Information Overload: Reclaiming Your Productivity

Whether you’re brand new to online marketing or you’ve been at this awhile, chances are you sometimes feel like your productivity is dwindling. But it’s not because you’re distracted or lacking motivation.

In fact, it’s your sheer focus and commitment to success that might be the driving factor in why you’re exhausted and overwhelmed. You may have accidentally set yourself up for burnout when it comes to being too dedicated to intense learning, networking and publishing.

There are so many things to learn – not just as a newbie, either. This is a career path that requires continual learning. Whenever something changes like search engine optimization or the emergence of a new technology, you’re thrust into the learning arena all over again.

You buy courses. You sign up for conferences. You join or launch groups on Facebook to stay abreast of what you need to know. Before you know it, you’re dreading the day because you can’t even get started on moneymaking tasks until you check all of your social media, go through a course, and publish niche content of your own.

Overwhelm Can Paralyze Your Decision Making Process

If you’re concerned about all there is to know, it can bring your productivity to a screeching halt. You don’t want to even publish a blog post if you know there’s a haunting threat of a search engine algorithm change.

So instead of publishing for your readers, you put it off until you have time to go through a new SEO course, which is likely to become outdated the second it goes live. There are other marketers who wake up and make decisions without having to first field thoughts about the million and one things that could make or break their efforts.

They simply focus on catering to the needs of their audience. They do it in the best way they know how. They carve out time later for learning, because no one is saying it needs to be put on the backburner forever.

There’s a certain amount of gut instinct and common sense required to run a business as an online entrepreneur and you can’t forever be relying on a course or group tip to shore up your decisions.

This is a concept based on a lack of confidence and fear of failure. It’s the bold and innovative thought leaders who make steps to advance their brand without being tied to the learning process as a way to sweep for signs of possible problems.

How to Know If You’re Stuck in a Cycle of Information Overload

There will be signs and they may not be apparent at first. Initially, you’ll be so proud of yourself for your diligence in learning, participating and being proactive. It’s not until you start seeing cracks in your system that it becomes a visible problem.

First, you might notice that although you worked hard all day, you got very little done on your to do list. Or it may be the tasks that actually make you money that you haven’t completed, because the rest of your to do list (learning and absorbing information) was all marked off.

You might start to become exhausted having to keep up with all of the industry changes and find yourself hoping that everything can just stay the same for a little while. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen in this industry, but what you have to understand is that you don't have to instantly learn and apply every single thing as it emerges.

You might start to notice that you have trouble making decisions on which direction to take. This can range from major career options like which business model to pursue to minor issues like what slant you want to take with a piece of content.

Information overload can cause you to second guess everything you are doing, and what happens is you end up staying stuck not doing anything. You might also start to feel overwhelmed at the very start of your day whenever you sit down and begin going through all of the online communities, realizing you have a webinar to attend that is listed on your calendar, and you see file after file of courses you need to complete before you feel ready to take action.

If you've been in this industry for awhile, you might catch yourself being nostalgic about simpler times in this business when everything seemed black and white. The truth is, it's no different today than it was then, but it may move at a slightly faster pace.

The Damage Being Done By Excessive Information Input

There is a price to pay for those who do nothing to remedy the problem of information overload. It's more than just feeling frustrated at your lack of productivity. You are going to eventually chip away at your intuition so that you no longer trust anything you decide to do.

This is a very serious problem for an online entrepreneur who has no team or coworkers to lean on as they make a decision. If you can't do this on your own, you will be like a deer in the headlights, unable to move forward.

Financially, you are going to take a hit, whether that means a loss of income or the failure to generate income from the very beginning. You won't be able to take action in a way that earns you money because you are stuck in the learning and decision making process.

Another way you are going to lose financially is with all of the investments that you are making in courses that you never take action on because there is constantly something new to purchase and learn.

What's worse is that as you are learning from a last number of sources, you are going to run into conflicting advice or strategies that each claim to be the best path forward. Without the ability to make decisions on your own, you won't be able to choose the right answer for your business.

