Coping with Digital Overwhelm: Meaning, Work, and Grace

Dorsey Ross Show

If your days feel like swimming against a current you didn’t choose, you’re not imagining it. Researcher and communication coach Dr. Craig Mattson joins us to map the hidden “rip tides” of digital life—why tools that promised efficiency now burn our attention, how inboxes became group chats in disguise, and what it actually takes to protect focus without disconnecting from your team or your values.
We trace Craig’s path from small-town roots and radio work into scholarship on modern work culture, then dig into practical fixes that are humane and realistic. We look at email through Cal Newport’s “hyperactive hive mind,” share ritual-level tactics to reduce chaos, and talk about Oliver Burkeman’s reminder that constraints aren’t flaws—they’re the shape of a life. Craig brings a surprising companion to the conversation: the wisdom books of Job and Ecclesiastes. Awe, finitude, and the acceptance that most work won’t be immortalized can lighten the pressure to make every task meaningful—and still point us toward daily joy, craft, and integrity.
We also explore two slippery topics many teams miss: using AI as scaffolding (not a substitute for voice and judgment) and the power of indirect communication—those signals around the words that matter most for people with less organizational sway. If you’ve wondered whether to quit a job that feels hollow, we offer a grounded way to test redesign vs. exit, name harm clearly, and move with patience instead of panic. By the end, you’ll have a clearer map for navigating overwhelm: fewer threads, cleaner decisions, kinder culture, and a practice of waiting that makes room for better choices. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what’s one change you’ll try this week?

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챕터

1. Meet Dr. Greg Madison (00:00:00)

2. Roots, Values, and Small-Town Influence (00:01:09)

3. Defining Digital Overwhelm (00:02:46)

4. Tech Rip Tides and Human Upwelling (00:04:27)

5. Individual Willpower vs Systemic Forces (00:06:47)

6. Mental, Social, and Spiritual Costs (00:09:53)

7. From Radio to Researcher (00:12:25)

8. Email Overload: Causes and Fixes (00:15:50)

9. Job, Awe, and Unmanageable Worlds (00:18:33)

10. Using AI as a Creative Tool (00:21:48)

11. Should You Quit an Unmeaningful Job? (00:23:39)

12. Indirect Communication as Power (00:27:18)

13. Where to Find Greg’s Work (00:29:26)

14. A Closing Word: Wait with Patience (00:30:37)