Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 79

Practice Issues
of information. One example is the concept of email apnoea and website
alerts. When we get emails, our tendency is to hold our breath, or take a deep
breath or just take a really shallow breath. It has all kinds of different effects
on our autonomic nervous system. So his advice is “Consume deliberately,
take information over affirmation” or be sort of really conscious about your
information consumption. For example, it is good to reflect on the websites
one visits and ask: “Is this adding value to my life? Is this information that I
am consuming relevant and useful? How else can I use my time instead of
reading what will not add value to my deeper understanding of things?”
The second thing that he advises is to pay attention to local news and
what matters to a person’s family and community before the global stuff.
Local news is usually more verifiable. Information consumption habits
are consequential not just to a person, but to other people. We need to
remember that information consumption shapes our opinion and values.
So we should choose wisely what we access and the accuracy of what we
consume.

Having “Missing Conversations” Can Make Things
More Productive
There are regular occasions when injecting that conversation can result in
productive work, facilitate work and progress and help to move a case or
project forward. Hence, we often hear the comment, “that reminds me,
I need to call so and so.” Such missing conversations may appear to be
immaterial but can be so consequential to better outcomes. So the next
time we review a situation or evaluate a project, let’s remember to inject
that missing conversation to make things happen rather than regret that the
missing conversation never took place.

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