Archive for critical focus time
Critical Focus Time Backwards
Posted by: | CommentsJust had a 1:1 session with Ed Dale as part of the mentoring program. As far as this site is concerned I was a little concerned since I’ve been pretty much stuck at the bottom of page 1/top of page 2 for my main keywords, since April. However, Ed thinks I’m doing well, since I’m not going to get much traction from the search engines without a lot of time and effort as my main keyword terms are so competitive. So that’s encouraging.
I’m building this site for the long haul so, whilst more traffic and “conversation” would be great, I’m happy to keep at it and tell the tale whilst building the money-making part of the business elsewhere (for the time-being). One of my biggest challenges at the moment is not being able to get all the work done.
I’m much better at following a system and keeping to my CFTs but it’s still not enough to do it all. I’m still in the process of getting my outsourcing project sorted but that is taking longer than I anticipated. If I keep building sites the way I’m doing I’m just going to end up with a bigger log jam. Not to mention the other sites that I already had, before the start of the mentoring, that I’m not working on at all.
Ed was a great help with this by giving me a different way to look at the problem. I’ve always recognised getting a change of prospective to be one of the great benefits of working with a life coach and now I see that internet marketing coaching is no different.
I’ve built 2 sites so far, following the 5 CFT Challenge parameters, and, whilst I built the second one faster than the first, I’m struggling to keep up with the link building stuff necessary to keep them ticking over. The recommendation in the Challenge is to write, spin and syndicate one article a week and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. But I’m pretty much working at full capacity so there’s no room to build more sites and test new markets or to implement other sorts of promotion.
Ed’s suggestion was this. Instead of starting with the method first (in this case article promotion once a week) and trying to make it fit the CFT available, start with the CFT and allocate specific blocks to each of the sites, keeping some clear for new sites or development of old ones. This means that I won’t be able to write, spin and syndicate one article per site per week but I will be able to keep all my sites ticking over. So my next move is a plain sheet of paper, lots of coloured pens and a trip to my favourite cafe to sketch out the new plan.
5 CFT Challenge – Session 5 and Wrap Up
Posted by: | CommentsFinally arrived at the last block of the 5 CFT Challenge:
1. Do some by hand backlinking from authority blogs, forums and sites
Started with the Market Samurai competition module to do this. It wasn’t particularly successful in terms of finding sites to create links on – only managed 2 and one of those is waiting for moderation, but it did give me a better idea of the competition. I.E. I could see that a number of the top 10 sites are obviously owned by the same person due to the interlinking and that a major part of their strategy is buying links.
I also used the Market Samurai promotion module, looking specifically at the non gov/edu blogs but wasn’t able to get any links there.
Since I’m still testing this site and market I’m not sure if I will keep doing this at this phase of the process. I might wait until the site is a bit more established. I’ll try it a couple more times though and see what it’s like in other markets.
~~~~~~
So, my total for the 5 CFT Challenge is 8 CFT blocks which, in my case, equals 6 hours.
Not bad for a first attempt!
Overall it was an enjoyable experience. I lost a bit of momentum by having my mind on the outsourcing project but there’s always going to be something else going on so I just better get used to it.
I’m going to rearrange the tasks a bit for my next attempt and will use the articles/posts a bit differently. Stay tuned for the next challenge.
5 CFT Challenge – Blocks 3 and 4
Posted by: | CommentsMy report on critical focus time – Blocks 3 and 4 of Ed Dale’s 5 CFT Challenge . . .
1. Edit article written previously for spinning and add to Article Marketing Automation (AMA)
Oops! Forgot to finish this when tackling the CFT 2 session. Got distracted by the blasted plug-ins. Took a full session to finish the writing. I know, I know. Not fast enough.
I need to work on drastically lowering my standards for writing these initial pieces and for the level of spinning since the spinning and submission to AMA took another full CFT.
2. Set up Google Reader to monitor niche
Didn’t do this as I’m not familiar with it and didn’t want to spend the time at this point. There’s plenty of information about my market available to keep me busy writing for a while.
3. Draft an article to spin and submit to AMA next week
Hmmm. Not sure how I managed it but I’ve already done this. The only explanation is I’ve been so distracted by my general life and internet marketing overwhelm and the steep learning curve of my outsourcing project that I didn’t notice I’d completed something. I’m not complaining though because I’m now all set to move onto CFT block 5 and I can mark on my calendar to spin and submit this article to AMA in a week’s time.
Running Total so far – 7 CFT blocks.
Enjoyment rating – good. I’ve done more than I thought I had. Yippee!
5 CFT Challenge – Critical Focus Time Session 2
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s how I got on with CFT session 2 of Ed Dale’s 5 CFT Challenge:
1.Write draft article suitable for spinning for article directories
Started this while I was waiting for the blog, plug-ins and theme to load.
