I’m an information junkie who loves to research and read. I dive headfirst into whatever the new topic that catches my attention is, reading everything that I can about it: subscribing to blogs, reading books, checking out magazines, and talking to people about it.
What does all that information do?
Unfortunately, as good as I am about gathering information, I’m not nearly as good at acting on it. Knowing how to use it, yes. Creating plans of what and when to take the next step, certainly. Getting things done, not so much. So, for all the time I spend collecting information and learning what to do, I don’t actually get anything done.
Stop learning, start acting!
In order to combat this, I’m going to slow my learning. I don’t need to research, learn, or discover more. While I certainly don’t know everything, I know enough to get started. Progress will fuel my desire to learn more, but it will also help me to focus better, as I will then have more specific questions to find answers for.
What about you?
Are you an information gatherer or someone who takes action? Will you join me as I begin focusing on results instead of information?
Share what project you have been researching in the comments.
I’m guilty as charged. I’ve got a thousand blogs/sites in my rss feeder and a stack of books that I want to read. I’ve found it is good for me to set a short time frame (say 30 days), in which to experiment with something new. Then I can reevaluate whether or not I want to continue or change.
I’m guilty as charged too. I’ve always been quickly labeled a “reader” so I am striving to also be a doer.
Right now I am researching how to turn my website into a valuable resource for me and other creative writers. The Masterminds have given me deadlines though so here goes some action!
😀
Yeah, this is huge. I used to get sucked into my Google Reader for hours, never really doing anything. Now I need to set aside limited time to do that so that I can spend more time actually doing things!