The Fix for Overwhelming Information Issues

So how do you fix this problem? The first step is for you to understand your own personal capacity for absorbing new information. Each person is different and has various skills in terms of how fast they can read or learn new concepts.

If you can zoom through a course quickly, it may not be as much of a problem as someone who has to take their time and reread concepts in order to understand them fully.

You have to begin recognizing the difference between learning and procrastinating. There are many people reading this report right now who are using the learning process as an excuse not to take action and potentially fail.

You also need to keep yourself emotionally strong in all ways as an entrepreneur. Mental fortitude means waking up with a balanced approach to life, removing toxic people and negative influences from your close circles and learning how to engage in stress-relieving tactics to prevent a build-up of frustration.

You also want to reclaim your ability to make decisions with ease. Start practicing the art of trusting yourself. Even the most informed entrepreneurs will make mistakes, but you can’t allow that to paralyze you.

When it comes to the learning process, don’t think you have to give it up. Just be selective in what you devote your time to and absorb in bite-sized increments. That might be sitting down for half an hour each day for learning or it may mean dedicating one day a week to the learning process.

But don’t let it eat all of your time. The majority of your time needs to be spent carrying out moneymaking tasks like creating info products, improving conversions for sales copy or emails, and more.

It’s time for you to embrace the moniker of leader in your niche and with this label comes the responsibility of trusting in yourself to guide you in what should be done. There’s a balance you can strike between this position of authority and one where you admit you continue to have a lot to learn.

You have a lot of competition as an online entrepreneur, and some of those competitors have deep pockets and the ability to fast-track their success through the use of outsourcing to freelance service providers.

This once made it nearly impossible for those on a budget to gain traction as a formidable niche competitor in a short period of time. But now, you don’t have to pay someone to be your assistant with marketing tasks.

There are many automation and creative tools that you can use at no cost to you. Initially, marketers who had no budget for help would turn to things like free levels of use for Canva, email autoresponder systems, etc.

But when artificial intelligence (AI) came onto the scene, everything changed. Now, the playing field is truly level for all, and you can use ChatGPT and Google Bard as a way to knock out your task list without paying a dime.

For many, it’s even better than outsourcing to a human freelancer because there are always problems when working with people who may miss a deadline or not do things like you want.

Below, you’re going to see how AI can contribute to four different major areas of your business and assist you with over one hundred tasks you have to get done in order to succeed.

This will help you with creativity, customer service, product development, monetization and more. You’ll be able to use AI day or night, as much or as little as you need to, without worrying about the cost....

Read on by claiming the Free Report here-below!

5 Ways to Monetize Your Social Media Profiles

Working to increase your engagement and overall following throughout every social media platform can be time consuming. In order to be successful on social media, you have to treat it as if it is at least a part-time job.

To make all of the time devoted worth it, you can try different methods of monetizing your social media profiles. When you monetize your social media profiles, you are able to generate an income directly from it, depending on how much engagement you receive.

So as you continue to work on increasing engagement, the amount you get paid will increase as well. Some of the revenue will be derived from where you send viewers to (your own links or those you promote), while others will stem from the platform itself.

Send Followers to Digital Products and Services You Sell

When you become popular online, it’s usually because of your style, your ideas, and your helpfulness. All of these things give you an opportunity to offer services to your following based upon your skillset.

There are many different product and services to offer your followers. You can offer self-help courses, depending on what your niche is. For example, if you are a fitness fan, you can offer a fitness training course, full of helpful tips and workouts to do over a certain time span.

Writing and publishing eBooks is sometimes easier than you may realize. It can be a nice way to generate a steady income, based off of sales. For example, if you write about entrepreneurship and working remotely, you could write an eBook that focuses on setting up an online business, with all of the details someone would need to know.

People often look online first for their questions to be answered, which may lead them right to your book. When people follow someone with a large following, it can often feel like they are joining a community.

