How Do Fellow Warriors Stay Focused And Avoid Info Overload?

Focusing on one specific area also allows you to become the ultimate expert FASTER.

For me to get focused I always lay out my projects and tasks into a mind map format...but systematically so that I can do everything in a step sequence.

Once my plan is in place...all I have to do is execute. Executing the tasks is then easier because I know what needs to be done. It allows me to stay focused.

PLAN before executing.

But don't overplan either. Stay focused within the plan as well.
Some people create plans and the plan goes out of hand with too many additions.

Sometimes I do a reverse plan and that works amazingly well.

Instead of aiming for the goal and working out a plan towards that goal, I do it in reverse order. I identify my goal first and then I i work out the steps backward. I find myself creating very efficient executable plans that way. The way I teach is also done in the same way.


Cheers
Reinhardt

The source of information overload is when you dont know what you should do to make money. So you keep reading and reading until *hopefully* you find what works for you. Unfortunately, the more you keep reading the less likely it is you'll see results.

I used to have information overload big time ... what solved it was that I actually started testing stuff out and stopped reading completely. I unsubscribed from all newsletters and stopped hanging out in forums ... and I especially stopped buying stuff.

After about 1 year WHAMMO ... I was too busy making money so information overload couldn't happen no more. Why? Because I already found what worked so I didnt need to read everything under the sun anymore.

Nowadays, I read the financial times tho

Nick

it is only you that can decide to stay focus, even every member shares with you different method you can use to stay focus , if you don't make up your mind to stay focus you will still be jumping every were , get a product or service you are passionate about and begin to promote it until you see result

The most effective way to work is to find the critical path in any project and get that 'done' before anything else, so that no matter what happens after that you can make money.

Too many people fiddle around with things that aren't necessary and don't get enough done to let people pay them.

i.e if you have a product but are not selling because you don't have an affiliate script yet - you're stopping at a problem you don't have. Until you're selling your product and have affiliates interested in selling it - even thinking about an affiliate script is getting ahead of yourself.

Andy

I think a lot of the reason that people can't stay focused and are victims of information overload is that they can't commit to their business.

Instead of sticking with a plan, they think "Oh, this won't work, I better go try something else".

And then they move on to the next shiny thing while never giving the last thing a chance to flourish.

I'm just as guilty as everyone else but finally after 5 years I am starting to be able to "control" myself better!

The problem comes when you aren't making money "fast enough" or getting traffic "fast enough" or whatever and then you move on instead of having faith that the traffic and money will come.

Lee

I use a few things to ensure I stay on task and avoid "information overload" where possible:

1) I write daily to-do lists with the most important tasks I want to accomplish - I usually write this the night before, after I've finished for the day.

2) I use "Things" on the mac (I would think there is similar software for the PC) which helps me organise my tasks and projects and store important information related to the stuff I'm working on

3) I use a project management web app to help manage the projects I'm collaborating on with others. I use Active Collab, but I know Basecamp is another popular solution. This allows me to keep all correspondance on projects in one place, and manage outsource workers as well as joint venture partners and any of my own clients.

4) I ensure that I do not start consuming information not related to the my main business focus. It's all to easy to get distracted by new information, but I only start looking for new information when I need to know how to get something done, or when I have allotted specific slot of time for reading new books etc - yes it's great to continue learning, but do it when it does not distract from your main business day.

5) Check email at set intervals - I know from past experience it's all too easy to get stuck in an "email loop". You continually check emails, start on a task and before you know it you're back in your inbox.

I set aside time at the start of my day, and then at set intervals through my day to check email, and do not deviate from this. I usually recommend perhaps checking email 4 times a day, possibly less if you can. Obviously if you're launching a product or WSO etc, this generally this is the system I stick to.

5) I use mindmaps to plan/brainstorm my projects and help me get an overview of what is going into each project. I use Mindjet Mindmanager for this, but there are other good free solutions available like "Freemind" which i think is available for Mac and PC.

I use one main mindmap to store the basic overview of my entire business (project has a separate arm), and then each of these projects/businesses is separated into an individual mindmap which has more specifics on each project.

This gives me a really easy way to see what's required for each project, and also helps me generate new ideas as I can see what's missing from the overview of the project.

6) I use systems in my business. I systemize any tasks I do or my team does on a regular basis. So whenever I do something new in my business, I will create a mindmap or flowchart for this process, which can then be followed by a member of my team or an outsourced worker in the future. This allows me to leverage my time and ensure I'm not re-learning stuff or doing stuff I don't need to do which takes away from my main business focus.

This also gives you the leverage to make your business a lot more hands off in the future, as you can essentially build a business manual or handbook which has all your tasks for your business, and pass this off to an outsource team so you can focus on product creation/research or the stuff you prefer to be doing.

I hope this is useful to some of you.

~James Dyson

Pick a method you have learned and implement and don't read anything else until it's done. Once you've implemented one thing, try another out and stop reading other stuff until that's done.

Learning and knowledge are good things, but only if you actually put them to use.

well to me learn a single aspect at a time. Don't try to do all things by oneself

Having a set plan and tweeking your system as you learn new things is vital to ensuring you get things done. Another strategy I used all the time is limiting how much time I spend on each task.

If I have ten articles to write, then I limit my article writing to 1hour. When that hour is up I move on to the next task. That way you have to stay focused on what you're doing. It's a little regimented, but I definately get more done and I know what I have to do.

I also set time aside every week to read new stuff and how to include that in my system. Learning new tactics is great, but not at the expense of not doing any constructive work.

Personally, my cure for information overload is (like some have said here) to be stuck on a plan.

I list build but my main business is creating products and launching them to my list. My goal is to consistently creating 3-4 new products per month and do a couple of affiliate launches where I create a special gift if people buy through my affiliate link.

I also noted in this thread that information overload stopped when someone was so busy making money they had no time for it. This is pretty true.

Tyson, my suggestion to you though beyond all this is to Automate a lot of things and Eliminate a lot of other things.

What makes you most of your money? (automate this stuff)

What takes up a lot of time but isn't that fruitful? (eliminate this stuff)

Hope that helps (it's what i do personally)

Cheers,

Brad


PS- I picked up your free squeeze page WSO...I like it

For me, I just stick with one thing and just keep implementing it over and over again. Sure there are other things that pop up in my mind but I just stay focus by thinking of my goal

I have ADD so it is a constant challenge for me but the other side of ADD is the stage of "Hyper focus." I try to go into that stage through focusing on things that I like to do, IE: KW research, writing, etc...

A friend once told me he was a "Jack of all trades, Master of none", then went back to college. Just complete and master one task at a time. Before you know it you'll be successful, and your the only one who can measure the limit to your success.