Automating Your Information Streams

Your consumption of information is something that is very difficult to automate.  Most of us spend more time than we need to consuming information, and You have to spend some time consuming the information that you want to learn, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t optimize your consumption of information.  There are many things you can do to optimize your information consumption.  Eliminate content you don’t really need is an easy way to free up time.  Opt for a shorter version of what you read.  Services like getabstract.com will shorten a book into a 5 page executive summary.  Shift your consumption of information to mediums which you can consume while doing something else.  Podcasts and audio books are easy to listen to while you are driving, grocery shopping, or doing anything else that is mindless and time consuming. Podcasts Audiobooks Get an RSS Reader

Podcasts

I love listening to podcasts because I can do something else while learning about something.  Walking the dogs for 45 minutes no longer seems like a chore because I can get through a podcast in that amount of time.  I’ve found myself taking the long way to work so that I’ll have enough time to finish an interesting podcast.  Podcasts are just an excellent way of consuming information.  You’ll need some software and an mp3 player (iPhone, iPod, Zune, etc).  If you have an iPod then iTunes is reasonable choice for a podcast client, but there are some other options.  If you have a Zune, then you should use the Zune software.  Both Zune and iTunes have podcast directories which make it easy to find podcasts which are interesting to you. Just keep in mind that these stores don’t always have all the podcasts and you can search the internet to find more.

Audiobooks

I like audio books for the same reasons I like podcasts, that I can listen to them anywhere.  I generally buy my books from Audible.com, but buying directly from the iTunes store is another option.  I like Audible because of the subscription model, and it works with iPod, Zune, and other mp3 players.

RSS Reader

Stop hunting for information and make it come to you.  You probably have several websites, online newspapers or eZines that you like to read.  Stop going to their websites and sign up for their RSS feeds.  Instead of wandering around the Internet to find the information you want to read, you feed reader will aggregate all that content into one place for you.  Google Reader is a good start, but there are others as well.