It’s not just a cool name, it’s a very usable tool with some very unique features.As part of the “Daily Target Praxis” which leads you through a sequence of preparation for the day ahead in an fun and entertaining way, you list all the things that are part of the plan for the day – phone calls, appointments, errands, tasks, whatever – in an online format that’s clear and well…simple.

Once you complete the DTP in about fifteen minutes or so, you’ll have that list to refer to throughout the day. Click a little garbage can icon beside each item as you complete it and all that’s left is the rest of your list.

There’s also a place called Dream Catcher to stash those ideas and inspirations too good to forget yet dangerous to your current focus.

What I liked best – and I may just be easily impressed – is the Backward Planner feature in the Major Focus section. List all the steps needed to reach your desired goal and you’ll have a very handy reminder of each day’s tasks toward getting where you want to go.

There’s also the Browser Bodyguard, which I never used, and then there’s the Wimiki. Set up a block of work time on the Wimiki and get started. When the block of time is over, you stop…because it stops you. A pop-up announces that it’s break time, and you take a break, drink some water or walk the dog. Ready to get back to work? Reset the Wimiki and you’re ready to roll.

That’s why I like Simpleology. Simple to use and simply effective.

P.S. Oh, did I mention…it’s FREE??

There’s also a pretty good OFFline tool that’s worked for quite a few over quite a few years. It’s called a pen and paper.

From Ben Franklin’s famous pros and cons decision making process to mindmapping techniques now being taught to kindergarteners, the pen (or a handful of markers) when coupled with an ordinary piece of paper has proven itself one heck of a sword against the dragons of time, effort and distraction.

Personally, I’m a big fan of a three-tool approach – one black pen, one red marker and one or more sheets of plain white paper, preferably mounted on a clipboard. Maybe that’s FOUR tools. A legal pad is fine too.

I write what I intend to do that day on the paper with the black pen. Writing down too many things will scare the dickens out of you and then you won’t want to do anything on the list.  Three to five items is manageable.

Prevailing wisdom claims that listing the toughest and/or least enjoyable task first with the purpose of tackling it first will make every other item seem like cake, because you did the worst first.

I say do that if you can. If nothing else, it’s worth a real try. I’ve discovered that I still balk at doing the toughest task at the top of the list, but I know that if I don’t do it then or by the end of the day, it’ll be carried over to the next day anyway. After seeing it for a few days, it gets done even if mostly out of a sense of shame than anything else.

Now the best part…the red marker. When you finish a task on your three to five task list, resist the natural urge to scribble or cross it out with your black pen. Reach instead for that red marker.

There must be a scientific study or two somewhere about the benefits of this technique, but here’s how it goes. Pop the cap off your red marker and make one strong straight line all the way across the task you’ve written on your list. Don’t scribble and don’t be dainty. Draw it like you mean it.

(If you’ve got a nice broad-tipped red marker, so much the better!)

Doing that will produce the most “DONE” feeling you’ve ever experienced, aside from collapsing after that marathon ten years ago. Both you and your brain now know for a fact that you have completed that task and it felt good. Really good. Good enough to make you want to do it again. You and your brain also know that the feeling will only happen again if you actually complete another task and then do it.

Another benefit is that you and your brain will feel increasing amounts of that “DONE” feeling as you mark off each new item.

Want to keep that feeling going? Save those daily sheets with those beautiful red lines through those completed tasks for at least a week and even a month or more. That’s solid visual proof that you did something on the way to reach your goals.

Your habit of DOING will grow stronger every day!

Image from Wikipedia

I’m currently looking at getting my act a little more together, especially now when I’m also looking at shorter and fewer work days in the near future (and not always by my choice).

During this week, I’ll tell you about different things I’ve tried, some I may have just heard about andhaven’t tried and at least one thing I’ve tried that actually worked and did me some good.

A few will be computer-based and a few won’t.

If you have a fave productivity system/tool/resource that helped you keep the dreaded focus and time management monsters at bay, please mention them in a quick – or even not so quick – comment.

More from me tomorrow…got some time that needs managing right now!

Because I do know this firsthand, it really, really saddens me to see people do it so very WRONG. I’m long since past getting ticked off about these things, but it does bum me out.

Why? Because it’s totally UNnecessary to do these things! And also by doing these things, the people doing them risk lifelong explusion from some excellent potential resources not just of sales, but of knowledge and networking. All this stuff is loads easier when you’re not doing it alone, believe me.

OK, here goes:

1. Don’t spam.

Pretty obvious, right? But as both a moderator and a participant on forums, I see it all the time. Granted, some are the work of pro spammers working on a big bank of computers in some dingy basement in some dingy city in some dingy country.

Too often, and more than once is too often to me, this spam is produced by misguided and either mis- or ill-informed individuals who stick a “Me too!” or some other lame message repeated a billion times in a billion place. Sometimes many of those places are on different sections of the same forum. Soooo not cool, soooo not helpful, soooo not effective!

