November 2011 - Issue 88 - www.clareevans.co.uk

Hello ,

I hope you're enjoying the transition from Summer into Autumn, although it's been unseasonably warm and mild here in the UK.

It's a time of year I love, even if the days are getting shorter, it's darker in the mornings and the temperatures are dropping.

There's still plenty to look forward to before the end of the year and this month sees the launch of my new Lunch and Learn Sessions.

Information packed sessions delivered in the lunch hour that enable businesses to deliver more training, more quickly and easily at minimal cost.

If you want to find out how to get an hour's free coaching in November for one of your team or to book a Taster session - get in touch.

What are you working on and what are you planning to achieve by the end of this year?

You can still listen to last week's Thought Leadership Live webcast  How To Create Boundaries To Save You Time and Money.

Keep in touch and get extra news, offers, tips and info from my blog, on Twitter or connect with me on Facebook or Linked In.

Enjoy the rest of this month's newsletter.

Clare

P.S. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues.  Thank you.

I'm sure this is something that I'm sure will resonate with many people. The shear amount of information we receive on a daily basis in both paper and electronic format - resulting in 'information overload'.

I recently came across this quote from Clay Shirky

"It's not information overload - it's filter failure".

And it's true. Our sub-conscious minds are very good at filtering. If you think of the amount of information we receive through our senses on a daily basis but we focus or pay attention to only what is important.

I'm sure you already have filters set up for your email - moving it into relevant folders rather than just filling up your inbox.

But how many 'filters' do you apply to other aspects of your life?

You only have to look at your computer or smartphone to know that the amount of information out there is just absolutely massive and being added to all the time.

Some of it useful, some of it less so and some of it of dubious origin or value.

We may feel a compulsive 'need' to read every piece of information that comes in - just in case ...

... someone is asking me to do something. If they are - action it - either now or flag it and set a time to do it later.

... there might be an opportunity I don't want to miss. How many opportunities do you actually have time to take up and follow through? Stay focused.

File the good one's away on your Master List or in a 'Maybe later' file and refer to it regularly to check if the right time is now.

... there might be some useful nugget of information in that newsletter you signed up to two years ago.

If you don't read them on a regular basis or they're just sitting in your 'read later' folder - unsubscribe! You can always resubscribe later.

... it might come in useful 'someday'. How many pieces of information have you got filed away for 'someday'? By all means keep them in a file or folder or on an App but cull it regularly.

If you're feeling bombarded or overwhelmed by all the information available or the many and varied demands on your time - ask yourself these questions:

- Can I find this information elsewhere?
- Can I get this information from somewhere/someone if I need it?
- How is this information or this activity going to make a difference to my life right now?

Just because you now have access to a huge resource of information - doesn't mean that you need to read or act on every single piece of it.

Create 'quality' filters. How much does a piece of information add to the quality of your life or the ability of your business to grow or earn more income?

Resolve to reduce your information overload to a reasonable number of sources you can deal with that offer real value to what you're trying to achieve, whether at home or work.

Only give as much time to dealing with information as is warranted. Spend your time on more valuable or productive tasks.

Learn speed-reading techniques so you can quickly skim a piece of information to decide whether it useful or needs acting on without the need to read every single word.

If you need some more ideas for dealing with your information overload or need help managing yours, give me a call or book a free Strategy Session.

Until next month.