Fourteen Days into the Venture

Toward the end of 2015, I decided to try again in 2016 to start my own venture and to forge my own path. Originally, I planned to write a blog post each day (or every other day) chronicling the long, hard and lonely road, especially since information about the beginning of the journey is hard to come by. Everyone talks after they're successful, after they've made it and, most likely, after others hear about them and want to talk to them about what they are doing. Hardly anyone talks about the early days, before there's traction or product/market fit or paying customers or investments. But, I think those early days are some of the most important to talk about. I think it's important to be open about how shitty some days are and how much work it takes to get traction and product marketing fit. I think we really ought to talk about how deep you have to dig within yourself in order to keep going when no customers show up, when your product isn't working, when you're running out of money and when others tell you that you can't do it.

Then Why Didn't I Start the Conversation?

I don't have a good reason. I wondered what I would write about on those days where I have nothing to show for the fruits of my labors. What's there to say when I don't get the sponsorship deal, or when no one watches the stream, besides reporting that those things happened? Perhaps I would've figured what to write if I actually started writing instead of making excuses.

I understand now that not knowing what to write was a terrible reason, but better start now than never and start the conversation that I think should be had a little more often. It's a much more real conversation to have in my opinion, since success isn't overnight, no matter how much it seems to be from the outside. I also think a conversation likes this acknowledges failures and missteps as part of the process of success instead of the antitheses of success.

If All We Talk about are Winners, then What Does This Say About Losing?

Not everything is going to work. Not everyone wins. Not everyone wins every time. Not every step is a step in the right direction. This doesn't mean those steps were wrong or bad. This doesn't mean that those lonely days where no customers show up are indicative of anything personal or permanent. The days where it feels like you're banging your head against a wall are part of forging your own path, and a part of life. In hindsight, the tough moments are easier to canonize and incorporate into the larger story of success. But, on that day, without hindsight, it just sucks.

But, failures and missteps are okay. They only represent who you are if you choose to let them represent you.

So, before I can fit failures and bad days neatly into a narrative of victory, I'm going to start the conversation and document the lonely road on this venture. I know it will take a lot of hustle and hard work. I know the great things won't happen overnight.

I know a lot of people will tell my I'm crazy, that I ought to quit, that I can't do it, that it's not possible etc. Those comments are going to come. Shrugging all of that off is easier said than done. Sticking to your guns is easier said than done. I'm not writing this post and wanting to have this conversation because I'm delusional about myself and my abilities. I'm doing this, and want to do this, to showcase how hard it is not to be.

Why You Should Hire Me to Manage Your Social Media

Social media is a daily time commitment. If you, or your company, isn't willing to commit the time, then one of two things need to happen. Either limit the number of social networks you use to something that's manageable, or outsourcing your social media marketing. If you are choosing the latter, partly because you don't just want to use Facebook, then consider hiring me to do the rest! Here's why you should hire me to manage your social media:

I Have Proven Results

One of my social media marketing clients is a nitrogen tire inflation company called Nitrofleet99. When I started working on their social media presence, all the company had was a Facebook profile with about 15 fans. This was in June 2012. To date, November 2013, Nitrofleet99 has 383 fans on its Facebook page, an accomplishment based on some Facebook advertising but primarily on a content amplification and promotion strategy that focused on consistent and regular engagement. Part of consistent and regular engagement is updating your social media profiles every day while planning this content in advance. This strategy enables me to spend the day-to-day work engaging with followers while the research of appropriate content takes place well before this content is scheduled for sharing.

Since June 2012, I've also added a Twitter account and a Google+ account for the company. Not only do these presences exist, but both the Facebook page and the Google+ profile have ranked on the first page of Google for the term, "nitrogen tire inflation."

