July 2011 Archives - 2/2

A guest post by Christopher Foster from The Happy Seeker

I’ve been a writer all my life and one of the things I love about this ancient activity is that you can do it at any age. The forms you use to express yourself as a writer may change — but the opportunity to let your own authentic spirit and imagination be set free through you via the written word remains the same.

I wrote my first story in an old scrapbook when I was a seven year old kid in the early days of the bombing in London in World War II. I still remember the magic I knew as I let my imagination roam while writing an enthralling tale about three young people on a journey of exploration.

I’m 79 now. I’ve been a reporter and weekly newspaper editor. I’ve written six books (the last, a story of a young Raven of remarkable integrity, was translated into 11 languages). And now for the last two years — with a lot of help, incidentally, from my friend Mary Jaksch and others — I’ve been a blogger. I took part in the fantastic A-List Blogging Bootcamps run by Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch and I’m a member of the A-List Blogger Club.

What have I learned as a blogger?

What have I learned in this wild new adventure called blogging? Let me count the ways.

1. Blogging gives me a focus

We need something useful and productive to do as we age — something we really enjoy, and that gives us a sense of purpose. My wife, JoAnn, who is a few months older than me and will be reaching the big 80 ahead of me, loves quilting. It’s her joy and her passion.

Blogging fulfills this need for me. I do it in the morning, for the most part — then I can goof off in the afternoon in the gym or coffee shop or on the trail with a clear conscience.

2. Blogging helps me stay young :-)

Blogging not only helps me stay young, it demands it. It’s unrelenting. Just when I think I’ve got things figured out, I realize I haven’t really begun yet. And what’s wrong with that?

In a time when more and more people are aging, what better than to have an activity that helps you stay young? (presuming it doesn’t drive you crazy first — but then almost anything can do that if we let itJ.)

3. Blogging helps me meet wonderful people all over the world

Not much more needs to be said about this aspect. But meeting brave spirits, kindred spirits whom I would otherwise never have met is surely one of the special joys of being a blogger

4. Blogging gives me an opportunity to grow

I’m quite sure that I have grown as a person since I started blogging. I’m not going to try to recount all the reasons for this. But perhaps the essential thing here is this: blogging helps me open my mind and heart to new dimensions of myself and the sublime mystery we call life.

5. Blogging has the potential to create an income

Blogging can also create an income. I had a taste of it recently when I created a home-study course on “The True Promise and Potential of Aging” that earned about $1500. Following a suggestion by Mary Jaksch, I’ve now started a coaching program for writers and bloggers.

A happy medium

I don’t seem to have the inclination or the desire anymore to write a book. So much work. So much time. I find blogging is a happy medium. You write a post. It takes a couple of hours let’s say. Then all you have to do is hit a button, and immediately a little bit of you sets off to roam the world.

What will happen? Who will you meet? What new friends will you find? It’s a new adventure every time.

What are your stories about getting started with blogging or writing? Please share in the comments.

Christopher Foster is an author and writing coach living in Colorado. Enjoy more posts by Chris at his blog The Happy Seeker and check out his consulting services.

“The Bootcamps run by Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch of the A-List Blogger Club are terrific. They have been an indispensable help to me in my venture into blogging. I started my blog two years ago and was stuck at 300 subscribers – until I took my first bootcamp about a year ago. Now I’ve got 1,500 subscribers and rising. I look forward to many more good things as I continue my connection with Mary and Leo in the Bootcamps and the A-List Blogger Club.” Christopher Foster – The Happy Seeker

Join Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch in their upcoming kickass Bootcamp
“Skyrocket Your Subscriber Count”. Click here to check it out

A guest post from Ethan Waldman of Cloud Coach

Part I – Getting Un-Frustrated

Let’s face it. Using your computer to write can be so frustrating. There’s error messages, software updates and bugs. Plus, with new iThings coming out practically every month, how do you keep up?

Have you ever noticed how there are people who never seem to have trouble with technology? Regardless of what’s new, they always ‘get it’ immediately without any no lead time. Unfortunately, we’re not all lucky enough to count ourselves in that group.

Let’s forget about those “technology natives” for a minute and explore the source of your frustration- when you’re trying to get something done, and technology stands in your way.

Technology as a Means to an End

For all intents and purposes, your computer, iPad and Smart Phone are just means to an end. That end could be communicating with loved ones or customers, creative writing, or designing something that will eventually be a physical item like a poster or business card.

The reason those technology natives are so good at getting it is that they not only realize that technology is a means to an end, but they understand that there are always multiple pathways to solving a single problem. Their seeming ability to do anything on the computer is just an illusion. Rather than trying to scale every mountain, they simply try a different route

Here’s the good news. This isn’t something you’re born with. You can build this skill. The more practice you have, the more intuitively you’ll navigate through technology problems.

So, you’ve run into trouble.

