Are you constantly looking for new information personally or professionally? Do you feel that when you look at forums, message boards, podcasts, blogs, videos, social media, news sites, and so on that there is way too much information to take in? This is called information overload...too much information to process! When this happens, you can possibly feel overwhelmed that you will not be successful if you're not up to date with the latest data. Give yourself a mental break and let's look at some tips to avoid information overload.
First, you need to recognize what information you really do require before jumping online and getting lost in the mountains of information. To be more specific, determine what research you need to achieve progress for your goal. For example, if your focus right now is to eat healthier meals, you may start your online search for what healthy foods to eat and make a list of their nutritional values. Perhaps you can then look at recipes and make a grocery list. There is so much information online about different diets and people's success stories that can distract you from starting your journey of healthy eating. When it comes to your goals, take control of your focus and don't give into the temptation to read everything that pops up online. It can be difficult at first, but it is needed to not become overloaded with information. Once you determine what you specifically need, then it is time to sort through the noise. Look at what is relevant that you can action right now. When reviewing the content ask yourself, "will you be able to put this research into action now or the near future?" If not, don’t waste your valuable time on it. Only digest what can be used immediately towards your goal. Limit your online resources once you attain the facts or instructions you need. Reading the same facts worded in different ways from many website sources will slow you down; which will only add to your procrastination and keep you from achieving your goal. Then, turn off all the distractions (social media, news, and opinion articles) and start making progress with the information you have obtained!
Remember to take control of what you are choosing to view online. This will help you not to waste your time and to not fall prey to information overload.