2. Create blog
The blog is uploaded. As are plug-ins and a theme.
I don’t like the theme I’ve chosen but I’m going to stick with it as I hear Ed Dale’s voice ringing in my ears “don’t be fussy – you don’t have the time”.
I didn’t have time to change plug-in settings or set up categories. In fact it took another CFT block to get this done and then some!
3. Set up and Add Google Analytics
4. Edit earlier draft post and upload to blog
5. Do basic bookmarking of post for indexing purposes
Done. All together this took another 3 blocks of CFT.
So, the running total so far is 5 CT blocks.
Enjoyment rating – medium. Bit frustrated with myself for taking so long over plug-in settings but need to remember this is a learning process!
Onwards and upwards 
5 CFT Challenge – Critical Focus Time Block 1
Posted by: | CommentsHere are the components of Critical Focus Time Block 1 of Ed Dales’s 5 CFT Challenge, and my experience of actually doing it.
1. Pick Market
2 Find a keyword that works
3. Pick some category keywords
I did these 3 fairly easily within the 45 mins, since I’d already done some Market Samauri research for other projects that I hadn’t used.
I found Ed Dale’s words REALLY helped keep me on track, e.g.
“When you’re not sure just run with it”.
“You’re just following a process. Don’t go overboard thinking about this stuff”.
“The action point is really, really simple:
- Think up a fresh topic
- Don’t get your knickers in a twist
- Just pick something and
- GET THE SITE UP!
GO AND MAKE MISTAKES AND GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM
4. Register a Domain Name
This is where it all began to unravel. As my thirteen old son would say . . . “Fail”!
I ran out of time for this and ended up playing around with options whilst watching TV. It was midnight before I knew it and I still hadn’t found a good enough domain.
Moral of the story – don’t attempt this without the clock ticking in the background. It’s just too easy to allow time to expand.
I ended up shifting this task into CFT 2 and ended up going for a domain that I found whilst I was trawling in front of the TV, so all that extra time wasn’t completely wasted after all. Not necessary though. The domain doesn’t meet the visitor numbers criteria but I didn’t want to spend any more time on it. But I’m not happy about it.
5. Write classic beginner draft for first blog post
Again, I found it very hard to follow instructions here, to just whack out some content. In the end I spent what remained of this CFT block, after registering the domain, completing this task.
So the running total so far is 2 CFT blocks. And my enjoyment rating is high.
Internet Marketing – My Personal Grist For The Mill
Posted by: | CommentsI am a great believer that whatever we need in life to progress is right there for the taking. Most of the time we simply don’t notice and other times, we choose not to.
I wrote about internet marketing overwhelm a couple of weeks ago and I have been in and out of that until today. There has been a lot of stuff swirling around my brain and I’ve taken a number of false steps to deal with it but, this morning, I feel I am back on track.
Last week I stalled around moving my outsourcing projects forward and, in true “who wants to be a millionaire” style, I phoned a friend. I thought the discussion was going to be about my next step regarding the outsourcing but I ended up realising, that more critical, was my need to do something about the overwhelm and muddled thinking. And right here is an example of a “choosing not to” situation. I’ve been “choosing not to” because I’ve been wanting my external situation to change, without having to change myself/mind.
I was doing well in the early days of the mentoring but, if you’ve followed this blog, you will know that things began to slip fairly rapidly. The last time I sent in a CFT report was 11th May and last time I did a full weeks worth of 5 consecutive days was . . . wait for it . . . week beginning 21st March!!!!!! And, truthfully, I’ve only completed 2 full weeks of CFTs since I started.
Blimey, I thought I was bad but I didn’t realise I was that bad!
But . . . and here’s the good bit . . . I’m learning. And that is why Internet Marketing is my personal grist for the mill. By committing to this year of mentoring and to building an online business I have created a framework within which I can work and learn and develop. Each day I discover more about how I operate, how I sabotage my efforts, which habits I need to replace with better ones, where I’m deceiving myself, what I do well, what I really enjoy etc. etc. And when I take the time to stand back and recognise this, I love it. It’s fun and worthwhile and I’m having a ball.
When I’m stuck in the overwhelm, or boredom, or questioning of why I’m doing this, it feels really naff! But that’s OK. I’m learning and, beginning to accept, that it’s just part of the process.
And today, with the sun streaming through the window and a wonderful weekend spent with family still fresh in my mind, I say “bring it on”!
Life In The Grind
Posted by: | CommentsLife in the Grind was the subject of last week’s webinar. Apparently, there are a few mentoring students moaning about the boring work they’re doing. And, I have to admit, I’m one of them. Dull, dull. Endlessly dull.
The good news is I’m keeping at it. I’m plodding on and, for the most part, not being diverted. So that’s a success. Hoorah!
