I have to try and keep up with Squidoo Comments, Stumbleupon messages, Tagfoot messages, and then all the emails from a dozen different accounts (luckily all downloaded into Thunderbird).

I think I need to set maybe a 1 hour slot for things like Squidoo comments every other day, because before approving I like to visit other lenses from the commenter.

Ditto Stumbleupon and Tagfoot.

It’s not easy is it…

I get up by 7:30 and work until 11:00. Then there’s lunch and a long walk with hubby. Then I work from 1:30 to 4:00 or 4:30 unless we have pre-planned something different.

I’ve also had to eliminate browsing the web, checking e-mail and such until evening. It was eating up all of my time!

I understand completely about those thresholds. I spent many hours once on Gather.com, responding to messages, working towards a payout of $20, because having got most of the way, I didn’t want to lose my investment, but in the end it was a waste of a lot of time. I think it’s only worth spending time on sites where you can make a reasonable amount of money, but it also takes time to realise how much or how little you will make on a site.

No matter what you do, those backlinks from multiple sites are all important, as it affects your Google ranking and general exposure. I think sometimes it’s a matter of luck whether you get seen and pick up a good following or not. It depends on the contacts that you come across and how well traffic from them starts to build.

I don’t envy the daily commute to Southampton down the M3 and the M27, especially when the weather is bad. I am amazed the M3 is still mostly 2 lanes each way as well.

I hope you find a good way to increase your earnings.

It’s good that your husband is “co-operating” with helping your schedule, since distractions at the wrong time can ruin your productivity for sure. Debbie and I are doing that quite a lot now, and not chatting all the time that we are both home (even 4,500 miles apart). She has her work to get done of course, and I need to get mine done too.

I definitely need to try and assign times for certain things, like responding to comments on Squidoo, updating lenses, checking messages on Stumbleupon, Tagfoot etc. If you do all of these piecemeal throughout the day multiple times, you still never catch up, and the important stuff doesn’t get done either. I maybe need to schedule certain things for a 1-2 hour session 2 or 3 times a week, not every day. It’s very important to write articles / create new lenses, since the more articles you have, the more material there is to generate interest, as well as backlinks. However you also do need to promote these, until you reach the point where your sites just take off on their own as you have a huge following doing that for you. That is a goal to aim at.

Good Luck at achieving your goals too.

It is tough when you lose your job and there isn’t much hope for getting another one, at least not one that pays what you would like or need. However, if you have the desire to be independent, it does give you the incentive to go ahead and try to find opportunities that will help you to be your own boss.

I wish you success in finding something. At least with working for yourself, the hours that you put in are for your benefit, and with luck the work that you do is more of a hobby than work.

I will take a look at the book, thanks for the tip. It sounds like what I need, and I do need good ideas for being productive, and for turning that productivity into profit.

It’s been 20 years since I was in New Zealand. I spent 9 months in Auckland and loved it. You live in a very beautiful country.

So as a result I am also really working hard to start earning money online. Although for the first time I have had some success. It is not nearly enough to take the pressure off. So I am constantly reevaluating what I am doing with my time. How can I be more productive.

One thing I have done is include my husband (who, although supportive, knows nothing about online anything) in my “work schedule” and then he helps me to not be distracted during those times.

The problem I have is once I become productive, I could literally work for hours and hours without stopping and there is no balance in that. So I like your idea of scheduling in your necessary distractions, for me it would include, animal chores, fixing a meal, laundry, etc. Not all on one day maybe, but that way it would be a little more organized.

I enjoyed your post and it has sparked some productive thinking on my part. Great read. I did give it social love.

Having lost my job 7 weeks ago, I can completely understand where you are coming from. I’m not in the US nor am I in IT, but the story is similar here in New Zealand.

I had a good shot at one job here but ended up first runner up for the position. (unfortunately unpaid). However, I have made a concious decision to stop looking for work, learn what I can about the necessities of life (what is really important), and see what opportunities come my way. I know this seems awfully pasive, but I have already been offered a job, which I am about to turn down. For me, this is a huge opportunity to change direction in life.

P.S. I would totally recommend “the four hour work week” by Tim Ferris. Apart from making you not to ever get another job, it is packed full of great ideas to become more effective and achieve more in less time. Good luck in the future

Yes it’s true. The more you write, the more you have to promote what you write. It’s not enough to go into any social site, bookmark a post, share it and disappear. You have to be an active member of that community to be successful. However there are only so many hours in the day to spend on each site.

My theory is that you need a partner who can do the promotions, while you write the articles. Or maybe better, a partner who writes articles on some themes and promotes your works, while you do the opposite. That way you can be a lot more productive.

Good Luck to you too my friend.