The problem is that we're all trying to process way too much information. So Lee Gomez, who writes the "Portals" column, suggests that we try more self-discipline. We should go on an information diet. (I better make this Dispatch brief.) Maybe our computer screens should feature an information-consumption bar (think calorie counter) showing how many e-mails we've processed and how many web pages we've visited that day.

Now here's some valuable information about how expectations affect our work environment. Expectations of our -- fill-in-the-blank -- tenants, employees, colleagues, etc. strongly influence their performance. This is the so-called Pygmalion effect. Want proof? Researchers gave rats to twelve experimenters. Half were told their rats were from a "smart" genetic strain, and half were told their rats were dolts. The rats were actually the same.

Yet after five days of training, the "smart" rats ran the maze much faster than the "dumb" rats. (Wall Street Journal, Nov 7, 2003) ... So if you feel like a slow rat, just tell your boss to raise his or her expectations!

--Peter Pike