Safeguarding Against Information Overload

While the internet is a good place to acquire knowledge, safeguarding against information overload will greatly help to avoid distractions. Constantly getting hit with unwanted messages all day can not only be frustrating and annoying, it can cause you to loose your focus. That is why you must be mentally disciplined to know what is necessary for the success of your business. Knowing your business needs will help you weed out information that are wasting your time and taking up space in your devices. When you are distracted, you run the risk of wasting time and money on resources that can deter your business goals.

Here are some simple steps you can take in safeguarding against information overload.

1) Know the advantages and disadvantages of running a business online before you launch. An understanding of the pros and cons will help determine your own business needs. Different businesses and niches have different needs and you will most likely be receiving all kinds of information, even those that doesn't pertain to you. Knowing what you need can significantly reduce the volume of information you receive or may want to pay attention to.

2) Mainly subscribe to newsletters and information that pertains to your niche, and unsubscribe to ones you don't need. If your request to be removed from a mailing list is ignored, call or write a letter and politely asked to be removed from the subscriber's list.

3) Outsource tasks you're not good at or can't do and focus on your strength. Information received that you're already outsourced can be forwarded to your contractor or freelancer. By so doing, you free up time to focus on the growth of your business.

4) Another important step in safeguarding against information overload is to have two email addresses, one of which could be used for junk or unwanted emails. Adjust the privacy settings for your main email address to receive emails from people you've given permission, and you do so by whitelisting their contact information on your device. Some ISP's will automatically delete junk mails before they even get to your inbox, although you will sometimes have to manually do it yourself.

5) Social Media is a good place to grow your business, but it is best to separate your friends from your business associates.

Finally, safeguarding against information overload will keep your system from viruses and worms that infects computers every day. Study your market and be very cautious about giving out your contact information either by phone or email address to avoid getting your information sold to companies for profit. These companies can end up sending you information that are unnecessary and out of your scope of business.