by Jordan Pearce
Time is not the enemy. Routine is.
More than a rule maker I'm a rule breaker. Is it breaking a rule to be different? Or is it conforming to what has always been?
If you read The 20 Minute Rule and benefited, you'll love: The 30 Minute Rule.
The 20 Minute Rule gets you over the humps you would rather avoid. By setting up a routine and to-do-list, you know best how to use 20 minutes here and there.
The 30 Minute Rule is different and is excellent for hardcore procrastinators.
Here is my story.
To all the cubicle jockey's in the world: how you do it?
Myself I've always avoided an office job at all costs. The irony was I frequently caroused on line and that kept me chained to the computer for half the day!
It gets worse. Computer addiction is a more serious problem than most want to believe. Searching and browsing give us the entertainment and purpose we crave and the Internet is endless.
You start to notice the little things piling up here and there. The laundry, dishes, your losing points with family and friends. The hours slip by and your exhausted from being on line.
When I had hit rock-really-close-to-the-bottom with my procrastination...
I invented The 30 Minute Rule.
The 30 Minute Rule helps to:
o Break up your routine
o Forces you to use your time more wisely
o Eliminates the monotony that ties us up in a single task
o Keeps up busy or entertained and creates the purpose that we humans crave
This works very well for boob-tube addicts, over-eaters, sofa-philosophers, space cadets, or plain over-consumers of time who like to gamble away precious moments.
Back to my story and then I will tell you how The 30 Minute Rule works and how to combine it with The 20 Minute Rule.
Forever I had been an active person and one day I got sick. Not sick-sick, but enough to shut me down for ten days.
Ten whole days of lying around!
Sounds like a vacation doesn't it? Well it wasn't.
My escape of pretending to be a busy body was gone so I needed something to replace it.
I got a lot of reading out of the way but the sad part was I did quite a bit of Internet browsing.
A good portion of the free world is on line right now. This was my turning point because I had realized that after all those years I was gaining momentum on the endless slip-n-slide of Internet addiction.
How did I find this out? Going from 60 to zero in a matter of weeks the back pain crept in and in turn I was not able to work. I surfed some more. The pain was so bad I had to create The 30 Minute Rule!
I'm a whiner when it comes to annoying constant pain. Who isn't? Okay some of you aren't but you know how it affects your quality of life.
With my pen in hand instead of my laptop, I walked away from the imaginary shackles at my desk and--
Did something different.
Some of you are gasping, others are rolling their eyes.
Don't laugh, some of us didn't realize change is good it until two seconds ago!
We are in such a rush-rush world that we don't get much done anymore and I am happy to say I eliminated my computer problem with The 30 Minute Rule.
If you agree with me keep reading. We don't stop to realize we need to take a break sometimes and do something different. We perpetuate escape to bring meaning to our lives.
What is The 30 Minute Rule?
It is a way to get your life back on track. If you can do it for a day, you'll be glad you did. If you can do it for a week, you'll be hooked. It's okay to be obsessed, make sure it's over something worthwhile that will progress you. When that doesn't work anymore you know what to do!
How does The 30 Minute Rule work?
Let's say you are like me: self-employed part-time with a family. You want to work, make your home and take care of your children, while engaging with other people in your life and I almost forgot, make time for yourself.
You can make sacrifices but when we make too many that is when the trouble begins.
What to do:
-Read The 20 Minute Rule and have your routine made out and make up a to-do-list and your priority should be: one thing at a time.
-For the day let's say you need to write and submit a work item on the computer, exercise, balance your check book and pay some bills. It's laundry day and you need to do dishes and take a nap all while you are entertaining a three-year-old.
Now you know my world!
Would you believe this can all be done in 3.5 hours or less? You don't have to be tough on yourself either. It's about mindset. Relax, ready and go:
-Get your laundry out of the way.
--while your clothes are in wash cycle (20 mins.)
---balance your check book and pay some bills (10 mins.)
Time: 30 mins
If you are like me and never do banking on laundry day (refer to your schedule) I use that time to occupy the little one. Next...
-Throw clothes in the dryer (30 mins.)
--While the clothes are drying wash the dishes (20 mins.)
---Give the kitchen a quick wipe down if needed (10 mins.)
Here is where we change things up. The trick is to go from sedentary to active.
If you are a writer this will not interrupt your flow. In fact it will help you be more clear and creative with your ideas.
The other rule is you cannot stay in the same spot for an hour. Example: computer work for 30 minutes, then read on line for another 30.
Back to the program!
-Sit down and write either at the computer or the old fashioned way and don't forget to set your timer.
Time: 30 minutes
When the timer goes off finish up and then get up. You can only fudge 5 minutes and that is if you can wrap up your task in that time.
-Fold laundry (20 mins.)
--The little one is helping so we play for 10.
Time: 30 minutes
-Go back to the computer and edit, post or send via the web 30 minutes are up, you get up!
