Author Archive

Posted on October 26, 2009 - by josephnilo

Just Do It.

Productivity tip of the day . . . what is on your to-do list that you are procrastinating? Is there a job you really don't want to do? Here's the secret to getting it done. Just do it. Now. Really, I'm not kidding. Stop reading this and do that task. Just start it at least. Are you still here? Next Action: Before you do anything else, first thing in the morning, jump feet-first into the task you least want to do. Just start it. Extra Credit: Take a day where you do all of your uncomfortable tasks: boring jobs, making sales calls, cleaning your desk. Just do it.

Posted on October 26, 2009 - by josephnilo

Hourly Attitude Adjustment

One of the most effective tools I use to enhance my productivity, "change my vibe", and improve my overall well-being is an hourly attitude adjustment. It's quite simple. I tell my Mac laptop to announce the hour on the hour. This is a clue for me to stop whatever I'm doing and have an attitude adjustment break. This includes some deep breathing and "forcing" an attitude adjustment by focusing on things that make me happy and that I'm thankful for. Much has been written about the power of gratitude sessions. I might be in an awful mood-- behind on work, having difficulty collecting money from clients, experiencing the ever-present technical problems of being surrounded by computers, etc. But I always have things to be thankful for and I spend some time in gratitude and positive affirmations: • I have a roof over my head • I have a lovely daughter and wife • I have a great & supportive family • I am self-employed and successful, doing what I love for a living You get the picture. I've found that doing this hourly does wonders for my attitude. And I have a sneaking suspicion that making a habit of this might kick in the law of attraction and keep these good things coming that I'm thankful for. Next Action: Set a goal of an hourly 5-minute (or more!) attitude adjustment and gratitude session each hour of your workday. Extra Credit: Do this when you wake up in the morning, before you go to bed at night, and before each meal.

Posted on April 1, 2009 - by josephnilo

Tips for Acheiving a Flow State: Schedule It!

As a creative professional, I've found a great trick in enhancing my productivity -- scheduling around my best periods of Flow.  From the Wikipedia entry:

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.

If you're interested, I suggest reading more on the subject. You might gain some insight into yourself and get some explanations for your periods of effortless productivity. My best times for easing into Flow are: 8 AM to 10 AM for technical-related activities; 2 PM to 4 PM for creative activities; and maybe another small opportunity from 8 PM to 10 PM for further creative output. Why? I don't know. I feel like these are my natural rhythms for activity. And I've learned over the years to schedule the right activities in the right windows of opportunity so as to ease into the productive Flow state . . . e.g. encoding and uploading video, web design, spreadsheet organization, bill paying, etc. in my morning Flow period. Lunch, power nap, double shot of espresso, and then I'm ready for a creative afternoon-- writing, video editing, motion graphics. I know I'm in a Flow state when I lose track of time and get lost in whatever project I'm working on. I definitely am not watching the clock or procrastinating while in the wonderful grips of Flow. Further Actions: • Spend a few weeks noticing if there are patterns to when you acheive your Flow state. Write them down or put them in your calendar for further review. • Break it down further based on activity. What were you doing? Being creative? Being technical? House Cleaning? • Start to schedule the correct activity in the correct Flow period.

Posted on November 7, 2008 - by josephnilo

Using Facebook to Market Your Business

It seems the "long tail" is finally starting to get on Facebook. If you're like me (an early adopter), you're probably amazed - it's not just old high school friends starting profiles, it's mom and dad and aunt Judy getting into the mix.

Using Facebook as a networking tool for your freelance or small business can be very effective in meeting new clients. Here's how I use Facebook for my creative business and as a marketing tool for my clients' businesses.

Create a page for your business

You're probably already a "fan" of something or some public figure on Facebook. Well, let people become a fan of you! Go Here to create a page for your business, product, band, or whatever. A page is sort of like a "profile-light" -- allowing you to post information, pictures, videos, have a feed of your Facebook activities.

Then let some of your contacts know about this page. It might only be your high school buddies, mom, dad, and aunt Judy, but it's a start! This is a network, so start networking!

Online Portfolio

As a video professional, I upload all all of my work to my Facebook business page.

Then all of my fans (friends and clients alike) are updated when new work is available to view - keeping my company fresh in their minds. Consider adding a video overview or screencast about what it is you do. Trust me, people like video!

Admins

Do you work with other people? Set them up as admins on your business page. Then they can add photos, videos, and information, as well. And their contacts can see the page & its activity and become fans . . . you see where this could lead? I see too many people opening up a regular Facebook account for their business (like their entity is a person), and then really only one person can update the info on that page. Start a business page and give all your colleagues admin access to keep the page fresh and broaden the network.

Advertise

You have the option to create an ad on Facebook right from your company's page. I'd say Facebook ads, at least in my experience, have a much better click-through rate than Google Ads, because you can set them up to be very targeted. While setting up the ad (very easy to do if you've done Google Adwords before), you can choose very specific demographics to market to. In my case, I chose people worldwide who were involved in Marketing. And the clicks started coming!

Search Your Email

I am a Gmail user and occasionally let Facebook do a search through my gazillion Gmail contacts for people to add as friends. This is a very effective way to connect with clients and potential clients -- anyone you've emailed over the years. And then add them as a friend! Everyone likes more friends on Facebook.