Before my 1:1 call with Ed Dale last week, I made a hasty dash to complete my CFT file. I’d been slacking a bit. Not wishing to gloss over the truth my last entry recorded:
21.4.10
45 mins 3 by hand comments
45 mins Faffed around
45 mins Faffed around
Fundamentally, I was struggling from a lack of variety. And, a lack of not noticing exactly what I’d achieved. Oh yeah, and from impatience.
Ed wrote a great blog post about this topic earlier in the week – How Farmville holds the secret to online success or something. In it, he explains that in the computer game World of Warcraft, apparently paid for and played by 11.5 million people per month, players (Oops, sorry, gamers) talk about “grinding”, i.e. getting to the next level. How soon they do that is a function of time spent playing the game, i.e. DOING stuff.
The equivalent in internet marketing is what you do in your Critical Focus Time which, as we know, consists of stuff like creating content and building back links.
So, considering the fact that most people who have a go at the internet marketing game don’t get very far, and faced with a bunch of moaning mentees, Ed poses an interesting question – given that millions are willing to grind away at games such as World of Warcraft everyday where there’s no monetary reward, where as in internet marketing being willing to work means you end up with actual cash -
“What’s different, what makes one form of grinding a game loved by millions and one seem like dreary work?”
Two things jump out at me in answer to that:
1. Implicit in the build up to the question is the assumption that people are “doing” internet marketing purely for financial gain. Now, admittedly that’s what most people would say they are doing but, in my experience as a coach, it’s never about the money. It’s what you think the money will buy you that’s what you’re really after. And if you don’t know what that is it’s hard to keep going when the going gets tough. If you can connect your end goal to your daily grind then you will find it easier to stay motivated. But just saying you want to make money isn’t sufficient.
2. The words “seem like dreary work” are an interesting choice. The fact is, no work is, in and of itself, dreary. Only your thinking makes it so. So, as I mentioned in ‘How To Manage Boring and Repetitive Tasks‘ if you keep telling yourself what you’re doing is boring then you’ll be right. Your work will be boring. (Note to self – please remember this and adjust voices in head accordingly!)
By making the daily grind into a bit of a game you can begin to play with ways of making it more interesting. For ideas on how to do this read the “boring and repetitive tasks” post. I would add to that the strategy of mixing things up. So far my focus has been on this website and building traffic to this website. Now that is ticking over I am ready to add a bit of variety and will be revisiting my old websites to see what might be done with them. Do I work on them and sell them? Do I just sell them? Do I work on them and keep them? Not sure.
The key thing is to accept is that the daily grind is a part of setting up an internet marketing business, that cannot be avoided. (At least in the beginning). So you might as well accept it. Then you can free up the energy, currently used in complaining, and use it on experimenting to find the ways that will make this process less painful for you. And, who knows? You might even find yourself enjoying it!
Fourth Shelf Down and 20 Books From the Left
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s an idea if you’re experiencing writer’s block . . .
~~~~~~
Finding myself with some of my writing time still outstanding, and feeling singularly uninspired, I decided to play a game.
The Aim
To overcome my writer’s block and write a complete article no matter how good or bad I think it is whilst writing it.
The Setting
I’m in a public library.
The Game
Go to the bookcase where a number of my favourite books are housed and select the book that is on the fourth shelf down and 20 books from the left. No matter what it is, use that as my inspiration for writing.
. . . walks to the bookcase and selects . . .
The Book
The Way of The Explorer – An Apollo Astronaut’s Journey through the Material and Mystical Worlds.
by Dr. Edgar Mitchell and Dwight Williams
The Writing
Well, that was an interesting synchronicity since I feel this year of internet marketing mentoring is a bit like my own personal journey through “material and mystical worlds.”
Creating an internet marketing business is the material world whilst coaching is more mystical and more of a journey into the unknown.
But can these things be separated really?
My focus for this year is not so much on the material goals as on the process.
I like to think that if I keep taking action and adjusting my course on the basis of the experience and the results I’m getting I may end up somewhere that, from here, I can’t envision. All very mystical.
But my rational, left-brain, feels a pressure to stipulate some goals and to know where I’m going.
Generally, material goals hold little attraction for me. Nothing I could achieve, during this year, would be worth it to me if the journey to get there was constantly dull, uninspiring or a struggle.
When I set out this morning I was dragging my feet but now I feel excited and I’m enjoying the process of completing my writing and my CFT.
I like this game. I will play it again.
~~~~~~
Obviously, you don’t need to be in a public library to do this exercise. You could choose book shelves at home or in your office. Or you could go into a shop and choose the second aisle on the left, third block down, fourth shelf from the top and 7th item along. The possibilities are endless. The most important point is to make a commitment to write about whatever you’ve chosen, regardless of what you end up with.