-Exercise. No excuses, you don't need a gym. You can work your upper body with free weights or do air squats and have a gym free workout. (20 minutes)
--Put clothes away. (10 mins.)
If you are entertaining children you know that laundry can be fun time. A 30 minute video is harmless as needed. No more than twice a day!
Time: 30 minutes
-Take a nap. (30 mins.)
Your three and a half hours are up and quite a bit has been accomplished. Did you worry that you would forget or not have time to finish something? I doubt it. It was all planned out. Did you worry at all? That is an added benefit of this process. You are in a mode that there is no time to worry and you are not rushed. There is a good balance between rest and activity.
The most important step:
Reward yourself with some unmonitored free time. Heck you may like the system so much you will still use it even when you don't have to!
Summary:
o Make an active effort to put procrastination behind you.
o Make a statement that you want to change.
o Refer to The 20 Minute Rule and make your routine and make a to-do-list, and do one thing at a time.
o Set a timer for each 30 minute task.
o You may only do something for 35 minutes if you can complete it in those extra five minutes.
o You must alternate from sedentary to active and back again. You don't have to be rigid but know that doing something active before bed time may interfere with sleep.
o You must get up from your immediate area and move to another part of the house.
Example: Do not nap on the couch and then enjoy an a half hour of television or do not spend time working on the computer and then a half an hour reading or surfing on the Internet.
o If you run out of things to do, repeat tasks or make up new ones. It never hurts to exercise twice a day (in fact you should) or to clean a portion of a closet, take another nap or a second walk. Start another article or read another book.
o Give yourself a rest.
o Reward yourself!
The 30 Minute Rule
Serious Blog Traffic: Turn Your Blog Into a Cult
By Jordan Pearce
Don't rely on the same old methods of marketing your blog like pings, link swaps, RSS feeds and site submissions.
You have to hit the pavement just like you would in the off line world. So treat your blog the same way.
Try some of these unconventional ways to shout from the cyber rooftops that you don't merely exist, but you mean business!
Advertise
Whether you pay for it or not that is up to you. The first thing you want to do is get a domain name for your blog. I write dating articles and the name of my blog is different but on topic with my domain name.
Create a compelling domain name and forward it to your blog address. Remember, the more creative and shorter your domain name the better.
You would be surprised how many people who ponder the web hit a snag in their surfing and your domain they saw in a newspaper or other random thing they read that day will pop into their head.
Pop. That's what you want. Shoot for the pop!
Getting back to topic—advertise. Make business cards. No lie. Nonchalantly when a discussion turns to your blog matter don't be afraid to be a cheese ball and offer up a business card.
The guerrilla tactic would to be sneaking your card into weekly free publications, library books and tucking them into the frames of advertisements on the inside of bathroom stalls.
Do not underestimate the power of underground marketing. People actually pay to advertise in public restrooms!
Predictable Content That is On Topic
You can mix it up but keep with your blog genre at all times.
The best way to do this is to have a different focus every day. Sounds rather sporadic doesn't it?
Think of it like this: If you create a regimen your content will come so much easier to you and your audience will have something to look forward to and drive them to your site.
What will you write about on Mondays? In fact you don't have to write about anything, you can post pictures or other peoples articles that are relevant to your topic.
Digg.com has a special way to add content to your websites called “digg this story”. All you do register with the site and from there you can choose article that will automatically post to your blog or website.
Youtube.com is a good way to keep people interested. Think of Fridays as a movie night. Every Friday you post a video that is part of your blogs subject.
Ezinearticles.com allows use of their articles at no cost. You just have to give proper credit where credit is due, and that is to the author. Read their terms of service for publishers. Another great benefit to this, if you post a link to a popular subject it's possible you will get direct traffic to your blog from search engines.
Many times I have researched a subject and either the ezine article pops up or a website or blog containing the article. Contact some of the authors and see if they will do a link swap with you.
Creating predictability also helps to get your readers coming back for more, especially on certain days of the week.
Becoming an affiliate to programs that have to do with your blogs subject also make great posts. You can introduce or review a new ebook each week that you are an affiliate for and then ad your sales URL to your LINKS or BOOKSTORE portion of your blog.
Get rid of the links that don't create any revenue and be on the lookout for ones that you think might in the future.
Trust me. Entertaining or useful content on a schedule can create the cult like status you want for your blog.
Recycle
Here's a way to cheat. You don't short change anyone mind you. If you have an extensive blog, reuse some of your past articles! Especially if they are a series like How to Train Your Dog in Six Easy Steps: Step One.
Larger websites do this all the time.
How many times have you read the same articles on MSN on how millionaires all have the same traits or "The Worst Traits of the Worst Daters in the World"? It's wok to refresh someones memory if they go to your blog often, don't over do it.
One thing you must do to see which articles to recycle is to have a hit counter...which brings us to the next step...
Have a Hit Counter
The larger websites which I mention two seconds ago in step four of this article keep track of popular articles and re use them every now and then.
Why not? The saying is, if it works use it! Again and again and again until someone tells you not to anymore. Seriously. Make sure there is a significant time frame before you use the same article twice, say six months.
