So many people I know sit down at their desks and mess around for an hour or two – reading news or catching up on email. Others grab a cup of joe and jump right into the project they left on Friday.

If you’re in business for yourself, mornings are often crucial to your workday. A well-spent morning can often mean the difference between a productive workday and not.

But what about Mondays?

Over the years I’ve tried lots of ways to get the most out of Mondays. I’ve tried to do first things first or focused on getting done that one thing that’s most important. I’ve taken a relaxed approach to Monday and have jumped right into working. I’ve even used techniques like visualization or meditation to try to set the tone for my week.

Many of the things I tried were helpful. Sometimes I’d jump right into the most important project of the week and try to get as much done as I could. This would be great because it would set up the week for me to make lots of headway on a project.

But nothing I tried was really setting me up for success – either for Mondays or for my week. So I sat down one Monday morning and forgot about getting things done. Instead, I decided to focus on how I wanted my days and my weeks to look. How did I want to manage my client’s needs, their projects, their communications with my needs to continue to develop and grow my business?

I looked in many directions. What I realized was that I’m most effective when I’m clear about what I need to get done. I keep a pretty good log of where I am on each project and where my client’s are in their process so that’s seldom been a problem.

What was a problem was decerning when to do what.

So I decide that every Monday morning I would take the first 60-90 minutes of the day and lay out my week. I started by looking at deadlines and comparing the progress on each client’s work I was doing. Then I started placing what needed to get done for the week into which days I needed or wanted to accomplish the next pieces for my clients. Then I leave those project parts attached to those days – and move on (I organize the day for 15-30 minutes each morning).

After I have a rough roadmap of my week, I then turn to Monday in general. Monday’s I seldom schedule calls with clients. I use Mondays to do various task that are important to my business – like accounting. I also use Mondays to working directly on my own business – where my business is my client. While I do work on my business throughout the week, I often don’t have as much time to work in blocks as I make on Mondays. This way, I make time for my business to grow and develop.

So for me, Monday mornings are all about setting some organization for the week. This has been so effective for me that I’m wasting less time and getting more done each week – which means more client work getting done – which overall means generating more revenue.

So how do you make your Monday mornings most effective?

(note: image from Teo on Flickr)

Most of the time the coaches give me answers that have to do with getting more traffic to my website, getting more people on my list or getting enough coaching clients. The interesting thing is even my other clients – healers, therapists, authors and other service providers – give me similar answers.

While it true that as a life coach you may need more traffic to your coaching website or you need more coaching clients in your practice, it may not be the most pressing problem in your coaching business. And often, getting more traffic to your coaching website isn’t.

But for most of my coaching clients, the most pressing problem can be elusive. This is because usually the most pressing problem in your business has nothing to do with your marketing or generating traffic to your coaching website. Rather it usually has to do with how you actually DO your business.

Think about it for a moment.

Let’s say I could triple the number of contacts you get from your coaching website in the next month (which is possible, by the way). What would happen? Could you actually manage having that many more potential coaching clients contacting you about your coaching services? How effectively would you be at converting these potential clients into actual coaching clients? Or would you end up dropping the ball on a whole bunch of your potential clients?

If you’re like most life coaches I’ve spoken with, you likely believe that more people contacting you means more coaching clients paying you.

Yet, that’s not always the case. More often than not, you need to prepare yourself, your business, your business processes and your coaching practice for this sort of growth. So you need to know how to deal with such a large influx of potentially new coaching clients. Which means to continue to have a successful coaching practice you must have solid systems in place to manage these sorts of situations.

Now how these systems get created is neither difficult nor overly complex. It’s simply a matter of knowing what your business problems are and what you need to do about them in order to grow your coaching practice. After that, you simply figure out how to adjust your already existing business practices to support the growth. But if you don’t make adjustments to how you do things, the growth you experience will likely not be significant and will almost certainly not be sustainable. So if you want to get more clients in your coaching practice, you must consider how you’ll handle not only the coaching sessions, but all the things that happen to gain that coaching client.

So as a life coach, how do figure out what your most pressing business problems are?

The easiest way is through Reverse engineering. Start with the end result. Consider what challenges you’d face if you had double, or even triple, the number of people contacting you about your coaching services, for instance.

