time management Archives

How to Face and Overcome “One-More-Thing-Itis” Six Ways

October 20, 2016 By Carol Stephen 14 Comments

How to Face and Overcome “One-More-Thing-Itis” Six Ways

Are you one of those people who’s always trying to squeeze in just one more thing? Do you relish the idea of checking another item off your “to-do” list? Then you might have One-More-Thing-Itis. I should know; I have it, too.

One-More-Thing-Itis

Maybe you think that only people with ADHD have “One-More-Thing-Itis.” But these days with social media, many people feel like they have too little time to finish the important things. Maybe it’s multitasking or maybe it’s information overload. Many of us lie in bed at night thinking “what did I forget to do?”

Do a Brain Dump

Eric Lofholm suggests spending 14 minutes every morning putting everything down on paper and then prioritizing everything. Even if you don’t get to it all, writing it down helps. And to do that, grab a pen and paper, suggests Mike Vardy in How to Do the Ultimate Brain Dump. ”

“There is something about writing something down that makes it stick; you connect better with the tasks, projects and goals you have on your plate when you write them down rather than enter them into a device.” says Vardy.

Keep Track of Time

Do you know how much time you spend doing your every day chores? Neither did I, until I started tracking with Noko! (I’m not an afilliate, by the way, just a big fan!) Stop guessing how much time you spend! I seriously wish I’d found Freckle a long time ago! But if you don’t want to spend the bucks, you could always get an app or use an egg timer! Here’s my article about Time Management for Baby Boomers: Managing Social Media, if you’re so inclined.

Arrive Early

One of my dad’s favorite sayings was “if you’re on time, you’re already late.” Did you have the same dad as me? I don’t arrive early because my dad said it was a good idea, though. I arrive early because it affords me the luxury of goofing off for a few minutes before an appointment. I’ll bet a lot of other early birds are the same way. Once at the airport, that thirty minutes turns into a sweet, sweet pumpkin latte coffee break. At an appointment, you can check out the magazines in the waiting room. And of course, it impresses the heck out of anyone you’re meeting with.

In the excellent article Always Late? How To Be On Time — For Real, by Refinery 29, there are suggestions for figuring out “what kind of late you are” so you can figure out how to be on time.

Forget Perfectionism

Are you a perfectionist? Then you know that everything could always be a little better, smoother, more polished. Better to do your best and get it done than wait until it’s perfect! For more tips and tricks, check out This Could Be So Much More Awesome! By moi.

Enlist Help

Some people get others to help them be on time. You can set reminders on your phone ahead of time, or have a friend call you. If you need a professional nagger, they’re probably available, too! Sometimes it’s other people (a spouse, kids, coworkers) that make getting out on time difficult. If an activity is helping you become the best version of yourself, it might be worthwhile. If not, consider outsourcing it.

Sharpen the Axe

Remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe“? Like mise en place allows you to prepare a meal faster, getting prepared ahead of time lets you focus on the task at hand.

How Do You Avoid One-More-Thing-Itis?

Or maybe you don’t suffer from it at all. Do you? Leave me a comment and let me know! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: ADHD, brain dump, One More Thing Itis, perfectionism, time management, tracking time

Should You Do Your Own Social Media? Absolutely Not!

August 4, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

Should You Do Your Own Social Media? Absolutely Not!

Here’s something I hear all the darn time: “social media is easy! My [insert 12-year-old relative here] could do it for me! Yes, they could do it for you. Just as you could do it yourself! But do I fix my own plumbing? Nooooo! So should you do your own social media? Again: Noooo!

Analytics

In order to make the best decisions about when to post, what to post, and how often to post, you’ll need to look at your analytics. If you don’t know what that means, then you’ll need to study up on analytics. Here’s a post about Twitter analytics, for a start.

Choosing Your Platform

Do you know where your audience is? Do you know the average age of people on the different platforms? Do you know the best place for women to hang out online (hint: it starts with a “P” and ends with a “T!”

image centrism

Image-Centrism

I’m not sure that’s a real term, but you know what I’m saying. These days, you need a good image. Gone are the days when you could post an article without a good image to go along with it. There are some exceptions, of course. But not many.