To make things more exclusive, you can offer a membership to a different site (like Patreon) where you post special content that only members who subscribe can see. This incentivizes your followers to subscribe, so that they are a part of a smaller group who sees all of your content.

You’ll still want to post quality content on your public social media profiles, but you could tease your followers with shorter clips of your work, so that they have to subscribe to see the full process or clip of something you’ve worked on.....

The Success Strategy of Short Form Social Videos

Short form social videos are videos uploaded to different social sites that range from around 10 seconds to a few minutes. These videos can usually be posted in a specific area of an app, if they have a section for stories or short videos.

The short videos are utilized to draw in views and viewers to your social media pages, and bring more engagement to your content, whereas those who are loyal to a content creator may stick around for longer videos, such as 30 minutes to an hour.

Many marketers struggle trying to come up with short video ideas. After all, some platforms have 15 second video options – so how do you convey anything in that short amount of time?

Why Snippets Are Now Soaring in Popularity

One main reason snippet videos are popular is because they cater to the lifestyle of the viewers. Small attention spans are prevalent now. As people spend more and more of their time on social media, multitasking, and working towards their own career goals and dreams, their attention spans are only decreasing over time.

There are too many things to focus on at once, so most people don’t want to sit down and watch one video for twenty minutes. With short form social videos, viewers can spend thirty seconds on each video, watching new and engaging content with each swipe.

Everyone is busy. In a world where work and family take up so much time, many adults are finding themselves with less time to spend on their phones. The appeal of shorter videos creates an illusion that you will spend less time on social media while taking in more content.

In reality, the shorter videos can pull you in and keep you busy for hours. There’s a running joke (or meme) about how people will turn down a two-hour movie, but have no problem binge watching a series on Netflix in one sitting where they end up spending ten hours seeing the entire show.

Snippets allow you to create and consume a wide variety of content. If you are someone who enjoys fashion, cooking, crafting, and even gaming, these short videos will have it all.

Since it takes less time to watch a minute-long video on a quick cooking tip than a full twenty minute tutorial, you’ll have more time to move on to a different topic. This type of media intake allows viewers to broaden their horizons....

Finding Ideas for Your Social Media Content

As an online marketer and content creator, sometimes finding a specific niche is the easiest part of being successful on social media. Creating the right content can be challenging, especially if you don’t know where to start.

With so many people joining social media in the hopes of making a career based on their content creation, the level of competition will only continue to increase. You have to find a way to stand out and be original, all while creating content that is relatable and trendy.

As you brainstorm and come up with ideas for your social media posts, there are many things to consider. It’s important to post content that is relatable, easy to understand, and appropriate with current trends and ideas.

As you create content, allow your personality to shine through in whatever you post. Your brand should be backed by your own beliefs, morals, and ideas so that you come off as an original and personable creator.

Address the Direct Needs of Your Audience

If you have a following that engages with your content frequently, you may have the opportunity to gain insight directly from that group. People are full of ideas and opinions, and most are just waiting for someone to reach out to them and let them speak.

Giving your audience the chance to talk about their thoughts will gain their respect and give you a list of ideas for content that will be enjoyed by current and new viewers. There are many different ways that you can directly communicate with your audience.

Social media comments are easy to scan and can provide a direct line to your followers. Although some people may have rude (troll) comments, you can filter those out and focus on the genuine ones that matter.

Your audience will go to a comment section first in order to communicate, since it’s the simplest way to connect. Most comments won’t be more than a few sentences, but they can provide you with opinions that will help you steer your content towards the right direction.

Providing contact information is important because it gives users the ability to tell you their thoughts and opinions in a more private setting. A comment section is less appealing when users know that anyone on the Internet can see what they are saying.

If you have an email address or contact page URL on each of your profiles that someone can find easily, they will be able to share their thoughts in a way that makes things feel more like a private conversation, rather than a very public one....

5 Things Social Media Can Do for Your Business

As society increasingly takes their business online, appearance on any social platform matters for your brand. Social media is a tool that can be utilized to draw in a larger audience, shape your brand’s vision, and build a repertoire with other brands and content creators.

