How To Destress Without Spending Money

With the Christmas holidays coming up it can be a time of great stress. Coupled with that - if you've been buying presents for all and sundry you might be a little short on cash.

So how do you beat these two things and actually enjoy Christmas? (Hey that'd be a nice change, wouldn't it?!)

What about, if you're in Australia, go to the beach? Or skiing or ice-skating if you're in the Northern Hemisphere? Do something outdoors that's free. If it won't add to your stress levels, go with a few people (or your significant other). You get to spend time with them and breathe the fresh air, with a bit of exercise thrown in.

It doesn't have to be a huge time imposition. Just aim for an hour or so. This will cause a lowering of your stress levels, which will vastly improve your productivity. So don't think of the time as wasted - think of it as an investment you can't afford to miss out on.

Read more: http://ping.fm/d0OPC

How Structured Are You?

I noticed, while filming for the launch of the Business Innovation Framework ( http://ping.fm/IIkB6 ), that I was most comfortable in front of the camera when we went with a structured approach. We wasted over an hour figuring it out.

It leads me to wonder - what makes someone structured vs unstructured? Is it something you're born with, or does it develop over time? Can you change it?

I believe it's more a continuum, rather than an either/or. It's not a case of being structured or unstructured. Instead, it seems to be more or less structured.

Read more: http://ping.fm/KTTph

Is SEO Spam?

Search engine optimization of itself is just a tool. Like email, it is meant to be used for good, but is sometimes utilized by the forces of spam.

Some people accuse us of spamming the search engines, but that's far from the truth. Often times, I'm pushing down less useful web pages in favour of ones created by myself or my clients that specifically answers what the user is searching for.

SEO encompasses far more than building links. If you don't spend the time to build a target for those links that is well optimized to the search phrase, you're wasting your time.

Search engines don't pay for your dinner. People do. Recognizing that, good search engine optimizers design for people, then work to get their message in front of those people.

Read more: http://ping.fm/RATkJ

Google Analytics Now More Reliable

Far from being all doom and gloom about Google's latest announcement regarding Analytics reporting ( http://ping.fm/hnKv4 ), I think it's a step in the right direction.

Up until now, the personalized search results have been polluting the organic data. This can cause a waste of funds due to a misallocation of your SEO budget, based on incorrect data.

Personalized search changes what people see, so you might think you're getting 20 clicks a month from a certain keyword for which you're in position 30. Leading you to calculate that if you were in the top 3 you could get perhaps 100 clicks a day. This may be true, or it may be that due to strong social media promoting some of your friends are seeing your articles high in the SERPs.

Clean data is good data. Thanks Google for cleaning it up, but could you please put it back as a separate referrer (like you did with Adwords data)? kthxbye

Read more: http://ping.fm/Qcjb1

Instructions On First Link Priority

First Link Priority causes a fair bit of confusion. Basically, if Page A links more than once to Page B, only the anchor text of the first link from Page A to Page B counts.

This can be problematic if the first link is an image link, which cannot pass anchor text.

The way around it is to change the first link to something like yourdomain.com/index/ then add a 301 redirect (use your .htaccess) from /index/ to your home page.

For added security, block /index/ from the search engine spiders using your robots.txt file.

See more detailed instructions here: http://ping.fm/hh0md

Wordpress Plugin For Filtering Spam

Over many years and many blogs, I've tried to find the best spam filtering plugin. I really don't like Akismet because it doesn't do the job very well and you have to pay for it if you have any decent traffic or a commercial blog.

Antispam Bee is the best wordpress plugin I've found so far for spam filtering. It does the job great, doesn't require my attention and doesn't inconvenience my readers or force them to jump through hoops. Best case scenario!

Read a more detailed review here: http://ping.fm/Lhnxr

Live In The Moment

What are you doing right now? Is it the best use of your time? If it is, turn off all your distractions and focus on doing this one thing right now.

There's a time for distractions, but the majority of your time should be spent living in the moment. That's where you'll get the most joy out of life.

Read more: http://ping.fm/nC23y

How To Increase Your Memory Retention

Many people complain of having a bad memory. But very few actually do. Unless you have an injury or a piece of your brain missing, your memory has the potential to be as strong as anyone else.

"No", you say "you don't understand, I really DO have a bad memory!"

Perhaps it's more a case of you don't understand how to use your memory, rather than having anything wrong with you. Perhaps you're just trying to remember in a less than ideal way.

How good are you at story telling? I've often found that people who complain of having a bad memory are usually pretty bad at telling stories. And vice versa.

There are always exceptions, but telling stories is one of the best, easiest and enjoyable ways to improve your memory.

