The First 100 Days
The most benign explanation for what I saw in the first week of the new Republican Administration* is that the chief executive read a book like The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins. If you are taking on a new work challenge, I recommend it.
The Republican president has a clearly outlined agenda and he got to work on it, pronto! He did not get to work on the meat-and-potatoes issues he promised the American people, like managing inflation as it affects grocery, fuel, and other daily-life expenses.
Flooding the Zone
The Republican administration is prepared, this time, with a plan for the first 100 days. Apparently, the Democrats in Congress are still talking about it. They do not have a consensus on how to respond to the flood of action in this first week.
“…Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) argued during the caucus’s weekly meeting Wednesday that Democrats cannot chase every outrage, especially since the Trump administration will purposely “flood the zone” with maddening changes, according to people in the room, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about an off-the-record meeting. He argued that Democrats must remain united in their messaging and disciplined in holding House Republicans accountable on key issues — particularly cost-of-living issues, border security and community safety — warning that if they don’t, their message will not sink in with the American people” …
“The difficulty in life with Donald Trump as president, as we have seen in the past, is he will throw a lot of things at the wall as a distraction to the real concerns and the real issues that Americans are facing,” Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-California) said. “Our job is to sift through it and to make sure we have unity of purpose and unity of message.” [Source: Washington Post ]
Everyone’s job is to sift through the flood of political news and find one’s own purpose. Then find ways to focus on that.
Why flooding works
Flooding works because we, as humans, cannot prioritize information when too much is coming at us, all at once.
This is true, on a physical level; when too many people are talking at once, many people cannot follow any of the conversations. It’s also true when there are multiple dangers are present; how does someone prioritize when there is smoke, fire, blocked or damaged roads, and a constantly changing, dangerous fire coming your way? It takes a lot to avoid panic.
This overload tactic is exceptionally effective in warfare. In World War II, it was called blitzkrieg. Large scale attacks by land and air – together at the same time – led to swift victories for the Germans at the beginning of that war.
When there are too many dangers – all at once – it is hard to address any of them.
What to do about information flooding:
We humans are overloaded, everyday, without any malice intended. Our brains were not designed for the modern world; they were designed to help us survive in forests and savannahs. Even when you love what is happening around you in modern times, there is just too much of it!
Fast Company summarized the work of Daniel Levitin and his book, The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. I will further summarize it here:
- Create to-do lists.
- Make decisions when your mind is fresh.
- Organize your physical space.
- Avoid multitasking. [read more]
Takeaways:
Decide what is most important to you.
Avoid mental overload. Stay on task.
Footnote: I am referring to the current Presidency as “the Republican administration” and not by the name of the current office holder. That political party owns the responsibility for the direction of that office holder.