mmmm cookies.

When I’m stressed, I like to bake. It’s a somewhat mindless task (how hard is following a few directions) and the aroma that fills the room can’t help but put you in a more relaxed mood.

Now, I’ve been told my chocolate chip cookies are legendary, but I won’t say they are because I don’t want to jinx myself. Though, I have been proposed to due to my skills. ;P

If you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or just need a to take your mind off the failing economy, bake some cookies.

My personal preference is the Nestle Toll House recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

[I actually add the eggs AFTER I mix the flour/baking soda/salt mixture with the sugar/butter/vanilla...this is good if you want to, you know, have a few bites of dough and skip the raw egg part ]

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

In case you can’t read:

Information Overload

“Today, ideas and discussions are broadcast not at a prescribed time on a specific channel via a single medium, but all the time, on millions of forums, discussion groups, blogs and social networks. And they occupy a growing piece of our consciousness, thanks to RSS feeds, Twitter messages, mailing list and newsletter subscriptions, instant messaging, e-mail and Web surfing. “  Information Overload: Is it Time for a Data Diet? Computer World August 25, 2008

As a recent college graduate with a PR degree and some savvy experience in the Music Industry under my belt, I strive to stay informed of what’s taking place in my fields of interest, and in the world around me.

Like most, I have a daily routine in which I gather this information:

• Wake up and eat breakfast while watching NBC’s The Today Show
• Check Gmail if time permits before heading to work
• During the dive to work, listen to morning radio shows (local news, celbrity gossip, random info)
• Check work e-mail via Outlook (read daily e-mail about company news)
• Log on to AIM (used for office communication)
• Check Gmail
• Read The New York Times (digital edition)
• Check Google Reader
• Check Twitter
• Scan PerezHilton.com (a perk of being in the entertainment industry, fun reads!)
• Scan Gawker.com (again, a perk!)
• Scan CNN.com

Aside from those constants, there are unplanned distarctions which pervade my daily life. Gchats, IM’s (not work related), Text Messages, Facebook, MySpace and the general plethora of information that is sitting in cyber space, waiting to be found. While checking Twitter or my Google Reader, I am constantly drawn to outside pages via links on the Tweets or Blogs that I am reading. This is obviously the purpose, but my biggest problem is not managing my time as I do this.

In her Computer World article, Mary Brandel provides some insight into navigating and cutting down on our information intake. Her article includes info on how to use technology to cut down and also some tips on how to instill tried-and-true personal self-discipline when eliminating your excess information-intake.

In my current position, I am not always busy with work, so I find myself meandering along in the world of cyber space. When I do have a particular task that I hope to accomplish, like this blog entry for example, I find myself distracted with outside information (as I type this blog, I am browsing a Facebook page, just checked an e-mail, and I’m engaging in a Gchat converstaion).

One of the helpful hits mentioned in the article suggested only checking certain things at certain times.
So, I’ll check Perez and Gawker during my lunch break and at the end of the day when things start to wind down, but not every hour.

Do you suffer from Information Overload? What strategies do you use to manage it?