Today Hank Williams wrote on his blog about how the Internet changes the way we process information and focus on individual tasks. He sums up his uneasiness in the following sentence:
‘I just have this sinking feeling that we are losing something important when we pick up the pace of our activity, but reduce the depth of our focus.’
Setting aside that Hanks articles have a worrying undertone in general (aside from the more technology orientated posts) I think he is on to something here – at least I share his perception on the impact on emails, blogs, twitter etc. on my daily activities. However I do not think that those tools are to blame for the struggle to keep on top of all incoming mails, posts and tweets and in addition cover some ground in the days work, it is more me and how I am able to control these tools for my needs. I am not satisfied with my time management but this is not necessarily a new thing.
I do not share Hanks worries that the above mentioned new communication tools will impact negatively us as a society, loosing the ability to focus and analyze complex problems in depth. Those that in past were able to concentrate and focus will continue to be good at that. People like me that have to control their thoughts to prevent them from wandering from one association to the next will continue to struggle – and maybe it will be harder for us will all this information coming from all sides. On the other hand this provides new opportunities for me to generate new ideas and
Commenting the ordinary 