Another way to find your most pressing problems is think about the task in your coaching business that you least enjoy doing. It’s pretty likely that you’ll find some issues there. For instance, there was a timein my own business when invoicing my clients was a pain for me. Of course, it presented a huge problem for me that I dreaded doing the thing that got me paid. So I had to look at this and find a new way to invoice my clients – a way that would be easier and much less time-consuming. I found my invoicing solution and now I can invoice clients so quickly and easily that I rarely even think about it, let alone dread it.

So you want to look for the things that aren’t working in doing your business. Find the holes in your coaching practice and fill them. To fill those holes, start thinking in reverse and consider what you’re doing well, don’t enjoy or simply don’t know how to do. Start there. Consider all the steps along the way. Write it all down, turn it upside down and now you’ve got the outline for a plan. Focus on the issue closest to where you are now, and you likely have, at least one of, your most pressing business problem.

Plan your coaching practice for success

We so often tell our coaching clients to plan for success. Why couldn’t that mean imagine the success you want and work backward to where you are today? It’s a little secret – and it works!

What is the most pressing problem in your coaching practice? In your business? And what are you doing about it?

Let’s talk about it!

note: image from tashland on Flickr, some rights reserved)

Most methods for productivity include making various to-do lists of the things you want and need to get done. Whether it’s David Allen, Stephen Covey or Jerry Seinfeld, everyone suggests making lists.

But do you ever find that your lists keep growing? Or do you get discouraged looking at a never-ending list of stuff that needs to get done? Or worse, do you find yourself not getting things done because you’re overwhelmed by your to-do list? So, what happens when your to-do lists start doing you?

What happens when the to-do lists you make begin getting in the way of actually getting things done?

Personally, I make lists all the time. I live by lists. While I’m not a fan of Getting Things Done, I do appreciate and use some of David Allen’s approaches. For instance, I do write my to-do lists in order of urgency. I also get the things done immediate that will only take a few moments so they never end up on a list in the first place. And one of the more helpful suggestions I’ve taken from GTD is getting everything out of my head and onto a list so that my mind isn’t tied up remembering things.

But to-do lists can take over your business – and your life. They can grow out of control, making it difficult, even overwhelming to getting things done. Just spend a few days writing down all the business ideas and tasks you face and you’ll quickly see what I mean. How could you possibly get all that done.

Well, in truth, you’re not supposed to get all that done. What you’re supposed to do is get all that stuff out of your head and onto to-do lists so that it’s not taking up mental space in your mind. But the second function of to-do lists is being able to sort what needs to be done, what should get done and what could get done:

• What needs to get done – These are the items on your to-do list that are essential. Either they are the next step in a project for a client or the development of a course or product. Or they are any item that must get done as soon as possible.
• What should get done – These are the items on your to-do list that do need attention, just not immediately. This list is sort of a master list that stores everything that I will eventually need to get done. I create a to-do list for each part of my life – work, home remodeling, personal projects, etc. It’s from this to-do list that items move to the ‘needs to be done’ to-do list. For instance, the next ‘must do’ steps in my client work.
  note: I’m realizing only as I write this that this to-do list is the master to-do list for my business (never thought about it this way before). It holds the full picture for all my client and project work. So, in essence, this is is rather large and segmented by project. It’s also the most dynamic to-do list since items are constantly coming and going.
• What could get done – The items on this to-do list are more larger, big vision-type items. It could be an idea for a new product or service or some brainstorm of a joint venture I want to look at. Basically, this is a list of the items that are not necessary in my day-to-day/week-to-week work load.

These three basic to-do lists make up the bulk of how I work. The ‘needs to get done’ to-do list is where my immediate action steps live. This is my ‘gotta get it done now’ list. I look at it multiple times daily and often only do the items that are on this list. I usually try to build this list out on Monday mornings to be done for the whole week.

As I mentioned, the ‘should get done’ to-do list is my master list. As items are completed on my ‘need to get done’ list, new items from the ‘should get done’ list move up to become ‘need to get done’ items. For example, the once one step in a project is completed, the next step on that project moves from ‘should be done’ to ‘needs to be done.’ I go through this list on Monday mornings, again on Wednesday and then near the end of the day on Friday – making sure the right items are being promoted.

