A few years ago, someone called the police on me.
Not just me—my husband and my sister-in-law, too.
Before you picture me in a meth lab or throwing up gang signs, I want to make it clear that we weren’t actually doing anything illegal. When the police arrived on the scene, they were surprised they had been called and looked at the jackass who called them very skeptically.
Since no one was breaking the law, the police didn’t do anything.
But before they left, they said to my husband, “You might want to watch her. She seems a little amped up.” {They were talking about me. I was amped up.}
Kinda like I am in today’s video. Ready for bossy April? Here she comes.
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Good info! I have a notebook like you suggest. I put an empty check box in the left margin next to things I need to act on in the next week. If it’s something uber hot and needs to be done in 24-48 hours, I put a star next to it. I know this sounds old school but it works for me!
I date all the pages at the top, so it’s easy to see when stuff is done and when I need to put it in HIGH GEAR! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! That sounds like a great system. {I like old school!}
I soo needed this right now! I am definitely a candidate for information overload. I just started a business and am gathering info at an enormous rate- but I’m feeling as if much of it has gotten lost. I do have a notebook but even that is getting filled- although it’s a great tool to look back on. A friend suggested Evernote- a way to keep files of all your notes on your computer. It’s worth a shot!
Keep up the great work, April! You’re one email that I won’t be unsubscribing to!
P.S. I just signed up for your “Blogging for your Creative Business” course and can’t wait to get started!!
I’m super in love with Evernote–it’s my favorite application EVER!
YAY!!!!! So excited you signed up and I can’t wait to work with you. 🙂
I am definitely guilty of spending way too much time reading blog articles, finding ones that I think are great, and then not doing anything with that information. I have a notebook for my business, I just need to be better about using it to take notes. I’ve also started pinning articles to Pinterest that I think will be helpful for me in the future as a way to bookmark them.
Hey Bev! Try setting a rule for yourself–no scrolling through blog posts unless you’re taking notes. See if that helps.
What an awesome video! I am so guilty of the things you mention. i SHOULD update my postings, I SHOULD take some stuff of my site and take better pictures, blah blah. I am presently in a group therapy, not just for my nuttiness, but for taking more charge of out my life. One thing we and the leader stress is we DON’T DO SHOULDS! We are learning about being in the present and being mindfull of what we do, stay in the moment, stick with what you are doing and not jump from one project to the next. It is really helping me, and this video ties right in with what you are saying, reinforcing what I am learning. I do fall off the wagon sometime when I get a bee in my bonnet about a new idea I have and waste a lot of time searching and getting deeper and deeper than I SHOULD be (but I don’t do SHOULDS). Anyway, thanks for the kick in the arse. I will mindfully take notes from now on.
Thanks Carol! Oh man–jumping from one project to the next can be sooooo detrimental, especially if you never complete anything. We all fall off the wagon sometimes–myself included!
I was just bemoaning to my husband last night – I need to quit my day job so I have time to learn everything I want to…. so I can quit my day job!
I’ve let a lot of people on my must read list go. I had to. I was frantic trying to keep up, worrying I was gonna miss something ‘important’. And crying tantrums in the middle of your lounge room – not so sexy.
I’ve been putting a lot of ideas and things I’m learning into practice – and it feels so good. Even if all you figure out is that idea doesn’t work for you – you’ve still made progress. When you aren’t overwhelmed by trying to keep up with learning, it gives you more time for doing. I think finding people you really like to learn from helps a lot with putting things in to practice too. What they are teaching sinks in more and you are excited to try out their suggestions.
I like the idea of scheduling things in. I had a list in my notebook earlier this year with a list of what to do on what days but I’ve wandered off the path a bit lately. I need to re-write my list with priorities I’m excited about and get back to it. I agree with you – when you are getting up at 4am to fit things in, you have to make the most of the time you’ve got.
Ahhhhhhh! Too funny–crying tantrums. Gosh, we’ve all been, haven’t we?
So true! You know you’re dedicated when you’re getting up at 4am!!!! Good for you! With determination like that, I bet you’ll be quitting your day job before you know it.
Hi April!
