This goes out to crazlunatic of the PDSP Forums, who asked about information overload:

I thought of this after going on Digg [a site where people discover, share, and vote on content from all over the web] and thinking about the people there who [vote] on hundreds of stories and go there all day [...] Surely no one in the world needs to read hundreds of articles a day […]

We are information crazy:  newspapers, magazines, books, TV, the web.  We consume too little of value and too much overall. 

Like food, information generates strength, happiness, health, and growth.  But more isn’t better, especially if your daily consumption is a 1.89L tub of cappuccino chocolate brownie crunch ice cream.

Manage information overload, and reclaim personal productivity and effectiveness, by eating well.  Consume only information that is relevant to your goals, and be seriously selective.  In The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferris suggests you:

Develop the habit of asking yourself [sic] “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important?”

Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.

Look at your information intake and start eliminating.

News sites, feeds, blogs, papers, and magazines.  Reflect on the news stories you read and watch.  How many are positive and relevant to your goals?  Purge Newsweek; you are still smart and liberal.

News shows.  Once upon a time, TV was a fast and effective way to discover and share information.  Now we have the web (overloaded but customizable).  How much of the noon news hour is relevant to you, your goals, your life?  Watch TV for entertainment, relaxation, or pleasure.  Scan headlines for the news.

Junk mail.  Don’t just delete.  Unsubscribe, mark as junk, and turn off Facebook notifications.

Instead of wasting three hours every day reading news feeds, reading the paper, and watching the news hour, scan the headlines as you walk by the paper boxes and ask a friend if anything blew up (five minutes, done). 

Consume only information relevant to your immediate and important personal goals.  Do the same at work. 

Information is not knowledge. 

Actionable, relevant information is knowledge.

Get involved.  Leave comments.  Give advice.  Ask for advice.