I Understand that Social Media Can't Work in a Silo

Part of what makes social media marketing difficult and time-consuming for businesses is that they consider it separate from the website and other marketing efforts. This is a huge mistake, as isolating social media means that your marketing efforts can't drive visitors and leads to the website (and the company), while eliminating a huge opportunity for the business to amplify the content and promotions happening on the website or in the email newsletter. My previous employer, for example, has a lot of great videos on its blog featuring different customers and services of the customer. However, these videos can only be found on the blog and can't be found anywhere on social media, YouTube in particular. Why my previous employer won't share these things on YouTube, or any other social network, is beyond me. Why are you creating this content if you don't amplify it through social media? By keeping these things to one or two platforms, instead of strategically using all of them to reach as many people as possible, you are essentially leaving leads and visitors on the table for your competitor to grab.

If You Need Content to Share on Social Media, I Can Do That Too

There's a 50/50 rule in social media marketing: 50% of what you share needs to be your own content, while the other half is the content of others. Most companies are surprised that their social media marketing efforts aren't entirely about the, but others do realize that your social media marketing doesn't matter too much if all you're doing is sharing other people's content. No one is going to be come a fan or follower (and they certainly won't become a customer) if you don't have any original research, or thought leadership, or helpful information of your own to offer. This is where I can come in. I can create blog posts, white papers, press releases, newsletter articles, essentially anything that would be awesome to share on Facebook or Twitter that you can slap with your company's branding. After all, the goal to accomplish with social media marketing is to show that your company is the one that can address the needs and pain points of your customers. By only sharing the content of others, you're really saying that it's your competitors and these other thought leaders who really know what they are doing.

I'm not an intern or college student whose a good fit for a social media role because I'm young or a digital native. I'm a good fit for the social media role because I know what I'm doing, and I've been doing this long enough to know how to understand a brand so that results happen on social media. I know how to use Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Google+ to achieve the results the client wants to see.

15 Things I Am Horrible at Doing, and Why

This exercise is another snippet from Hacking Your Education: Ditch the Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More than Your Peers Ever . The point is to find things that we may be horrible at doing because we never really made the effort to be good, or we decided in our heads that we were horrible at those things before making any effort to change that or to show ourselves that we could be good at those things. It's interesting to think about our failures and shortcomings in a new light, especially since it's very easy to focus on what we are good at and to work on those. Here are 15 things I am horrible at doing, and why I'm not any good at them:

1. Sales - I have an excellent grasp of marketing, but what to do with a lead once I got one (the beginning of the sales process) was where I got stuck. What do I talk to these people about? What if they don't want to talk, or don't give me much to talk about? Perhaps I just need to work on my elevator pitch.
2. Riding a bike - I've tried, more than once, to learn how to ride a bike. Never quite got it. Now I'm just scared the neighbor kids will laugh at white girl trying to learn how to ride a bike.
3. Singing - I think I'm getting better, at least I think I'm getting better. But, no one ever considered me a good singer, or someone capable of winning American Idol, or anything like that.
4. Driving in Severe Weather - I think I only suck because I don't have much practice. Also, they don't cover driving in snow, hail, or icy roads in the Hawaii state driver's manual. Those things don't happen where I'm from.
5. Cooking - Now that I think about it, I don't think I'm horrible at cooking. When I follow a recipe it comes out fine. I think I just dislike cooking that much. My mother can attest to this. I never took an interest, although, I do think I could find a niche as a soup chef. I've been making my own soups lately and they are delicious while being so simple to make!
6. Accounting - I know there are programs like Mint.com and Wave Accounting that can do this for you, but when I set up my business account, I set it up with a very small bank. Therefore, these programs couldn't upload my account information and do everything by hand. However, I couldn't get my number to match what was actually in my account. That made things harder than they needed to be, and I never could figure out why my numbers didn't match.
7. Roller Blading - If you've never tried it before, then you would be horrible at it, right?
8. Folding Bed Sheets - There's a trick to this that I have yet to understand fully. I try to fold bed sheets and I just can't have the edges line up and have a neat pile of bed sheets. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. By the way, bed sheets is two words and not one.
9. Sewing - I think I know how to sew. The needle scares me.
10. Pumpkin Carving - I have no idea how some people manage to carve such amazing pictures into their pumpkins! I can barely get the knife to cut, let alone execute one of these jack 'o lantern ideas.
11. Drawing - Falls into the same category as pumpkin carving. Much of the visual arts are beyond me.
12. Focusing on One Thing at a Time - I'm always full of ideas. I still have this problem even as my business coach worked with me on this and forced me to pick one thing on which to focus. It's hard to pick one, or to pick one and see it to the end.
13. Putting Things Away After I'm Done - I think this one has a lot to do with the previous thing I'm horrible at doing. See, I'm never done with something. I'm more, distracted, or in need of a break as I do something else and come back to this other thing later.
14. Swimming - I know how to swim, and I've been swimming since I was a little kid, but my technique is all over the place. You'd think I'd be good at this since I grew up next to an ocean, but growing up next to one and spending time in it are two different things. Also, swimming in a pool and swimming in the ocean are also two different things. You don't have much visibility in the ocean. It's not fun.
15. Speaking Russian - Well, I'm horrible now, that's for sure. I never as awesome Russian speaker during college, either. I was okay, although my host mother in St. Petersburg did say my Russian was terrible. It certainly wasn't as good as my roommate's skills.

