We live in a world of potential information overload, as the flow of information is like a firehose. As a result, your productivity may suffer as you either try to consume everything or decide to consume nothing.
What if there was a productivity tool that could help you better curate this information, in a short amount of time, and keep you better informed? I?ve discovered an app that can painlessly boost your productivity in this area.
The app is called, Clammr and it’s one of my favorite new productivity tools (I have no financial stake with the app). The system is a growing collection of short clips of audio that you can flip through, much like you can through a photo gallery.
The clips, known as Clammrs, are arranged by topic and all are set up as 18 second previews. Usually, you hear the first three or four lines of a story.
If you like what you hear, then you can click to hear the full version. If you do nothing, the system takes you to the next 18 second story. If you?re not interested in it, you can immediately swipe to the next Clammr.
Categories are set up for topics like general news, sports, entertainment, and tech news. Looking for some new podcasts to enjoy on your commute or at the gym? The app also has channels for them (one of which includes my podcast, The 2 Minute Takeaway).
The makers of Clammr describe it as Instagram for audio. I say it’s more like speed dating for information.
Mainly, I use the app to stay up to date on news and sports. While doing a mundane task, like shaving, I can get up to speed, on what’s happening, pretty quickly.
In today’s world, I don’t need to know every detail of everything that’s happening but it’s good to know a little about a lot. In the past, we’d skim newspapers or invest a half hour in watching the news.
Obviously, times have changed. Newspapers are very thin and their websites feature paywalls and popups. TV news is very focused on crime reporting and there are frequent pleas to download apps and like Facebook pages.
Clammr is more like an extension of radio. But through the app, I don’t have to listen to commercials, underwriting messages, product placement, station ID’s, weather, traffic, or happy talk. It?s just a stream of information at my fingertips.
The 18 second time limit isn’t as restrictive as you might think. A lot can be communicated in a few sentences.
The app is free and pretty easy to set up. Right now, it is only available to those with Apple devices. I went in with low expectations and have found Clammr to be quite useful when it comes to reducing information overload and increasing productivity.
