The world is changing in ways we can’t even prepare for. A month ago seems like a year ago. What next month, or next year will look like is impossible to predict. I only control the things I have control over. For me, in the immediate short term, is that my family and I are safe and have the things we need. Then it’s the “What’s Next?” question. As an entrepreneur...
Someone asked me about how I communicate if I don’t participate in Facebook and other major social media sites. They’re having major stress about not having it because it is a major part of their life. For those people, I get it, it feels like cutting a life line. I can’t even tell you this is the solution. All I know is I can only talk about what works for me and has been...
Facebook has been receiving a lot of bad press lately, and for good reason. Since the start I had seen Facebook as a tool for bad, and people now are starting to realize it isn’t some benign free service that someone created just for you. There’s a reason there’s a saying “If the product is free, you are the product”. I always resisted Facebook. In the beginning I...
I’m always on the hunt for new experiences. Some people like to travel, I like to create and experience new things closer to home. My latest experience was a float tank. The isolation tanks that are filled with a high ratio of salt water that is warm and you float inside it, like laying in the void. Robin has brought it up for over 10 years now. There is definitely more float centres...
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy being unplugged and away from things. Here is another one. Most days, weather permitting, I go for a 5km walk. It takes about an hour. I have a route worked out through my neighborhood. I do it because it feels good to be outside, out in the fresh air, good to be moving. It’s exercise, but that isn’t exactly why I do it. It’s more...
I lived without a cell phone for a long time. I refused to get one. People used to ask me how I lived. Well, I lived just fine actually. I’d even go on cross country tours, driving, with just a $5 pre-paid phone card that I could use from a gas station or a motel room. This is how people managed for many decades. I valued my free time. Allowing myself to think and ponder. Many of my...
I don’t think there’s anyone out there who wouldn’t agree we are in an information overload. Not only are we bombarded, but we’re manipulated by different services to be addicted to getting it. It didn’t use to be this way and we all lived happy informed lives before. I already greatly cut down on my information intake because I don’t use social media, so...
I know this is totally contrary our world these days but I love being bored. And by “being bored” I mean not constantly distracting myself with electronic devices. Giving myself this boredom allows my mind to conjure and create. New ideas, solutions to problems I’m wrestling with, and general pondering. It allows my mind to form new connections and great things can come of that...
This topic is a little different than I normally blog about, but I thought I’d write about it. File this under “parental life hacks”. I have 2 kids, aged 11 and 14. Like everyone their age, they love their electronics. As a parent this can be a hard place to find balance because the electronics are so good at what they do (occupy the young person, relieve the burden from a...
I was at a recent event, and there was a very nice person seated next to me. We made small talk, and at some point I shared: “I don’t use social media. At all.” This left her aghast, she wanted to know why. I led with my introductory opener, “If you aren’t paying for a service, YOU are the product. It’s like The Matrix and people don’t even realize it...
I use Firefox as my primary desktop browser. I like it because it isn’t owned by a mega-corporation. It’s independent. Whenever I can support the little guy against the giants, I will. Some of the plug-ins I use with it to keep my time efficient are: Ad-Block Plus – this is a very popular ad blocker. I don’t even see Youtube ads. Leechblock NG – This will restrict...
I read an interesting article this week about someone giving up their primary social media, which in this case was Twitter. I found this quote the most enlightening of the article: This resonated with me because that is the world I inhabit. It’s funny, because even though I am not a social media user, for many reasons, it’s power still affects me. It makes me question my own success...
I use email as my primary contact point. It’s how people can best reach me, and its how I’ll contact people back. I think email is important and worth saving as a primary tool because no one owns it. It’s part of the original internet. As people hopefully break free from some of the large social media sites, it’s the one thing that still connects all of us. That’s...
I’ve been watching the ongoing discussion of social media with great interest. It’s been an interesting decade since Facebook took over. I was an online pioneer, but the one place I never transitioned to were the big social media platforms. I resisted at first because I could see how much time people spent on them. This was apparent right away. I made a conscious decision that my time...
When working alone as a solopreneur, one of the key components you will have to figure out is how to automate as much as possible. Otherwise it turns into a real grind, and you are spending way too long doing manual things. Automation can take many forms and you’ll build them specific to your business needs. Here are some that I’ve personally done, to give you some ideas. 1) An email...