Ok I have an astonishing array of sites in development and projects to work on, so I can't afford to waste time (posting in forums etc lol), and so I was literally FORCED to come up with techniques to make me as uber-productive as possible, in the fastest, shortest timeframe possible.

Here's one tip that I just found out this past few weeks that I'll share...

"The Ken Calhoun DUAL-PC Mode Technique"
and it goes a little something like this... take it away, ken..

When I just use my main pc plugged into the 'net, I found out I was endlessly distracted... aggregating content (sourcing a/v audio/video/templates), communicating with others (forums!) and competitive research, and checking cnn.com and other news sites etc etc....(here's my 3 monitors http://copywritingu.com/kenmonitors.jpg)

So I decided to ALSO run a laptop, as a secondary pc. What I do now is, unplug my main pc from the 'net after 7am, yet keep my laptop with firefox open, plugged online. So I have no browsers running on my main pc, after the first hour or two in the morning. But I DO have firefox running on my (harder to type on, less convenient) laptop, at my elbow.

Since I offer fanatical customer support, responding to all my customer emails within an hour at most, 99% of the time, I need to have my email client open on the laptop, so I can periodically refresh it and see new emails. But NOT on my main pc..

By making this small change, I have at least doubled my productivity this last 3 weeks. So, No Internet on the main pc, for most of the day, instead relegate that to a laptop, which means I'm far less likely to surf around the net, as I did back when I had my main pc w/browser open all day... that caused a huge productivity drop/leak.

I also unplug my ethernet cable from the router for my main pc as well, to avoid temptation to get back online whenever I have a lull in energy from site development/copywriting work. I also do that at night, for security, eg unplug all my pcs from the 'net.

Make sense? Any questions? Ok share yours... time for me to unplug now for the day, from this main pc..


Gotta go make that 3rd Mil,

Ken

p.s. note the stack of gold faux doubloons under the middle pc, it's a wealth trigger/anchor. I also have a half-dozen real escudos, 1/2 up to 2 escudos, under the 3rd monitor, I collect gold doubloons and silver elizabeth 6d/sixpence from 1570s-1605, and other rare coins. Great wealth anchors.

I got all that from Dan Kennedy's Wealth Attraction DVDs (recommended, required), and having copies of "Robb Report" and Millionaire mag etc laying around, plus wealth triggers like old Saturday Evening Posts from early 1900s from industrial baron times, turn o the century. I could do a seminar on this stuff. I will, someday.

p.p.s also, speaking of 'wealth programming anchors', nlp-style, I got Jeffery Gitomer and Brian Tracy to write motivational stuff in the books I bought for them to sign when I saw them at their live seminars I attended... so for example Brian Tracy kindly wrote "Ken, you can do it - $5,000,000 or bust!" in the inside cover of my sales training handout from his seminar, at my specific request, which I now keep posted near my work area, along with DVDs of him and others, nearby, as "success photos" to encourage and motivate me. This is millionaire-making stuff, the self-programming reinforcers. Makes for unstoppable energy, and "flawless victory". It works.

p.p.p.s Be sure to share Your productivity/"how to focus better" tips as well in this *very* thread... it can be an amazingly useful resource for many. Tell us your productivity-boosters!

Redbull and lots of it!!

J/K.

Great motivation there Ken.

It's good to know that even the most successful have
productivity problems at times. Good to know for me
who really aren't much of a hit yet. I know I can
do millions in the future, but right now I'm not just
very focused.

But I have one little secret that make me
stay motivated lately. It's the cut your hand-off secret.

I figured if I cant stay focused on one task at
a time, then I need to
cut my hand off..

I need to get a poster on the wall
for this one!

Thx for the post, and keep going for the $5,000,000!!

Good tips Ken.

On a high level I use things like psycho cybernetics, Simpleology, goal setting for the unconcious mind etc. It's a lot easier to be productive when you're aiming for something.

At a nuts and bolts level simple things like starting work early, 5am most mornings, means I get a good solid 4 hours work in before there are any distractions. I haven't gone as far as unplugging the internet but I close my email program and try to check it only 3 times a day, during breaks in work.

Oh, and coffee. Lots of coffee.

yep to lots of coffee...

One of my traders, a stunning ex-fashion model from New York who was at one of my trading seminars, recommended the "Jura Capresso" machine, which I've been running almost 2 years now, about $1K for the one I got, with a lifetime! warranty, if bought from williams-sonoma.

It's great for coffee/espresso... automatic grinder etc, so no more filters or washing stuff up much.. great time saver, plus delivers perfectly instantly brewed espresso/coffee whenever I want it..

speaking of coffee, anyone have favorites? I like all my hawaii coffees, and lapperts' kauai pie is ok, I detest Starblechs, also curiously, the house blend sold via albertson's is remarkably good..

turkish coffee is ok for a change too, though it's preground (ack) vs beans

ken

For someone who drinks as much coffee as me I must admit I don't experiment that much, www.vittoriacoffee.com > Products > Mountain Grown is my staple.

I've been looking for the perfect espresso machine for a while, am still plunging at the moment.

If you like rocket fuel, Blue Mountain is pretty good. I drink about 1-1 1/2 pots of Lacas coffee daily (50-50 leaded & unleaded mix). It's a really popular coffee served at many of the restaurants in the Philly area... that's how I discovered it. Here's the company's site:

Lacas Coffee

Time for another cup,

Mike

How could I forget deadlines! Deadlines are especially important when working for yourself and can multiply your productivity like nothing else. Just like setting goals, deadlines force you to aim your energy at a specific target and ensure you hit it.

