brain’. 

There’s plenty of information to be had. There’s so much that it even has a name : infodemic. 

And synthesising or reducing information all the time isn’t the answer either. Abbreviated and reduced summaries have caused and created more information issues for us. 

We can’t take it all in, all the time. 

How might we think and work with information in better ways? 

➡️ And have you got your copy of ‘Argh!’ yet? It’s getting some great reviews from people who’ve bought it and put the practices to work to outsmart their overwhelm. Ebook and paperback are out now. Audio book is out there too …

I’ll read it for you

I’ve just finished the audio book recording for my new book Argh! Too much information, not enough brain: A practical guide to outsmarting overwhelm’. 

Thanks to Maryanne and Ryan at SquareSound we were able to record over two half day sessions. 

I love reading my own books, being the narrator. 

After working in radio for some years, recording commercial voiceovers for ad agencies and volunteering for Vision Australia as a newsreader, the sight of a booth and a microphone is a familiar one. 

When you put the headphones on, think of someone who is listening to the book and then read it to them ... it’s a great project to complete. 

Next I’ll record a session of ‘pick ups’ to fix any blips or errors after the proof readers have listened. 

And then it will be out into the world to places like Audible where you can download it and start listening. 

Are you an audio book fan? After I’d recorded ‘ish’, my book two years ago, people said they listened in the car, on the bus, at the gym, walking the dog, house cleaning, cycling, sleeping, on road trips and while others in the house were watching tv they weren’t interested in. 

What about you? Would you like me to read the book to you?