Your Time

Recently, I started to use Noko, a great time management tool. How much is your time worth? Do you really want to use it to learn how to manage your time online, when there’s someone who’s already ironed out all the kinks of an online posting system?

frustration

Frustration

Will you know what to do when there’s an emergency online? Who will you talk to if something goes wrong? Wouldn’t you prefer to have someone else handle everything for you?

Do You Do Your Own Plumbing?

If I did my own plumbing, probably there’d be a lot of leaks. Also, a lot of extra pieces of pipe that went nowhere, spurting water. It would maybe look like the Winchester Mystery House, except I couldn’t charge money for people to come over and see it.

Research and content

Research and Content

How will you handle finding your own content for posting? Will you create original content every day? How much time will that take away from your other business? How will you know what to post?

Constant Changes

Today, Instagram introduced Instagram “stories.’ Recently, Facebook changed its newsfeed to focus more on friends and families. Will you be able to keep up with the rapidly changing social media scene? Will you want to?

Still Think You Want to Manage Your Own Social Media?

Many people think they don’t have the budget, or the means to hire someone. Possibly that’s true. And a few people do a good job themselves. But if you don’t do your own plumbing, why would you do your own social media? Tell me why in the comments! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: analytics, images, platforms, Social Media, time management

How to Create a Wonderful Blog Post in an Hour

June 9, 2016 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

How to Create a Wonderful Blog Post in an Hour

The first thing to do? Set that timer for an hour. Another good thing to do is make sure you have a reward for yourself once you’re done. How about a frozen yogurt with sprinkles?

First 15 Minutes

Brainstorm ten topics. Here are some ideas to kickstart you:

A question that your clients always ask. Or one they rarely ask.
A news story you could discuss and how it affects your clients.
A recent testimonial, and how happy you were to receive it.
Reasons you’re better than your competitors.
What people don’t ask about your business but you wish they would.

Photo by Helen.Yang

Funny things you’ve learned plying your trade.
Tell a story about a crazy client you’ve worked with (anonymous, of course!).
How you work with people in another field (for instance an app developer and a website developer).
How people can work with you (for instance, Social Media Managers: Ten Secrets to Care for Yours).
Behind the scenes in your business–describe some of the people who work at your company.

This tweet from Randy Clark might make you think twice:

Don't limit yourself to blogs about your product. Learn your target audience's interests and write about those topics. #digiblogchat

— randy clark (@RandyLyleClark) June 7, 2016

Photo by boltron-

Second 15 Minutes

Pick the best topic from your brainstormed list.

Choose only one! If you like two, write about the other one next time. Here’s a bit to help with blogging in a post I wrote about Orange County WordCamp, by the way (create five topics). Now speak out loud and write down what you say. Pretend someone else is there, or call a friend and talk into the phone. If you can use speak to text, even better and faster. I like an “hourglass shaped” post, starting with the macro, going to the micro, and back out to the macro. That is, begin with something generic and then get specific. Now write three short paragraphs about whatever your point is. And then wrap it up with another short paragraph.

Third 15 Minutes

Add Links. Add at least two inbound links to your own blog (if you don’t have any, don’t worry–you will soon!), and two outbound links. For an article of 350 words, I like to have a total of four links. For instance, for this post, I linked to my own blog twice, and two external links. Search on a topic or two that could use more explaining, and add the URLs.

Add Tags. Pick a few to identify the content of your post.

Photo by HerryLawford

Fourth 15 Minutes

Add Images and a call to action.

Images

Go to Creative Commons and find something you like and plug it in. I like Flickr, but you may find another favorite–be sure the image you like is available for commercial use and modification. You don’t need a lot of images, but at least one or two at a minimum. Find something compelling that represents your words, but don’t stress over it too much. If you have your own images, that’s even better.

Call to Action

Here are some typical CTAs:

Join us now!
Add a comment!
Sign up for our newsletter!

Here’s a list of 11 Kick-Ass Call to Action Examples that you might like!

Photo by Mark Berry – Photographer & Graphic Designer

Enjoy Your Reward!