Pick 3 and Give Them Another Try

Here are the three I'm going to pick and to give another try:

• Singing
• Driving in severe weather
• Speaking Russian

Well, I don't really need more things to do. I still need to learn history, and to learn how to drive stick (which should lead to learning how to drive in severe weather). Now, I need to figure out how to give these three things another try to get better at them, and how to measure that progress. I feel like, in another week or two, I need to review my life up to this point and sort through the loose ends. I'm going to have a lot of loose ends.

Why You Should Hire Me to Write Your Content

Blogging for others is my bread and butter. It's how I've made a living and have built my professional reputation over the past few years. If you need content, whether it's web content, blog posts, eBooks, or white papers, then consider Allison Reilly as an option in getting those things done. Here's why you should hire me over anyone else to write your content:

I've Covered a Wide Variety of Industries

If you look at my portfolio, you'll see that my five years of writing and editing experience includes everything from identity theft to social media, from business answering services to small business technology. Even if I haven't covered your industry, or have only covered something similar, don't let that stop you from hiring a great writer. Industry experience is just one indicator of talent and success, and it's by no means an honest indicator of talent and success. My variety shows that I can be successful in any industry and that I can bring a fresh perspective to your content needs and content marketing strategy. Also note that most articles in my portfolio are at least 500 words, showing that I don't write short, fluffy articles that don't say anything at all. With every piece of content, I strive to provide something of value to the reader.

I Can Do Many Types of Content Marketing

Business blogging may be my bread and butter, but I'm not a one-trick pony. I can write things besides blog posts, such as press releases, white papers, case studies, web content, and email marketing campaigns. Although you may only need one type of content, it's best to have one versatile writer you can rely to do any type of content you may need in the future. It's better than hiring someone to do the blog, only to hire someone else to do press releases, and someone else to do SEO and web content. After all, content marketing is about all of the above, as you need multiple types of content across multiple platforms to maximize the strategy. You can get more out of your content if you do a series of blog posts, then turn that series into a white paper, then turn that white paper into a webinar.

