Last month, I shared how one man manages his to-do list to stay on top of everything. Today, I present this great article from Lifehacker on another way to manage those tasks that keep coming up, with or without a particular end date in sight.
The biggest benefit of both of these methods, in my own opinion, is the ability to move things off today’s list and onto the next day’s list. I’ve wanted that kind of flexibility in my to-do list for a couple of years now. Edward’s post (the Basecamp link) actually inspired me to develop my own using Todoist, which I love for managing my projects and various other lists anyway. Using the Today view (which I have set to show up on my iGoogle page), I can see not only what’s on my agenda for the day, but I can also see neglected tasks and how long they’ve been neglected. When I’ve done something recurring, I simply change its due date to the next time I want to do that task.
For me, it’s an ideal situation. I’m keeping on top of everything far better, and I can easily rework scheduled tasks if the current schedule isn’t working. (It’s also a great way to remind myself of those little tasks that get overlooked sometimes.)
The trick really is find what works for you, and go for it!
Posted by Rebecca as Freelancing, Entrepreneurship, Organizing at 3:01 PM EST
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It’s written to target librarians, but this article is a great source of ideas how to get yourself known in the Web 2.0 world. Most of it just seems to be common sense: learn the ins and outs of social media, stand out, make your content available to rip-mix-burn.
In a Web 2.0 world, it’s really all about putting yourself out there, chatting with people, and putting your own unique spin on things. It’s about letting people get to know you, and letting them discover what value you bring to the party. In some ways, it’s more authentic than other means of promoting yourself.
Once I finish this restructuring, I’m hoping to finally apply some Web 2.0 marketing to my online presence.
Posted by Rebecca as Freelancing, Entrepreneurship, Networking at 8:09 AM EDT
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With my crazy schedule and my desire to have income coming in from other places, I’ve often wondered whether or not I’m in a place where some small-time entrepreneurship (insert giggle here) is something I can even realistically consider right now. Honestly, I’ve been playing at building this place up for a year now, and haven’t had the time to devote to it, even in small, late-night spurts because of all the other demands on my time.
It doesn’t change the fact that I have to augment my income beyond what I’m earning at my part-time job, especially this month, when so many days have been lost unexpectedly to the snow and wind. I read somewhere that this makes me an entrepreneur of necessity. It’s not so much that I’m doing it because I want to (except I really do want to be my own boss), I have to do it because my life won’t quite work otherwise.
With all of this in mind, I read this great list of tips to help you decide whether or not entrepreneurship should be on your radar right before the wind knocked the power out of Seattle. I’m contemplating on it long and hard right now as I work to wrap up 2006 and look toward 2007. Maybe I’ll figure out the right balance to make it all start coming together seriously because the vast majority of that list sounds exactly like me. I just have to be willing to step up and take charge.
All that aside, I’m still really, really hoping to find a business manager under my Christmas tree…
Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 8:26 AM EST
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With the help of a friend, I’m trying to gear up to become a freelance k-12 course designer (I think that’s the term we’re shooting for). Knowing that I’m weak in business skills, I’ve been trying to read through the Personal MBA program (when the local library doesn’t completely revamp the eBooks catalog to make it utterly useless).
Life Beyond Code recently shared a great collection of articles on entrepreneurship, and I’m now making my way through those as well. Every little bit will help as I pursue this route.
Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 8:17 AM EDT
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I’ve been shifting from Bloglines to Google Reader, and just finally caught up on all of my reading. One of the gems was an article from Fast Company last week on not being afraid to show your shortcomings. I thought that sounded an awful like my honesty post from Monday.
I think for an entrepreneur or a freelancer, an easy to combat the discomfort of exposing your weaknesses is to find someone who is strong where you are not and team up with them. Ideally, this is really how any entrepreneur should be hiring. In this case, you are recognizing areas that could potentially cause you trouble in the long run, and addressing those areas by finding someone who can do those tasks far better than you could on your own.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Freelancing, Entrepreneurship at 7:33 AM EDT
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There is article after article advising interviewers to follow up on their interviews with a thank-you note. A thoughtful gesture on your part, and it allows you to bring some feeling of closure to that section of the interviewing process.
