Rick Cooper, The PDA Pro

Tips to Track Tasks

Do you have a To Do List? Do you have one list or many? Do you actually get the tasks on the list done?

I have several different task lists. I add tasks to my customer database on SalesForce.com. I use Nozbe to keep track of business tasks. I also write out a weekly list of tasks I need to complete. And, finally, I write out my top 3 priorities.

Improve Your Effectiveness!

Are you effective at getting your most important tasks done? Or, are you easily distracted? What are you willing to do to improve your effectiveness? Pick one area and work on it!

Here are a few quick tips to track tasks:

• Create different lists for different purposes
• Use software you can access on the web
• Clean up your lists monthly or quarterly
• Focus on your top priorities

Good luck in your efforts to improve your productivity!

Time for a Technology Audit

Are you leveraging technology to grow your business? Are you making the best use of the tools you have? Or, are you throwing money down the drain because you're failing to capitalize on your investment in technology?

Many entrepreneurs spend a lot of money on technology, but fail to get a return on their investment. Sometimes, they get drawn into the appeal of a certain technology. Sometimes, they know they need to implement technologies to grow their business. But for whatever reason, they don't follow through to actually make full use of the technology.

So, what can you do to make better use of the technologies that you have?

Take Time to Audit your Technology Tools

It's time to make a list of all of the technology hardware, software, websites and other services you have. Rate each tool on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is low and 10 is high. Then, look for duplication in the tools you have. Where do they overlap? What has the most potential?

Isn't it time you got a grip on the amount of money you're investing in technology tools for your business?  If you would like to audit your technology tools, I have a Free Technology Audit Template I can email you. Send me an email at Blog(at)ThePDApro.com to request the template. Ask for the Technology Audit Template.

Change your Habits, Change your Life

As you wrap up 2008 and look toward 2009, it's a great time to think about your habits. Do you habits support you or hinder you?

What habits are leading you toward success? Which habits are leading your toward failure?

Do you think you could improve your results if you eliminated negative or unsupportive habits? You bet you could. So why are so few people able to actually change their habits?

In most cases, people just don't have enough motivation to change a habit. They may have tried and failed in the past.

If you want to change your habits, you need a compelling reason to change.

You also need to make a commitment to change. And you need to find someone to hold you accountable.

You Need a Compelling Reason to Change!

If you change your habits, you can change your life.

Blogs.com a Great Source for Blogs

Looking for blogs that offer insights and information? Look no further. Blogs.com offers a human-edited view of the blogosphere. You can quickly and easily find blogs by category and topic or read daily blog roundups of some of the best blog content around the Web.

There's even a section for small business marketing. You'll find a list of recent blog posts on the topic. There are also top ten lists of blogs posted by experts. You're bound to find a blog that can teach you something new and valuable. Check it out!

Get Ready for Something Big!

What's happening right now in your life? What's happening right now in your business? Are you feeling scared? Are you feeling frustrated? Or are you feeling optimistic? Interesting!

There's a lot of gloom and doom news out there, but I predict one year from now you're going to surprised when you look back and see what's happened in your life.

Hang in there! Things will get better. We're in for some exciting changes. Sure, there will be a lot more of the same. But, there will be a lot of new opportunities to get excited about again.

I'm not going to make any predictions about the stock market, except to say that 10 years from now, it will be a whole lot higher.

Hang in there! Things will get better.

Technology will continue to provide you the capability to leverage your time. But, remember to value your family and friendships. That's what life is made of.

4 Hour Workweek vs. GTD

One of my favorite books in recent years is the 4 Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferriss. Tim challenges readers to work less and play more, what he calls lifestyle design. Without getting into the details of the book here, I wanted to share a post from his blog.

Responding to a post on Entrepreneur Magazine's blog, Tim writes:

"Despite the disproportionate attention paid to them, personal outsourcing and selective ignorance are just two chapters out of 16 in 4HWW. There is a lot more to information management and intake control in 4HWW (interruption prevention, internal policies, scripts with superiors, etc.) than “batching” e-mail."