Clients Love Me

My oldest client has been with me for almost three years! In that time I've written blog posts, press releases, and white papers with plans for additional content as well as no plans of stopping to write content anytime soon. Most of my clients have been with me for over a year, although I do have a few that have only become my client in the past two months. My clients wouldn't be my clients for this long if they didn't think I did good work and if they didn't think I could be trusted to deliver content on a weekly basis and to contribute to the business. To show you how much my clients love me, I have a testimonials from Nathan Strum, president of TelAssistant - Allied Offices:

I have been working with Allison for close to a year now and am extremely happy with her work. I was seeking a writer for our company blog about a year ago when I first contacted Allison. In the past when hiring a blog writer I have spent almost as much time helping the writer come up with ideas for the blog articles as it would take to write the article myself. Allison took charge very quickly and learned about our industry. She has been creating interesting articles for a year without the hand holding that most writers need. Our readership has increased and the arrangement is an overall success. We have doubled her work and will be adding more work to her plate soon. Her articles can be read at http://www.alliedoffices.com/blog and http://www.telassistant.com/blog.

The sooner the words are written, the better. Contact me today if you have a writing project for me!

Small Change in Plans

I know I've changed my plans, like, 550 times (545 of those times were plans that were never started), but this is the 550th time that I am changing my plans regarding this blog. I can't guarantee this is the last time I'm changing my plans, but that's what's happening. My former business coach wouldn't be too happy with this, and would probably tell me to commit to something during our next coaching session. Not only is that not a bad idea, but I do think I ought to schedule a lunch with her in the near future.

Questions Will Be Posted on the International Political Forum

I just secured a new writing gig with International Political Forum, a news and commentary website for politically engaged young people, and I will be posting the answers to those questions there instead of here. I'll be starting this coming week. I think it's a better platform for that type of content, and I think my pieces will be able to attract more traffic on a site like this one. I also like that there isn't much time constraint here, so I don't have to pitch the old questions each one. If one is still relevant, then I can still write about it. One of the nice things about It also frees up my personal blog to be a bit more, well, personal. Sorry if this disappoints a few people.

I Prefer Keeping This Blog Personal

At first, I didn't like the idea of turning this blog into an online diary, since online diaries are so 2001. I wasn't sure if such content was what I wanted for my online reputation and identity capital. However, I do miss having something that's just mine and is there for me to write what I want. Since I write for a living, I am writing for someone else, even if I get to choose the topic or if there isn't much criteria in what needs to be written. There's always a standard to meet, an audience to consider, and other goals to shoot for, depending on the writing project. None of that has to apply to this blog, which is nice to have every once in a while (but don't get me wrong, as I'm probably not going to start using profanity or to cover inappropriate topics). It's nice to be able to write for myself regularly, as it does make me more motivated to write for others. Also, it is easier to write everyday if that's the case with this blog. I really don't need something else that requires a ton of work and forethought.

When it comes down to it, this blog should be fun. Writing should be fun. In the case of this blog and the questions articles, I think this change in plans makes both a little more fun. I'm excited already.

What to Expect

Since summer is almost over, I will be putting together my fall reading list and tallying what I've completed with my summer reading list. I have an idea of what's going to be on that fall reading list, so I am thrilled to put it together and to read more good books. That's what I know I will be covering in the next few days. I'll also write about many of the topics that I covered in previous posts i.e. poker, my cat, my business, eating healthier, video games, political issues etc. Should be fun.

This Week's Questions Absolutely Suck

It's probably a little fortuitous that I didn't answer any questions from last week because this week's questions are absolutely abysmal. Some of the US questions are out of left field, the international questions are somewhat interesting, but incredibly difficult to tackle if you don't know anything about what's going on. Which I don't, so I should start using the free printer at work to print out articles. My parents won't like that idea, but I assure, the office is cool with it.

This Week's Possible Questions

I actually left all 20 here to show the weirdness I'm refusing to work with here. I'm probably not going to pick any for this blog, but I might do one or two for the Amnesty International St. Louis blog. Therefore, I don't think it's worth it to spend any time narrowing the list down. Since I'm working on getting that file cabinet, I think I'll spend more time doing research and preparing myself to do this weekly (or more often). I have yet to make good on my word. I'll probably stick with the questions I wanted to answer last week. The nice thing about these questions is that, for the most part, they are relevant past their initial week.

