I don't know if it's common for people in this profession, but I'm something of an information addict.  Email is something of a lifeblood, whilst I subscribe to dozens of blogs and follow hundreds of people on Twitter.  Ordinarily I love this sense of connection, of feeling like my finger is on the pulse of what's going on.

Alas it doesn't take much to turn that flow of information into a torrent.  Last week Jitka and I spent 10 days at a fantastic farmhouse in Ibiza.  The place, called Can Marti, contained 4 villas within a working farm towards the north of the island.  It was located in a rural location that afforded us no web connection, no television, no telephone connection or signal.  The nearest village was a 15 minute walk away over a hill and through a forest.

The week itself was perfect.  The weather was fantastic all week, and being so cut off from the world allowed us both to completely relax and recharge our batteries.  We did some hiking, we borrowed bikes from the owner to allow us to go further afield, finding some incredible beaches that were so hidden away we had them practically to ourselves.

All of which was fantastic, but of course the information flow was continuing in my absence.  I'll gladly admit that I didn't miss being wired at all during the break, but nevertheless I was surprised at the glut awaiting me.

When we got back to Gatwick airport I turned my phone on for the first time. 

• 2,000+ articles in my RSS reader
• 500+ emails to my personal account
• 1,500+ emails to my work account

Considering we got back to England at around 3am it wasn't a nice sight.  Peter Bregman suggests that having two lists is the key to ensuring you prioritise the right things, and this barrage of information reminded me of those two lists.

List 1: Your Focus List (the road ahead)

What are you trying to achieve? What makes you happy? What's important to you? Design your time around those things. Because time is your one limited resource and no matter how hard you try you can't work 25/8.

List 2: Your Ignore List (the distractions)

To succeed in using your time wisely, you have to ask the equally important but often avoided complementary questions: what are you willing not to achieve? What doesn't make you happy? What's not important to you? What gets in the way?

I suspect many of us in my profession suffer from information overload.  I'm going to spend a bit of time this week pruning my own list of sources so that the treadmill doesn't consume me.

I'd love to hear some of your tips on how you manage information effectively.  Let me know in the comments.