The ‘could get done’ to-do list, for me, is where I house all my ideas, brainstorms, brain dumps, and creative thoughts. Often it holds the overall vision of my business. Since I vision on my business a lot, a few times a week, actually, this to-do list tends to also become a development ground for ideas and new directions before it officially becomes a project. If you saw this list, it’s often mind maps, outlines and sketches.

The flow of all these to-do items is what keeps my to-do lists working for me. These days I seldom find myself in a situation where my to-do list is doing me. Instead, I get things done – in an orderly, efficient and effective way.

What do you do to get things done? Is there a method that you’ve found works best for you – if so, what? And where is the biggest gap in your to-do list system?

Let’s talk about it…

(note: image from alykat on Flickr)

I’ve found a lot of business owners have one thing in common – they think they can do everything themselves.

Feel that way? After all, you’ve built your business from the ground up. That didn’t require much help, right? Sure, you may have gotten some marketing help or worked with a web designer. And it’s likely you’re using an accountant. But basically, when it comes to the daily workings of your business, you probably go at it alone, right?

Yet running a business requires you managing and completing a whole bunch of tasks that have little to do with your expertise.

For instance, if your a business coach shouldn’t your time be spent working directly with prospects and clients? Or even better, planning how to increase your business to reach your revenue goals?

Yet if you look at your daily workload, how much of it is spent doing things that have little or nothing to do with either growing your business or working with clients? Likely quite a bit.

Let’s see, most business owners push around paper, set appointments, do their own billing, sort and answer all their own emails and phone calls, manage content updates on their website, act as a editor for their marketing message, do their own promotion, manage their own marketing campaigns – and the list goes on and on.

Aren’t these the tasks that business executives hire assistants to do?

Why should you be any different? If you own your business, you’re the executive. So why don’t you have an assistant? Why aren’t you working with an assistant who can take some of the daily work off your desk and out of your computer so that you can be freed up to spend more time developing and growing your business?

That’s where a virtual assistant can help out. Virtual meaning they don’t have to come to your office to do work for you. Rather, they can sit hundreds and thousands of miles away and take some of the load out of your workday.

A virtual assistant is not an employee but rather a contracted worker. That means you don’t have many of the expenses of hiring a someone into your business. Instead, you get all the benefits of having an assistant with minimal costs. Often, you can find a good virtual assistant for $15-$40 per hour.

So what can a virtual assistant do for you? Just about anything. I’ve found virtual assistants often have more than office skills. Some are accountants, web designers, graphics artists, copy writers, and have marketing backgrounds. They key is to find a VA who has you can build a relationship with and who has the skills you need.

How to find a virtual assistant? Start with a referral from someone you know who’s using one. Or, check out The VA Network, A Virtual Resume, VA4U, Virtual Assistant U, or Assist U’s VA Registry. There’s many directories out there. Or, simply Google virtual assistant + whatever skills you need. Of course, referrals work best.

Whenever I advise my clients of hiring a VA, I always get the same response – ‘I don’t know what a VA could do for me.’ Don’t worry about it. Contact a few. Do a few interviews. Find someone you’re comfortable with. Begin by giving them a small amount of work to do. Then, as you learn about each other, ask them more about what they can do to take work off your desk. They’re going to know much better what they can do for you then what you need them to do. In this case, they’re the experts.

So are you using a virtual assistant now? What’s your experience been like?

And if not, what’s keeping you from hiring out those mundane daily tasks that keep you from being more creative and productive in your business? I’d love to know…

(note: image from NotMarkAgain on Flickr)

Yet each part of your business needs a plan and a structure to get accomplished. And how you get accomplish your plan is just as important as what you try to accomplish. That’s why productivity is so important.

So, thanks to Ben Yoskovitz’s efforts a short time ago, we have 137 ways to increase your productivity. There’s some great tips here. So take a look and let me know what you think.

