I’ve talked to friends about how certain games seem to be a waste of time because there is no real goal to the game, but if you stop and look at them, it’s ALL OF THEM! These are all never ending games and are meant to be that way. For a long time I was doing ok managing my time on them and it was a fun little outlet.

Last weekend I realized that I had let the facebook game time outweigh the work time. No kidding, that’s how bad it had gotten. I was spending more time checking my games than I was writing articles. It’s an embarrassing admission, but would be more embarrassing if I continued to let it happen! Last Monday, January 4th, at lunch was the last time I checked my games. Every single one of them.

I’ve had tons of game requests daily still and I’ve gone and deleted them without opening. I don’t want to see the number grow by the game request link so I’m tempted to play. I’ve gone cold turkey.

I’m happy to report I’m just fine. No withdrawals, no twitches and honestly I haven’t missed them once in the week I’ve pledged off of them.

I’m staying off of the games until Feb. 1st. We’ll see at that time if I go back and play again or not. Right now I’m very happy with how many blog posts and articles I’ve written. I’m not sure I can go back to wasting this “new” found time on the games again and obviously I can’t trust that I will just spend a little bit of time on the games.

Want to know the statement that went through my head and worked as my trigger to get off the facebook games? “How much money am I making by playing these games?” That simple statement.

I challenge you to evaluate your game time and just how much money you are making while playing!
photo credit: Tassidy Doyle

There are a few options out there for going the full route.  I can do quite a bit of the work myself, pulling in help for things I’m not incredible at like web design. Or I can go with a full web product design agency and watch aspects of my site grow that I hadn’t considered.

In this case, I don’t think I will be needing a full site redesign for once. I have the logo as I like it, but I may need to go with a new theme. With how many wordpress theme’s there are, it’s major overload trying to find the right one. But I know the right theme will convert to more sales in this case. So I have been going to other sites I like for a few minutes each week and seeing what themes they are using. Visually appealing sites will help keep visitors there for longer.

The major revamping question is how to get the membership area exactly as I want it. I am close to saving up for amember and I know this is the resource that many I like to learn from use and it’s also a resource I use a lot as a customer. But it is possible for me to change my delivery at this time and use options I’m already paying for each month. One really great thing is amember is the one time charge. No monthly payment being taken out for services. I have to say that when I go back and add up how much I’ve paid over the years, this one time option is very appealing.

My list has built slowly which is good since I haven’t promoted it like it should. I have also not stayed connected with the list. So basically I have a targeted list and I’m wasting it. Definitely a big one I’m hitting. Starting this week as a matter of fact. Then I need to use this list to contact them twice a month. When I send out a quick broadcast to this list it converts to 2-8 new subscribers. DUH, isn’t that motivation enough right there? I just need to use the scheduling options in aweber and get a few done for January and February. Work ahead instead of feeling behind.

More products are in the works for said site. As the year went by (SO QUICKLY!) I came up with new ebook ideas. I started outlines for these products and in some cases they are quite close to finished. I think I will outsource making them pretty as I can have them proofread at the same time. These new products give me a start on where my marketing needs to be for next year and I can literally get my calendar out and plan when the marketing needs to get started.

Affiliates is another big place I need to hit. I need to get them more ways to advertise for me. Some graphics to match the new logo and in different sizes. A freebie they can give out or if they want to hold a giveaway. I haven’t pushed the affiliate program because I wanted to get more resources in place and better communication with them.

These are all things (except for the graphics) that I can do myself. They are things that I should already have been doing. They are things that directly convert to more sales. I will be setting my goals for this site on which one’s make me more sales the quickest. When I make more sales then I can bring in a VA to help with other aspects. With two of us working on my goals list it’s that much more of a win-win situation.

I try hard not to kick myself for things I know I should have been doing. Yes, I take a quick look at why I’m not doing them, so maybe I can watch if I fall into that poor habit again. But I can’t dwell on how much money I would have made last year if I’d done these things. I need to look ahead to growth and keep excited about the future of the site. Woulda-coulda-shoulda will just get me sitting here in the same spot next year

Do you have a major revamp or site restructure planned for 2011?