When you take the time and effort to make the most out of the opportunities that social media brings, you will be able to watch your business grow and expand as you dominate the competition.

Enhance Brand Exposure and Messaging

Social media allows you to control the vision for your brand. You can decide what color schemes to showcase and how you want to advertise your products and business. Social media also allows you to choose your target audiences by shaping the appearance of your business online.

For example, if you want to focus on the younger generations, go for trending aesthetic color patterns and use language that is popular on TikTok and other social media sites. Social media allows you to fit in with other businesses and grow with them as you see fit.

Entrepreneurs get to decide how consumers perceive their business. Pushing for a certain look that will bring a certain audience is a great way to thrive in the social media world.

Niche appearances and trending topics are typically successful ways to find a specific audience. From there, you can start to branch out in order to build up your following. Once you’ve begun to pave a path in the media world, you can focus on personalizing your brand and engaging with your audience.

Without social media, consumers are left to make their own assumptions and opinions, while deciding what kind of brand your business really is according to them. The whole point of a brand or business is the fact that it has been set apart from the competition in its own unique way.

In order to stand out, your brand needs an online presence. If consumers hear of your business and go to find your information online, it is essential that your social media sites are what appear first, along with your domain – not someone else’s blog or social profile discussing your brand.

Social media allows you to control the narrative. If you get one crazy review and that is all that shows up when someone searches your brand on Google, they are likely to take their business elsewhere.....

Work Off the Grid to Tap Into New Ideas and Focus More

One of the best things about the modern world is all the technology that’s available. You can work online in an office or from the comfort of your own home. But a big downside of using technology for work is that it can severely limit your creativity.

One reason that this can happen is that computers or other forms of technology can provide a lot of distractions. For example, if a friend is texting you while you’re working, you could find it harder to focus on your task because you’re busy reading and replying to the messages.

This is why some people find it helpful to turn their phones or email alerts off when they’re working. Another distraction is that there is so much to do on a computer as well as on a phone.

There are games and social media sites and endless emails, articles and more. Some people find it helpful to turn their internet off while they get work done, but there are other approaches that are better and more fun and allow you to be creative.

Working off the grid is a popular way to get your creativity and focus boosted without sacrificing your work. A lot of people find that their creativity increases when they’re doing something physical while working.

You can do something as simple as going out for a walk and find the answer to a work problem you wouldn’t have found sitting in front of your computer. The change in scenery as well as the activity can relax the mind.

Also consider using a pad of paper and a pen or pencil to create with instead of consistently using the computer. Not only will it help with the distractions, but it’s also a great choice health-wise.

Prolonged digital work can cause a severe strain on your eyes. When you’re in pain or having trouble with your eyes, it can be hard to focus on work. Another problem is that bright screens have been known to make people feel lethargic.

If you notice you’ve been having trouble with fatigue while working, take a break and step away from your desk. Even if you can’t do something more physical like going for a walk it’s important to take frequent breaks.

These breaks give both your eyes and your mind a rest. When you stare at a screen for long stretches of time, you can find yourself having trouble concentrating. When you walk away from the screen, even if it’s just for a few minutes, you’ll find that you’re able to return with more energy and focus.

This is because your brain needs changes and breaks. Without the different scenery, your creativity can feel stalled and you’ll find yourself becoming stuck on projects that shouldn’t take you a long time to complete.

Make a list of all the things that you have to use a computer for. Then see what you can change so that you can do without it. For example, if you write your grocery list on the computer, try using pen and paper next time. If you want to brainstorm ideas to pitch at your next meeting, or you’re coming up with a new product to sell, write it out on paper.

Use a Routine to Help You Weed Out Distractions

By using a routine, you’re establishing habits. When you have habits, it allows your brain to function on autopilot. That means you’ll do things without really giving it much thought because the action is ingrained within you.

Having a routine is good for you because it works to keep distractions at bay. Plus, if you’re currently finding that you do have distractions, establishing a routine can knock those out of your way.

