On Sundays I’m looking back on the past week. How did I perform towards my goals? How did my blog do? And how am I keeping up with my productivity habits?

Blog performance

Average daily subscribers:	1077	( 1)
Average daily visitors:	208	( 2)

No real changes on the stats front. I haven’t been very active last week, as far as blogging for this blog was concerned. I’ve put my effort in other activities that will eventually lead to more time for blogging. You’ll notice it in posting frequency when that pays off.

Progress towards goals

I started with the renovation project again, and the elbow is feeling okay again. Finally some progress again. It’s kind of frustrating to not be able to work on something you really would like to finish.

Renovation Project
Status:
Overdue, since 02/2008.
Progress this week:
Finally some progress again, it’s really time to get this job DONE.
Planning next week:
Finish windowsill, sanding

Semi Marathon training
Status:
On hold, but still on schedule. Deadline is October 12, 2008.
Progress this week:
I did not run this week.
Planning next week:
Do at least one 4k run.

Productivity Habits - weekly review

I’m finding it increasingly hard to write something useful in this section. I’m quite satisfied with most of my productivity habits. I’ve worked through my backlogs and I have conquered the email monster. There’s still room to simplify more, but like I said I’m generally satisfied.

Grown-ups make things way too complicated. This is the toddler’s approach to getting everything you want.

1. Mastering six words is enough
   Yes — No — Mama — Papa — That — Bah
   Those are all the words you need to get around and get things done.
   Variation in volume seems more effective than variation in vocabulary.
2. Don’t ask, just do
   If you want to do something, don’t ask, just do.
   If you want to have something, don’t ask, just get it.
3. Don’t listen, just don’t do
   If you don’t want to do something, simply don’t do it.
   If you don’t want to have something, simply don’t take it.
   Have it already? Drop it instantly.
4. Pointing gets the message across
   If you want something but can’t reach, just point and say “That”.
   If you don’t want something, point and say “No” or “Bah”.
5. Turning your body away gets the message across
   If you really don’t want something, turn your body away.
   Out of view is out of existence. Treat it as such.
6. Ardently waving and repeatedly saying “No” has effect
   If your parents decide that you have to do something and persist,
   turn away your body while waving your hand ardently at them.
   Now say “No” repeatedly and walk away.
7. Add screaming, tears and stamping your feet for more emphasis
   When your parents are really persistant,throw yourself on the ground.
   Start crying and screaming “No” loud and repeatedly.
   Stamp your hands and feet, throw stuff around.
   Slam doors and smash stuff.
   For added effect: do all of this in public spaces.

8. Make sure to spend your energy wisely
   Tantrums cost energy. Conserve it when there’s no obvious effect.
   Go full blown and flat out of your mind, when effect is guaranteed.

9. Saying “Papa” or “Mama” during a spontaneous hug afterwards works wonders
   After all of the above, walk towards your parents in a quiet moment.
   Climb on the couch, and hug them spontaneously and say “Papa” or “Mama”.
   This seems to erase all negative effects from the above instantly.

On Sundays I’m looking back on the past week. How did I perform towards my goals? How did my blog do? And how am I keeping up with my productivity habits?

The elbow is getting better and better, hardly any pain left. I still need to rest it, although it feels like I can do anything again. Better be safe and give it another week before I start doing serious stuff again.

Blog performance

Average daily subscribers:	1076	( 14)
Average daily visitors:	210	( 16)

I updated the design of the stats last week. I like the green arrows

Progress towards goals

No progress again this week, due to elbow injury.

Renovation Project
Status:
Overdue, since 02/2008.
Progress this week:
No progress. Arm needs rest.
Planning next week:
Resting my arm, making sure it gets well.

Semi Marathon training
Status:
On hold, but still on schedule. Deadline is October 12, 2008.
Progress this week:
I did not run this week.
Planning next week:
Resting my arm, making sure it gets well.

Productivity Habits - weekly review

One thing I could do this week was typing, and working on site design. I worked on both aspects on both my blogs from home. Most of the times when writing or designing I need to be able to get my mind to concentrate on the task at hand. But this week I got interrupted too many times. Very inefficient!

I’ll be glad if the office is ready (my renovation project) and I’ll be able to close the door and get those hours of undisturbed concentration. Come on, elbow. Heal!

Goal setting is not a mind game. It is a process of developing the internal willpower to accomplish what you have set out to do.

~ Joan Benoit Samuelson (Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist)

Setting goals is one of the ways successful people use to get themselves moving. They use it, among other techniques, to stretch themselves and accomplish more than the average person. They don’t use goals as a trick though. The goals they set themselves are the result of an inner desire and get so ingrained in their system that there’s no way to stop them.

Joan Benoit Samuelson called it the process of developing the internal willpower to accomplish what you have set out to do. She won the first ever Olympic marathon for women in Los Angeles in 1984. I’d say she knows what she’s talking about.