This was in response to a comment in the article:

“Timothy Ferriss is focused on outsourcing and not checking e-mail so often. The last time I checked, the amount of e-mail you get is not a function of how often you check e-mail,” [Mark] Hurst says. “David Allen’s approach is a bit of a throwback to a pre-internet age when having complex flowcharts, filing papers and creating tickler items was relevant…”

Eliminate Before You Optimize!

I thought his post was interesting and gives some insight into different methodologies to stay productive.

Challenge Yourself!

What is holding you back? What do you need to do to move forward in your life and your business? Take a moment now and brainstorm a few ideas. Now, challenge yourself! Challenge yourself to take one step to move forward.

Google Acquires Feedburner

In another sign Google is taking over the world, they have acquired Feedburner. If you have a blog or a podcast, you should be using Feedburner to understand how many people are subscribing to your content. The fact that Google acquired them pretty much confirms the value they offer customers.

There will be More Opportunities
to Get Your Message Out There

It will be interesting to see how Google leverages the Feedburner platform. Needless to say, there will be more opportunities to get your message out there to a very targeted audience.

Make your Life Great!

What steps are you taking to make your life great? One of the leading bloggers on this topic is Phil Gerbyshak with his Make it Great blog. He was recently interviewed by Adversity University Founder Stephen Hopson.

During the interview, Stephen asked: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?  Given? Phil responded:

"The best advice I’ve ever gotten is “Play full out. All the time. Leave it all on the table, and go home tired.” This gift was given to me in various ways, at various times in my life, from various people, and it sticks with me and it defines how I live."

"In addition to the best advice I ever received, I’d add this to make it even more impactful: “Life is 1% what happens to you and 99% how you respond to it.”"

Phil is a class act and a downright genuine guy. He is extremely successful and influential as a blogger. For the complete interview, click here.

Play Full Out!

What steps are you taking to create visibility on the internet? If you're interested in finding ways to attract your ideal clients, visit our new blog, Attracting Ideal Clients.

Launched a New Blog Called Attracting Ideal Clients

Want to grow your business? I have launched a new blog called Attracting Ideal Clients. This blog is for small business owners, especially service professionals, who want to grow their business by attracting their ideal clients. More on this in a moment.

If you've read The PDA Pro Blog for awhile, you know that I cover a wide range of topics. I post on productivity, technology, sales and personal development topics. I'm passionate about helping people live productive and effective lives. I just love seeing people in their element, working smarter not harder. That's fun. What's not fun is feeling disorganized and overwhelmed. That's leads to procrastination and avoiding what you need to do.

In my business, I spend much of my time working with home-based service professionals. That includes coaches, consultants, virtual assistants and professional organizers. I love the entrepreneurial spirit. It's fun to launch a business and see it take off. Of course, owning a business is risky. And it can lead to a lot of additional stress.

My value system reflects my philosophy on building long-term relationships. And I've found the best relationships in business come from working with your ideal clients. This is the basis for building a successful referral based business.

Attract your Ideal Clients
and They Will Seek You Out!

And so it's with that concept that I've launched a new blog, Attracting Ideal Clients. There's a push/pull nature to marketing. Marketers often push their messages onto people. And that's effective to a certain extent. But, it's more effective when you can pull or attract your ideal clients to you. They will SEEK you out. That's really powerful!

And it's easier than ever to do this today using the internet. But, it takes a lot of work and you need to know what you're doing. I'm still refining my own approach. But, I have always jumped on top of any opportunity to get my message out there and attract people to what I'm doing.

So, Attracting Ideal Clients, is focused on teaching you how to identify who your ideal clients are, learning where to find them, what to say to them, and how to begin building a relationship with them that ultimately leads them to ask to be a client. But, it's not just about how to use the internet. I'll discuss mainstream topics like writing articles, teaching workshops and teleseminars, making phone calls, sending cards and networking more effectively. It's all of the things you can do to communicate your message and attract your ideal clients.

Yes, you still need to be able to sell. But, focusing on attracting your ideal clients will create an endless stream of leads and referrals. So, check it out and post a comment. The site is pretty slim at the moment, but I will add to it over time. Thanks!

Rick Cooper, The PDA Pro
http://www.ThePDApro.com