Having tons of information at your fingertips is such a wonderful thing – but what happens when you try to learn everything at once? Here are some tips to avoid information overload!
If you’re like me, when you get into something, you jump in 100% learning every little aspect you can about that topic. You want to know the overall, the nitty gritty, the ins and outs completely – it’s like you simply can’t soak in enough information. And if you’re like me, this leads to feeling totally overwhelmed. All of the information builds up in your head before you can even utilize it, making all of the learning you just did moot. Sometimes, it might lead to you giving up because it’s so stressful.
But here’s the thing – I love to learn. With the internet at my fingertips, giving me all of the information I could ever want all at once, learning things is easier than ever. But, like I said, I do have a habit of getting information overload because I keep jumping from one article to the next to the next without stopping. So how do you overcome this hurdle while still learning everything you want or need to?
Today I’m going to share my method for how I learn things while avoiding crazy information overload. This is a really great method especially for bloggers who want to learn more about all of the different aspects, but there is just SO MUCH information out there that it seems impossible!
How to Avoid Information Overload
Make a list. Think of all of the different categories relating to your topic that you hope to gain more knowledge about. For example, when I’m thinking of blogging, there is content, promotion, SEO, monetization, etc. Write it all down in a list so you can see everything at once. If a category has a lot of subtopics and is very broad, try to break it up. For example, if I was looking at blog promotion, I could break it into Pinterest, Facebook, Stumble Upon, etc.
Rate each topic’s importance. Which of these topics is the most important or urgent for you to learn about right this second? Or if it’s not urgent, maybe just which one do you want to learn the most at the moment? Start there, and rate the rest of the topics.
Choose a specific time period. Choose a span of time for which you will focus solely on learning each topic. Personally, I like to do one each month – that way I know that August is the month for learning about Pinterest (or whatever). But any time frame would work, so long as you give yourself ample time to cover teh topic. So keep in mind how much you want/need to know about it as well as how broad your topics are when choosing your
Schedule it out and commit yourself. Are you a planner lover? Assign each time period to a topic and commit to it by writing it down in your planner or on your calendar. If you’re totally digital, ake a note on your phone. Just have a space to remind you when you’ll be focusing on what.
ACTIONABLE TASKS. This is number one. For each completed piece of information you read (post, article, book etc) take notes, but most importantly, if it was a useful piece of information, create an actionable task for yourself if applicable. All of this learning will do NOTHING for you if you don’t have specific ways to utilize the knowledge. It will all continue to swirl in your mind and overwhelm you.
Just a note – know that if something pops up, you obviously can research other things here and there. This is just a guideline to help compulsive researchers like myself DO more without getting stressed out over what is being learned.
So tell me – are you prone to information overload? Do you have a love for learning? Let me know in the comments!
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Krystal @ Little Light on a Hill says
I sometimes get overwhelmed with information as well. I’ve learned the info is worthless if I don’t DO something with it. From one list-maker to another, thanks for the reminder to take that info and get to work on it! Great post, as always.
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
This is a timely post for me. As a newbie blogger, I have signed up for many articles, ebooks, etc in my quest to learn. So the high number of items to read and a bulging inbox, I’ve literally felt frozen – unable to do something (anything) with what I’m reading. I like your suggestion of setting a month aside to learn ONE thing. That’ll totally help the information overload I clearly have been having. Visiting from Small Victories Sunday.
Janet Vinyard says
Hi Morgan, Great suggestions! I find taking notes while reading or listening to new information helps me focus on what’s being said, reducing outside distractions. Sometimes there is so much to learn that I want to do it all at once, but that doesn’t work! I remember the so-called “swiss cheese” method from years past where you take bites out of the total project until it’s all completed. Thanks for this information! Blessings, Janet
Nancy Andres says
Thanks Morgan for this interesting post. Yes, I do sometimes feel on overload. My secret is to have a to-do list with only one thing on it. When I complete that task I move on to another. I’ll be pinning this, because I think it could be a big help to others. I linked up my post, Colors of Joy Among Top Self-help Books for Women. Hope my list of all-time favorite self-help books entertains and encourages interest for you. Nancy Andres @ http://www.colors4health.com
Lady Lilith says
I love lists. They help me see what I have and what I still need to do. A great way to organize information.
Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
I definitely love to learn about things I’m interested in–I am guilty of feeling the overload too! I love the idea of focusing on one thing per month…specially for blogging as it all gets overwhelming!
Patty says
I am continually amazed at the amount of information on the internet and love to learn all I can but it also overwhelms me too! Thanks for all your sensible info and a reminder to me to write things down!
Margo says
I really like the “actionable task” tip. I seem to stay in the “research” phase too long, and never get started! 😛
Leah says
This is so helpful! I tend to feel overwhelmed and then I get completely sidetracked when faced with too much information! Glad I found this on Turn it up Tuesdays!
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner says
Great list of tips! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Kristy from Southern In Law says
This is such a great post! I am definitely guilty of not only feeling the overload – but totally procrastinating when I feel overloaded. Especially when it comes to doing something that’s either completely new or not really something I want to do!
Pat Fenner says
Hi Morgan!
Over from Coffee and Conversation 🙂
This is great advice for homeschoolers, too! Time *and* information management are super-important life skills for us all! Thanks for sharing your tips with us…
Have a great week!
Carlie says
Great tips, Morgan! I definitely need these, as I can jump in head first and end up getting lost in the fray. Will be pinning this one. Thanks!
Theresa says
Great tips! Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Shared.
Sandra Garth says
Great post and I love the way you broke it down to small manageable tasks. Thanks for sharing this at Celebrate Your Story!
Jen says
It is like you are speaking right directly to me here. Sometimes there is just too much and I get overwhelmed. I really need to make a plan and set limits.
Thanks for sharing this gem over at the Happy Now link-Up!
Gina says
I am so prone to information overload! I don’t know how I didn’t think about it sooner. But, it explains a lot of why I’m so stressed all the time! This is so amazing! I’ve pinned this to look back at later. I’m a total planner nut, so I’m leaving this page open. When I get home from work I’m going to get started on breaking down the topics I want to learn into manageable categories. That is so smart! Thank you so much!! 😀
Karen Del Tatto says
I am a researcher by nature. I love it! But you are right, it can be overwhelming at times!
Thanks for sharing these great insights for avoiding information overload. 🙂
April J Harris says
These are great ideas – it is so easy to get overwhelmed and try to do it all! Thank you for sharing with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.