If ever the urge strikes you to do something even remotely spammy, smack yourself silly and give yourself a severe talking to when you wake up. Repeat as needed.

2. Don’t spam by private message either.

I’m a member of a couple of very well-known forums with almost legendary reputations and a few gazillion members. They have so darn many members that I don’t visit them often. How can I feel special with all those other people vying for attention too??

Every so often, I see a private message from one of these forums in my inbox. Usually, it’s obvious that it’s not from the forum administrator (the only one/ones that should be e-mail the entire member list), but from another “member” who apparently joined just to do this. They may honestly believe that this is the way forum marketing is done.

Ahhh…NO.

If you’re a forum member and you want to contact another member with a legitimate question or request, follow that forum’s rules for doing so. Converse, don’t bombard.

Which brings me oh-so-conveniently to my next point:

3. Don’t have nothing worthwhile to say.

The occasional “Attaboy!” or “You go, girl!” encouragement is fine as long as it’s not all you ever do. Your forum visits should be timed to avoid blowing half a day without realizing it, and you should have an objective for your visit. Are you there to ask a specific question? Answer a specific question? Conduct a targeted poll? Research problems and concerns of your target market or maybe clarify the same?

It’s incredibly easy to fall into a “hanging out” habit with forums. I know because I’ve done it myself. Save the hanging out for forums you frequent JUST for fun after work hours. Be there for a real reason while you’re on your own clock.

4. Don’t abuse your signature file.

These few hyperlinked characters at the end of your forum posts are what ultimately make money. They’re that little cyber-doorway for those curious and hopefully interested visitors to pass through.

Don’t lock them out with an over-the-top message!

“Make Megalicious Moolah By Monday!!!” or “Be A Bedroom God!!!” aren’t exactly enticing to most. Low key is juuuust a bit more inviting, like:

“How I Conquered My Acne In One Week”

No screaming, no exaggeration. You must be sure that the destination your visitor reaches tells them what you say it will, or that’ll be their last click on anything associated with you.

For more about the DOs of forum marketing, grab the first lesson, “Week 1: Forums” of Promote ANYTHING Online: Your Step-By-Step Online Marketing Action Plan now.

Sadly, I only managed to find and list a mere 20. Please accept my humblest apologies.

BUT…

I gave it a little more thought on my own over a particularly yummy plate of buffalo wings, with chunky blue cheese dressing and celery, of course. I do some of my best thinking while munching these little delicacies, but writing or typing at that time is a bit messy.

My hot sauce inspired revelation?

Sig lines.

That’s those little hyperlinked lines you set up in your forum and email profiles to send folks to whatever place you want to send them. Why not send them to your articles?

It’s a small and quick change to change one article link to another as you choose to keep them appropriate.

It’s also a nice way to provide good content that can lead into opt-ins and product sales. Unobtrusive, yet intriguing if you write your text to pique interest and not more hype to ignore.

For example, “Here’s Three Tips To A Tighter Tush” beats ” Get A Boffo Butt , Baby!!”

I’d certainly hope so, anyway…

Today’s tip relates somewhat to the previous one in which you set up a site dedicated solely to your own articles. We’ll take it a bit further…create your own article directory.

Sounds daunting, huh? You can create your own article directory more easily and quickly than you might think.

How does creating your own article directory benefit you? From revenue generated by Google AdSense or other contextual ad programs. That’s those little ads you see when you read articles on article directories.
You won’t retire to your own private island from the income, but it’s still money in your pocket AND another avenue for exposure of your own articles.

In addition, however, article directory owners can also earn money by setting up their own affiliate links and yes, links for your own products too. Apply a bit of discretion so that you don’t scare off other potential article posters in your niche.

As the owner of an article directory, there’s no worries about writing content, hiring ghost writers, or really anything to do with creating content. People with articles to post come to your site with their content they wrote and submit it to you to publish. Can’t beat that!

The more articles that people submit, the more of an “authority” your site becomes, and the search engines just love a nice authority site!

You can find inexpensive and even free article directory scripts online, such as Article Friendly. The people who supply these article directory scripts may even install it for your for free or for a very small fee. If they install it for free they may require that
you get hosting from a certain company.

Be sure you read all terms and condition first to avoid unwanted surprises later.

If you already have a collection of audio articles, this will be much easier. If you don’t, now’s as good a time as any to start!

Ready? Put those audio articles onto an mp3 player and either giveaway or sell the mp3 player. For instance, it could be the prize for a contest.

I have to admit, this is NOT something I ever would have thought of myself.

Oh sure, there’s the cost of the mp3 player and recording software (if you use a paid version), but the payoff is more opt-in subscribers/list members.
Heck, you could even request mailing addresses!

You’ll have to ship it to the winner or successful bidder or whatever anyway, and that could be any one of them.

Don’t sweat buying an iPod for this purpose – there’s plenty of good, inexpensive mp3 players for 50 dollars US or so. Try Amazon for mp3 players.