Practice, practice, practice, and check out http://ping.fm/TolKw for a more detailed discussion.

Inertia

One of the biggest problems we face when going after our dreams is actually starting. I believe we completely underestimate how much energy is required to get started.

Think how much energy a rocket takes to get off the ground compared to the rest of the flight. If you don't allow enough energy for the task, you're going to get tired just thinking about it!

More on the topic here: http://ping.fm/H9Uf5

Understanding Correlation and Causation in SEO

One of the main jobs of anyone doing SEO at more than a basic level is to figure out what has to be done. Figure out what works. "Causation" is a fancy term math geeks use to say the same thing: what works?

Then there are the things we observe that are usually present wherever there are high rankings. But they don't actually cause the rankings. These are said to be correlated. Understanding the difference between the two is essential to figuring out what works.

Check out http://ping.fm/MylOk for an in depth examination.

Twitter Tips For Beginners

As I understand it, success on Twitter comes down to doing two things consistently:

1. Not being boring
2. Give before receiving

You need to keep your tweets interesting. I know it's been said many times before, but it doesn't stop people posting nonsense all the time. Give people a reason to follow you!

Too many times, people ask for favors on Twitter before even introducing themselves properly. Introduce yourself, start up a conversation, provide value. Then people will be a lot more willing want to help you.

Check out http://ping.fm/oLjZ4 for a deeper look at these Twitter tips for beginners.

Have You Setup Your Own Website?

You owe it to the world to share your unique views on the world. These days, there's nothing stopping you. Anyone can gather together $90 to setup a professional looking website and find $10 per month for ongoing costs until your site starts bringing in enough money to cover that cost.

You don't even need to be technically gifted to build a website like you once did. I even wrote a book on setting up a website that is dead set simple even my mother has used it on her own.

Go and get started today. Build your own publishing company!

Go here for more in depth coverage and recommendations on how to get started: http://ping.fm/f5apq

You Can't Get Away With Being Impersonal

The internet these days is dominated by social media. That means most people spend their time online surrounded by their friends and family. People they know and trust.

If you, as a marketer, come along as a faceless corporation, you're creating a massive pattern interrupt that won't work in your favour. I guarantee it.

You need to personalize your communications with clients, customers, prospects and business partners. That's what they're used to. But even more than that, personalization just flat out works!

Go deeper: http://ping.fm/V9mPF

Life As A Game Of Chess

In chess, everyone, no matter how senior a grandmaster, everyone makes mistakes.

The thing that makes a great player great is how they recover from their mistakes. They calmly assess the situation and figure out how they can win the game with the resources they have left.

People regularly win games after overcoming incredible setbacks if they set their mind to it.

What resources do you have at your disposal? How can you apply the game of chess to your life?

See more: http://ping.fm/Zk48d

Take Time Out Today

You need to spend time every day just refreshing your mind. If you've had a stressful day, you might need more time than on a good day.

The key is to take whatever time you need to reinvigorate and renew your mind. Relaxation time is extremely important and sleep doesn't count towards your daily dose of relaxation. Nor does tv.

Do something today that inspires you and motivates you to do even better tomorrow.

Read more here: http://ping.fm/NKFRe

Build Your Own Website

Have you been thinking about building a website, but don't know where to get started?

What hosting company should you go with, where should you get your domain?

After 10 years of building websites, I've finally written a comprehensive, step by step guide that should be usable for everyone able to work facebook and a word processing program.

Don't let fear of the unknown hold you back from creating the website you've always wanted. Make a change today.

Get the guide for free at: http://ping.fm/yHLHV

Use Routines To Consistently Get Maximum Performance

Are the routines in your life helping you or sabotaging your performance?

We all use routines for many aspects of our daily lives, whether we realize it or not.

Don't you go through an exact routine every time you rock up to work? What is it? What happens when you are bombarded as you get to work and don't have "time to settle"? Generally you don't have a great day at work right?

Routines are important across every aspect of our lives. You've heard people say "He must have got out of the wrong side of bed". What do you think that means? Could it be that the person didn't go through their usual wake up routines?

You can set your own routines to get the most out of your day. Take control of your own brain and consistently get the great results you deserve.

When you have a success, think of the routine leading up to it. Visualize it, taking in everything around you. Try to replicate that sequence next time and see whether there is a difference in your performance.

Read more: http://ping.fm/RqZ8b

Take Control of Your TV

The television has a habit of sucking you in and keeping you in a veged out state long after you planned to do something else.

How many times have you thought "I'll just watch this episode of xyz" then a couple hours later you wonder where the time went and why you're watching Letterman?

