Information Overload

It's so easy to fall victim to information overload. It's happening to me at the moment. So many emails, broker recommendations, news, sales emails from those tipster firms like Fat Prophets, Australian Stock Report, intelligent investor... ARGH! get them off my back PLEASE!

ARGH! Information overload! Next I get my daily report from the Australasian Investment Review... and then a few hours later I get their weekly report. Then I also want to catch up on my reading of new trading books that I've bought as well as review those of old... So much information - so little time.

All those emails all get a 5 second overview, check to see if anything is of interest then *Delete* its gone! Everything is just skim reading now. Such a pity. Who knows what little bit of information I've missed could have made me a few more bucks... Actually scrub that last thought. Any thoughts like that and I would simply spend the whole morning thoroughly reading every email I got - killing my overall productivity.

The goal to tackling information overload is to simply CHOOSE what information you DISCERN to be likely a contributor to your END GOAL. So the moral to this story is to actually know what you are trying to accomplish as you wade through the information jungle that makes the Internet. Give anything that comes across your screen a 5 second once over - if it covers your goals - read it then and now (don't just put it aside or else you won't end up reading it at all) and if it isn't click away from it and delete the sucker.