Once you take the pressure off yourself by allowing it to be a mediocre piece of writing as well, you can just relax and enjoy it. And from that place you are far more likely to produce something original and inspired.
Please feel free to leave a comment and tell us how you get on with.
How To Manage Boring and Repetitive Tasks
Posted by: | CommentsWe established in Once The Shiny Wears Off that one of the challenges in the early stages of setting up an internet marketing business is the necessity to consistently complete tasks that, for most of us, are boring and repetitive.
So, here are 5 ways to help make these early days a little less onerous:
1. Know Why You Are Doing It
If you know what you want to achieve from having an internet marketing business you can remind yourself of this when the going gets tough. The more specific you are the better. Don’t just say I want to get rich. Get clear about how much you want to earn on an anuual basis and then spend some time thinking about why you picked that amount.
Pay particular attention to what you are waiting to create in the the furture that you could do/have in some form now. Then don’t wait. Do it now.
2. Don’t Keep Giving Yourself Negative Messages
Don’t keep telling yourself how “boring” it is – or whatever your particular moan is. Don’t talk about it, either to others or in you head. Just get on with it.
The human brain is a magical biocomputer. It sends us energy when we send it something inspiring and it slows us down when we send it something negative or depressing.
The important bit to understand is that we are the ones who are sending the thoughts to the computer. Life doesn’t send the brain anything. We do by how we interpret what life offers and the story we tell ourselves about it. For example we might say “These tasks are dull and boring and I don’t want to do them” or we could say “This process is a necessary step along the way that is taking me closer to what I want and it won’t be like this forever”. Both are interpretations and stories. BUT, one sends energy and enthusiasm and the other frustration and fatigue.
3. Break Your Work Down Into Manageable Chunks
Don’t work on any one task for longer than 45 minutes. And break up the work with something that requires you to move your body and get away from the computer. ( See my Critical Focus Time post for more on this).
4. Celebrate Your Successes
Rather than focussing on what you still have to do make a record of what you’ve done. For example, I’ve found it motivating to have a chart on my wall that I colour in every time I write a new article. I also have one for number of articles submitted. Watching the numbers increase shows me that I’m achieving something, even if the anticipated results of my work, in terms of visitor numbers, rankings etc. have yet to arrive and this helps me stay motivated.
Another example is recording exactly what you’ve done in your CFT.
5. Learn Something New
Whist your daily work is still at the stage of boring and repetitive it’s worth making the time to learn something new. This may or may not be work related. However, DO NOT do this, until you’ve completed your CFT activities.
Research shows that the brain actually adds physical capacity (similar to the way an exercised arm adds strength) when you learn something new. It doesn’t just add the information, it adds “learning strength” by way of dendrite growth in the physical brain that can actually be measured.
When you learn a new language, or a musical instrument, for example, your brain actually grows smarter and more capable of solving problems. So keep your brain healthy by balancing out the monotony with something new and stimulating.
Whatever you choose to do, there is no getting away from the necessity to develop discipline and keep repeating the essential tasks in your critical focus time blocks, if you want to make a success of your online business. Hopefully the 5 tips above will make your efforts a little easier so, before you know it, you can outsource this stuff and spend more time on the things that are most inspiring to you.
Creating A Routine
Posted by: | CommentsOK. OK. I put my hand up.
Not only did I not complete my Critical Focus Time over the last few days, but I didn’t send my reports in either.
Learning to be disciplined and changing old habits is not as easy as simply choosing to do so.
No, hang on. Actually, it is. But only when the choice is made on a moment to moment basis. The temptation is to decide to work in a certain way, make a commitment to that and then expect it to happen. Forever and ever, amen.
Even though the rational mind knows it will take a bit of an effort and learning, there’s part of me that thinks that, once I’ve decided, it’s done.
But that’s not how it works. New habits need to be practised.
The trick is to not let my “failures” stop me. That’s what I’ve always done in the past – made a commitment, got started, got disappointed at the lack of early results, or just got plain bored so moved onto pastures new. But this year is about sticking with it and stick with it I will!
So . . . today’s another day and a new week to boot. Once more into the fray and all that.
This Week’s Challenge
The challenge I have set myself for this week is to do what I’d said I’d do in my “more on critical focus time post” on 29th March, i.e build in more routine. I’m curious to see what effect this will have, so it’s a worthwhile experiment.
To save you having to look back here’s the plan:
As I said last time . . . I’ll report back next week . . .
20th April – Update
Still made no progress on creating a routine so going to leave it for a while. I’m taking a couple of steps back and refocussing on completing my CFT reports each day. I think I’m doing the work but I can’t be certain as I’m not writing a report each day. I need to get that habit more fully entrenched.
