HBR Guide to Critical Thinking

CHAPTER 23

Train Your Brain to Manage Information

by Srini Pillay

Information overload is everywhere, from nonstop news to rat-a-tat email inboxes. At the receiving end of this deluge of verbiage is the human brain—your brain—metaphorically endowed with a vacuum cleaner that sucks up information, a container for short-term memory, a blender for integrating information, a memory bank for long-term storage, a garbage disposal for getting rid of information, and a recycling machine extraordinaire.

Simply using your brain for crossing items off your to-do list is poor use of a very sophisticated machine. Using each of these functions effectively is critical if one wants to manage information overload. Yet few people build the habits and lifestyles ...