Michel posted an article recently that I strongly agree with stating that work fills the time it is allocated, meaning that with no end date the work will continue on forever. I know Carlton is a big fan of deadlines and boasts to have never missed one, either to himself or a client. That's pretty impressive and a clear indication of why he is so prolific.

Hey thanks for the coffee referalls, I'll try 'em.

Agree re deadlines make a big difference; I've found, something I learned at a Tony Robbins seminar, that if I make a "public promise" to a colleague, re a deadline, getting something done by a specific date for a mutual launch date, that helps me tremendously re productivity... making a commitment to another person works very well, to get me to get it done, at high quality, quickly.

ken

Hi Ken,

I juts got an e-mail from Bob Serling about improving productivity online with regard to managing "e-zine subscriptions" and the next "big, new, shiny piece of technology".

"Direct Marketing Insider

Issue #19
March 7, 2007
------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to pass this issue on in its entirety to
your friends and business associates. Better yet, tell
them to subscribe - just send them to the home page
at: http://www.directmarketinginsider.com

The Internet is Poisoning Your Business

by Bob Serling

Alright, we're more than two months into the year and it's time for a reality check.

Are your sales meeting your projections - or are they already starting to slip?

How are your profits compared to last year at the same time? Are they better, worse, or the same?

For most businesses, their sales and profits are either flat or they're already losing ground.

But why, why, why?

It's pretty simple really. You see, the Internet is poisoning your business.

====================================
Choose your poison
====================================

There are two ways this is occurring on a daily basis. First, there's just too much information available. So most people feel overloaded with everything they need to read to keep from falling behind.

Second, almost every day your inbox is filled with promises of "the next big thing" that's going to change the way you do business forever. It may be a new technology or a new way of marketing. But no one can possibly keep up with all these new tools, let alone master each and every one of them.

====================================
It's time to detox your business
====================================

I live in San Diego, which is really dessert property converted to high-priced homes, golf courses, strip malls, etc. But as much as we've prettied it up, it's still a dessert. Which means that every year, dozens of people get bit by rattlesnakes - many in the back yards of their own suburban homes.

So what do you do when you get bit? Do you just ignore it, tell yourself, "Hey, it's just a little poison", and keep weeding the garden?

Of course not! You hightail it to the emergency room and get a shot of anti-venom to reverse the effects of the poison and prevent it from doing serious damage.

But with information poisoning, you just keep piling it on. "I've got to read more. I've got to get a jump on this hot new software. I've got to use this new marketing strategy before everyone else does".

Which translates to, "I've just been bit, but it's only in the leg. No problem, I have another leg, so I can just keep going. It probably won't slow me down too much if I just drag the injured leg along".

And this goes on over and over again until you're no longer effective. And whether or not you agree with me - poison deludes you into thinking YOU are the one person who can handle it - your sinking sales and profits are proof
positive.

====================================
The information poisoning antidote
====================================

OK, so where does all this frantic activity and willingness to keep poisoning yourself come from?

Fear, plain and simple.

Fear of missing out on the next big thing. Fear of falling behind. And fear of your competitors getting an edge on you.

But I've got news for you. Those fears are actually limiting your effectiveness. And, because your competitors operate from the same fears, they're just as ineffective as you are.

So whoever derails their fear first will win the game. How do you do that? Let's go back to the two main sources of information poisoning.

====================================
Antidote #1: Too much information
====================================

This one is really easy - although it may seem painful at first. Put a limit on how much you read. In fact, aim to reduce your reading by 75%.

Instead of reading all those ezines and offers as soon as they hit your inbox, put them in a "to read" folder. Once a week, delete everything in the folder that you haven't read. And prepared to be shocked by
how much of it you haven't read.

Turn off your email notification tone. Most of us react like Pavlov's dog, interrupting whatever we're doing to jump over and check the incoming email every time the tone is heard. Try to check your email just twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, instead of becoming a slave
to each and every email the minute it hits your inbox.

====================================
Antidote #2: The next big thing
====================================

Forget about being first to discover and use the next great technology or marketing technique. Most of them aren't nearly as good as promised. And I've never seen a case of it being truly necessary to jump on something
or miss out. If the next big thing truly is that big, you'll have plenty of opportunity to use it - but at your convenience.

====================================
The final step
====================================

Now that you've learned to identify these snakes in waiting and avoid them, you'll have a lot more free time on your hands. Make sure you devote that time to the tasks that will have the greatest impact on
your business.

Take a few minutes to define precisely what those tasks are for your business. Make a list of those tasks, then check yourself against this list every once in awhile to make sure you're staying on track.

Within a short time, your sales and profits should be back to where you really want them to be."


Thanks for your interesting insights, Ken. You post a lot of good stuff. I hope (know) you'll be getting quite a few more gold dubloons in the near future!

Best Wishes,

Tom

Hey Ken,

I'm new to this forum, but not to online marketing. I currently have an online business generating close to 1 million USD in sales.

Biggest problem I have is... being online is a distraction.

I found the best tool for me is using a product called the MY-TYME Succcess Planner (kinda like a Franklin Planner)

The important thing I do (as you mentioned) is I commit to someone (Rex) to get things done by a specific time. We then both write into our planners and then we agree that he (Rex) will call me by a certain time to see if I have finished it. If I give him any excuse. He will commit me to a new time that it MUST be done by.

Sounds difficult but it's really easy. The idea is that someone will be checking up on me to keep my commitements.

Since I implemented this strategy on my IMPERATIVE projects my productivity has gone thru the roof! (I schedule all A1's for the day, I only use Rex on the super high priorities)

Hope this helps...


MarketingDude