1. Increase Productivity by Conquering Procrastination by Gia Combs-Ramirez
2. Ultimate Tip To Reach GTD Nirvana by Andrew Flusche
3. Productivity Secrets Project by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
4. Maximizing Productivity by Ah Pek
5. Thoughts on Productivity by Rowan Manahan
6. Being more Productive with your Marketing Efforts by Chris Brown
7. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Don The Idea Guy
8. 5 Productivity Tips That Help by Brett Evans
9. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Sue Olson
10. Productivity Tip for Students (From the Other Side of the Fence) by ispf
11. There’s only one secret to increased productivity by Colleen Wainwright
12. 8 Productivity Tips to Take Control of Your Life by Krista
13. Choices Are Made Long Before You Decide – Productivity Tips by Jonathan
14. Up Your Productivity and Profits too! by Andrew Wee
15. Meme Tagged, Meme Slayer…I Give In by Wayne Porter
16. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Janet Barclay
17. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Lorraine Pirihi
18. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Kathie Thomas
19. 14 Tips to Get More Done in Less Time by engtech
20. Work-Life Balance and Productivity by David Bohl
21. My Contribution to the Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Harrison
22. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Wendy Piersall
23. How Productivity Comes From Clarity by Adam Kayce
24. How To Stay Focused For Greater Productivity by Dawud Miracle
25. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity – Wanna Share One Big Secret? by Ponn Sabra
26. My Productivity Secret – The Joy of Flow State by Chris Garrett
27. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity – MomGadget Style by Gayla McCord
28. If you don’t have passion and purpose, greater productivity won’t help you! by Alister Cameron
29. Building a Home Business One Weekend At a Time by Tony Clark
30. Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project by Jennifer Louden
31. Be Aware, Make Choices by Alex Fayle
32. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Digging into the Blogpond
33. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity meme by Doris
34. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by KM
35. Ultimate Guide to Productivity for Adult ADD Sufferers by Deborah Petersen
36. How to become a Productivity Super Hero who Rights Wrongs, Saves the Environment, and Rescues Cats from Trees by Aaron Potts
37. Zugunruhe Ultimate Guide to Productivity: Time Budgets by Tara Robinson
38. What Are Your Secrets For Personal Productivity by Lisa Mills
39. Blogging Productivity & Criticizing Goals by Andy Beard
40. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity – what’s your secret? by The Kiss Business
41. Tag! Productivity – how do you get so much done? by Mark Silver
42. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: My Secret by Ellen Moore
43. Technology Could Be Your Best Friend – Or Not by Jonathan
44. 100 Ways To Be More Productive by UKStevieB
45. Secrets to Productivity by Tara
46. 7 Productivity Hacks for Bloggers & Writers by Kim Roach
47. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: My Tip by Cristine Favreau
48. Blogging and Productivity by Daniel
49. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity – Systems Check by Beth Dargis
50. How can you squeeze more out of your day by Rebecca Morgan
51. Being productive (and mean) by Kim Kotecki
52. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project by Bonnie Gillespie
53. Best Productivity Tip: Disable Your Inner-Critic by David Wahl
54. 20 Steps to Maximize Your Productivity by Daniel Sitter
55. Tips on Productivity – How to Achieve Your Goal of Making Money Online by Maki
56. Prioritizing Your To-Do List by Deborah Brown
57. My Two Cents on Productivity by Asgeir Hoem
58. Five top tips for increasing your productivity by Aaron Russell
59. I have Clarity…Now Let me Explain by Martin Neumann
60. Ultimate guide to productivity: My tip by Julie Fleming-Brown
61. Secrets to Personal Productivity by The Practical Chick
62. Secrets to Productivity by Randa Clay
63. Productivity Tip by Jenn Givler
64. Productivity Tip – Just Start by Andrew Garrett
65. My Key To Productivity by Matt McDonald
66. How Productive Are You? by Tish
67. Time management for graphic designers by Rob Cubbon
68. Productivity Tips 2.0 by Stephen
69. My Most Powerful Productivity Tip by Ellesse
70. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Ian McKenzie
71. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by GTD Wannabe
72. The ultimate productivity tip by Matthew Cornell
73. My single best tip for productivity by Brett Kelly
74. My Key to Productivity by Andrew Barbaccia