If you write about certain topics say around Christmas, why not use a popular revised article from last year. Its already written and all you have to do is update it. Pass the spiked eggnog because you just saved a lot of writing time AND posted current and helpful information to your readers.
Get a hit counter and if you are really serious and look at your topics for a particular day and see how many hits there are. Find out what articles are working and which ones are not.
One word: Craigslist
I never really could figure out if Craigslist was one word or two!
Number one of this article is advertise. What better way to advertise than to use a good old fashioned bulletin board.
In the real world when people are running errands, a certain type of person always checks the bulletin board a their local grocery store, coffee shop or sometimes at a privately owned restaurant or pub.
Who looks at bulletin boards? People looking to purchase information, a product or service and home based business owners wanting to know what the competition is up to.
Why should on line be any different? You want other bloggers who scope out the competition to visit your blog and those who scope often.
There are several ways you can achieve this and still stay within terms of Craigslist TOU or “Terms of Service”:
o Respond to a post
Your email should include two things. Your targeted email you@yourdomain.com or have link to your blog in the signature. Yes. People will naturally be curious and want to know what Dave does at dave@blogsthatmakeabazillion.com.
The best place to drum up subjects is in the Rant and Raves section.
Rant and Raves is a virtual showcase of opinions.
People ramble and post their thoughts on just about everything from politics, to dog parks, to religion to a favorite book they finished reading to just being happy about someone holding a door open for them when they were having a crummy day. Their opinion is important to them and guess what, if you either invite them to your blog or they seek it out on their own, they will more than likely post comments. That equals feedback for you and more content for your readers.
o Post in the small Biz Ads or Lessons category
Remember I told you I wrote dating articles? I posted in the lessons section “Learn How to Date” and got about 50 hits in a four hour period, four phone calls in the next few days begging me to teach them how to date, and about 15 emails in the next week wanting to know more. Who do you think replied with either a link to their blog or answered their question with a targeted email address.
Mind you I did not post a link because outside links are prohibited on Craigslist. You have the option to anonymize your email or not. Do not make it anonymous! A simple info@bloggityblog.com will do.
Who in their right mind would not look at bloggityblog.com?!
Watch the traffic come pouring in.
One last comment on Craigslist classifieds: Post in one city per week! That is all they allow. Posters take advantage of over posting or "top posting" which in reality is another form of SPAM. Don't be one of these annoying posters and clutter up cyberland.
If you write an effective ad in the right city you will get plenty of response without coming across as ameaturish.
o Use the forums and use them often
When you sign up for a handle, in which you will choose one that is the same subject matter of your blog and the forum you are in, you have the option to post a URL in your profile.
Craigslisters hate spam. It leaves a very bad taste in their mouths and they will do all they can to flag you and chase you away.
It is very hard to get banned in the forums so ignoring nay sayers while remaining cordial and participating in discussions is the way to go. It is not SPAM if you include a URL of your choice to be in your profile. That is putting a face to a name.
Chat Rooms
When you build rapport with people in your life, they are more willing to buy into the ideas you have to sell them.
Chat rooms work the same way. You are making Internet friends and those Internet friends will tell others about your site if they,
a) find the content an enrichment to their lives and
b) trust where the content is coming from.
How many times do you catch yourself telling someone at the office or over coffee that you “know this person” who told you about a certain blah, blah blah and you are really talking about a person you chatted with on line? You don't know them, but your on line persona does.
Here is the point of this article:
You don't have to have every single person in cyber world look at your blog all at once, although that would be nice. You want a handful of targeted prospects to go to your site on the days that interest them the most on a regular basis.
I'm going to give you my unsolicited opinion on two of the blogs that I like and participated on and tell you what they could do to get me to visit more often:
Cooking for Engineers and Mighty Optical Illusions are two totally different subject matters and both have excellent information. Now, if they had a predictable weekly topic I would probably visit more often.
-CFE has recipe for the day, but is too random for me. Now if it had weekly BBQ tips and recipes in the summer or maybe an engineered weekly meal planner year round I would have a reason to return. For now, I visit when I remember.
-MOI has more of a challenge but I do recall a poll or two they conducted. Now if they had a weekly poll that would be something.
The two things these sites do have going for them is regular content that is interesting. When do I ever look up optical illusions? Never. When do I look at cooking blogs? Never. But! I look at these two blogs. Why is that?
Say I haven't looked at their site for a month. If they have regular articles that means that I am going to look at the last three posts that they wrote on the previous Thursdays which happens to be my favorite day to read them.
Take this for example, if it is Wednesday, and I know a certain blog posts on a Monday, I will surely go to the blog to see what they had to say two days ago.
Knowing that there is new content is the security you need to provide to your readers.
See how this works? It's like television and the newspaper. Only cooler!
Summary:
o Advertise
o Predictable content that is on topic
o Recycle your articles
o Have a hit counter
o Use Craigslist
o Participate in chat rooms