Don't be shy! blog@sufficientthrust.com - @MarinaMartin - 206.801.1556
If you didn’t send holiday cards this year, it’s not too late to still touch base with old classmates, co-workers, neighbors, and friends.
Keeping in touch with even your most distant contacts on at least a yearly basis is always a good idea. You never know when an old acquaintance will turn into a new trusted friend, or if that guy who sat next to you sophomore year is hiring for a position you’d be perfect for (or would be perfect candidate for the position you’re hiring for).
Send off short “Happy New Year” messages via email. You might also want to take the time to connect with them on Facebook or your social networking site of choice — after you’ve optimized your Facebook profile, that is!
Don’t wait until next year — send those messages now!
While many people are turning to credit cards, EFTs, and electronic checks to pay their bills, there’s usually cause to write at least a couple of checks each month. Come January, lots of those checks will accidentally say “2007″ on them.
Keep your checks error-free in 2008! Grab your checkbook and fill out just the year on the first 10 or so checks.
Add a Google Alert for their name to hear about their latest gallery openings, publication date, album, or movie premiere.
We all have specific news items we like to follow, and others that we are content to quickly glance over (or perhaps not read at all).
Head over to Google News and click “Edit this personalized page” in the upper-right corner.
In just two minutes of dragging-and-dropping, you can:
Lower your electric bill by rearranging one surge protector so that “always on” electronics are plugged in on the “unswitched” side and optional electronics (like cell phone chargers or bedside lamps) are plugged in on the “switched” side.
Switch the surge protector on at night when your electronics are charging, and turn it off in the morning when you disconnect.
Check out Gina’s Power Strip Optimization over at Lifehacker for more ideas.
(This Monday Quick Tip is part of Blog Action Day, a day of blogging devoted to the environment.)
As my Google Reader fills with posts related to Blog Action Day, I have only this to say…
Don’t get so focused on the “Blog” part of that title that you miss point — the ACTION.
Bike to work. Re-arrange your surge protectors. Clean with vinegar. Buy these really witty outlet switches.
Just DO something!
Then tell people about it. Make them feel bad that they didn’t do as much as you did.
Make ME feel bad that I didn’t do as much as you did in the comments.
No matter how perfect your organizational system, there will be times when you fixate on a project that you suddenly feel must be done right now , even though it’s actually not critical at all.
This is almost always procrastination in disguise.
Tonight, I should be writing a number of reports for clients, or working on my upcoming 31 Days to GTD Mastery series for the blog. Instead, I decided I absolutely had to add all of the 500+ personal development blogs at Priscilla Palmer’s list to my ever-growing (439 and counting) list of RSS feeds.
By the time I got to the letter D, I was bored to tears, but I have a hard time letting go of a project once I’ve started it.
Then, I had a bright idea: I’d outsource my procrastination. I wrote up an RFP in about 20 seconds, posted it, got a bid for $50, and poof, all done.
This way, I satiate my current desire to have this project completed, but I free myself up to work for paying clients. It easily would have taken me three or four hours to add all those RSS feeds myself, and I earn more than $12.50/hour doing other work. I just made money AND took care of my procrastination project at once!
Now, David Allen of GTD fame does suggest that we all keep a healthy number of non-critical things that do have to be done eventually on our Next Action lists so that when we do, inevitably, procrastinate, we at least get something done instead of zoning out in front of the TV.
This is a great idea. However, there’s a difference between “change the light bulb in the front hall,” which is a good five-minute widget to crank when you just don’t feel like working, and “create a personal library of LOLcats and make a screensaver,” which is not a good way to spend your time.
The next time you decide you just HAVE to take on a mundane project, ask yourself: can I outsource this?
Today, Twitter launched its new tracking feature, where you can receive immediate notification when someone’s tweet contains a particular keyword of your choosing.
You can use this new feature to find and contact other Twitterers who can benefit from your product, service, or blog posts.
First, you’ll want to make sure your Twitter profile has your URL listed and your blurb clearly outlines your area of expertise.
Now, you’ll want to track keywords related to your product or service. For example, if I run a digital photography site, I’d track keywords like “camera” or “pictures” and see what kinds of messages pop up.
Start with lots of keywords and then pare down the list as you learn which are providing valuable leads and which only bog down your incoming SMS list.
Remember to use conversational keywords. Tweets are informal by nature. Think about how you’d tweet on your topic, and enter keywords accordingly.
Now, you’ll be notified each time someone’s tweet contains your keyword.
The key is to use this information *constructively*. Interact with the posters. If someone says they “just bought a digital camera,” send them a message offering help learning a trick or two. If they say they’re “taking pictures tomorrow” ask what sort of pictures they’re taking or where they are. You can then offer more specific information in response. As you prove yourself to be a valuable resource, you gain trust and in turn will gain readership and new business.
To use Twitter’s tracking feature:
SMS (40404) or IM the following to Twitter: track keyword
(Replace keyword with your own keyword.)
Please do not use this strategy to spam people. That’s just not cool.