Going to the range and hanging out with hubby on Monday was just fine. Monday’s are not a day I hope to get much done online, I know this. But he surprised me by staying home so I didn’t even get back online after the kids went to school.

But then the power went out in a big windstorm. I went to bed on time since I didn’t want to drain my phone battery. Power was down for 13 hours and threw my morning for a loop obviously. There is another one right behind it so I have to get my act together. Plus get all this laundry done in case it goes out again. lol It also means that I better get ahead online in case I can’t get on for a while again.

Sadly my motivation was tossed to the curb and I’m scrambling to find it now. Obviously blogging is one of the steps I use to get back on track so that is always my number one for finding my mojo again.

Weirdly enough, cleaning was on the list today for getting back on track. I have found a direct correlation to how clean my house gets and my procrastination. It’s very easy to notice because I hate housework, so if my house is looking really clean and no company is coming over…I’m hiding out from work. Knowing this, I cleaned the bathroom first thing to see if I could get that bug out of the way immediately.

Shower was next. No amount of caffeine was going to get me moving today and I’m not supposed to be drinking it. It was one of those days I really needed to start off with a shower, but alas, no hot water will ruin that plan

Then I finally got to tackling that to do list. No I didn’t start with the most pressing task. I didn’t even start with a middle of the road task that needed to be completed. I went straight to the easiest and quickest.

I’ve found when I can’t get going, the act of getting something crossed off the list quickly gets me motivated again. It helps remind me that I’m over-thinking it and I need to just get going. Now this easiest thing can not be one of my daily tasks. Answering emails for example DOESN’T COUNT. That’s just yet another way to procrastinate and ignore work. So for today, my first task I grabbed was to finish uploading the new PLR packages. Not the rest of the things involved with getting them live, just to upload them to my hosting.

Everyone’s easy task will be different. Don’t grab anything that technically has you challenged. Grabbing any graphics or picture work for me would not have been an easy task. They frustrate me and take me longer than the average bear to work on. Uploading files is easy for me and may cause others frustration. It’s all about your personal comfort zones.

Grab something on your to-do list that is a no brainer and get it done. You’ll be amazed how crossing that first thing off your list will cause a chain reaction of work to get done!

Looking at how many days we are hoping to go camping was a real eye opener. I’m already working hard to fit everything and everyone into the day. (Hence selling sites and domains lol) Marking off dates we hope to do stuff really showed me how many days were OPEN for me to work a full day. Yikes, it’s time to kick my own butt into gear.

By next June I have to have the majority of my business much more automated and I need to have quite a few blog posts scheduled for the summer.  Of course, the blogs won’t be fully prescheduled because what’s the fun in that?

So automation will need to consist of.

1. Getting Once A Week Cooking membership switched to Aweber for delivery of weekly meal plans.

2. Schedule newsletters to go out for June, July AND August. Again in aweber of course.

3. Scheduling blog posts for June, July, and August for 3 of my major blogs.

4. Get more of my ebooks and reports set up in WAHMcart so sales can be made while I’m camping

Automation to me has two different parts. There’s the part where I set it up and things reoccur such as sales and product delivery and then there is the part that I set it up and it’s scheduled such as the blog posts and newsletters. Both are key to automating my businesses and getting me outdoors with my family.

Not only that, but that automation will let me work offline on new ebooks, reports and ecourses as well! ahh, that’s where my hope of getting to outsource more in the coming months comes into play as well. It’s a never ending circle isn’t it?

Up for sale this time is Search for VA.

I took over this site in 2008 and haven’t done anything with it except for change pages around a bit and get a new header.

The site is still in html (GASP). Everything can be converted to wordpress quite easily since it hasn’t been promoted. I can point you to resources for this if needed.

Site purchase includes all graphics and pages you currently see on the site, plus a month free hosting. If you wish to keep the current hosting it starts at $3.50 a month.

The domain name is 3 years old and that age is quite priceless if you are in the VA industry.

Asking price is $125. You can send reasonable offers and questions to valselby @ gmail.com. I am looking for a quick sale.

I’ve done well and deleted quite a few domains before they came up for renewal.  If a domain has sat with no movement for years, then it’s just not going to happen and I need to realize that.  It’s gotten easier to delete them from my account, however, getting rid of the sites is a different story.  I have a list of some that need to go.  HOWEVER, with that list is also the list of things to fix up on them so they will sell better.  Total catch-22 I set up there and again, something I need to get over.