1. If not Hillary, then who? (I'm presuming for presidential nominee in 2016, but the question is phrased rather vaguely.)
2. Will attempts to unionize America’s fast food industry succeed?
3. Has Obamacare’s implementation been a disaster?
4. Will leaks about NSA surveillance activities lead to significant revisions of government anti-terrorism powers?
5. How should the U.S. respond to allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria?
6. Is America’s housing market on the road to recovery?
7. Will the Playstation 4 have a more successful release than the XBox One? (I mean, really? What does this have to do with domestic policy? Does anyone care besides gamers and industry analysts?)
8. How can Steve Lonegan defeat Cory Booker? (Too localized for my tastes.)
9. Will Texas’s redistricting plan pass constitutional muster?
10. Does Chelsea Manning have a constitutional right to hormone therapy while in military custody? (No, because the Constitution doesn't say anything about this. Not sure what to say or argue here. I don't think there's much on the issue from this angle).
11. What should the Russian government do in light of new reports of chemical weapons usage in Syria?
12. Will the release of Hosni Mubarak make Egypt’s interim government extremely unpopular?
13. What can missile defense planners learn from Israel’s Iron Dome?
14. How can the UN’s MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo improve its effectiveness?
15. Will recent revelations about radiation at the Fukushima nuclear plant doom attempts at reviving nuclear power in Japan?
16. Do European governments need to take stronger actions against neo-Nazi movements?
17. Why is economic growth in India slowing down? (My initial gut instinct says that it's either one or two big reasons, or many little reasons. The latter would make this question hard to answer.)
18. Should Ukraine sign a customs agreement with the European Union or Russia?
19. How should the Brazilian government deal with rising illegal immigration?
20. Would consolidation improve European banking? (Consolidation of what? Would research tell me?)

Goals, Updates, and What I'm Capable Of

My parents say I shouldn't be so negative on this blog, referring to my previous post on how I'm so horrible at this new niche (and considering that I haven't written a single post this week, I'm still very horrible). However, I say that it's important to be open and to be honest about these things. Besides, if I put my mistakes and shortcomings into writing and admit them to the world, then I can acknowledge them and fix them. If I just go one pretending they don't exist, then I'm probably not going to do anything about them.

Goal for this Week: Do One Post, Just One Post

Apparently, two was much too ambitious for me. I couldn't discipline myself to do the research. I also got busy and distracted, although I was way more distracted than busy. Below are the 10 possible topics that I might do for my one post (since these are rather engaging and interesting topics, I might actually do more than one like I'm supposed to. Some of these actually sound fun.)

1. Will Cristina Fernández de Kirchner succeed in amending the Argentinian constitution so that she can run for a third term?
2. What reforms are needed to the Mexican judicial system?
3. Should India avoid an upcoming meeting with Pakistan due to the recent violence in Kashmir?
4. What changes should Hassan Rohani make to Iran’s nuclear program?
5. What role should the European Union play in the Gibraltar dispute?
6. Is America winning the fight against obesity?
7. If you were the chief executive of AOL, what would you do to make it relevant again?
8. How can the U.S. make itself less dependent on foreign oil?
9. Is the GOP’s refusal to participate in CNN and NBC 2016 presidential primary debates justified?
10. Will privacy rights be a major issue in the 2014 midterm elections?

I'm So Close to My File Cabinet!

My main goal for my inferno of productivity is to accrue 300 points so that I can get a file cabinet! I ended the previous week with 271 points, and after tallying this week's points, I have 322 points. This means I can finally get that file cabinet! I am excited since I've need a file cabinet so badly, and never got around to getting one. Now, all I have to do is redeem those points and get one. I took a quick look online and there's nothing that I really like. I'd really like a wooden file cabinet to match my a little bit, but perhaps I'll settle on a metal one because they are cheaper.

