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The general causes of information overload include: A rapidly increasing rate of new information being produced The ease of duplication and transmission of data across the Internet An increase in the available channels of incoming information (e.g. telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, rss) Large amounts of historical information to dig through Contradictions and inaccuracies in available information A low signal-to-noise ratio A lack of a method for comparing and processing different kinds of information

In a worldwide study sponsored by Nortel, IDC found a considerable number of what it calls "hyperconnected" users -- those using at least seven devices and nine applications. The survey covered nearly 2,400 working adults in 17 countries.

The hyperconnected accounted for 16 percent of the population in the study. They are using gadgets ranging from phones to laptops to PDAs and even car-based systems. Applications being used on these devices include Web 2.0 applications, such as Twitter, Second Life, and wikis. Also prominent are applications like text messaging, instant messaging, and Web conferencing. Behind the hyperconnected were the "increasingly connected," who use four devices and as many as six applications and account for 36 percent of the population.

6. Allow feeds to overload. Just because you’re subscribed to an RSS feed doesn’t mean that you should be compelled to read it.

7. Set up a chat zone. I rarely if ever use IM or any other kind of chat, but for those of you who need to be connected at least some of the time, you should have a set period each day when you connect to IM.

13. Eliminate the news. Another huge source of information overload is news channels and sites.