More information has been generated from the time of your last three birthdays than all of human history that came before it. On the CIW 2014 stage, record producer-turned-psychology professor Daniel J. Levitin shared how you can combat the constant onslaught of (often useless) information. So, pop some popcorn, close your tabs (except this one, of course!) and learn how to completely reorganize your overly scheduled, overly informed life.

[youtube_embed src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brTxddP4BGs”/]

1. Multitasking is not only a myth—it chemically creates stress.

“[Multitasking] leads to decision fatigue, and it leads to the production of cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone. It’s toxic.”

2. The early bird gets the glucose: Make decisions before your midday slump.

“There’s a limited amount of decisions that you can make in the day before you run out of glucose; before you run out of juice. So what the experts recommend is that you move the important decisions up to the beginning of the day.”

3. Kill the overload monster, AKA e-mail!

“If e-mails are coming in all morning long, decision fatigue sets in. [It makes it] very hard to stay alert and do your job, or for that matter enjoy your leisure time…. Shut your e-mail program off for productivity periods to avoid the distraction.”

4. For once, embrace what could go wrong.

“Do a ‘pre-mortem.’ Think ahead of time of all the things that could go wrong…and deal with them. If you’ve ever hidden a key under the mat, that’s a pre-mortem.”

5. Train yourself to ask the right questions.

“Before you consent to a [medical] procedure, you need to be informed about it…. Doctors have less and less time to spend with us. You have to become an advocate for your own healthcare. You have to know which questions to ask to move the conversation forward.”