I’ve been putting some ideas on paper today about the re-design of this site. Goals if you will. Concrete ideas about what the future holds. In the process of doing some research, I found some interesting posts that have really helped solidify each idea.
Goal #1. Sustainability: Keeping Content Fresh and Interesting.
As I have posted to this blog for the last 6 months, I have noticed something interesting. When I try to do a series of posts on a subject, I invariably get in a rut. I tend to lose interest before the subject is exhausted. Tecosystems has a great post today about this subject. Stephen writes…
In the past few weeks, I’ve had several occasions to talk to individuals about the best practices for starting blogs, which when you boil it down is talking about how to write, and keep writing. Just about the only generic advice I can give is simple: focus on what’s sustainable.
My interests in particular subjects may wax or wane, but if I’m allowed to talk about whatever’s on my mind at the time I’m far more likely to keep contributing, as opposed to highly specialized blogs which may or may not hold my interest level longer term.
Having the flexibility to talk about your daily thoughts is really important.
Goal #2. Finding Time to Write: Using Interstitial Time.
I find that most of my posts take almost an hour to create and rewrite. This is a long time and with my ever busy schedule it is almost impossible to find a spare hour to write on most days. What to do?
43 Folders has a very helpful post about using small blocks of time (interstitial) to get things done. Merlin explains…
Sometimes your most productive bursts of activity can come from the limitations of knowing that you have a very small window of time to work on something.
The point, in any case, is to think about your tasks like a game of Tetris–but with minutes and seconds instead of blocks. Use the precious bits of time you do have to do something and strive to always stay light on your feet, active, and aware.
this may be the ticket I have been looking for…
Goal #3. Better Self Management.
A great blog requires management of resources and time. Jason Womack talks about Self Management Challenges on his blog today. He writes…
I’m re-reading one of Drucker’s books this week, Management Challenges for the 21st Century. As I’m doing so, I’m keeping track of the “cool journaling questions” in a list in my Palm [I’ve got a Memo category called: Reading].
Here’s what I have so far…
What do I do well?
What could I do better?
Where do I participate?
Where could I participate more?What reflective “self-management” questions have you answered lately?
Great questions to think about Jason…
Goal #4. Open Invitation to New Guests.
One of my big goals is to always put out a welcome mat to new guests. When this re-design is ready to go I want to have a blog party and invite everyone over. It just so happens that fellow blogger Dwayne Melancon over at Genuine Curiosity is having a blog warming today. He is in the process of moving his site from one host to another. He posts…
Come on in – no not much artwork is up yet, and I haven’t unpacked all the boxes, but I’m moving in to my new blog host. I’m methodically migrating all my old content over here, and it should all be here in a few days. I’ve moved over to TypePad, and the address is http://genuinecuriosity.typepad.com
Congrats Dwayne on your new site! A great inspiration…
Goal #5. Long Term Goal: Speaking Professionally.
I always like to include a long term 3-5 year goal in my plans. One of the things I have been working towards over the past few years is to speak professionally. As a Toastmaster, I have had a chance to hone my skills and speak in a variety of situations. I hope to be able to broaden my horizons by joining a speaker’s bureau and speak to different groups outside of Toastmasters. A great inspiration to me has been Steve Pavlina. Today he announced he is going pro. He writes…
While I know that many people are deathly afraid of public speaking and could never fathom doing such a thing as a profession, to me it is the most natural thing in the world. I love communicating high-level ideas like finding purpose in life, building self-discipline, and optimizing personal productivity. I think it’s wonderful that I have the opportunity to permanently change someone’s thinking and behavior in a way that gives them access to greater success, happiness, and fulfillment.
The reason Steve is able to take this step and open the door to a professional career is the propularity of his blog. Steve has over 400,000 visitors to his site each month. His unique content always makes things interesting. One of my greatest passions is to be able to communicate with an audience ideas that lead to success. It will be interesting to see some videocasts of Steve’s seminars.
As always I would love to hear your comments…
