My Top Tips for Beating Information Overload

• Tweet

• Tweet

OK, so I acknowledge that information overload is a problem. Now where do I go?

If you have not yet read part 1, be sure to go check out The Information Overload Safety Blanket now!

Continuing on from yesterdays post, we are discussing Information Overload and the severe impact this can have on not only your business venture, but also your mindset and overall attitude. With this in mind, and taking into account what was discussed yesterday I have decided to show you EXACTLY what steps I follow to make sure I myself don’t fall victim to this paralysis…

I have seen too many posts on this subject which actually stop at this point, they talk about the importance of taking action to overcome the dreaded feeling of information overload but don’t provide you with any manageable tips and/or real life examples of how you can implement this change yourself, so with that in mind, here is what I personally do to avoid the ‘overload beast’.

The Actionable steps that I take to beat the feeling of information overload.

• Create a Weekly Planner

-This is one of the most powerful actions you can take to beat information overload and one that is often overlooked despite the obvious impact this will have on your business building process.

For example, my weekly planner sometimes looks like this:

1. Monday:              Keyword and Niche research + Register primary keyword domain
2. Tuesday:              Upload domain and install wordpress – build out site
3. Wednesday:        Write two articles for each keyword ( to be used for SEO Link building)
4. Thursday:            Personal Blog posting – write 4 articles and schedule to publish
5. Friday:                  PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE (Yes I have developed a little system)
6. Saturday:             Rest and relaxation with my family – no work at all REGARDLESS!
7. Sunday:                 Blog commenting, social media –Relationship Building + Brand building

• Unsubscribe!

-This may seem like an unnecessary step but think about how many distractions are arriving in your inbox everyday. It is fair to assume that you have opted in to at least 10 lists by now and the gamut of spammy email that arrives in your inbox is doing nothing to help your focus. Chances are you already received the value (free gift) that you opted in for in the first place so there is no need to stay subscribed.

If the list you are on is genuinely providing valuable and timely email advise then stay subscribed for sure! But if not , by opting out you are not only removing the distractions from your inbox – you are also giving valuable feedback to the owner of the list that they are not providing you enough value to stay.

• Disconnect from the internet

-OMG! I know I know. Is that even logical? Will my life continue without cable? If that is your (humorous) reaction to the idea of disconnecting from the network then this is definitely the best step you can take to beat the paralysis of analysis. As we established early on, the internet is an endless ocean of information and unless you know EXACTLY what you are looking for, you can quickly end up drowning in a sea of confusion. Look at your weekly planner. What days don’t require connection?

For example, my weekly planner sees two days that do not necessarily require any internet connection, so on Wednesday and Thursday I make sure I am not able to connect to the internet, so it’s actually almost impossible to be distracted (unless either of my children wake up! RAH!)

If it helps, sometimes it’s a really good idea to give yourself one day, or at the very least, a block of hours on a day that you are ALLOWED to surf the net and be bombarded with information.  I say this because I know that when you stick to a plan, every nuance of your being is screaming “I’m sure there is a better way to do this” and you are itching to search for this ‘way’. OK so this is the thought process that got you into the information overload headspace in the first place, but it would be too much to extinguish this feeling – so do the smart thing and factor it into your plan.

AND FINALLY…

• Give yourself a break – and a pat on the back!

-Whether you schedule a whole day off (as I have done on Saturday) or you just allow a few hours every couple of evenings to just chillax, it’s important that you take the time for yourself. Apart from the obvious impact a fulltime workload would have on your family and friends, it’s important from a psychological perspective to take a step back every now and again and just acknowledge the great work you have done to date.

As Dr Phil says “You need to realiiiiiize”…. That you are doing a fantastic job’

Don’t be like Betty here and pull your hair out over it!

Alex Uses and Highly Recommends:

Tagged as: action plan, information overload, Paralysis of analysis, weekly planner