Brian Clark is an entrepreneur whose business model is finding (and often creating) unique products and services to sell online. The goal of his blog, Copyblogger, is to share the techniques and tools he has used over the last eight years in the rapidly evolving Internet marketing arena. And share he does. His site is packed with well written (of course!), practical information.
Brian, what are your three favorite personal productivity techniques, habits and/or tools?
- A very wise person once said that “The currency of business is ideas, not money.” I know this is true for me, and I believe it applies to all ventures. However, new ideas have a nasty tendency to distract us from what we currently need to get done, which kills our productivity. So it’s important to set aside specific times for brainstorming and research for the next project(s) we want to take on, rather than chasing a new idea to the detriment of what needs to be executed on today.
- Ideas have a mind of their own—they often show up on their own whim. While we don’t want to sacrifice our productivity to chase down “the next big thing,” we also don’t want to let a potentially great idea slip away. So here’s what I do: If an idea pops into my head while I’m working on something else, I stop and devote about 30 seconds to 1 minute rolling it around in my head. If I can’t shoot it down in that time period, I open up a Word file, jot it down, close the file, and refocus on what I was doing. I then revisit my “Ideas” document during the time that I specifically allocate to new ideas.
- Ideas come to us often through exploration, and there’s no greater tool for that then the Internet. This can be a blessing and a curse, so again, it’s important to set aside a specific part of your day for exploration. But when you’re trying to get something done, close your browser and email program, turn off IM and Skype, and unplug the landline / shut off the cell phone if you need to. I get more done, more efficiently, when I go dark on everyone for concentrated periods of time, and it may work well for you too.
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I love the One Question Interview!!! Great ideas and tips here.
Posted by: Michelle Dunn | June 27, 2006 2:58 PM | Permalink to Comment