Tag Archives: chris brogan

Getting Organized with a Farmer’s list

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I’m still struggling to get control of my time after retiring last month.  That beautiful forty hours each week freed up with that decision somehow haven’t converted into additional productivity.  It seems like, instead of getting more done, I am actually getting less done.lazy Getting Organized with a Farmers list

Right now my challenge is getting a rhythm and a pattern going that makes sure that I get basic things done each day and move forward on the things that will make me some money.  I am putting in the time but I am sure that I could be managing much better.

For example, I dithered today trying to find a way to sync my windows mobile phone with a web based calendar like Google or Thunderbird.  There doesn’t seem to be anything.  I would probably have used my time better to just enter my appointments both places and forget about it but I keep thinking that there has to be something.  So that is just one example of how time gets wasted.

It is always better when I find a solution from one of the clear thinkers on the web.  Today it is Chris Brogan with his post on a farmer’s list.  Put simply, a farmer’s list is those tasks that must be done every day or else.  Farmers don’t have the luxury of postponing tasks.  Milking has to be done every day or the cows stop giving milk.  You can’t put off harvesting wheat or it shatters and falls to the ground. So Chris uses a farmer to help understand what kind of tasks need to be on the list.  He gives his list – and it is a good one.  I would like to say that I am doing everything on his list but I am not Chris Brogan – at least not yet.

So for today this is my list:

  1. Blog Post up for today.
  2. Draft tomorrow’s blog post.
  3. Check emails and respond.
  4. Read 30 minutes or more.
  5. Respond to blog comments.
  6. Check my blog follow list and comment when possible
  7. Work on income producing projects.

It is not as good as Chris’, but it does include everything that I know I have to get done each day.  When I get this list under my belt then maybe I can add more.

What does your Farmer’s List look like?

Getting Organized with a Farmers list

Originally posted 2010-01-22 09:24:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Wi-fi Coffee Shop workout

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300px A small cup of coffee Wi fi Coffee Shop workout
Image via Wikipedia

The new way to work.

It’s glamorous. It’s hip. It’s new. Ditch your office routine and work from a wi-fi coffee shop. Chris Brogan talks about how much more productive and creative he was able to be when he stopped working from his cubicle. David Risley recommends it as a break from your office routine. When I was working, I never believed that my boss would be cool with packing myself off to Starbucks for a morning just to get the creative juices flowing. I kept my nose to the grindstone in my standard issue office module. Now that I am my own boss, however there is nothing to stop me from creative experimentation. Nothing, that is, except for my own comfort level. Continue reading →

Originally posted 2010-04-14 09:22:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Other People’s Scripts

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4002520901 584995f88e m Other Peoples Scripts
Image by Tojosan via Flickr

Chris Brogan has helped me from time to time as I make the transition from employee thinking to business owner. One time, he even found my blog and left an encouraging comment back when comments were rare at RCB. I will always remember that gesture and retain a very positive feeling for Chris as a result. I read his book and learned some very real lessons from it and him about building a presence on the web. Continue reading →

Originally posted 2010-03-17 09:21:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Big Mo

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physics2 300x199 The Big MoSTOPPED COLD

Last week my routine was disrupted by a business trip and my blog suffered. I had lost momentum and couldn’t get moving.  Newton’s first law says that objects in motion will stay in motion and objects at rest will stay at rest – unless there is force exerted on them.  Well the force of last week’s trip stopped me cold.  My mind went black when I sat down to compose a post.  And as my brain struggled with blogging, other doubts emerged about everything that I was doing.  I was heading for a major funk.  What did I think I was doing?  What kind of sane, responsible person pursues the path I chose? I went through the motions hoping that something would jumpstart my engine but days passed and I stayed dead in the water and doubtful about the goals and course I set for myself.

OUTSIDE FORCE

Today an outside force got me back in motion – in the form of Chris Brogan – or at least his newsletter.  I have been getting his newsletters for several weeks but so far have never actually read them until today.  My bad!  It is full of gems but the kicker for me today was NO KING EVER ORDERED A REVOLUTION.  In my day job I am an in-house revolutionary, railing at the stupidity and timidity of management while attempting to instigate minor revolutions within my limited area of control.  It is a pointless and eventually useless struggle while my decision to go solo and build my own business on the web has successful models like Chris to follow.  Last weeks trip along with my presentation that would never pass management review snagged me back to career track mentality. No wonder I was dead in the water.  But thanks to Chris, today I am back.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

I don’t share this to brag but to encourage.  If you are reading this, it’s probably because you are on the same quest as I.  And you probably get stopped by what passes for wisdom from the 95 per centers that surround us.  When doubts hit you, stop listening to them and seek out clear thinking from people you respect and who have earned that respect with solid accomplishments in the path you want to follow.   Let them reinforce your belief in your mission and direction and give you new wisdom and ideas to move forward.  If you are on a mission, you have already identified some of those people.  They should be people you check with daily.  When I doubt and lose the big mo it is because I was gob-smacked by wrong information.  The only solution once you let down your defenses and that bad stuff gets un your brain is good ideas and thinking to push it right back out.  Today, for me it was Chris.  The right guy for you may be someone else but don’t let yourself stay stopped.  Find the guys with the message you need to get you going again and let them be the force that gets you moving again…