GREAT post! I am SO, SO, SO guilty of doing that! I always feel like I’m on information overload which I guess as web designer kind of comes with the territory. I feel like it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the newest trends in design, code, SEO, social media, CMS, etc. I love the idea of creating an action list of things to do and assigning them a date. I get so overwhelmed that I don’t get anything done. I need to go back to the action item list I made for myself from your awesome course Six Week to a More Passion Filled and Profitable business. I got so many great ideas and have not taken action on them!
Thanks for the kick in the pants! 🙂
Anytime, Dana. I love providing a kick in the pants. 🙂
Now, get to work!
Totally relate to your feelings of not having enough time to do all the wonderful things that exist in this world. When I think about it all, overwhelm just freezes me up! I agree that limiting intake is essential. There’s time to absorb information and there’s time to create… there’s got to be a balance. And if it’s not scheduled or to be scheduled… then it’s probably not going to happen.
Yes, there needs to be a balance. I’ve heard from soooooo many creatives something like this, “I have created anything new in weeks, because I’m trying to figure out how to grow my email list and how to get more followers on social media.” Not good!
I agree that sometimes we get distracted and sucked into one area… and forget about the priorities! For those who create content, you’ve got to create consistently!
This is definitely something I struggle with. I’ve made a start by creating a word document with categorised links to good articles I’ve read about a subject/category – but I’ve never made the time to actually go through them and use the information! I will definitely try to schedule time in for this in future.
Sounds like a plan! If it doesn’t get scheduled, it most likely won’t get done…
Hi April – I love your suggestions as I sometimes find that I am getting overwhelmed with all of the great podcasts and resources online. I do keep a notebook but would love if you could do a session on how to organise notes in order to get the most from them. I use Google Docs to categorise things but really feel I need some help with processing the info. Or could you recommend any good books on this subject?
Thanks!
Good idea, Aisling! I’ll schedule something in my content calendar to cover that topic.
Brilliant – thanks April!
Hey April!
I just DELETED 800+ emails that I have been saving for TWO YEARS thinking someday I will read them! So I SAVED 125 – and put them into a SAVE folder, to read at a later date. I may never read them, but just in case — they are still there. That leaves my INbox empty to only new stuff — that I can quickly scan through (now that I have my smart phone) and delete daily. Some of the ones I’ve saved were email pages (yours) that I have followed for a couple years and LIKE. I’ve tried others, and as soon as I realize nothing they ever have to say pertains to me or even grabs my interest — I unsubscribe from those as quickly as possible. The other thing i’ve discovered is some type of NOTE system on my smart phone that I can create a list or category to keep me organized and collect my thoughts on the run — it backs up to my email account or I can actually Send it to my email (or someone elses) I can easily check what I need to do or check off what I have done!
Oh my goodness! That must feel good. I love that you unsubscribe if it’s not for you as soon as possible–that’s a good practice that I try to implement, too.
This completely sounds like me!!! I had TONS of links in my Bookmarks bar. I went through it recently deleting the links I didn’t need, skimming the quick articles, and giving the side eye to those that were pointless and stupid!
An information and research diet? Noo…say it isn’t so! I laugh.
I could spend all day, every day just researching things. Uh huh.
I used to keep notebooks, but now I use The Journal on my computer. Yeah, this journal program is about 50 bucks, BUT…you can copy and paste into notebook entries…you can add links…you can copy and paste photos..and….most importantly for me…..you can search for anything you’ve entered. I dig it. . It’s been a great way to consolidate stuff I need to remember. It also has a free trial….soooo….perhaps somebody else would like this too.
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/index.php
Cheers!
Hahahahaha! Sounds like a great tool, Robin! Thanks for sharing.
You are totally correct on this one, April!! Aahhh!! I feel like I have information overload everyday!
I’ve started to “chunk” my time — and that’s helped quite a bit!! I only check emails on Sundays and Wednesdays. And, I do my research/information gathering on Wednesdays too.
All the other days is ME time….time for Me to get my butt in gear and implement things I’ve learned!!
Cheers,
JK
Chunking time can really help! Thanks for sharing that tip.