Once I achieved my goal, I said that I would evaluate my inferno of productivity to see if it really worked at boosting my productivity and to make a decision as to whether or not to continue the game. I think I will continue it because it's a record of what I accomplished each day as well as a fun way to work toward rewards and to give myself those rewards. Also, by assigning points, I can prevent myself from overindulging on these rewards One of my prizes is eating out, and eating out is much less appealing when it means I have to give up points and it means one more week until I can get that file cabinet, or that haircut, or whatever it is I want.

It's also a good way to ensure that I purchase things that I've been intending to purchase for a while, such as that file cabinet. It's really easy to forget those things and to work around the problem (the problem with the file cabinet being my papers and files are in piles on the floor, unattended and dusty). For my next goal/reward, I want a haircut. I badly need a haircut, as my hair is way too long. It gets in the way when I sleep at night.

Speaking of sleep, I should go do that.

I am Getting SuperBetter at Eating Healthier

As I was working on my summer reading list and making my way through Citizenville, the author discussed the idea of making government more fun by turning civic duty into some sort of game. The city of Manor, Texas did it by awarding residents a fake currency for submitting an idea on how to fix the idea. If your idea is chosen to be implemented, you got even more of this fake currency, called innobucks. These innobucks could then be redeemed for real life goods, such as being mayor for a day or free appetizers at a local eatery. I'd do more for St. Louis if it meant more Ted Drewes and Kaldi's coffee.

Anyway, while reading about this great stuff, the author mentioned the name Jane McGonigal, who had started this really awesome website/online game called SuperBetter. I remembered her from a TED talk I watched a few years ago (it's below if you want to watch it), and I didn't realize that she had started this gaming website "designed to help you build personal resistance." I had to see what it was all about and give it a whirl.

I Haven't Even Started Yet and It's Amazing

SuperBetter is SO FREAKIN' COOL. Once you sign up (which is free), it starts you off with four different exercises about the four different types of resilience: physical, mental, emotional, and social. The exercises are incredibly easy, ranging from taking three steps to looking out a window for a few moments, from thanking someone on social media to snapping your fingers 50 times. Each exercise comes with a short one-minute video about that resilience and some of the science. After you do these four things, called quests, you then move on to choosing your secret identity, choosing your challenge, and choosing a power pack to overcome your challenge (you can even create your own power pack if you want). My business coach should totally incorporate this into her coaching.

I went through this, and chose eating healthier as my challenge. I went vegan after Thanksgiving, and after a few months of keeping that up, it's slipped away. I'm no longer vegan. I'm not even vegetarian. Since I have two things on my life goals list about eating healthier (one is to avoid eating out for an entire month, and another is to be vegan for one year), I decided that this would be a perfect place to start. I've been thinking about eating healthier ever since my diet slipped, but haven't made any movement in the right direction. Now, with the help of power ups, allies, and fighting bad guys, I'm hopeful and excited to have concrete steps to move in the right direction.

I do have to admit, I LOVE the branding. The more colors something has, the better it must be. The rainbow is just phenomenal.

I Will Start Today/Tomorrow

I have downloaded my Power Pack, the Full Plate Diet, and I will start my first quest today/tomorrow. I already know that what I need to do is watch a video, sign up for a free membership, and subscribe to a newsletter. Sounds easy enough! But, of course, when you are just starting, the first step is always the easiest. It's the next 972 steps that are difficult.

In the meantime, if you want to know a little more about this concept of gamification, and whether it really works, then here it from the founder herself. Part of the reason why this TED talk is so cool is that she's a female gamer who's using games to help others better the lives of others as well as their own lives.

[ted id=1501]

OMG bonus talk! I didn't realize that she had TWO TED talks! I just watched the one above for the first time as I was putting this post together, when she referenced her first talk in this second talk. I was really trying to find and to share the one below, which is her first talk. Anyway, they are both long, but both incredibly compelling. After all, she is essentially encouraging us to play more games and to turn more of life into a game. Rock on, right?

