Archive for critical focus time
Julia Uses The “F” Word
Posted by: | CommentsWell that was one crapola day! First one since I began the mentoring when I didn’t do any Critical Focus Time activities. I woke up bored with the whole thought of it and failed to push on through. So here I am. At 17.21. The end of the working day in other words. Still faffing about on the internet.
In my 1:1 with Ed last week I said I would rather wait and create a business that I enjoyed, i.e. blogging about this 12 month experience, than create something just to make money. And he mentioned a couple of blogs where people had set out with no intention of making money but had, none the less done so. And that, as long as I was willing to wait, then carrying on with writing this blog, as part of the mentoring, was fine with him.
One of the blogs was the Julie/Julia project which I’ve just visited whilst NOT doing my CFT.
The first thing that leapt out at me was . . . now don’t laugh . . . that she uses the “f” word. I was struck, not so much by the use of the word itself, but the style of her writing and the image of her it conjures up in my mind = Someone who knows her own mind and is not afraid to express herself.
Whilst writing this blog I’ve been aware of a certain reluctance to say what I’m really feeling, for all sorts of reasons, and part of me longs to have the courage just to write it as it is. I’m too old for this “caring what other people think” s**t. And yet, if I cared that much, why bother publishing a blog at all?
In Julia’s second post she writes:
“The Hows and Wherefores…
For the moment, I will not tackle the existential query, “Why, Julie? Why Julia? Why now?” Instead, I shall stick to explicating the rules of engagement.”
I like that she doesn’t answer the “why” question. Since, in my own life, I have found it an oft overrated one. Not particularly useful whilst, at the same time, one I seem addicted to asking . . .
. . . “Why Gillian? Why Ed? Why Now?”
True to form I attempted to answer those questions in my first three internet marketing coaching year posts. But, today, after an exhausting lack of focus I’m tempted to answer:
“Why Gillian? Why Ed? Why Now?”
“WHY THE BLOODY HELL NOT?!”
And as for the “rules of engagement” . . .
Here are mine:
- I will not struggle.
- If I’m not having fun I will take the time to step back and do something about it.
- I will honour the commitment I have made to stick with this for 12 months whilst applying “1″and “2″ above.
More On Critical Focus Time
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate on CFT . . .
So far, I’m doing well with my critical focus time blocks. I am keeping to my targets of the amount of time spent and I’m doing tasks within it that are critical relative to internet marketing, as outlined in my earlier critical focus time post. However, I’m noticing that I am still spending a lot of time faffing around and doing stuff that, hand on heart, I would have to say is time-wasting.
So something new I am going to add this week is to add a non critical focus time block each day, NCFT, and then stop “work” when that is complete. That way I will be able to do other work related stuff but I will know when to stop. The way I’m working at the moment means the work day stretches out and the rest of my life gets put on hold unless I have specific appointments calendared in.
In relation to this I’m also noticing that the faffing around happens first thing in the morning before I settle down and get to work. So this week I will try and build in more routine and see how that works, as follows:
1. Write list of actions for the day.
2. Write for 30 minutes (= 1 block CFT).
breakfast
3. 1 x 45 minutes CFT.
15 minutes break
4. 1 x 45 minutes CFT.
15 minutes break
5. 1 x 45 minutes NCFT.
life outside work!
This just a starting point. I don’t expect it to work out straight away as I will need to make adjustments depending upon whether or not I’m working at home or if I have appointments etc. But it’s a good move towards establishing a routine that works for me and that is my goal here.
I’ll report back next week . . .
Critical Focus Time In Internet Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsThe first “lesson” from Ed Dale’s mentoring program was on what he calls Critical Focus Time or CFT. Basically it’s about committing yourself every work day to a certain amount of time during which you will only work on actions critical to your business.
This is something I’ve frequently struggled with for 2 reasons:
- I’ve not been committed enough to the outcome to practice getting good at CFT (see internal motivation post for more on this).
- I’ve misunderstood, in realtion to internet marketing at least, exactly which activities should/shouldn’t be done during my CFT blocks.
~~~~~~~~
1. Critical Focus Time Takes Practice
A mistake I’ve made in the past is to think that a commitment to being focussed is sufficient to make me so. I’d start out all keen and determined and then discover that creating a new habit was not as simple as saying as I was going to do so. I’ve learned that, like any new skill it requires consistent effort.
For example, one strategy I’ve found to be helpful is to work in 45 minute blocks – what I call the 45/15 rule. I’ve been applying this idea for a number of years, on and off, and reaping the benefits. But I forget to do this every day. It has not yet become a habit so I’m still practising. I have to remind myself each day to set the timer and then discipline myself to stop when it goes off.
So, don’t expect to get your CFT right the first time you try it. Chances are you will need to practise until it becomes a useful habit. While you’re learning accept that you will make mistakes and let that be OK. If you see this in the context of learning a new skill you will be more motivated to keep practising until you’ve cracked it.
In order to get the most from your Critical Focus Time:
- Remove All Distractions – turn off your phone, clost your office door, ask your family/colleagues not to be disturb you for your allotted time, etc.
- Set A Timer – start with 10 minute blocks is you’re new to this, working up to whatever you’re optimum work block length is. You will need to expereiment and find what works best for you. However, never go beyond 45 minutes as studies have shown that this the the maximum amount of time we can focus for effectively.
- Take Regular Breaks Between Sessions – up to a maximum of 15 minutes for the 45 minute block. Use that time to get up from the desk and away from the computer. Do something that requires you to move our body.
