don't feed on tons and tons of information hoping to learn something ..

pick a hole in you know how and search to fill it .

Oh yes this was me. I was a 'Jack of all Trade' master of none. Now I write down what is important to me and in what order and then take my time to learn about one thing before moving onto another. With this focus tasks become more manageable and enjoyable and I see more progress.

I broke down my past strengths and weaknesses!

Info overload was one of them.. For the first time in years ( ever ) I am finally getting somewhere!

I write a to do list the night before. I try my best to prioritize the order, but it doesnt always work out! I then commit to that list and when and only when I have completed it I let my mind wonder.. If not however I stay disciplined and start my day off the next day with all the things I didn't do the day before! < if that makes sense ! ha

One trick that helps me is actually visualizing back handing distracting thoughts out of my mind and scaring them off! If not I have 6 things plus on my mind and never end up getting anything done!

Also if you are using splenda to sweeten your tea or coffee... Dont! It contains a
neuro-toxin that has been shown to screw up thought process!

Hope this helps,

R.S

I would first recognize that it is not the Information that is overloading you. It is the fact that you are overbalanced in securing the information you need to begin work. Obviously because of that imbalance you are underbalanced in taking meaningful action to physically advance your goals, you business, your success.

Fire your internal boss. (he is really a librarian ) Then hire a balanced team of researchers and proven doers. This represents a composite of a new mindset that should get you back on the road to getting things done as well as your precious reading. Yes, there will be time for it too! Good Luck, Sir.

LLS

Info junkies have usually got some form of DENIAL going on. You know your next step should be Action, but you convince yourself that there's just one more thing you should try and learn. By its very nature, it's not going to be easy to overcome, unfortunately.

If you can admit your problem, that's half the battle won. But your best bet for overcoming any kind of compulsive activity is to buddy up with someone willing to follow-up on you - make you accountable.

And try and shift your thinking. Information isn't the only way to learn. Experience is a very powerful teacher.

I found when i first started out that i just could'nt get anything done as i would spend my time trying to put into place all the new things that i was learning. Because i was getting infomation left right and center i could'nt focus on one thing at a time. Now i make a list of what i need to do each day stick to it and then when it's all done look at new information to see if it can be of some help to me..

Use your intuition to tell you when you have enough information to start your project or start moving towards your goal.

And then just jump in. Read Mark Burnett's book, Jump In...some very helpful info.

Thank you to you all for your contributions here.

I have had that problem... just pick one branch, and learn slowly. I usually have quit when I was afraid I can't do any of things. When I tried for the first time (and YES, I struggled), I discovered it's not so much "alien" like I imagined it to be.

So just learn slowly, take action, and don't get impressed with people's techy words. You will soon learn it Yourself

EDIT: as digitalnetworkgroup said... have a small list and write there what you have to do... This is the best tip someone could give You. Trust me on that

Here are my personal rules:

1. Never buy anything I don't need right now, to accomplish what I'm doing right now. (Or: only buy what I need at this exact moment to finish the one project I'm on.)

2. Once purchased, IMPLEMENT and challenge myself to how fast I can see a return on that investment. I'm big on "implement as you learn".

3. Know my priorities. My overall priorities, and each day's top three priorities. Those three things get done FIRST, before anything else.

4. Micro-Task. I find if I try to approach a whole project, I get overwhelmed and start researching this or that (solutions I'm not even ready for yet). Instead, I break projects, and even bigger tasks, down into the smallest of micro-tasks. Get it done, then move to the next one. And refer back to #1.

In my case, information overload in internet marketing became a problem because I had no idea how to organize the information I was being given.

Through time, I began to figure out where to 'house' the information that I needed, or thought I would need.

As I developed a plan around getting organized, I became less 'overwhelmed' with all the 'stuff'.

Now, I treat information overload like a deferred asset - I know where it needs to go, and I also know that I will most likely refer to it at the appropriate time in the future.

It's an organizational thing more than it is an overload thing.

Organization is a good point. Most people have thousands of potential dollars hiding on their hard drive collecting dust!

That said, Information Overload can happen with or without outside sources (products purchased, etc) - and simply be a state of mind: total overwhelm. Too many ideas, too many solutions to each idea, scared to take action thinking it may be the wrong action, lack of confidence in the outcome, etc.

My advice: never store it in your head. Put it on paper, or on the screen in front of you, where you can deal with it logically instead of emotionally. If it really does feel like too much, or there are things really bothering me about a project, I have a simple exercise:

Worst Case Scenario.

I sit down and write out the absolute worst case scenario. It's never as bad on paper (or in Evernote) as it is in my head. Ever. Next I come up with potential solutions to each "worst case" point. That usually does the trick!

Get a coach

or

Create your own ACTIONABLE plan

The easiest victim for Information Overload Syndrome is those who want to make money but have no set, written, detailed, and actionable plan to make it happen.

Also, create a daily ACTION LIST to get things done every day...this will always keep you moving ahead and not bobbing around like most IO victims!

Create a written business plan.

It's really that simple... it forces you to define your goals and how you're going to reach them. Once you have that, all the unrelated information in the world won't distract you.