Productivity 101

I like information. On a lot of things I want information. But my appetite for information changes over time. I have had times where I didn’t sign up to newsletters, infomercials, blogs, rss feeds out of cheer fear that I would never be able to get rid of them.

But I have found out that fear isn’t necessary anymore and that you miss a lot by keeping yourself from info. So here are some tips from my own life how to deal with info to get the best of it.

1. Focus

When selecting information sources, focus. I tend to limit the amount of information to specific subjects. Not more than three. For me currently I am focused on leadership, blogging and photography.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t allow information on other subjects too, but the sources in other areas are limited and only the good ones are there to stay.

2. Filter

Look for good information. Ask around. Once you have tapped in to one or two good resources you will find valuable information through the initial good resources. If you don’t like the info, just go on and look for better stuff.

3. Free up

Regularly free yourself from unwanted information. If I don’t like a particular newsletter anymore, unsubscribe. Otherwise classify that newsletter as junk mail. If you have too many feeds, schedule 30 minutes to go through them and delete ones that are not in your focus.

The thing is that in order to grow and learn new things it is better to prune and cultivate the sources of information in order to get the most of it. Fear of missing valuable information is false fear. It is more likely that you miss valuable stuff in you just don’t focus, filter and free up.

written by Fokke