***

So get on Facebook and start marketing yourself! After a little bit of setup and creativity, you'll start reaching more people . . . Aunt Judy would be proud.

Posted on November 7, 2008 - by josephnilo

Top 7 Warning Signs That You Need to Put Down the Twitter

7. You address letters to @Mom and @Dad

6. You've changed your Twitter profile picture more than 5 times

5. You've actually typed "o_O"

4. You've incorporated "Fail Whale" into your vocabulary

3. When events are happening, cnn.com is just too slow!

2. You compulsively Twitter on your iPhone from everywhere

1. You compulsively Twitter on your iPhone from the toilet.

Posted on November 7, 2008 - by josephnilo

How to Not to Lose Yourself in a Steady Gig

Most of us rely on steady jobs to help us make it financially as freelancers. Whether your steady client is a “bread and butter” client, or is a bit more watered down in pay, these gigs can be valuable to tide you over between larger projects.

But there are downsides to working for clients on a regular basis. Especially if you want the diversity of freelancing but somehow find yourself “stuck” in a job that financially supports your freedom to freelance but doesn’t give you the time to explore projects and promote yourself. Read on to learn how to combat these trials.

[From How to Not to Lose Yourself in a Steady Gig - FreelanceSwitch - The Freelance Blog]

I loved this article over at FreelanceSwitch. Very timely for me right now. I'd add a couple of other "downsides" of having all your eggs in one basket.

Un-diversified

The most obvious problem with putting all your energy into one big client is that if something happens to that client's company or the job you're doing for them, you're out of luck. This is an important reality in the current economy.

Portfolio

An unexpected problem I've run into as a creative professional is that my portfolio over the past year contains mostly my one big client. It's almost worth it to get out there and get some other smaller gigs (even pro bono) just to have your portfolio reflect a larger body of work.

Getting Soft

My last 9-5 job had me editing corporate video for a large, diverse group of clients. This kept me on my toes, always learning, always pushing myself professionally. Now that I'm working mostly on one client, my "chops" in different industries and styles of editing are getting a little rusty.

Fear of Being Too Busy

Now, I can't complain about having a regular bread-and-butter client. Sometimes I don't get out there and market myself because it's outside of my comfort zone. And I like my current workload. When I get the random thought in my head that "I don't want/need any more business", I should give myself a quick reality check. What a silly thing to think! Strive for success, and if it lands in your lap, deal with it. It would be a nice problem to have.

Posted on May 17, 2007 - by josephnilo

It's been a while . . .

. . . since I last posted. My blogging has been on hold due to business and family expansion. But I'd like to continue on where I left off . . . On with the Repo--

Posted on May 17, 2007 - by josephnilo

The Secrets to Success in Multimedia or [Insert Tech Industry Here]

I wanted to repurpose a blog entry I wrote for my blog / podcast Mac MediaCast. I've been thinking about the subject of educating yourself to stay on top of your industry. Though the original article is geared toward multimedia production, I think it can be especially true for any tech-related industry.

After listening to a recent episode of This Week in Media, I was inspired to put in my two cents' worth on what I think is the most critical aspect of success in multimedia - Education. I believe that this is true on multiple levels -- whether you're an aspiring multimedia professional or just a home user wanting to create better music, movies, photos, etc. What sorts of education? I can't discount a college education, but, as a freshman-year dropout, I definitely can attest to alternate methods, such as:

Read the entire article here

Technorati Tags: business, gtd, howto, lifehack, personal achievement, productivity, tutorial

Posted on January 5, 2007 - by josephnilo

101 Common Sense Management Tips

101 Common Sense Management Tips:

Richard Branson does it effectively from a hammock in the Necker Island, Warren Buffet has been doing it since he was 11, and Bill Gates used it to single-handedly build an empire. Arguably the most powerful and effective managers in the world, these men have one thing in common – they owe their management acumen and success not to fancy business degrees from the hallowed portals of Harvard and Yale, but to plain old, not-so-common, common sense.

Read More

Posted on January 5, 2007 - by josephnilo

10 Beginner Behaviors

From Lisa Peake at DavidCo.com

What are the entry-level behaviors to GTD that anyone can do to "get in the game"? First of all I should say that this question contains some forethought. A GTD Connect member brought this idea to my attention at a recent public seminar and the theme of entry-level behaviors for GTD has been following me ever since. The question of entry-level behaviors rests on the assumption that GTD is like any complex system worth learning on multiple levels (from nitty gritty to deep and profound). Other examples include golf, mastering aikido, driving a car, running a business, and assimilating into a new culture. What all of these mega-projects have in common is a need to master smaller subprojects in order to gestalt the more meaningful principles that form the whole. With any of these endeavors, it's easy to fall off the wagon en route to mastery. They are also similar in that getting started can be daunting without a little help. Entry-level behaviors are the accessible and practical behaviors that a beginner can do in order to see some real results without having to do a whole-life overhaul. My hope is that the following tips will give you some ideas on how to get started with (or get back into) Getting Things Done for the New Year.

She goes on to outline a great list of 10 ways to get started in GTD. Definitely Read More--

Technorati Tags: business, GTD, productivity