What about bringing closure to the entire interviewing process? That’s really in the hands of the company, and it’s where many companies these days seem to fall apart.
At the beginning of the interview process, companies are great about sending out form letters to let prospective candidates know whether or not they’ve made the cut. Somehow, they forget to tell last round candidates that they haven’t been selected. Since these are the people the company has been courting through the entire interview process, they are also the people who definitely deserve to be told formally that they are not being extended a job offer.
Even if the reason for not sending the letter is because the company really liked the candidate and is looking for a position to hire them into, it is still considerate to let the person off the hook for the position they interviewed for.
What’s really uncomfortable is the fact that seems to be happening more and more. Companies are letting interviewees learn their fate through discovery rather than direct disclosure. It makes the company look bad (and downright gutless), and it can serve the company as poorly as bad customer service. The interviewee can be left with a bad taste in their mouth, and is likely to recommend that colleagues not apply with that company in the future. They may even decide they don’t want to do business with the company if they applied for the job because they were a fan of the company.
The rejection letter is a formality, and a courtesy due to any interviewee. It should be handled politely and tactfully, but it absolutely must be done.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Freelancing, Entrepreneurship, Responsibility, Leadership and management at 8:15 AM EDT
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In Chapter 558 of “How the various areas and interests in my life continually intersect”, we explore the book proposal as a general planning tool.
I’m working on a couple of books at the moment. I have planned from the start to self-publish both, but this article from Writers Weekly’s newsletter made me start rethinking my approach to working on them.
It also sparked another train of thought. It occurs to me that the book proposal would also make for a great pre-business plan planning tool. In fact, I might even explore it as a business tool. When you really think about it, a book proposal is a sort of business plan for a book; it’s just intended for a wider audience.
I’m going to have to explore this and see what comes of it. Perhaps use it to organize and firm up my jewelry business plans.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Freelancing, Entrepreneurship at 8:19 AM EDT
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The Business Opportunities Weblog recently shared a post on the nine types of entrepreneurs.
Despite all of my attempts to sabotage myself, I think I’m actually a blend of the adviser, builder/creator, and the communicator/trainer. I’m looking to build my corner of the world around my teaching, writing, and artistic capabilities, each of which come fairly easily to me. When I remember that, it helps to still the negative voices in my head looking to stop me routinely.
Take a look at the corner of the world you’re trying to claim. What kind of entrepreneur are you trying to be in your own little corner?
Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 8:12 AM EDT
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I read this great blog entry that suggests that entrepreneurs need to learn to ask for help in completing the tasks they aren’t strong in completing themselves, and somehow misplaced the link.
For some time now, I’ve been saying I need a business manager because I know there are certain things I’m not good at that someone else would be better off doing to make sure they’re done correctly. My friends just sit there and laugh. These would be the same friends who aren’t willing to offer much more than verbal support with no real support behind it.
I think part of what makes a successful businessperson is the ability to identify their own weaknesses and then find creative ways to resolve those weaknesses, even when it includes bringing on more personnel.
Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 8:26 AM EDT
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Any entrepreneur or freelancer needs to be able to deliver their elevator pitch on the spot. I’ve been working on mine off and on for months now. One of the benefits of working on this thirty-second speech is that it really makes you take a close look at what your business does, really define the niche your company fills.
Recently, I’ve come across two great formulas for developing your pitch. Both discuss getting right to your point, the actual point of an elevator speech, and presenting your company in a problem-solution format. I really like the second because it’s a fill-in-the-blanks template that lets you get started quickly, and then you can edit and tweak as necessary.
For example, if I were to attempt one for my jewelry business, it might look something like: I’m the jewelry designer that (okay, I have no hook). I specialize in simple, elegant designs created from silver wire for those looking to own nice jewelry without spending a fortune on it.
It occurs to me that I’ve also painted myself into a corner and can’t add in a third sentence that isn’t redundant. I think I’m going to have to work on this elevator pitch idea.
Posted by Rebecca as Freelancing, Entrepreneurship, Marketing at 8:13 AM EDT
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