2. Critical Focus Time for Internet Marketing
Here are the tasks that Ed counts as IN:
- activities that directly relate to bringing money in
- content creation
- link building including using Market Samauri Rank Tracker for finding and making back links
- outsourcing guides
- prospecting, e.g. active Joint Venture making (by phone not email) or looking for clients
- creating/tweaking PPC campaigns
Tasks That Are Not Included in CFT
- anything passive
- learning
- answering emails
- editing writing
- ANY social media (I was a bit surprised at this one!)
- exploring new keywords
- checking ranking
So, now you know what and what not to do in your CFT sessions. Make a commitment to how many blocks you will do each day. Start small and work your way up and, remember, practice, practice, practice.
———– An update on this post can be found at more on critical focus time.
Fail in the Field Not in Your Head
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s the end of week 2 of Ed Dale’s mentoring program. It’s been a bit of a non-week work-wise. Well, that’s what it’s felt like anyway.
I emailed Ed last Monday with my Market Samauri (MS) keyword and competition research for the internet marketing coaching market, expecting him to look at the figures and give me his opinion on them. I was finding it difficult to find things that I wanted to write about in internet marketing/success coaching where the competition numbers weren’t really high and I also wasn’t sure what the strategy is re. the use of Market Samauri in relation to Market Leadership as opposed to 30DC.
Rather than look at the numbers, he emailed back saying – “There is a big difference between using MS for leadership and for SEO – I’ll cover this in group this week as it’s such an important point – bottom line your practicing leadership in a market -you are researching phrases for traffic.
Write about what you want to write about as a market leader – it’s not about SEO.”
And that was it as far as building a website went. I ground to a halt unsure as to whether I should be doing more market research so I just continued with writing stuff for future use in my Critical Focus Time time.
This week’s webinar was entitled “Market Selection and how it differs from Market Leadership”. There a number of issues that it addressed which clarified things for me a bit and I’m ready to get going again. Hoorah!
First and foremost was the message of:
Fail In The Field
Apparently, MS research should be only 5% of our testing. The other 95% should come from the field, by getting stuff out there, which means content.
I see now, I misunderstood Ed’s meaning in his emails. I thought he was saying do MORE research. That stopped me because I didn’t know what else to do (I’d already researched >150 potential keyword phrases). But I realise now that what he meant was use the research I’d already done.
After watching this week’s webinar I realise I just need to get on with it and test in the field.
Here are some of the key points:
- Fail in the Field and Not in Your Head
Apparently, 98% of people fail in their head. I’ve definitely been guilty of that this week, which connects nicely with another point:
- It’s Never Perfect
When doing market research you are never going to find the perfect keywords, competition figures etc. So take the best you find and, you’ve guessed it, test it in the field.
- Indecision is Resistance – Period
Switching from a “getting it right” mentality to one of “testing” is a big help here. I’ve been indecisive, this week, because I’ve been looking for the “right” theme and category keywords.
- YOU Need to Decide
I emailed Ed for his opinion about my theme/category keywords and when he didn’t respond specifically I ground to a halt. This is connected to the earlier points.
So, using the research I’ve already done, here’s what I plan to do next:
- Pick a theme phrase
- Pick a couple of category phrases
- Put a blog on WordPress Direct
- Get It Indexed
- Do Some Backlinking
AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS FOR MYSELF!
I’m excited to be moving again.
Get Thee Behind Me Email
Posted by: | CommentsGet Thee Behind Me Email
Well, this morning was a resounding success of how not to apply Critical Focus Time!
I got thrown off course by my son waking me early, feeling unwell, and so, not going to school. This resulted in my being at my computer at 6.36 a.m. thinking “oh well, this is earlier than I intended to start so no harm in taking a little look at my emails”.
Which led to my watching another about the List Control launch
which led to my trying to find out Frank Kern’s birthday
which led to my checking out the various affilaite bonuses on offer
which led to my reading a post in the Warrior forum about a possible (but seemingly unfounded) security problem with the list control software that went on and on for yonks and contained the usual slew of misinformation and conspiracy theory that seems to attend most big launches these days
which led to my doing another search in Google which resulted in my reading a load of IM gossip about certain “gurus”
which led to my feeling vindicated about certain times in my internet marketing history where I felt well and truly “ripped off”
which led to my feeling pleased with myself about my choice of Ed as a mentor
and then . . .
. . . the phone rang
which led to my coaching a friend to stop trying to work everything out and just take some action
which led to me returning to my desk and briefly getting back on track as I wrote my action list for the day.
But then I glanced up and saw a new email
which led to my going to Hayhouse to listen to Michael Neill’s latest recording and, whilst listening to that,
I was wondering if Ed had posted anything new on the mentoring site so went there to look
and then remembered something I heard earlier about Stompernet and so went there
and then noticed that Michael was saying the exact same thing that I’d said ealier to my friend so
went off on a coaching tangent
and checked out Steve Hardison’s site
and then one of his client’s sites
and then I noticed an email from my friend saying she was back and how helpful our chat had been to get her out of the house and how she was going great guns now so
I just had to ring her to tell her Michael Neill’s recording was very appropriate and would she like me to forward it to her,
which I did.
And whilst doing that I noticed Ed had emailed about Frank’s latest video.
It was now 12:17 – almost 6 hours since I first sat down at the computer and I was back where I started.
UNBELIEVABLE – 6 H O U R S!
I would have guessed I’d been faffing around for 2 hours at most, which would have been bad enough – but 6 HOURS!!!!!!
The good news is, it was such a shock I made a new commitment to never doing that again! Six hours will be my record for Internet Trawling Diversionary Tactics.
Putting “My money where my mouth is” I took the coaching I’d given to my friend to heart and applied it to myself.
After I’d showered (yes, I was still languishing around in a dressing gown) I grabbed pen and paper and took myself off to a local cafe to do my first CFT block of the day – writing this post.
Note to Self – Do Not Open Email until after you’ve done your CFT!
I shall be interested to see how that pans out . . .