Are you enjoying your reward now? Tell me what your reward is in the comments below! (And how did you like that Call to Action?)

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, blog topics, blogging quickly, time management, write, writing, writing fast

Social Media in 60 Minutes a Day

October 1, 2015 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

You’re creating your new app, your new software, or your new restaurant. You’ve been at it for months. Suddenly, you look up. Oh no! You need social media. You have to spread the word! But you have nothing! What to do, what to do? After all, 72% of all internet users are now active on social media (Jeff Bullas).

Look at the Top Traffic Generators

Facebook has 1.44 billion monthly active users, of whom 65% are daily users (VentureBeat)
Twitter has 316 million monthly active users (Twitter)
LinkedIn has 300 million users (Forbes)
Google+ has a few million active users (TechTimes)
Pinterest has 50 million users (Mashable)
YouTube has 1 billion monthly active users (Social Media Hat)
Instagram has 300 million monthly users (CNN Money)

Consider Your Demographic

And please don’t say it’s everyone! Are they Millennials? Women with college degrees? Of a particular ethnicity? This article from Pew Research gives an excellent overview. Then consider where that person shops, eats, and lives. Ask five people who would use your product or service how they use social media. A short survey could help. Don’t forget to consider the visual aspect of your business. That is, is it very visual or not at all visual? If it’s very visual, Pinterest and Instagram are good choices.

Consider age, gender, ethnicity, as well as interests and level of techno-savvytude.

Pick Three

Choose the three that appeal most to your target audience. Let’s say you’ve picked Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. The easiest way is to begin with the one you already know or use.

Narrow it to One

Start with the platform you already know to hit the ground running. Say you’re already a Facebook user. Set up a business account. Set up your profile, business hours, and physical address if you have one. Then: 1. Post when your fans are online, 2. Use large, beautiful pictures. 3. Use Facebook’s native scheduler.

Choose Daily Topics

Say you’re going to post five times a week, Monday through Friday. Let’s say you have a restaurant, for instance.

Your daily topics could be:

Monday: DIY food, specials
Tuesday: Behind the scenes with the chefs, nutrition
Wednesday: Wines and beer that goes with food
Thursday: Comfort food
Friday: Why people deserve to have dinner out, Happy Hour

Rinse and Repeat

Once you have Facebook under control (it will take more time in the beginning, naturally), add Twitter to the mix. Then add Pinterest. Now spend 20 minutes per social platform (use the same or similar topics). Schedule some posts and engage with people. Of course, this is greatly simplified. Facebook is not Twitter is not Pinterest. But you get the gist.

Still Stuck?

Hire a social media manager. Here are some things ten of the worst social media managers do. Make sure yours don’t do any of them. Let me know what else you’d like to know in the comments!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, posting, Social Media, time management, Twitter, YouTube

Social Media: Ten Reasons to Automate

September 10, 2015 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Social Media: Ten Reasons Why You Should Automate

Many social media consultants feel that automation can hurt your brand. Whenever you mention the “A-word,” people fall on one side of the divide or the other. Hardly anyone is in the middle on this one. And yet, it’s something that can be done gracefully, and without looking like a robot. Of course, I’m not recommending total automation, but a hybrid approach.

Your Mental Health

Even if you’re not a social media consultant, if you must make every post manually, you will surely go insane. And since you’ve carefully been getting enough sleep, why risk your health now?

Time Management

Creating posts all at once, maybe a week at a time, is a better use of your time than doing them one at a time.

Maintain Consistency

If you have decided upon a certain number of posts per day, automation can help you reach that goal.

Time Zones

It’s simply not possible to be on all day long. Everyone needs some time off. And if your client is on the east coast while you are on the west coast, automation is the way to go.

Automation Can Make You Feel More in Control

Feel in Control

Social media can be an overwhelming task, especially if you’re trying to run your startup at the same time. Automation can help you get your life back. By the way, here’s a post about how to blog for your startup, in case you missed it.

Post When Fans Are Online

If you’re up at 2 a.m., you might not want to send out that tweet if your audience isn’t there. Schedule that tweet and go back to bed!