Even if the person who actually receives the mp3 player deletes your lovingly created content for U2 and GreenDay or maybe the Beatles and the Stones, the publicity and the opt-ins generated by it all will be more than worth it.

“Sounds” pretty good, doesn’t it??

One most people don’t think about is using article content as the basis for a press release.

Think about it now then. You write an article about something potentially newsworthy – a new product release, an event you’re attending or even better, hosting or a charity drive you’re supporting – and you post it in all the ways we’ve already discussed.

But have you considered posting it as a press release??

Press releases aren’t really so scary and all official as you might think. These days, press releases have become more another way to list your content on major directories than a way to get actual press coverage. By using keywords as you would with regular articles, your submission is indexed on the search engines in much the same way as it is on other directories.

Now don’t feel blue if the New York Times doesn’t feature your piece on the front page. Press releases are an excellent tool for gaining exposure right in your own backyard in your local paper. You can contact a real live reporter who’s hungry for some real live news of interest to their readers to get things going.

A good starting place is PRWeb. There are many other press release services and many very good, but this is considered the best. They even help you write it.

You could even be asked for an interview and appear on the front page of your local paper. Take THAT, New York Times!!

In my humble opinion, you’ll find the best and most fun info of all about writing and distributing your press release in the Promote ANYTHING Online: Your Online Marketing Action Planecourse, along with the basics of several other major methods of online promotion including article marketing.

Humbly speaking, that is.

The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that video is actually more than one format. There’s screenshot video as well as motion picture video. So if the mere thought of making a worldwide screen debut makes you break out, never fear…options are here!

There’s a number of cool services (some free, some paid) that help you produce high quality video content that doesn’t require poking a little camera in your own face.

Here’s just a few offhand:

Screencast.com

Animoto.com

Camtasia.com

Remember that Powerpoint presentation? Record yourself discussing each slide and voila! You’ve got a video for all the world, or at least the part that interests you, can see. Without it seeing you.

If you’re ready for that big debut, there’s several good little video cameras to help for also-little money:

Pocket Video Cameras

True, you may experience a bit of a learning curve at first, but don’t let that stop you. And also don’t believe that “good” video of any kind must be loooong video. As a matter of fact, short is best!

Not only is it best, it’s easiest to boot. Would you really want to keep someone engaged in what you’re doing for a half an hour? An hour??

There’s no shortage of places to put your finished product, either. It’s not just YouTube anymore!

There’s also:

Viddler

Vimeo

Google Video

Metacafe

literally just to name a few. For even more try typing “video directories” into Google’s search box – exactly like that, quotation marks and all.

Video is here to stay and will only get easier with improvements in technology. Smile!

The online and offline worlds are about to merge.

You can benefit (read “profit”) from this phenomenon by taking action today.

This week, a revolutionary new site called Cagora begins its pre-launch phase.

What is Cagora and why should you care?

Cagora (based on the Greek word “Agora”, which means “gathering place”) is the years-in-the-making brainchild of Rob Anderson and his team. After speaking with Rob last week, I was left literally stunned by the kind of potential contained in this unique opportunity.

After spending one late night and one very early morning this weekend reading, listening and watching the Community Land Rush informational materials and exploring the Cagora site, I’m impressed. A little dazed and probably still with a question or two, but most definitely impressed. Cagora WILL be big, no doubt, and so is the potential it holds for you right now.

A Community Land Rush?

Cagora is the blending of social networking and local search, like a recipe containing Google, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, and the Yellow Pages. You’ll find information broken down by geographical locations, businesses, niches, etc. On your community page, you’ll find links to businesses and people in your area of the world, all the way down to your own hometown.

Cagora is by the community and for the community. It’s built and grown by community members who ultimately benefit. Cagora shares a piece of the profit pie with not only members, but also local non-profit organizations and charities. I don’t know of anyone else doing anything like this, do you?

Don’t wonder about it, check out Cagora yourself.

Staking your claim in the Community Land Rush

When you join as a free member during the pre-launch, you also become an affiliate before the rest of the crowd. As an affiliate, you’ll earn commissions on any money ever spent by anyone you refer, whether product purchases or advertising bought. Become a Community Partner and you’ll earn even more and more quickly.

That’s the Community Land Rush part: you can purchase Virtual Real Estate and become a Community Partner in your area. You CAN, but it’s not required. Community Partners earn a higher rate of commission, which means more potential to earn more money.

This is really some pretty wild stuff. You can be part of the blending of the online and offline that goes beyond any merging of Facebook, YouTube and the rest into the “real” world. Not only that, but earn money as it grows!

I strongly suggest you stake your claim in Cagora’s Community Land Rush. The pre-launch window is only open until mid-March, and you don’t have to spend a penny. Become an affiliate and profit from the coming growth.

The alternative: Look back a year from now and kick yourself, the way I did by not becoming involved in Twitter when I first heard of it. (In case you didn’t know, donations to my annual autism research fundraiser tripled when I used Twitter to promote it.) Cagora goes way beyond that.

Do it now OR regret not doing it later.