Do you remember back in the "olden days" when we had to go out and find information? I remember driving to the library with my mom to page through book after book in search of whatever nugget of knowledge I needed to finish a school project. Those were the days!
These days, we don’t have to find information. Information finds us—at least, if my overflowing email inbox is any indication! It can be so overwhelming, and while paging through all of the newsletters, articles, blogs and social media posts out there can be good for a little afternoon procrastination, it sometimes feels like all that information keeps me from doing what I really need to do in my business. And sticking my head in the sand like an ostrich certainly isn’t going to keep me on the cutting edge. 🙂
So how can you be the kind of thought leader who wades through the noise and picks out just the right nuggets to keep your business ahead of the curve? How can you continue to innovate with your products while building your knowledge and know-how as an entrepreneur—without spending 5 hours a day just consuming content?
By creating one of my favorite things: A system! I’ve got three simple tips to share with you this week to help you stay current while keeping overwhelm at bay.
In addition to helping you create a business that stays ahead of the curve, this system can also be incredibly helpful when it comes to content marketing. When you follow my system, you’ll know the right sources to curate great content that your audience will love, so you don’t have to scramble for new Tweets or Facebook posts. You’ll have them all at your fingertips.
Did I leave anything out? Let me know how you keep up with your industry in the comments. I’ve learned some of my best tips and tricks from my community and I’d love to hear yours.
Thank you, Pam, for this great blog.
Last night, a friend and I were discussing this challenge of overwhelm and how to deal with it. We agreed on a plan and system, so close to the one you have outlined in the blog.
Our parting comment was if we felt the need to simplify and focus, others must also be discussing how to limit the information coming at them.
A few hours later, here is your blog confirming our thoughts and also confirming many are realizing they have to cut out the majority of the chatter and focus, focus, focus.
Thanks Sue – I love how you organized this into two buckets: (1) managing our own focus (2) having a system to limit what’s coming at us to only the things that have the highest relevance and/or emotional impact. Thanks for your note! XO
Great tips Pam! I am always looking for ways to streamline and organize my research and incoming data!
Hi Pam…… Missed you at the MMLA event where were you???
Oh wait! I was the one missing.. 🙁
Awesome video, thank you for thinking of me…. I couldn’t get my name dot com so I dropped the m. now I don’t know what to do with it.
I am very excited about the 5 day plan in MMLA… plan to launch webcast the 31st using your methods… Well Ok Mike’s too 😉
Keep up the good work and pass my regards to Chris 🙂
Garry
Ha! Keep us posted on your progress – we always love hearing from you and are here to support (you need to get your butt to the event next year though!). 😉
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Always great content Pam! And I appreciate you breaking it down into simple steps for execution. Many thanks
Thank you Pam! You always address the very thing that is frustrating and “overwhelming” my world. This video was brilliant, informative and spot on. I am delighted to share it with my clients because when they “get it”, it makes my training so much easier! Thanks again for sharing your insights.
Nicely done Pam. Thank you.
The deafening market noise is like all of the orchestra instruments playing at full volume. You can’t distinguish the violin from the tuba, it’s one giant noise.
Add to it, our attention spans are less than that of goldfish, folks are disturbed by too much information than not enough. Their intuition is on high alert. The audience craves authenticity.
In working with a world expert on brain science he knows the impact of information overload. He can see it on brain scans, how it shuts down the creative centers, innovation, problem resolution etc. and how to fix it.
I’m selective about data review because too much blows your brain circuits.
Agree. Content and product development are the heart and brain of the business, without them nothing else happens and … they drive revenue.
Each task in the business has a priority rank, it’s a project management mind set. If I don’t do E then F doesn’t happen. It’s a good way to keep the distractions at bay.
When you think about it, we’re supposed to control the data, not have it control us.
Mille grazie from back east!
Paula, thanks for another great comment! You are very eloquent! There’s no question that in a society obsessed with “clicks” and “likes,” it’s really attention and connection that we’re all craving. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Thanx Pam for some great thoughts and ideas. I love reading and learning from all the great thinkers out there and it does tend to get overwhelming especially when dealing with some interesting health challenges. Make it a wonderful Memorial day weekend. Sending you and Chris and the boys lotsa luv and Angel hugs.
Hugs back to you Ruth! XO
Very timely post, Pam, thank you. And I took notes on who you consider thought leaders in Content Marketing. I am about to check out Content Marketing Institute, Marketing Profs, and Convince & Convert. It’s funny about a lot of the emails I get just bcz awhile back I signed up to be on their list. I don’t need to politely pay attention & read or listen to a lot of it if it has nothing to do with my work right now . . . Even though I know it’s good content, I am not a future customer of their’s and so bottom line is we need to be more ruthless in our time management. We are not hurting anyone’s feelings if we delete delete delete the noisy ones! You’re right: focus on the essentials after deciding what our essentials are!
So right on and timely for me…Thanks Pam !! I adopted a similar system and effort last year…and it continually needs the focus you outline…it is a constant challenge. So the steps you suggest will be the clarity I need to eliminate more “clutter” from my information sources now. I’m excited !!
As always You are on the top of my list for best practices…and mentors. Thanks for all you do!!!
Elaine
Thanks Pam! I always learn from you! I am going through a change and rebranding. You always help with making the daunting tasks doable by explaining and by example. I appreciate your weekly videos.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Maryalice
Sometimes when I have too many unread emails, I sort them according to “sender.” Then I read through ones all from the same person or website, and sometimes decide it’s time to unsubscribe if the information is no longer valuable or relevant.
Great idea – gives you a good snapshot of the value you get!
Great video. I agree this is a an area that causes me huge overwhelm and I’m in a tech job. It just feels endless. One of the things I find really difficult is learning new software and having to watch hours of tutorial videos covering info that I don’t actually need. I just want to get a few things done but then have to go through so much extra stuff. Adobe software is endlessly complex.
The one tip I’d add to this is for Mac users. Doing the Apple One to One training at the mac store has been a life saver for me. You can book an appointment for a hour and learn to use any mac software. The people who teach are also usually experts in other things too so they can solve a lot of your computer problems and questions. Whenever I have issues I do this. It saves me hours of looking online for answers.
Great suggestion – more time in the planning means less in the execution – in this case, investing an hour to save you lots of time on the back end is totally worth it. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the tips Pam. I set up folders as you suggested and use the Google filter feature to weed out emails I don’t want to receive. As you mention, it takes some time to set these systems up but the productivity gains afterwards are worth it.
Totally agree Stewart! I forgot to mention the Google Filter feature by name so thanks for the reminder on that! 🙂