Use a Scheduler

Analytics

When you see a post that you like, use a scheduler such as HootSuite to auto-schedule the retweet for an optimum time. For most of us, that is 9-5. You can use a program like Tweriod to see when your followers are online.

Vacation

Sooner or later you need a few days off. Schedule some stuff, but make sure to have someone check in for you if you do.

Posting Frequency

As more and more people get online, the marketplace is more competitive. It’s possible to post more frequently using automation (as long as the quality still remains high).

Stay Top of Mind

If you’re the most brilliant person in the world, but you don’t show up? No one will remember you.

Scale Your Social Media

With automation, you’ll be able to grow your followers more easily.

A Hybrid Approach

After six years of trying different approaches, I’ve come up with an effective hybrid approach. It’s partly automated (from blog posts), and partly live participation, which includes posting others’ articles and engagement. The hybrid approach has gotten me the most followers and, more importantly, the best relationships. And everyone knows that Relationships are the ROI of social media, as my friend Bridget Willard says.

Where Do You Stand?

Do you automate a little bit? A lot? What tools have helped you? Leave me a comment!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: analytics, automation, Engagement, Social Media, Startups, time management, Twitter

Secrets to Great Content You Forgot You Knew

April 2, 2015 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Secrets to Great Content You Forgot You Knew

Maybe you’ve been toying with the idea of starting a blog. You’re getting ready to get started thinking about it. That is, right after you finish that new business plan for next year. And waxing the car. And don’t you also need to balance your checkbook again?

The secret to great content is to begin creating it. Maybe your writing isn’t perfect. Whose is? If you never start writing, you’ll never know. And great, original content on your blog helps your SEO with Google. Here are a few ideas that helped me get started with blogging.

Don’t procrastinate.

“Procrastination, quite frankly, is an epidemic,” declares Jeffery Combs, the author of “The Procrastination Cure,” says in an article “How to Stop Time,” via the New York Times. Don’t add to that epidemic.

An unfinished blog post

Glue the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair.

Sit and start writing the first thing that pops into your head, and do that for 15 minutes. Can you do that? Sure you can! Now, you’ll probably go back and delete 90% of it, but there will be the glimmer of a good idea in there.

Write every day

Write every day.

Write whether you feel like writing or not. Often you will not. That monkey brain of yours will want to do other things. Pinning banana recipes on Pinterest comes to mind. You will procrastinate on this important job. So get it over with. Once you get past that first 15 minutes, the rest will get easier. Jeff Goins, in his article “Why You Need To Write Every Day,” says: “If you want to get this writing thing down, you need to start writing every day.”

Talk, then write.

Speak your ideas, then write them down. Or have them written down by someone else. Or use Dragon Naturally. Whatever. Just get the words down. You can change them later. Because everyone can talk.

Don’t expect perfection.

Perfection will never happen. Just make sure to get something in writing. You can come back and insert some long, impressive-sounding words later.

Let it simmer

Let it simmer.

Here’s the fun part. Go away. Get in your car and drive around. Go for a walk. Come back and everything will look different. When you return from your sojourn you can wear a different hat and edit your words.

Create five topics in your blog.

Today’s topic was one that I began months ago. It languished in my blog, along with some other unfinished work. But one day, you may not know what to write about. You’ll go to your website, and that half-written piece will start to take shape. By the way, here’s a post with some tips for blogging for startups.

Don’t wait to get going

Don’t wait to get going.

It’s going to be work, but once you ‘re done, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment. Your competition is already done. Don’t get left in the dust. And when you’re done, make sure to promote that blog, too.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, blogging, Content, Google, how to, Pinterest, procrastination, secrets, SEO, time management, writing

11 Ways Being Outdoors Can Improve Your Productivity

March 5, 2015 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Most lists only go to ten, but this one goes to eleven! There’s just that little bit more, you see, right at the end. It’s just that much more productive.

Get Better Sleep

When you’re more relaxed, you sleep better, and when you sleep better, you’re more productive.