I have 3 of my sites that are doing really well.  One has kind of exploded recently and will only build from here as it’s an easy market for me to hit and connect with.  I guess that’s one of the reasons I have a hard time letting go of some of my first sites.  They were my market, it was easy back a few years ago to update.  However, when you are no longer connected fully to a niche then it becomes a job and a chore to update.  That’s where I’m at with a few sites.  The potential is incredible, but I have to move them in a different direction somehow.  Whether it’s selling, outsourcing, getting some interns (whole other issue), or just deleting.

photo © 2006 noricum | more info (via: Wylio)

1) Manage your time. First and foremost, if the task seems overwhelming, set a timer and limit yourself to just 15 minutes of decluttering at a time. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done in just 15 minutes. I use this tip for all housecleaning when I find I’m ignoring major tasks.

2) Put up or give up. Clear your desktop and put back only what you use every day. Store everything else in drawers, on shelves, or in your supply closet. If you never or seldom use something, get rid of it. Give it away to someone who could make good use of it. Put anything that doesn’t belong on your desk in a pile. When the timer goes off, put all of those things away in their proper places.

3) No more “misc.” Don’t keep a “miscellaneous” file. Sort papers into files labeled specifically for the action needed. For example, keep a file for bills to pay, receipts to enter, papers to shred, etc. Anything that cannot be filed this way is not important enough to keep. Maintain virtual folders (and subfolders) the same way.

4) Organize your drawers. Arrange like items in each drawer. For example, put all of your office supplies in one drawer, stationery and notepads in another. That way, you won’t waste a lot of time searching for a pen when on the phone or looking for printer paper just before a deadline.

5) Clean out your virtual inbox. Declutter your virtual desk by deleting old emails that require no further action on your part. To store email you need to save, create a folder for it on your hard drive. Do not print emails unless you absolutely have to.

6) Use simple organizational tools. Bundle related papers together with clips, use trays for current papers or files (labeled “next week,” “this week,” etc.), and keep pens in a cup.

7) Take a moment. Whenever you have a lull in the day, take a moment to trash or shred old paperwork you don’t need anymore.

End the day clean. At the end of each day, before you step away from your desk, clear it off and put everything away in its proper place. Wipe off your desk with a cleaner or just plain water.

Now that your desk is clean, you can get down to business! A clutter-free desk makes for a clutter-free mind.

But that aside, it’s always driven me nuts that I don’t know about any local big online events until the weekend of or after. WTF? I am not bragging when I say that I am a social media nut and I also include local media in hopes of finding out about stuff early. Hasn’t happened, so guess what, I’m deleting all of those biggies in my area because in 2 years I haven’t learned jack shit from them that I didn’t already know and I didn’t get early notice of any events. Usefullness? #fail as we like to post in twitter.

However, my being active on my account and posting to smaller local accounts? #twitterawesome I have now gotten an introduction to a social media event next week. I will clear the deck and head downtown Seattle. I’m excited and this stems on my missing a major event I wanted to hit in Portland. It’s the last one I will miss as I’ve made quite a few friends from the Power of MOB and I’d honestly like to put a package together and speak at next years event. Besides the fact I want to just hang and have a real drink instead of a virtual drink with friends.

Then another site has been going out and out and out. It’s a passion of mine. Firefighter Wife is not a money making site of mine. Yes, I do hope to make some here and there, but it’s truly a resource. To be contacted by others with resources I can push and especially resources that are charitable is awesome. Once such site I’ve fallen in love with, Firefighters Wives.net is built around helping those with career ending disease or injury. This is an organization I would love to get involved with and I couldn’t believe they are local. Sure, it’s a 2 hour drive, but hey it’s not every day. lol They have their site launch in 2 weeks and I want to be there to meet the women behind the site. I already have emails to them about some joint work.

Local meetups will increase your passion. Social media has been the answer to my local meetup. I’m making connections and then meeting up. Previously the groups had a link that they met up and not much info. I can’t tell you how excited I am about these local events and how out of character it is that I’ve already told my family I MUST GO!

