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6 minute read
Do you ever feel as if you’re drowning?
Desperately searching for something to cling to as you struggle to keep your head above water? That’s how I feel about content - I am drowning in it and I’m also contributing to the volume of content drowning my clients and business network.
We live and work in an era where information is easily at our fingertips. If we have a question, we Google it or perhaps even ask our AI assistant. News, information and resources are abundant. The free flow and access to this information comes at a cost, and we can become overwhelmed with the abundance of it. We are constantly jumping into it to see if we need to know and how it can help what we need to do. Today’s information flow can become like a rapid flowing river of information moving faster than we can stay afloat in.
Information overload
I became an entrepreneur a year and a half ago. I have been consuming information on my profession and on being a business owner since that time. What have I learned? There is more information out there than you can imagine! I can’t keep up!
I work with executives and business owners that are inundated with content every day. Keeping up, prioritization, time management and boundaries are themes often included in our work on business results.
Each of us is unique in our ability to handle information. I like to use a water hose analogy; some people can drink information through the fire hose while others drink through the garden hose.
Know your limits of when the information overload puts you under stress rather than engaging and energizing you. Information management is a
process that needs attention and proactive investment in every day.
Information is overly abundant; decide who you need to listen to and who can help you listen. - Lisa W. Haydon
Stemming the flow
While I am helping my clients do better work and achieve better results that include working through information noise, I am also contributing to their weight of information. After each meeting, there’s homework that is a combination of exercises, reading and videos. Monthly I produce a blog and am pushing it out to my mailing list and to social media. In addition to this, daily I post curated content that aligns with the work I do and what my clients and community are interested in. I am just another feed for people to decide what to read and not read. Given that what I share reflects trends from my work, I hope there’s value being offered yet I am one of thousands of people sharing insights and information every day.
For most of us, managing personal information flow is not a task and effort that can be outsourced. Nor is this a one-time event. The first step is one of focus. What is important and urgent for you to be up to date with? What perspectives are most valuable for today and for the future? Keep adjusting: add, delete, filter, engage or ignore. The filter should complement your goals.
Time for some housekeeping
Organizing, reorganizing and culling are ongoing routines in our life. Consider carrying this over into your email and browsing routines. Decide what sources are important to you. Use your own assessment and see what others are following. This should also be a monthly or at least a quarterly habit.
Clean up your email. If you are like me, you’ll subscribe thinking you’ll get information that will help you. The helpful email then sits unread as you manage all your other urgent and important emails.
Unsubscribe if you are not going back and reading emails.
Get help from your network
What’s the answer?
I posed the question to my network about the tools they use to manage their information. Here are some of the options they’ve suggested; a number of them are also on my list too:
Google, Yahoo, Bing News with a full list of options here
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Flipboard
Feedly
TheSkimm
Morning Brew
For my Atlantic Readers:
AllNovaScotia
The Huddle
Please keep the conversation going and share your tips and tools.
Filtering the noise
How to ease the flow? Embrace your growth mindset. Know that there may be things you aren’t in the know about. Resolve yourself to being ok with missing some information. Most importantly, leverage your team and network to support you. Ask them to share things with you that are helpful. When I find articles that align to goals and focuses of my clients, I send them those articles or information.
Leverage your goals as your gauge and guide to what you need to focus on. Your goals will help construct that dam that corrals the information flow for harnessing your optimum energy and engagement.
If we are constantly taking in information, where do we find the time to digest it?
If we’re just treading water, how do we keep our heads above water to get to our desired destination?
If you see someone flaying in the flow of information, help them out.
Thank you to my network who so thoughtfully share their content picks and comments on how my content helps them. I do appreciate the help for myself and my business!
Lisa W. Haydon is the President and Founder of Pivotal Coaching Inc. She left her comfortable corporate career several years ago to follow her passion of helping people realize their potential and companies to realize high performance. Lisa is a growth focused entrepreneur, leadership development consultant and certified executive coach. To her clients, she brings business experience with prestigious corporations and continuous education. Lisa’s work in business operations and B to B sales expertise allowed her to create a differentiated coaching model and client experience. Lisa and Pivotal Coaching are known for 1:1 and cohort Programs in leadership development and sales effectiveness.
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