11 Ways Being Outdoors Can Improve Your Productivity

Have A Better Attention Span

Being outdoors helps you clear your mind, focus on the present moment, and not stress over something an hour or two in the future. And being outdoors during the workday gives you an edge, according to Active.com’s article about how exercise boosts your brainpower.

Be Reminded of Childhood Memories

Certain sights, sounds and scents outdoors can remind you of childhood memories. For instance, redwood trees remind my boyfriend of where he grew up in the far north of California; the trees have a relaxing effect and make him feel at ease. Certain vistas, even particular configurations of fallen trees also bring back memories. And of course scents are closely linked to memory. That “walk down memory lane” can bring you a more productive day–that is, if your childhood memories are happy ones.

Be More Relaxed

Can anything new be said about being outdoors and being relaxed? One study suggest that even looking at greenery can make people more productive. A study by Frances Kuo, at the University of Illinois, focused on women in Chicago. Kuo and her colleagues compared women randomly assigned to various apartments. Some had a view of nothing but concrete sprawl, the blacktop of parking lots and basketball courts. Others looked out on grassy courtyards filled with trees and flowerbeds. Kuo then measured the two groups on a variety of tasks, from basic tests of attention to surveys that looked at how the women were handling major life challenges. She found that living in an apartment with a view of greenery led to significant improvements in every category.

Enter Another Realm

When you’re outdoors, you can think about something entirely different than work and getting that next item on your “to-do” list checked off. You can clear your mind to focus entirely on where you are, or that next step on the beach. Even a walk in a city park, where there is greenery, is superior to walking on city streets. Here’s a good article from Lifehacker about surrounding yourself with nature to be more productive.

Dream of Ewoks

Ewoks are sentient, diminutive, furry bipeds native to the forest moon of Endor, as described in the Star Wars’ Wookieepedia. When you’re out and about traveling in the woods, you can feel their presence. They’re especially prevalent in the woods, near where I live.

People who exercised during their workday were 23 % more productive on those days!

Get Aerobic Exercise

Hiking up and down steep hills and cutting across rocky outcroppings will make your heart pump hard. When you’re indoors all day long, you may not realize how shallow your breathing becomes; being outdoors in nature helps to cure that restricted breathing.

Reduce Stress

Although a certain amount of stress can be helpful (for instance if you’re being chased by a bear), stress usually makes people less productive. Being outdoors is widely known to reduce stress.

Do You Have a Nature Deficit?

Practice Listening

The sounds in the forest or at the beach are much different and more subtle. Practice a different kind of listening when you’re outdoors (not that you can’t use Twitter as a listening tool). And if you didn’t read my article from last week about listening, you might want to.

Recovery Leads to Better Productivity

No one can be productive at the same rate every day, and everyone needs some recovery time. So taking an hour or two to be outdoors brings you back to your work, as outlined in Daniel McGinn’s article about Being More Productive from Harvard Business Review.

Being in Nature Makes You Smarter

According to this article Is a Nature Deficit Hurting Your Productivity? ,” being in nature exposes you to soothing stimuli that engages your involuntary attention, giving your directed-attention a rest and a chance to become rejuvenated.” And if you’ve read this far, then maybe I’ve convinced you to go to the park. It’s a start.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aerobic exercise, brainpower, Ewoks, listening, productivity, relaxation, time management

Social Media: Time Management for Busy Entrepreneurs

September 2, 2014 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

Social Media: Time Management for Busy Entrepreneurs

One of the top ten questions (maybe top five questions) I get from entrepreneurs is “How do I make time for social media?” You’re busy running your business–making your widgets, preparing for your next class, or creating a new menu. How the heck do you have time for social media on top of everything else? I’m not going to say it’s magic, because it’s certainly work, but there are some ways to minimize the work and maximize your efforts. After all, you want to keep some balance in your daily life, right?

Create a Daily Strategy

Before you ever open Twitter, set foot on Pinterest, or enter the halls of Facebook, make sure you know what you’re going to do. One thing I do as a daily strategy is spend fourteen minutes planning each day. Writing everything down with an old-school pen or pencil on paper is the most helpful for me. After the brain dump, I go back and prioritize everything. Do this before everything else, and I promise your day will be much smoother.