[ted id=799]

Inferno of Productivity: How I Turned My Task List into a Game

One of the biggest lessons I've learned from my business coach is to be specific, but to keep things simple also. My coach noted that I had a tendency to overwhelm myself by making things too complicated, by not focusing on the little steps that need to be taken to achieve the bigger picture. It's very smart advice, and why my business coach is so awesome (and why she should be your business coach too).

As part of this sage advice, one thing that needed simplification was my to-do list. One weekend, I had a very long to-do list and I hardly got any of it done because I'd look at it and feel overwhelmed. I wanted a way to be able to focus on one thing at a time and to pick one thing to do while also being able to visualize the entire day or an entire week's worth of work (it helps for scheduling purposes, and for organizing when to do what). It then occurred to me that index cards would be a good idea. I could write one task per card but have a pile of cards to represent the day, and many piles to represent the other days of the week. A pile of cards is also much less daunting than a long to-do list. It also makes it easy to transfer things to the next day in case I didn't finish everything.

But...

I didn't like the idea of using index cards just once. I didn't like creating so much waste and using up so many index cards just for a single purpose. So, I thought about how I could reuse these index cards and save them for a second or third purpose. One thing led to another and I came up with my awesome game:

Inferno of Productivity!

When I thought about saving the index cards, I thought about saving them to redeem for something, which led me to the point system. Obviously, if you're redeeming something, you are redeeming it either for points or prizes, or maybe both. So, what I've done is I count each task/index card as a point. At the end of each day, I count my points and put them in a plastic food container I bought for $5 at the dollar store across the street. On Sunday, I count up all my points and give myself the chance to redeem them for something. I took the time to come up with a whole bunch of rewards for me to work toward, and I assigned them point values based on dollar value and on how big I considered the reward (i.e. I think clothes shopping is a bigger reward than a new pair of shoes because you get more things with clothes shopping. So, clothes shopping is over three times as many points as a new pair of shoes).

I just had to double the number of points each prize is worth because I want them to take a lot of work to obtain. I've done this for a week already, and after one week, I had enough points for half the list. This meant that my list was too easy. Right now, each task is only worth one point, but I might end up changing that in the future depending on the difficulty or the length of time/number of steps needed to complete the task i.e. laundry could be multiple points depending on the number of loads I have to do.

FYI - "Need of the Week" includes things that I would only buy once, or things that I would buy so irregularly that they don't really merit their own points. For example, a spice rack is one of my "needs of the week" because I really do need a spice rack, but I only need to buy one. Haircuts are also in this category because I don't need a haircut every month, but I also consider haircuts somewhat of a luxury and a reward, so they can be something to work for.

Am I More Productive?

I've only been doing this for a week, so the game and my levels of productivity may still change, but I do think it has made me more productive in four ways. First, since I need to complete the task to count it as a point, I do force myself to finish tasks if I start them. This was a problem I had with my old method, as I would check them off if I started the task or even if I planned to do the task. This meant that I didn't always finish tasks and it would my planner and my lists into a big mess. This wasn't good for productivity, and now it's going away.

Second, I don't forget things that I need to do because I can just put it on an index card and place it with the appropriate day. It also means that I don't have to keep things to do in my head because my to-do list was already written and I didn't have room for it. Things are a little less stressful for me as I don't have to worry about forgetting, and it was always the personal things that got forgotten, since I typically filled my to-do list with work and business tasks. Plus, if I do forget, or need a reminder of what needs to be done, I can just go through the pile and see what's left. It's also great that, in case I don't finish everything, I can take what's left and just add it to the next day's pile. No crossing out, or arrows, or any other mess that clogs up my calendar.

Third, with the index cards, I can put notes with any or all of the tasks. For example, if I need to call someone, I can write that I need to call this person as well as what I need to ask about or talk about. This saves time, hence improving productivity, because I then don't have to call the person back or send an extra email because I forgot to ask that question or to bring up something important. This also helps with just keeping everything in one place. If I need to write an article for someone, then I write how many words it needs to be and anything else I need to do to write the article.