Most people, even if they work from home, are more productive and better focused when they use a routine for everything they need to do. This begins with choosing the right time for setting the alarm.

Having a routine lets you know what you have to do next without really putting much effort into it. For example, your routine should include a time for when you need to need to take a shower.

Some people have a routine where they do it in the mornings after rising because it helps them to wake up. Others feel they get more done when they get dressed first and have breakfast, so they schedule their shower in the evenings.

You can set a routine for when you eat and this can include all of your meals as well as any snack breaks. You’ll be able to cut out distractions when you have a routine for when you work, so set a schedule for starting as well as for when it’s time to leave work behind.

Some people find it’s better to have a schedule that breaks down each part of their workday, such as some time that’s set aside for creative tasks while other time is set aside for administrative tasks.

Using a routine allows you to weed out distractions that impede productivity daily. When you conquer the daily distractions, you gain more hours in your week. To create a routine that fits your life, you would first need to make a note of all the things you need to get done in any given day.

This list needs to have both professional and personal life tasks, since they go hand in hand. For your professional list, you would create a routine that establishes what steps you need to take in order to finish a project.

This routine can be based on daily or weekly habits. Once you have the list written down, you’ll want to look over it to see what can be lumped together. For example, if you know you get distracted from work by returning phone calls, save responding until you’re doing something on your daily routine, such as walking on the treadmill during your exercise regimen.

It can be helpful to use a planner to schedule your routine. Your routine may take some tweaking once you get started, but don’t be afraid to ditch what’s not working for you and changing it up for what will help you.

10 Ways to Simplify Your Life

It’s great to have a productive life; however, being busy doesn’t mean you’re productive. The best way to be more productive is to simplify your life. If you focus on making things faster, easier, and simpler you can get even more done while reducing stress.

1. Declutter and Organize – When you are surrounded by disorganization and clutter, it can make it take much longer to get anything done. If you have a home for everything and a place to do the things you like to do, it’ll all go much more smoothly.

2. Plan Meals – Don’t leave something as important as your nutrition to chance. Instead, plan meals. When you plan meals, you can ensure that the things you make provide what you need at your skill level and within your timeline.

3. Keep an Active Task List – Before you add anything to a list, ensure that it’s a task that helps you meet a goal you’ve set. The way to do that is to create SMART goals and, from those goals, create active tasks so that on any given day, you can look at your list and know what you need to do today.

4. Develop Habits and Routines – Willpower doesn’t work, but habits do. You can create habits by developing routines that enable you to get more done in less time. Plus, habits and routines ensure success in anything you want to accomplish from losing weight to starting a business.

5. Learn to Say No – This isn’t to say that you have to say no all the time. You can say yes anytime you want but do it mindfully. First, do you want to do it? Secondly, do you have the time and resources to do it? Third, what is the opportunity cost of saying yes or no?

6. Automate What You Can – There are many things in life now that can be fully automated, like paying bills. But there may be even more things in life that can be automated using today’s amazing technology that you should consider.

7. Outsource What You Can’t Automate – You can also outsource by giving chores and tasks to the rest of your family or by hiring someone. For example, you can hire someone to clean your home, care for your kids, and even shop and cook dinner.

8. Let Go of Anything Toxic– Something is toxic if it will not change, and you do not have control over whether it will change or not. If the buck doesn’t stop with you, let go of them or it so that you can move on and live a peaceful, happy, successful life.

9. Focus on Gratitude – The more ways you can focus on what you have that is good in your life, the better you’ll be able to enjoy everything else. This feeling of satisfaction will simplify your life because it will reduce drama.

10. Stop Trying to Multitask – The truth is, no one really can multitask that well. You’ll find that you enjoy things more if you focus 100 percent instead of splitting your time.

Having a simplified life doesn’t mean having a boring life or an unproductive life. In fact, if you focus on how you can make things easy for yourself (and others), you’ll soon find that you have a lot more happiness and satisfaction in your life.

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