Here are some things you can do to refocus and find your way around the problem:

Don’t thrash. If you’ve been trying at something for more than 15 minutes, stop. You’re probably getting frustratedand frustration leads to haste and missteps. Work on something else and come back to what you’re trying to do later.
Define the problem. Ask yourself: “what am I trying to do?” Now, rephrase that as a question. Say you’re trying to print a spreadsheet with borders from Microsoft Excel. The question form of that would be, “how do I print with borders from Microsoft Excel?”. Now you’re going to practice one of the skills that technology natives have mastered: searching. Go to google (recommended) or your favorite search engine and type in the question form of your problem. 9 out of 10 times, the correct answer is within the first 3 search results.
When you find the answer, follow the instructions. Be thorough, and don’t get intimidated. There’s a big misconception that you’re going to ‘break’ something if you deviate from what you’re used to. It’s highly unlikely that any one thing you do will irreparably screw things up.
Monitor self-talk. When I coach clients on their technology skills and am approached with a problem, I ask them to show me what they’ve tried and talk out loud through the problem. You’d be amazed how much negative self-talk I hear. Things like “I’m so bad a technology”, or “I can never understand this” are frequently in the vocabulary of those who are struggling. If you’re always telling yourself that you’re bad with technology, you will always be bad with technology. Be kind to yourself.
Learn how to ask for help. The internet is a vast resource, and there is bound to be someone who can help you solve whatever technology problem you’ve run into. Unfortunately, there can be a strong communication barrier between those seeking support and those offering it. Learn how to ask for help the right way online so you can benefit from the all of the combined generosity and goodwill that exists online.

Part II – Removing Distractions

Not all software is created equally. If technology is a means to an end, you can choose to use software that is as transparent as possible when it comes to turning your input into an output. These tools are designed so that the software itself is as minimally involved as possible. And when it comes to writing, minimizing distractions is absolutely crucial.

Writing:

For the first 15 years I used a computer, when I needed to write something I would fire up Microsoft Word and type away. Of course, 3 minutes later I would be messing with font spacing, margins and formatting. The result was that I didn’t get much writing done.

The solution? Distraction-free writing environments. These programs usually operate in full-screen mode, so you don’t get distracted by email, web browsers or instant messenger. They usually come sans-font selection, formatting, and other niceties found in your average word processing program. The result is that you can focus on what you need to do: write. There are a lot of similar programs available, here are the ones I like:

WriteRoom - The original distraction-free writing program with their signature matrix-like green on black screen. WriteRoom lets you customize the look and feel of your full screen environment. Signature green on black color palate is customizable.

OmmWriter - I used OmmWriter for a while as well. OmmWriter is meant to be a full sensory experience, so it has gentle background sounds (designed to help you forget what’s going on around you) and three different ‘typing’ sounds you can choose from. This is also a good option if you’re on a PC. You can get free versions for PC and Mac.

IAWriter – This is my current favorite. I find the writing environment to be really clean and easy on the eyes, plus the innovative focus mode grey’s out everything except the sentence you’re currently writing. (I wrote this article distraction free, in IAwriter).

Web Browsing

I find the default browsers that come with computers (Safari for mac and Internet explorer for Windows) to be bulky and less user friendly. I don’t want the browser I’m using standing in the way of the internet. For that reason, I highly recommend switching to Google Chrome. Not only is Chrome the speediest browser you’ve ever used (seriously, you’ll notice how fast it starts and loads pages), but it also has a very clean, minimalist interface that is intuitive and stays out of the way.

Email

If you’ve gotten fed up with Outlook one time too many, you should consider making a switch to Gmail. This is Google’s free email service, and has really been pushing the email ‘envelope’ in the last few years. Both in terms of innovative features, and ease of use. Accounts are free, and they have a number of migration tools to help you make the switch as seamlessly as possible.

Here’s another email tip to reduce frustration. Don’t use your personal email for business. Why?

Using Gmail for your personal email is great, but for any kind of promotional communication with customers, you will have much better results working with a real mailing list provider.
Your email list is the single most important piece of your online presence beyond your website. It’s what enables you to mobilize your customers and fans to take action.
It’s not technically difficult, but knowing the right provider to choose and how to set things up will save you a lot of time.
If you’re a business owner without a rocking email list, Cloud Coach has a free course. Learn how to build a profitable and responsive email list here.

Let’s wrap things up. The next time you’re having technology trouble the first thing you need to do is stop thrashing. Define the problem, find an answer, and try it out. Keep an ear open for negative self-talk, and learn to ask for help when you can’t find the answer yourself. With decreased frustration from using technology, you’ll find that you’re more productive, faster, and happier when using your computer. Choosing to use software that is designed with usability in mind will also help reduce distraction and frustration when you’re trying to create.

How do you reduce frustration when technology gets in your way? What are some areas where you need to improve? Share your tips and comments!

Ethan Waldman helps offline business owners create an online presence to get more customers. Right now, many people are using his free 4-day course, Pre-Sold & Hooked, to build a profitable and responsive email list for their businesses.

Click below to get Leo Babauta’s insanely useful report