Decide Which Platform Will Be Your Starting Point

For me, I usually start on Twitter, but your starting point might be different. Click on notifications, and see who’s mentioned, retweeted, or tagged you. Then I go to Facebook, post something, engage with people for a bit, then head over to Pinterest. Of course, your social media posts and engagement have to fit in between all your other work.

See How Much Time You Have

If you only have an hour, total, for social media, divide that hour up accordingly. So maybe 20 minutes for each of three platforms for the day. Use a timer–I like an old-school egg timer because the ticking sound keeps me on track, but you could use the timer on your smart phone, too. If you don’t like the one you have, here’s a good article from the New York Times about timers. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you know you only have 15 or 20 minutes.

Engage, but Don’t Dive Down Any Rabbit Holes

By this, I mean, don’t get distracted by “Top Ten Best Mojito Recipes for a Rainy Day” or that DIY article on how to turn a pallet into an actual working car that you see on Pinterest. Because the road to social media hell is definitely paved with pallets and mason jars. Be especially vigilant of “friendly fire.” That is, friends posting pretty videos of cats being rescued by dogs. A little personal stuff is fine, but don’t spend hours watching those videos. You know the drill.

When You’re Done, Get Out!

Social Media Time Management

Here’s the important part. When the clock rings or beeps, get out. You don’t have to respond in depth to everyone who writes to you. Sometimes a one-word answer is fine. Thank people who retweeted you, say something quickly, and then move on. That clock is still ticking! Leave some time in your day so you can take a hike or go for a walk.

Is Your Social Media Overwhelming?

Hire somebody to help! You might want to read about the top ten questions to ask a Social Media Manager. And of course (ahem!) I know someone who might be able to help you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Engagement, entrepreneurs, Facebook, Pinterest, Social Media, time management, Twitter, work life balance

Time Management for Baby Boomers: Managing Social Media

January 9, 2014 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

Time Management for Baby Boomers

If you’re a baby boomer, you probably have been to some of the time management classes, especially if the place you work ever offered free ones. Remember the Franklin Covey system with the binders and the page inserts? How about the Dale Carnegie training? Did you know that Tony Robbins offered time management courses, too? Just when you thought you knew the rules for time management, along comes social media and your previous attempts at managing your own time go right out the window! So what’s a boomer to do? Here’s how I handle my own social media.

Use the Basics Plus

Do you have a system that works for you? Or did you leave all that behind in the 90’s? If your system works, then by all means continue. But, when I began working in social media, I added some tools to better manage my time. For instance, I like using a hybrid system, with a zen timer app when I’m out of the office, along with an old-school egg timer for when I’m in the office. And I still carry an old-fashioned notebook and pen for my to-do list. Yes, maybe you’ve seen one in the museum!

Batching Tasks

Batching tasks works on social media as well as any day-to-day activities. For instance, you probably run all your errands at once to save wear and tear on the Prius. In my case, I do all my Twitter stuff first. I see who has mentioned me and who has followed me. I try to reply to everyone who has mentioned me (unless it’s in a huge, long list). If someone wants a conversation, I usually reply to those first. I also scroll through my timeline and try to engage with some “new” people each day by asking a question or retweeting or telling others to follow if I find something great. (And as a boomer, you’re quite good at engagement!)

Facebook

After Twitter, I head to Facebook and check all my conversations there. I don’t read each and every post, but scan. My Facebook is very dialed in and if you want to know how to do that, check this post here. I schedule right on Facebook (usually for that same day), not using a third-party app.

LinkedIn, that most favorite spot of baby boomers, is a good place to engage. I like or comment on posts, and schedule posts through HootSuite Pro.

If women boomers are part of your audience, you need to be on Pinterest. I check my Pinterest for new followers, and see what’s getting repinned. Then I start pinning by scanning my Pinterest stream and also doing searches.

Blogging

Baby Boomers Have Excellent Writing Skills

Next I work on my blog. As a boomer, you probably have good writing skills, so a blog is a natural. Each day, I blog for at least 15 minutes, although that usually turns into 30 minutes or an hour.

