Please don’t look at the date of my last post on this blog. I should be ashamed. Actually, I am. I tend to get absorbed in some things and neglect others and that is what I have done. But with renewed resolve, I am looking for a new mantra:  How Do I Organize My Time and Improve My Approach.

But what does that mean?

Organize Time

I work hard and am focused when I am organized. How about you? For me I get very little done if I am not organized. Everyone that knows me will agree that I am an organization freak. That’s why this past month has been so frustrating for me.

My plans

• Prioritize my projects and tasks within that project (in writing).
• Divide my project and tasks within that project into time blocks to be completed.
• Each time period must be completed before going on to the next. For example: I have an hour allocated for actually posting a blog on here. That is #1 on my list. My plans now are to blog a minimum of every 3 days.
• The rest of my tasks will be scheduled the same way. I am (for now) setting up a maximum of 3 days cycle. If I finish before then, I will start over again at the top.
• Each of these tasks will be on a check-off sheet. I find that visually having to account for actions helps me. I will also note how long it took me to complete the task. This will give me data to evaluate later.
• The only exception to the 3 day cycle is a section I call “Study”. That is a daily assignment of 30 minutes minimum. I think it is very important to keep learning. That is probably a carryover from my many years of teaching.

Let me tell you a secret. I am old and don’t sleep well at night. As a result, it sometimes makes me have sleepy eyes during the day. I am also borderline narcoleptic. In my case there is no need to fight it so I just close my eyes for 10 to 20 minutes. Actually I have always been a power napper.

I’ll be talking more about my schedule from time to time.

Improve Approach

I am an avid fan of Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian. He is among the top 3 or 4 “big” marketers (I hate the word guru) that I follow. By approach I thought that his recent communication explained it well. No need to redo the perfect.

A few years ago, I was having a very insightful discussion with 2 experts. These are famous gurus in the Internet Marketing niche. If I revealed their names, you’d recognize them in a heartbeat.

We were talking about the ethical responsibility of selling out products or services to an audience who may not be able to put them to good use.

I was stating my opinion that the seller/vendor was duty-bound to ensure that their wares were offered only to qualified prospects. To my surprise (and dismay), both the gurus were saying it was the buyer’s responsibility — and it was perfectly fine to make them any offer!

“Caveat emptor — buyer beware” was their mantra.

Now, that would be ok if it were a case of just mentioning your offer without trying hard to push it down their throat. But these gurus (like every other one) invest very heavily into copywriting and mind control gimmicks.

Hapless prospects have little chance of resisting the barrage of psychology-driven marketing — and many end up buying stuff that’s not right for them at all. And it’s supposed to be “their problem”?! I don’t swing that way, sorry.

Jay Abraham taught me well, and instilled a sense of being ALWAYS driven by what’s best for clients. In fact, May advises thinking about people not as “customers” (which focuses on transactions like a purchase) and instead as “clients” (which means they are under your PROTECTION).

It’s a subtle shift in perspective. It’s a very powerful shift in impact and your own behavior. And it will set you apart from any crowd in your niche . . . especially more ruthless competitors.

↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔

ABOUT DR. MANI

Internet infopreneur Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian has taught many information marketers how to build profitable infoproduct businesses on the Web.

His blog Infopreneur Blog has more articles, guides, hotsheets and reports of value to information marketers. Other Dr. Mani useful resources:

The Internet Infopreneur System and Think, Write & RETIRE!

↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔↔

It makes me feel great to read these things from Dr. Mani. It has always been my philosophy — again probably based on the fact that I was a teacher and loved it. The students always came first. This makes me realize that it is okay for me to concentrate on their needs when I write a sales letter. Maybe this most difficult of tasks for me can be approached from another way.

I’d love to know how you feel about this. Also, do you schedule your time? If so, do you have any tips to share?

Till I am at the keyboard again.  –  Carol