Archive for January, 2009

Jan
30

21) Organize your online presence

Posted by: Bryce A Raley | Comments (0)

If I had it do to all over again this past year, here is what I would do.

As a caveat, everything I post will be antiquated simultaneously when I hit the publish button.

Things change so fast right now on the web. You have to balance picking a point to stake out your ground and keeping an eye open for the really good stuff that comes out. The stuff you just can’t afford to ignore.

So, here is what I would have done this past year. I would have purchased a domain with my company name for a brochure type website. Maybe something done by someone with some good CSS skills and graphic design experience. I wasted weeks on this.

I would have purchased a catchier, snarky, simpler, unique domain to host a Wordpress blog connected to the main website. I would never update the brochure site. I would update the Wordpress site daily with great content.

I would have started every other blog on Wordpress using ithemes theme club.

I would have used Tumblr to set up my personal blog.

I would use to Squidoo to organize and create any other information like sales pages, info pages, free reports, how to pages and basically everything else. I would have purchased less domain names and devoted more time to developing the ones I had.

I would have used Twitter more often and sooner. I would have used Twitter more often and sooner. I would have used Twitter more often and sooner.

I would have come up with a turnkey way to take pictures, shoot videos, edit them, upload them and share them. In other words I would have purchased a MAC book much sooner that I did.

I would make sure I had every website and blog and Squidoo lens linked back and forth to the others.

I would balance these endeavors the best I could while staying productive and getting things done.

Jan
29

20) Don’t organize

Posted by: Bryce A Raley | Comments (0)
  • You shoes- do you really need 10 or 20 or 80 pair of shoes
  • Your books – see my previous blog post
  • Your DVD’s or CD’s (guilty here) major sign of procrastination
  • Your stamp collection unless you’re Hercule Poirot
  • Anything that doesn’t lead to an increase in productivity or a simplification of life

In all seriousness it’s OK to organize some of these things but you must stop and ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Is this really procrastination?
  2. How will this lead to me saving time or adding measurable productivity to my life or work.
  3. Even if this needs to be organized is it a priority to do it right now?

If you’re stuck, then sometimes action of any kind will help you get moving and achieve little successes. In that case pull out the books and clean out the pantry. Take the dog for a walk or mow the grass. Lift some boxes and sweat a little, then quickly get back to the things that matter today.

I am terrible at this and that’s exactly why I’m writing it.

Jan
29

19) Organize Your Life-Simplify

Posted by: Bryce A Raley | Comments (0)

This is something a little different. It’s basically me talking (and rocking unfortunately) while I discuss four ways I simplify my life. The surprise ending has one thing I don’t do which simplifies my life. For those who read this blog but don’t know me, this will give you a little glimpse on the goofy side of me. You can also learn more here.

The question is why simplify life? For me it means more time to focus on the meaningful things. It means more time to pursue creativity and passions. For me it means more time with family, more volunteering and more time with my Lord, Jesus Christ. It means more time to change the world of politics, or health or business. It means more time to build the BOC and KOG. It doesn’t mean more time to sit around and focus on me or to watch TV or to play video games. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that”-hat tip Seinfeld.


Simplify Your Life from Bryce Raley on Vimeo.

Jan
26

18) Organize your Mac

Posted by: Bryce A Raley | Comments (0)

I just bought a MAC about 3 months ago. So I’m not going to pretend to tell you how to organize a MAC. I am quite the amateur on a MAC. I am getting much better and learning a lot each day-so much so that sometimes I feel less comfortable working on my PC.

Still all that being said- if you read this blog and if you don’t have time to keep up with productivity type blogs, then here are a few links to get you started organizing and optimizing you MAC.

Merlin Mann takes you on a tour of his Menu bar and desktop on the MAC.

Lifehacker’s top 10 things you forgot your MAC could do.

Lifehacker’s guide for switching to a MAC.

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Jan
26

17) Organize your books

Posted by: Bryce A Raley | Comments (0)

DON’T.

I am a self admitted obsessive compulsive person. I am into simple living and have a bent toward minimalism. I like to organize everything I touch. I’m talking my home, our routines, my business, my processes, my creativity, events, projects, fundraisers and anything I can. God created my mind in a unique way. I can literally tell you 95% of the items in our home and exactly where they are at any time. I have a picture in my head of a room and I know where things are especially when they’re out of place.

Lately though, I have begun to realize this isn’t always the best strategy. It’s a comforting strategy for someone who likes order and method. It’s a less stressful strategy when I know where everything is and I can access it immediately. However, what do I gain by organizing my books. Sometimes I have to ask myself that question. I mean after all, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million and even Amazon try to organize books and I don’t believe I’ve ever successfully found a book in Barnes and Noble without the assistance of a customer service rep. So I figure I’m going to let this one alone.

Plus it brings up too many options. Alphabetical by author or name? What about multiple authors and subtitles? What about breaking them up by subjects? What about books I’ve read versus ones I’d like to read? What about reference materials versus devotionals? NO THANKS! I’ll keep them all together on a couple different book shelves and call it a day.

Categories : Home Organization
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