When life closes in on you, as it sometimes does, the manner in which we respond can set the tone for how we move forward. Much of the information we receive or are exposed to is often just “stuff”. It looks good at the moment, but does it support what you really want to do with your life?

With that in mind I thought I would share the following 9 tips to avoid becoming overloaded with information that really only serves to distract from key goals and objectives.

Living in a world that has information at every turn provides great benefits to us all, but also great challenges for many, particularly if you have a strong desire and interest in a wide variety of topics.

With time always in short supply, it boils down to having the mental discipline to manage time, using what you have to the very best advantage.

The following tips, when followed daily can provide a renewed sense of control and allow you to recapture and better manage your available time. Results will vary, depending on your circumstances, but trying just a few of these may provide enough momentum to change the way you view the information that surrounds you on a daily basis.

1. Begin the day by spending five or ten minutes of quiet time. Use this time to remind yourself of the most important goals that you seek and focus on removing things from your time line that don’t support those goals. You may not be able to remove some of these things daily, but this step at least sets the tone for the day, giving priority to what’s really important.

2. Develop a firm daily schedule of things to accomplish. Include a lunch and dinner break (slots of time, not a specific time) which provides focus time.

3. Make a listing of all of your magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Review the listing, evaluate the real value in each, the time spent to read them and eliminate as much as you reasonably can.

4. Become a productive commuter by listening to audio versions of books and other materials that you would normally have to find time to read. Rather than listen to the radio chatter, use the time for another quiet session and focus on what you need to do to advance your business.

5. Utilize your cell phone as a tool instead of a hot line. Allow some calls to go to phone mail while you’re working. You know who they are.

6. Reclaim and take control of your inbox. Those emails from people and services that you never read; unsubscribe and get rid of them rather than continue to delete or ignore.

7. Clean up that RSS reader and keep only what truly benefits you. Do you really have time to read all of those blogs when there is so much to do regarding your own business?

8. Eliminate time wasting distractions while working. Turn off the TV, radio, and any other devices that interrupt your flow of production. If you work from home let family members know that you should not be disturbed for a designated period of time.

9. Identify a time management tool to assist you with scheduling, organizing and other tasks that will keep you both efficient and effective.

Unless we are very judicious about the information allowed into our space, we can easily find ourselves overloaded with materials and little time to effectively get the most out of what’s being offered. The result is that you begin to feel that you are falling behind because of the backlog.

The reality; no one can know everything so it is best to concentrate on those topics that enhance your most sought-after goals and objectives.

There are times when we allow things into our lives that are counter to the direction we want to go. By being highly selective and disciplined we can then focus on the things that matter most.

Stay Productive!