The willpower needed to accomplish goals is not a fixed and unchangeable trait. It’s not something you either have or don’t have, it’s a trait that can be cultivated, trained and developed. There are several things successful people do to get that willpower ingrained in their system.

They focus on doing one thing right

To get that willpower successful people choose to focus on only one thing, but they do that extremely well. It takes guts to make this choice, because it goes right against common knowledge! In school we learn to spread our risks and never put all our eggs in one basket. While that minimizes the risk of losing it all, it also minimizes the chance of any real success. Even Warren Buffett works by this premises!

I can’t be involved in 50 or 75 things. That’s a Noah’s Ark way of investing - you end up with a zoo that way. I like to put meaningful amounts of money in a few things.

~ Warren Buffett (big time investor)

The mention of Noah’s Ark is funny, but I’d say Noah was kind of focused on one goal as well. And a pretty serious goal too!

They work hard to improve themselves

Successful people have in common that they work hard. No, even harder than that! They work - work - work and practice - practice - practice. They develop an inner drive to be better today than they were yesterday. And if they feel they’re not there yet, they don’t stop for the day yet. Success is not an accident, it’s the result of a lot of hard work and of wise choices.

It’s this work and improvement ethic that helps to develop that internal willpower to accomplish what you set out to do. It’s the “Don’t quit…ever” attitude, and is built on a strong belief that they will be successful at it at some point in time.

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you’re a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you’ll win-if you don’t you won’t.

~ Bruce Jenner (Olympic Decathlon Gold Medalist)

They can easily snap into concentration mode

Besides focusing on only one thing, which is more mid to longterm oriented, successful people have developed the ability to fully concentrate at the job at hand now. They block out all distractions, physically or mentally, and direct all their energy on the activity they are executing in the present.

And that activity is more often than not focused on their goal and destined to improve them to accomplish it in time or sooner. And that ability to concentrate is one of the ways to get there sooner!

When every physical and mental resource is focused, one’s power to solve problems multiplies tremendously.

~ Norman Vincent Peale (positive thinker)

Photo by starryeyez024

On Sundays I’m looking back on the past week. How did I perform towards my goals? How did my blog do? And how am I keeping up with my productivity habits?

This week was kind of a lost week as far as goals and blogging was concerned. Last Monday my left elbow started hurting, and it was clear that there was an inflammation of some sort in there. Turns out it’s bursitis of the elbow aka “Student’s Elbow“. I needed to rest it completely in the first days, so I had my arm in a sling. Now the swelling is considerably less, and I can use my arm again but only for mild activities. And I’m not allowed to lean on the elbow entirely, but that’s something I don’t want to do anyway (pain!).

With one arm in a sling, my typing skills reduced considerably. From 10 fingers, down to 2 effectively. And ctrl-alt-del is impossible with one hand! Anyway, I can type with 10 fingers again now the swelling has reduced.

Blog performance

Average daily subscribers:	1062	( 23)
Average daily visitors:	194	( 37)

This was a quiet week as far as new posts are concerned. I don’t have a bunch of posts lying around for situations like these (I know I should), but thankfully I had a guest post lined up for this week at The Thirty Day Year. I had a lot of fun writing it, trying something new with a lot of fiction-esque writing in the post. I loved how you can let your imagination run free with it. I’ll be doing more of that!

I also didn’t publish anything on the Scraping Pennies this week. Not even the weekly income report. By the time I wanted to write that, my elbow was really hurting so I skipped that one.

Subscribers are steadily rising, visitors showed a little drop. Overall I’m very happy with the blog’s performance during an “off-week”.

Progress towards goals

Obviously there’s no progress this week.

Renovation Project
Status:
Overdue, since 02/2008.
Progress this week:
No progress. Arm needs rest.
Planning next week:
Resting my arm, making sure it gets well.

Semi Marathon training
Status:
On hold, but still on schedule. Deadline is October 12, 2008.
Progress this week:
I did not run this week. With one arm in a sling, it’s not nice to run. Didn’t buy the shoes yet either.
Planning next week:
Resting my arm, making sure it gets well.

Productivity Habits - weekly review

I noticed a funny thing this week. Since my typing speed went down by over 80%, perspectives change on some aspects. A quick email, suddenly isn’t so quick anymore. I decided more often to just call people, or walk by their office to ask or answer a question.

It made me realize that a lot of productivity tips I have shared here, are also based on hidden assumptions of skill levels. Now that I experienced a serious drop in certain skills, I found that not all productivity tips are equally productive if you don’t have the skill set to execute them correctly or timely.

This stresses the importance of adopting what works for you, and dropping what doesn’t. You need to find the best tools for you. What works for me, may not work for you. Heck, sometimes it even doesn’t work for me either