I’d like to do an update on last weeks post as it was definitely a turning point in my summer. It also took me much longer to recover my mojo than ever before. But then again, I’ve never been so knocked out of whack by work like that either. I do take responsibility for allowing it to happen and I’ve luckily learned from it. It’s just amazing on the slowness.

By the end of August I’d gotten a little mojo back and worked on the “y” site that I’d lost subscribers to. Within a few hours of getting a new blog post up and some tweets, I’d made a new sale. Definitely shows me that I’m moving in the right direction and YES I am working in the wrong direction by cramming clients in.

As September came around I’d replaced the subscribers to the site that I lost originally. Further justifying and implanting in my head that I have to keep moving forward. Last week I had two new subscribers in one day because I’m continually doing a little every day. I’m excited about this and this excitement will continue to push me.

I’ve brainstormed some killer new menu guides and have one of them mapped out with recipes even. Writing up sales page info as I went because my friend Lauren was helping to feed this idea.

I’m only working with one client and I’m happy to work with her. It’s been fun to work for and with her on her journey as a work at home mom as well. I’ve taken a couple of project based clients here and there and I like the addition of that option. I’m not at a point that I can commit to another retainer client and I’m not sure if that is even the direction I want to go.

Focusing on just a couple of sites is my key right now. I’m working hard to get here and post at least twice a week, then once a week cooking gets attention with marketing somehow, and mom chats is getting a lot of brainstorming and the usual blog posting which I’m happy to say we’ve been keeping ahead on.

I need to focus on the positives I’ve been doing.  I’ve done a pretty good job of getting pre-scheduled ahead for mom chats. I’m definitely getting on the social networks. Umm, haven’t pushed much in biz that way, BUT funny thing is that it’s possibly worked for my benefit right now. I haven’t pushed links in months, now that I am, look how quick I’m getting sales. Coincidence? I don’t think so. K, shooting out one more online work positive…I’ll go with my inbox being down to under 20 in both accounts. I have all my emails sent into two gmail accounts, so this is really huge that both are under 20 and have stayed under 20 for over a week!

It’s a little of both in this case. I’ve been ignoring how much energy a project is taking over everything else. Not in a good way, it’s taking more energy than it’s worth and much more mental energy than I’m getting paid for. It’s time to end that project and pass on future projects in this area. It’s been a detriment to other clients and all of my own projects for over 2 weeks now.  And I take full responsibility for that.

I’ve been too busy because of constantly having this project in the back of my mind. It’s not going smoothly and it didn’t from the start. Trying to force things to work isn’t working. I’m wasting so much energy on emails, working things out in my head even when not working on the project and then trying to decipher communication between parties.

Today I put it in quick perspective. This client is x amount of hours retained a month. I’m spending more than x hours thinking about it a WEEK! I’m making “y” amount of money a month on the retainer, but lost over 1/2 of “y” amount last month from not working on a site of mine like I should be.  That’s just money lost from ONE site I’ve ignored.  Let alone the blog posts that haven’t been getting up and promotion that hasn’t happened for another site that could be leading to lost income.

This is where Kelly’s post really has stuck with me about the working on your own projects and having clients. I’m trying to do too many things. I know why and at first it was necessary. I’ve transitioned to being home and I wanted to replace lost income as fast as possible. Paying bills is a good idea right? lol However, paying bills at all costs is not good over the long run. As I said, I’m now getting into the point where I’m making a little in one direction, but losing some in another. This means evaluating exactly where I need to push my focus back towards and looking at a few things and seeing if they are working or not. OR seeing if I even want them to work. Is this a direction I even want to take?

Having the kids home for the summer meant I had to put my precious time to better use. Getting clients work done is a priority, then figuring out what projects I can work on during a busy week really starts putting it in perspective. If a project isn’t getting the attention when I’m crushed for time, then maybe that project isn’t a big priority to me like I thought it was.

Projects on hold, clients that aren’t a good fit and projects that aren’t really a passion anymore are all mental energy drains. These can lead you to being unproductive and lose motivation. If you find yourself staring at the computer screen, cringing when you see an email pop up, or hiding offline it’s time to take a look at your business and see what is going on. Chances are something is taking up more time than it’s worth.