Gym

Staying active is important to me, so I make time for it six times a week. Eating pie might be important to you. Whatever. With good time management, you can do the things that you care about.

Simple, But Not Easy

So there you have it. I like simple. What about you? Is your time management simple? Or do you need someone to help you? If you need someone to help, I know a person!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: baby boomers, balance, blogging, Facebook, food, gym, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Social Media, time management, Twitter, working out

WordCamp OC 2013: 10 Awesome Things

June 4, 2013 By Carol Stephen 11 Comments

WordCamp Orange County 2013

This past weekend, June 1 and 2, I attended WordCamp Orange County (my first WordCamp ever!). There were many sessions, ranging from Lucy Beers’ WordPress 101 to Devin Walker’s Website Optimization for Speed. Here are a few things that I learned.

Surround Yourself with Smart People

If you’re at Wordcamp, you’re already surrounded by smart people. WordCamp felt like being back at Berkeley, where people were interrupting each other’s interruptions because everyone shared the same curiosity and joy of learning. If you’re an entrepreneur spending hours and days working alone, getting out and soaking up some new ideas and fresh ways of looking at the world can reinvigorate you.

Say Hello

When you say hello to people, they say hello back! You might laugh at the obviousness of that, but really: People are so friendly, open, and generous with their ideas. Often all you need to do is say hello.

Work on Five Blogposts at the Same Time

Who’s the chick with Syed Balkhi?

During @syedbalkhi‘s talk on Time Management, he discussed focus and how no one can really multitask. What Syed does is start five posts at once, then if he gets a little writer’s block, he switches from one to another. Now that’s something to implement immediately. This is such an elegant and simple idea! By the way, Syed’s Beginner’s Guide to WordPress is jam-packed with ideas! As well as being technically awesome.

Have Deeper Conversations

Many times, between or after sessions is when the real learning occurs. That person you just met will give you a fabulous tip if you do a little homework (for example: read their blog before asking them a question about a particular blogpost they just wrote!). If you buy someone a drink or, better still, lunch, be prepared to hear more of the truth than you would during a session. This, paraphrased from Chris Lema.

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

Don’t try to do everything yourself. Hire someone to do your accounting, or the chores that you might not enjoy doing. That includes everything from designing a logo to building a website to creating content.

Learn to Say No!

Do not meet that vampire at the coffee shop! (A vampire is someone who pretends to want to hire you, but then says they’re broke, and just wants free advice.) Do not pick up the phone while you’re blogging. And learn to say no to yourself, most of all. Do not let yourself get distracted and don’t head down the rabbithole with a “great idea” and end up buying 10 new domain names which three days later you’ll regret. Not that I’ve ever done that (today). Sayed Balkhi drew laughter and a lot of head nodding when he discussed the idea of buying domain names and meeting the broke customer at the coffee shop.

Focus on Your Strengths

Me, Peter Woolvett, and Bridget Willard

My friend Peter Woolvett of CustomerSpecs always says “mind your strengths,” and we heard it over and over at WordCamp. Don’t try to develop your weaknesses. Rather, do whatever it is that you’re good at.

Spend Time on That Great Idea

If you know something is important, spend the damn time on it. Use the time management matrix to determine whether it’s important and not urgent, and then eliminate distractions and do it.

Don’t Rely on Your Memory

How many times have you had a great idea and then promptly forgotten it? Use Evernote or a white board or a notebook, but get it down in writing!

Wake Up Early

Come on! You’re not really a night owl. Get up early when you’re your most productive and do your work. Then go out and “canoe with alligators”–Sayed’s phrase. Or whatever you like to do for fun–like meet that broke customer for lunch. Just kidding.

Be Accountable

We all perform better when we’re being watched. If you can’t afford a coach, try Timedoctor, which monitors your activities. You can’t improve if you don’t know where you’re starting from.

Your Favorite Part of WordCamp Orange County?

Maple-Bacon Donut Dispenser AKA Sidecar

Was it the maple-bacon donuts? Learning about WordPress Mobile? The after party at Durty Nelly’s? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, blogging, Blogpost, Orange County, Time, time management, WordCamp, Wordpress