The Age of Information

I recently saw a quote by James Clear from his book Atomic Habits. It read:

Do you actually need more information, or do you simply need to act on the information you already have? “

This question really resonated with me. I think it is a great question for parents and especially home educators to ask themselves.

We all want the best for our children. In this age of information, we collect curriculum and curate collections of books that cover any topic we might need to teach. We see opinions and experiences online and through social media, and bookmark and save anything we might strive to include in our homeschool. But is all this information really helping us?

Often, information collecting that results in inaction is a form of procrastination. There can be many reasons for procrastination. But I think for many homeschooling families, procrastination can be the result of too much information creating doubt in our abilities and decision fatigue. It’s information overload.

Like every coin, it has two sides. If collecting information propels you forward in action, then the information you are collecting has shown to be helpful and supporting your needs.

But if your only action is becoming a collector of information, that is where a change needs to be made.

Steiner’s indications for everything he lectured about, from biodynamics to education, came with the caveat (and I take liberties with my modern translation) “Don’t trust my word for it, try it for yourself and then decide.” He was all about putting into practice what we learn to see if it fit our lives. What do we do then when we become addicted to the collection of information but not the execution? What do we do when we are so bound up in the brain that we can’t actually DO?

Let’s get back to the reasons for procrastination. From a homeschooling perspective, I think many become collectors of information because they question their ability, they have tendencies toward perfectionism, they want to be able to account for any and all circumstances that might come up in the lesson or maybe they simply aren’t sure what to do with the information so they gather more in hopes of finding an answer.

Here is an example. Say you want to watercolour with your children. You’ve collected all the materials needed, read all the books, watched all the YouTube videos, stalked all the IG accounts and pinned a thousand paintings on Pinterest. But you still don’t feel ready.

Another example: storytelling. You’ve taken the workshops. You’ve again, read ALL the books. Done a million puppet making tutorials. You’ve researched stories from around the world. But you still haven’t actually done a puppet story for your children. Your still don’t feel ready.

That feeling? That isn’t a feeling of not being prepared (at this point you could probably write a PhD!), it is a feeling of doubt. And the only way to overcome doubt is to walk right through it. To DO. Remember the old Nike saying “Just do it”? Well, they were right.

So what if you are in the depths of information overload and procrastination. How do you release yourself?

The advice I offer in my mentorship is to choose ONE book or source on the subject and let that be your guide. Turn off the computer, shut down your phone, don’t watch videos. One source, read it, and then DO.

Your execution won’t be perfect. You probably won’t feel competent. But letting go of the many voices of opinion in all the information and trusting your own instincts is the only way to get through.

Steiner call teaching an art, and he also believed that art was what allowed us to connect with what ever higher being we believe in. Artist activity allows us to calm the outside pressures and opinions and connect with our inner voice, the spirit we know holds truth. So if art allows us to connect with something deeper and teaching is an art, I believe that every time we bring something to our children with consciousness and awareness of the human we are serving, we practice listening to our inner voice and connecting with something deeper. We leave the fears of perfectionism behind and are able to DO what it is we want to DO.

We have no way of affecting the world around us if we hoard all that information in our brain. We must be active! So do the painting, make the puppet, create the main lesson page, start the garden! Do it all! You have all the information you need.

Just do it.

Cheers,
Marina