Fourth, I'm motivated to do my work and to get something as a reward. Currently, I'm working toward my top prize, an actual home furnishing, because I'd like to get a dresser (I seriously don't have a dresser and am using those plastic drawers for my clothes), or a file cabinet, and/or a bookshelf. It'll take about five weeks of work to have enough points to get that, but I do think that's a fair trade off. In that time, I would have saved the money while having earned enough money as well. Plus, I like looking forward to having more nice things in my apartment. What's also great is that I didn't choose to redeem any of my points from last week because I really need the file cabinet and the dresser, so I'm starting this week with 60 points in container. Yay!

What's Next for the Inferno of Productivity?

Well, I'm going to pilot it for as long as it takes to get that dresser/file cabinet. Once I get to that point, I'll evaluate the point system, or how many points certain tasks are worth, or even if this game is still fun and worth playing. If it just ends up complicating everything, or if the novelty fades away and it doesn't help anymore, then I'll stop doing it. My fiance suggested that I add breaks to the point system, where for five or 10 points I can take the time to watch a movie or to play video games or something. I like this idea because it means that taking a long break isn't just distracting me from the work that I need to do, but that it will also take away from the overall goal and the big picture of productivity. However, these breaks need to happen from time to time, so it's cool to classify them as a reward.

So far today, I have nine points. Now that this blog post is complete, I have 10 points!

A Proclamation to Do This

It's 11 days into this project and I already want to quit. I have two and a half hours to get this done, I am in the middle of a poker tournament, and I am down for the day so all that doesn't leave me wonderful and relaxed this Friday evening. Blogging every day is tough (which probably explains why so few companies do it, and why professional bloggers work way too hard). I considered dropping down to three times a week, but I don't want to break the rules of the blog or to give up! I can do it! I can commit to blogging for one year and then, measuring the results and hopefully create something really awesome in the process!

Topics, Topics, Topics!

Okay, I am tired of writing about whatever comes to mind because I still don't have any topics to pursue (will fix this weekend!). I'm tired of the stress of having to do my blog post for the day and then putting it off because I don't have anything to write about. Before I know it, there's less than two hours left in the day and I haven't written a single word yet. Oh, and I need to catch up on "The West Wing". But, if I can be as cool as those guys I wouldn't have any problems in the blog (perhaps a good idea for a post or two in the future, but not necessarily for this blog. Sorry to bum you out).

Although, I Have Yet Another Aspiration

If you don't know, Andrew Sullivan is a leading political columnist in this country, most recently writing his column The Daily Dish at the Daily Beast. He's just decided to take his venture solo, charging a $20-a-year subscription fee, and accruing the $900,000 he needs to run his operation for the year in one day. Wowza. Considering that he started his popular column in 2000, it'll take a long time for anyone to replicate such success and to add a personal touch to journalism and to political analysis the way that he does. I really hope to do the same. I don't know if I have the luxury of 10+ years to get it done (Sullivan did get paid to write his column for a long time, and this is still just an experiment) or the time to make something happen (what he's done is nearly impossible to do again), but the personal brand is becoming more and more powerful in today's inter-connected society so the fact that blogging and journalism will rely more and more on the personal brand only makes perfect sense. The real trick will be monetizing the blogging in a way that doesn't wear people ought or force them to write for the hits and the exposure.

If Andrew Sullivan can do it, then anyone can.

I'm Not Going to Quit

I can do this and run my business as well. I can provide substantial content that's of value to people every day, or at least regularly. I have things to say that are meaningful, and are much more than what I did today and what I need to get from the grocery store and how well I am doing at poker (I ended down, but it happens. I got lucky a few more times than I should have). I want to contribute to the dialogue of important issues, and not just tout brands and promote products. I want to write something original, not just rehash old news or comment on what happened or what someone else said. It sounds overwhelming, but I don't think it's too much to ask.