Bullseye Information Filter
Reduce health inputs to evidence that knows you and changes today's action
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 95%
The Bullseye Information Filter treats attention as a scarce health resource. First inventory the sources repeatedly feeding you advice. For each one, ask what decision it supports, what it knows about your body and current needs, and whether its claim applies to you. Remove inputs that are merely interesting, alarming, or population-level but irrelevant to today's choice. Retain a small set of sources and measurements that can demonstrate personal relevance, then convert each useful input into a concrete action or deliberate non-action. Review the mix as circumstances change. The mechanism counters infobesity: reducing volume improves the ability to distinguish helpful evidence from noise, while personal relevance keeps a headline about another population from disrupting a working plan.
Origin
Ashley Koff coined infobesity after seeing health-information overload prevent action, including women asking whether a prostate-related fish-oil story meant stopping omega-3s.
Core principles
- 01More information does not create better action
- 02Relevance is personal and time-bound
- 03A trusted source should prove it knows the user
- 04Information earns attention by changing a decision
How to run it
- 1
Inventory inputs
List the feeds, experts, tests, newsletters, and conversations that regularly influence health decisions.
Pro tip Include passive social-media exposure, not just sources you intentionally follow.
Watch out Unlisted background inputs still shape choices.
- 2
Name the decision
For each source, state the current decision it is supposed to improve.
Pro tip If there is no decision, classify it as education or entertainment.
Watch out Interesting information can masquerade as actionable guidance.
- 3
Test personal relevance
Ask what the source knows about your body, behavior, goals, and present condition. Check whether the population and context actually apply.
Pro tip Prefer measurements and experts that can explain why the advice fits you.
Watch out A dramatic study can be irrelevant to your biology or situation.
- 4
Narrow to the bullseye
Keep the smallest set of information that changes the target decision. Pause or discard the rest.
Pro tip Choose one trusted interpretation source for complex topics.
Watch out Collecting several versions of the same advice can recreate overload.
- 5
Act and review
Turn retained information into one specific action, experiment, or decision not to act. Reassess sources when your condition or goal changes.
Pro tip If information creates no action, reconsider why it remains in the feed.
Watch out A filter should adapt; it is not permanent loyalty to one source.
In the wild
A woman sees a headline connecting fish oil with prostate risk and considers stopping omega-3s. The filter checks population and personal relevance, recognizes that she does not have a prostate, and leaves her current plan unchanged pending evidence that applies to her.
→ An alarming but irrelevant headline does not disrupt the intervention.
Common mistakes
Mistaking learning for progress
Accumulating nutrition facts can feel productive while producing no healthier behavior.
Reacting to every headline
A study may concern a different population, outcome, or context.
Keeping advice with no decision
Inputs that serve no current choice consume attention without improving action.
Is it for you?
Best for
People overwhelmed by conflicting nutrition news, podcasts, studies, and social media advice.
Not ideal for
Professionals conducting broad research where comprehensive coverage is itself the task.
From the transcript
“I call this infobesity uh we have too much information and it is actually challenging our health”
“reduce the amount of information that we're taking in and have it be real targeted”
“that Bullseye information is information that can prove that you know about me and what my body needs”
From the episode
Episode 303: Ashley Koff: Personalized Nutrition Expert on Diet, Nutrition, and Supplements
Ashley Koff