Despite the many technologies: Google, Twitter, Facebook, iPhone, digital calendars, and a plethora of other nifty gadgets and applications, why do I feel so cluttered and disconnected? Before you add another app to your life, stop and read this book. According to Douglas Merrill, former Google chief information officer and now COO of new music for EMI records, “the trick is when and how to use them”.
Beyond his impressive background in Google, Merrill draws from his real life experiences. Despite his struggles with dyslexia as a young boy, he earned a PhD in Cognitive Science at Princeton University. His understanding of how the brain works and organises information served him well in his personal life and career, which benefited Google immensely as he spearheaded its enormous goal of organising the world’s information. Now, he offers readers practical tips to access and organise information in our lives.
Merrill emphasises, “Our short-term memory can hold between only five and nine things at once.” Thus, it is important to get stuff out of your head as quickly as possible. The trick is storing and accessing the data. He gives practical tips on how to use search engines properly, the benefits of using cloud computing and email aggregators, and even how to keep track of your many passwords.
This techie author does not endorse one system of organisation. Rather, Merrill encourages creatively achieving work-life balance. It sometimes entails using technology. Other times, he offers pen-and-paper solutions, or capitalising on waiting time in grocery queues to reply to emails.
The EMI executive also peppers the book with song lyrics. It’s like having a built-in soundtrack to accompany this great read.
I highly recommend this book for modern days’ people bombarded with information.
Maida Pineda
