Two lessons, one post. :)
I did it.
It took all I had, but I did it.
I deleted my Firefox extension that handled all my gmail accounts… gave me email previews… and basically let me keep tabs on my email 24/7.
I was doing well with only checking email a few times a day, but that extension definitely wasn’t helping.
I keep going to check it… it’s so weird that it’s not there.
But now that I have the best virtual assistant in the world, it’s not necessary anyway. 
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You know, in the Altitude DVD’s, Eben talks about the “OCD loop”. He says that he finds most people, whenever they have some extra time, will go to their computer and check their email. Once they’re done, they’ll check their stats. Then any auctions they’re bidding on. Then the MySpace/Facebook/whatever. And once they’re done, they’ll start all over again, back to email. Then stats. Etc. He says it’s completely involuntary and he does it himself sometimes.
Anyway, I did the same thing with that gmail extension. I’d check one account. Then another. Then another. And I’d go through all 12 or so accounts. What a waste of time
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In other news, bartering ROCKS.
I went on E1KAD (for the love of all that is holy, I love that site… ignore that hype-y letter!)… made a post offering to write copy and/or consult for people that wanted to do things I don’t enjoy - PPC, site design, rewriting articles, ghostwriting, etc… and ended up with a plethora of people.
Seriously, I have a small army of people doing stuff for yayFOOD. I know I could just get the money from copy and outsource, but it’s more fun this way. I can help those that otherwise couldn’t/wouldn’t want to afford me… work with great people… AND not have to deal with training people or language barriers.
I cannot WAIT to see how this turns out.
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Lessons of today’s blog post: Get a virtual assistant. And barter. Both will rock your world.
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7 comments
Walt on March 27, 2008 at 6:27 pm
12 accounts one at a time? My goodness, set up some filters!
I have all of my Gmail accounts forward to my main one. When they hit my inbox, they’re tagged with a color-coded label so I can instantly see which email address it was sent to. When I reply to a message, it will set my “Reply From” address to be the same one that it was sent to.
Also, check out the GTDinbox add-on for Firefox…
http://www.gtdgmail.com/
It’s based on the “Getting Things Done” productivity method…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
It took me a few days to get used to it, but it’s awesome. I finally have an empty inbox!
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admin on March 27, 2008 at 8:11 pm
You’re so smart, Walt.
I’ve gotten like.. 437943 signs that I need to read that book now. I even have 2 copies sitting on my bookshelf (both given to me randomly).
Crazy!
Anyway, thank you. I’ll check out that add-on stat.
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Steve Mills on April 3, 2008 at 10:25 am
There does seem to be a relationship between the amount of email we check and the amount of productive work that actually gets done… and its not a good relationship. Good on you for pulling the plug and sticking to once or twice a day
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Tom on August 16, 2008 at 9:51 pm
How did you find your virtual assistant? Also… out of curiosity, have you read “The 4-hour workweek”?
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Rachel on August 17, 2008 at 2:12 am
I found my VA via elance. She’s incredible.
And yep - read and LOVE 4HWW!
As far as Toastmasters, you can go as a guest and check it out without committing to anything. I highly recommend it - was definitely lifechanging.
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Tom on August 18, 2008 at 12:28 am
I figured you had read it, since you seem to be implementing some of the practices. It’s a love / hate book and many people believe that Timothy Ferris makes it look “too easy”. I used to like Donnie Deutsche, until I saw him attack Timothy on some morning show.
Anyway… I am working on post right now for a copywriter, I’ll see how that works out. I actually used elance to have 3D CAD, 2D manufacturing Drawings and Raytraced images of a product that I wanted to create. It turned out really well, but then I ran into the high cost of manufacturing a working prototype and that project was set on the back burner.
I recently re-read Seth Godin’s “The Dip” and reminding myself that I have to try to push forward with one ideal and drop the projects that aren’t going to amount to anything. It’s so easy to get distracted. Speaking of which I’m way off track.
I’m at point where I’m weighing the time, opportunity costs and cost of doing business to pursue my project(s).
So, did you just do a post for Virtual Assistant, or did you test the waters w/ things you needed from that person first? What kinds of things (tasks) are you able to safely push off on them?
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admin on August 18, 2008 at 3:26 am
Ya, I remember that Donnie show. I’m sure a great deal of it was for the controversy effect - I think I remember Tim saying something to that degree - but I was pretty turned off of him as well from it.
eLance can be really good sometimes. When I hired my VA, I hired her to do something else initially. I gave her a few small jobs from there, and once I saw that she was amazing, I asked if she’d be interested in working for me on a more regular basis.
I agree about opportunity costs… and I’m starting to realize more and more that money isn’t that big of a deal at all. I just want a certain recurring amount that’ll help me travel without touching the computer… and then I’ll be done for a while. There’s too much to enjoy about life than to sit near the computer, I think!
Also - haven’t read any Godin yet, but heard he’s great… I’ll need to do that. Right now I’m researching everything I can find metaphysical and psychology… both are my current objects of fascination. =)
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