--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you do have to look at polls, you…" description: "\"If you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more than once every few days, to get a general sense of the state of the race. I've seen the work..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/david-brooks-644_anxiety_if-you-do-have-to-look-at-polls-you-shou_1386141.png" --- # If you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more… ![“If you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more than once every few days, to get a general sense of the state of the race. I've seen the work on information overload, which makes people depressed, stressed and freezes their brains. I know that checking the polls constantly is a recipe…” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/david-brooks-644_anxiety_if-you-do-have-to-look-at-polls-you-shou_1386141.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/david-brooks-644_anxiety_if-you-do-have-to-look-at-polls-you-shou_1386141.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/david-brooks-644_anxiety_if-you-do-have-to-look-at-polls-you-shou_1386141.png) > “If you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more than once every few days, to get a general sense of the state of the race. I've seen the work on information overload, which makes people depressed, stressed and freezes their brains. I know that checking the polls constantly is a recipe for self-deception and anxiety.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Frequent poll checking overloads the mind, leading to anxiety and self‑deception; occasional checks give a useful overview without mental strain. **In simple terms:** Checking polls too often harms mental health; occasional checks are enough. Key Takeaway Limit poll checks to a few times a week. Themes media consumption mental health decision making Mood anxious reflective Type advice cautionary When to use this quote - election campaigns - personal finance tracking - health statistics monitoring Key Concepts information overload anxiety self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - How often do you check political data? - What alternative sources could give a balanced view? A Different Perspective Constant monitoring can still bias perception and cause missed nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/) [Information overload](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-overload/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polls/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-deception/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone spoke of an information overload, but what there was in fact was a non-information overload.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/everyone-spoke-of-an-information-overload-but-what-there-was-in-fact/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [People say we live in an age of information overload. 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Art humanizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/what-s-next-for-technology-and-design-a-lot-less-thinking-about/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [“The result of information overload is usually distraction, and it dilutes your focus and takes you off your game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/the-result-of-information-overload-is-usually-distraction-and-it/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“In Information Overload: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us,\* the authors state that distractions consume an average of 2.1 hours per day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-konrath/in-information-overload-we-have-met-the-enemy-and-he-is-us-the/) [Jill Konrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-konrath/) > [The cure to information overload is more information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weinberger/the-cure-to-information-overload-is-more-information/) [David Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weinberger/) > [With YouTube - with the Internet in general - you have information overload. 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We need the practice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/in-an-age-of-information-overload-the-last-thing-any-of-us-needs-is/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-foreman/i-see-within-us-all-myself-included-the-replacement-of-complex-inner/) [Richard Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-foreman/) > [We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/we-have-met-the-devil-of-information-overload-and-his-impish/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. 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