It gets even worse. Zoning out in front of the television puts your brain in standby mode, weakening your imagination and stifling your creativity.

Sure, watch tv, but do it on your terms. If you really love a particular show, get the dvds. You'll be supporting the producers of the show as well as saving yourself 33% of your time per show. What took you an hour is now 40 minutes and you can pause and rewatch the show at any time.

Read more: http://www.mikehaydon.com/personal-growth/turn-off-the-television/

Focus Your Time With The Action Machine

Having a timer for your focus blocks is a great way to push yourself to get more focussed work done.

In my opinion, the best timer system for people working on computers is the Action Machine by Derek Franklin: http://ping.fm/EBxVU

Set it up with two 50 minute blocks separated by a 10 minute block, then put a 30 minute block at the end.

Choose the things you need to focus on for the day and set which order you'll do them in. How many focus blocks (the 50 minute block) will you need to get it done?

Once you've sorted all that out, start the timer and work until you're done. Don't worry, the Action Machine will make sure you know when the timer has finished!

See http://ping.fm/xwzSK for more on this.

You Can't Get Rid of A Bad Habit

How many times have you tried to beat a bad habit through sheer force of will?

And how is that working for you?

Due to the way the brain works, it's actually impossible to beat a bad habit head on (pun intended!)

The only way to no longer be afflicted by that bad habit is to replace it with a good habit. One that achieves the same outcome as the bad habit.

So if you eat for comfort, replace it with a good habit that will make you feel better.

It'll be hard work at first, but worth it in the long run. One day you'll catch yourself automatically doing the good habit. That's a cause for celebration!

See: http://ping.fm/vvgLP for more on this.

Tips For Selling Your House

If you're planning on selling your house in the near future, it pays to do your research.

Look at what other similar houses in your area have sold for. By thinking how yours is better or worse, you should be able to get a fair idea about how much your house is likely to sell for. Is that an acceptable price for you?

Think how you can improve your house to get a better price. Do your sums and make sure the cost of improving isn't going to be more than the value you calculate it will add.

Read more in depth: http://ping.fm/GtxCw

Mastery Depends on Focus

In today's age of distraction, you need focus more than ever. Focus is the key to mastering an area.

Think what separates a professional sportsperson from any other. It is focus. They focus their entire life around mastering that sport. What they eat, when and how much they train, etc.

You can achieve mastery in any area of your life that combines your passion, talent and enjoyment. But the first step is to focus on mastering that area.

Read more: http://ping.fm/Ho1Qv

Optimize Your Website For Mobile Viewing

If you have a website, is it designed to handle mobile viewers?

Many times, people visiting your site on their iphone, blackberry or android phone see the same version of your website as those on a desktop or laptop.

Think about it for a minute - your site looks great on a big screen, but what if it were shrunk down to a quarter (or less!) of the size? Would it look as good? Would people still want to read your posts?

The good news for people running a wordpress site is that there's a free plugin called "WP Touch" that automatically detects that the individual viewer is reading your site on a mobile device and serves to them a beautiful, app like interface that's optimized for them.

When it's easy to read your site, people will stay on for longer. Don't continue to turn off a whole section of your visitors!

For more details, see: http://ping.fm/B4x2H

Delete Wordpress Revisions

From time to time, you need to clear out the old revisions in your wordpress site.

The simplest way is to use the wordpress plugin "Better Delete Revision".

This will remove all the old versions, leaving just the latest revision of you posts and pages.

Unless you have a large (>100 posts) wordpress site, you don't need to worry about this.

To check how many revisions you have, just scroll to the bottom of any post or page in your admin area and it'll tell you.

For more info, visit: http://ping.fm/hTYyb

Clear Distractions

When you're distracted, everything seems like a chore. You need to clear space in your mind so you can take on new information.

One of the best ways is to just write down everything you're thinking. Just pull out a pen and paper and write until your brain feels free again.

Find out more at: http://ping.fm/kfZye

How Productive Were You Today?

How do you know whether you've had a productive day or not?

The system that works best for me is to decide in the morning what 1 - 3 things I'll do that day, that if I do them, I'll have a successful day.

Then it's just about doing it. At the end of each day, I can say with certainty whether I've had a productive day or not.

Try it - it might help you a lot.

See http://ping.fm/k9UjU for a more in-depth explanation.

Reflecting on 10 Years

Take the time to write down all you've done over the last 10 years. You might be surprised at how much you've accomplished.

Write down the things you've done that you're most proud of. Then keep that list somewhere so that when you're feeling low, you can look at it and say "wow! I've led a pretty good life so far!

Here's the result of when I did this exercise: http://ping.fm/Sdk2y