There were 3 questions I left you with from this post on
time management.
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Q1- What’s on your DoTO list right now?
A1- Setup Al Secunda interview schedule.
Q2- What’s your current IHTD project?
A2- Create an inventory of the software I’ve bought in last 3 years.
Q3- What is your Project1?
A3- Create next info product
How about you?
- Mark ‘Time lord‘ McClure
There’s a plastic stand on my desk, just to the left of my monitor, which can hold 5 CDs.
That’s originally what I bought it for.
But after my “giving up” session I had no need for this one and was thinking of recycling it too.
Then the thought came to me that my goal of “publishing 6 information products” in the career coaching market would include a number of physical products.
Two of them are shown in this photo:
The third product is not a physical one – it’s a coaching service.
(Oct 2011 Update: The two CD courses above are no longer available for general sale.)
That leaves 3 products.
And wouldn’t you know it, the CD holder can fit in just 3 more CDs!
So, I have my goal visualization tool sitting right on my desk. All I have to do is to ‘see’ that empty space filled up with 3 more CD or DVD cases.
Of course I want these products to be of tremendous benefit and value to my customers and clients (only a minority of customers become coaching clients, which is as it should be.)
Some ideas for future products are:
Feel free to leave a comment here with your first choice product from the 4 above – or suggest one of your own.
I’ll start work on whatever gets the most votes – with mine being the casting vote in event of a tie.
Please comment before end of 23 Feb 2008.
- Mark McClure
[Updated - Comments on this post have been closed as of 30 March 2008.]
From time to time I hear about big lottery winners and feel a wee touch of envy. Then, like a passing cloud, it’s gone and I think no more about it (helps that I don’t buy lottery tickets lol!)
And very occasionally a winner comes along who’s been in poor health for years and goes on the record as saying, “I’d give it all up to have my health back.”
Would you?
I’m sure that I would – having seen how just a simple tummy bug a few weeks ago laid me low for nearly 3 days. No appetite, no exercise, no blogging! (editor: that might be a blessing in disguise for the reader.)
Which brings me to the point of the post.
Is there anything in your life (and specifically, in your career choice), which you know is good for your wealth but less so for your health?
And are you OK with that?
- Mark McClure
(PS – A solution doesn’t necessarily mean beating your chest and handing in your resignation next day. I suggest reading “The 15 Second Principle” by Al Seunda for some ideas on simple, gradual change.)
Is it possible to play multiple career roles over the same time period – with one being primary and the others secondary?
(Note: This article addresses people wanting to move from an employee mindset to that of an owner.)
Probably the classic example of this is ‘moonlighting’ where an employee works at their side business on evenings and weekends.
This can be a tough but character forming road to follow.
Another way is to declare independence from an employee mindset of trading hours for pay with one employer, and pursue both the growth of your own business while also offering contracting services to help maintain cash flow (and stay alive!).
The advantage of this latter option is that you are able to (partly) fund the marketing and sales tasks of your primary business with revenue from the consulting gigs.
This also helps ‘position’ the consulting role as a support function for growing your dream business. Of course, it is important to avoid conflicts of interest and not, for example, work on your own business when billing consulting hours.
That type of “multitasking” can ruin a hard earned reputation very quickly.
Don’t go there!
Instead, rather than tearing your hair out because there aren’t enough hours in the day to perform both primary and secondary roles, start building a set of procedures and tasks that you can do the following with:
These procedures can be written or, better still, recorded as screen captures with you actually doing them on your computer or in front of a video camera.
The time taken in doing this is saved many times over when the contractor or intern (or even your employee, one day!) can refer to the task video – rather than interrupt you.
What you’ll end up with is a both a physical transition over time from one career to the other, and a mental transition from “employee” to “owner”.
The thing is, not everyone wants the responsibility of owning their career, and are happy to place their future in the hands of others.
Do you?
- Mark McClure
Sometimes it’s necessary to give up and let go of ‘stuff’.
I’m not talking about “giving up” on a dream – that’s a subject for a different post.
But just look around you at the amount of clutter in the physical space you call ‘home’.
I spent a few days recently doing just that and came across the following millstones around my neck:
Since I’ve no intention of putting that much weight back on again voluntarily, why am I hanging on to these clothes?
So, off the best of them go to a thrift shop.
And the rest are recycled.
Same thing with the books.
There are so many wonderful books I haven’t read, yet I’ve no more space in this apartment to store them.
Fair enough.
Out go a ton of books I enjoyed immensely but will never read again.
As well as some I’ve just lost interest in.
And finally to the audio and video tapes. Much as I enjoyed “The Shawshank Redemption” on video, it’s a long movie and I’ve so many other things I want to do and see and experience.
“Bye, Bye Red. It’s get busy living or get busy dying time for me too. Thanks.”
- Mark McClure