I’m vigilant. No. I’m choosy. I’m choosy about what arrives in my inbox and feed reader and Tweet stream. I’ve willingly put myself on a low-media diet – cutting out most print, television and radio news.

I just don’t feel I need to know everything anymore. At least, not right this second, while it’s happening. It’s too easy these days to find what I need when I need it to worry about that.

I don’t feel left out of the loop the way I thought I would. I still know about the things I care about. And it’s a huge relief not to have to decide if I should DO something with all that information coming in.

Including whether or not to buy stuff.

And yet, there remain temptations. Or opportunities, depending on how you look at it.

Even when we’re choosy, we’re still presented with a lot of choices.

There’s a lot going on around here at Third Hand Works:

• this Thursday’s very timely and much-needed workshop on Inner Spring Cleaning with stuff-shifting sound-master Fabeku
• plus, we’re Spring Cleaning all month at the Maintenance Department
• not one but two (yes, a Saturday!) Bite the Candy sessions in March
• another opportunity to become a Time Disciple and heal your relationship with Time
• and the soon-to-be-revealed make-over of the Organic Business Manual course (stay tuned)

It’s a list I am excited to share. But I’m also a bit worried about sharing it. Because maybe it’s a little overwhelming. (And it’s not like there aren’t other cool workshops and classes and programs in front of you.)

How do you know what is the right thing at the right time?

How do you know the difference between educational temptation and opportunity?

I could make this a lot shorter by just pointing you to Naomi’s and Jen Louden’s wise words about this, but let’s see if I can add something useful to their good advice.

Know your shoulds:
For instance, I think I should care about SEO. But I don’t. Not really. And maybe that’s hurting my business, but I don’t care enough to do anything about it right now. Just ask the unread ebooks languishing on my hard drive. Pass. (Then again, you might have a should about not spending on your development – it can go both ways.)

Know your weak spots:
There are people out there sharing their brilliance in amazing ways. I love their stuff. But because they are also very persuasive copywriters, I also know when to sit on my hands, calm down and think about it before making a decision.

Know your other weak spots:
The seduction of the new. The promise of a quick fix. The avoidance of the hard work you already have the knowledge to do, but just don’t want muddle through.

Know the difference between their urgency and your real immediate needs:
It’s a great program! At an unbelievable price! That ends today! Um, you’ll save even more by not spending anything on something you don’t need. It’s only a deal if it solves a problem you actually have and can put it to work in your life now. (Most things don’t truly disappear anyway – mine included.)

Know what you already have:
I’m cataloguing my learning library so when feel the need for information or guidance I can turn there instead of investing once again in something new. There’s a decent chance that if I feel the need, it’s because I didn’t learn it when I bought it. (I have gigabytes of unused material, so no more shopping for me until I use what I already have.)

Know if you have the time:
If you have the money to spend, almost anything that meets a real immediate need in your business will give you a return on that investment. But only if you have the time to invest as well. Don’t buy it if you aren’t going to do the work (and then feel guilty about that). [see unused gigabytes]

Know what works for you:
If the structure of a class is a better learning environment than being left to your own devices with a home-study (or vice versa), choose accordingly. Same with audio vs. print. Or live events vs. tele-courses. Or groups vs. one-to-one.

Know what you don’t and can’t know:
Recently, I brought an odd set of symptoms to my doctor. Turns out there is a straightforward explanation for what I’ve been experiencing, but it’s something I would never have been able to figure out on my own. I simply don’t have the knowledge, skills or tools. Sometimes you need an expert.

Know when it’s better together:
Oftentimes, the camaraderie and gentle accountability of a group make all the difference. Sometimes it’s not so much expertise that’s needed, but support. It’s okay to ask for help.

Buy my stuff. Or don’t.

Really. I mean it. Be choosy. There are wonderful opportunities amongst my offerings, but only if they are the right things at the right time for you. I hope you’ll join in – because it would be fun to hang out with you and learn useful stuff. And if you need help now, I want you to get it now. But it’s totally fine if now is not the moment. I’ll catch ya’ on the flip side.

• • • • •

Related posts:

1. A Not So Favorite Thing
2. Lessons Learned #18 – Do the half-right thing
3. Time=Money
4. Lessons Learned #15 – Out of Time
5. Three often-overlooked time hogs.