75. Blog Even More Efficiently by Scott Hartshorn
76. The Greatest Productivity Tip in the World by Gary Vaughan
77. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project by Joy Slaughter
78. Single Best Productivity Tip by Leo
79. Join the Ultimate Guide to Productivity by JC
80. My top productivity tip by Steven Aitchinson
81. The Greatest Productivity Tip in the World by Phil Gerbyshak
82. Virtual Assistants and Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Key Business Partners
83. Ultimate Guide to Productivity (My First Meme) by Geoff R.
84. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity – What’s your secret? by Mary Ann Copson
85. Continuously Increase Productivity by Embracing the Optimization Mentality by John Wesley
86. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity — What’s Your Secret? by Derrick Sorles
87. Instigator Blog: Productivity Tips by Mitch Owen
88. The Childlike Secret to Productivity by Kim & Jason
89. Just Do Something, Already by Lorna
90. Productivity Secrets by Angela Smith
91. Maintaining Productivity In The Midst Of Interruptions by Lexi Sundell
92. The Key to Dunking Your Doubts and Unclogging Your Optimism by Adam Kayce
93. A Nice Collection of Productivity Ideas by Dan Markovitz
94. My Ultimate Guide To Productivity by Vlad
95. A stupidly simple way to have a productive day by Jonny
96. My Secret to Productivity is Not Really a Secret by Char Polanosky
97. Tag, I’m It! by Christina Haas
98. Challenge Your Brain for Productivity – 5 MITA Steps by Robyn McMaster
99. My Ultimate Productivity Tip: Unplug! by Hugh Hollowell
100. 10 Ways Communicators Can Stay Productive by Nonprofit Communications
101. One Is A Productive Number by Carolyn Manning
102. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: To-Do Lists by Tonya
103. The art of getting things done by Vernon Lun
104. The Greatest Productivity Secret Of Them All by Roger Carr
105. Productivity Tips for Writers by Yvonne Russell
106. A Housewife on Steroids by GP
107. Single Best Productivity Tip by Susan Sabo
108. How To Organize Your Desktop to Boost Productivity by Anthony
109. Productivity Group Writing Project by Vickie Turley
110. What’s Your Greatest Productivity Secret? by World Wanting Peace
111. Get More by Doing Nothing by Lyman Reed
112. Productivity Group Writing Project by Karen Del-Marmol
113. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Jeff Simon
114. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: My Tip by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson
115. What is my secret to being productive? by Sunny Days
116. What’s my top productivity tip? by Tracey Lawton
117. The Greatest Productivity Tip in the World by Alex Brie
118. Number 1 productivity tip by Shannon
119. Productivity: Snooze It or Lose It by Connie Reece
120. Automation: My Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Alaeddin
121. Meme Week: My Secret to Productivity by Mark Goodyear
122. Cutting Out the Bull: Information Overload and Productivity by David Bohl
123. Fear – The Ultimate Productivity Blocker by Shaboom
124. Ultimate Guide to Productivity: A Tip the Worx by In The Worx
125. What productivity? by Paul Enderson
126. The Tale of the Gnawing Scrimshanks by Zep Hopper
127. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by J David Macor
128. Making The Most Of Your Productive Time by Winterbride
129. Passion and Productivity by PixelHead Online
130. Secrets to Being Productive by Dan
131. The Key to Productivity: Immediate Deadlines and Mini-Goals by Renita T. Kalhorn
132. Being Productive Online by Charity Ondriezek
133. The Key To Being Productive by Robert Hruzek
134. Productivity Hint? NO! by Annie Boccio
135. 25 Ways to be Jazzed about Productivity by Liz Strauss
136. Productivity Tips by Lillie Ammann
137. Tips for increasing productivity by Sera Strawbridge

(my tip is #24).

So what’s your favorite productivity tip? And certainly feel free to share your productivity tips in the comment box.

(note: image from pingui75 on Flickr)

For a moment, imagine the mountain of voicemail, email and blog posts I came back too.

The first few days I was back in my office, I have to say, were overwhelming. It took me almost an entire day to just to listen too, make notes on and begin wading through all the voicemail.

And email…do I even need to go down that road? I hadn’t checked my email at all in three weeks, at one point. That stretch, alone, left me with 1,500 messages to sort through – not including spam. I started sweating as I watched the number of new messages keep climbing in my various inboxes and folders. Needless to say, I didn’t even try to get through them. All told, I had thousands of messages waiting for me when I returned. Not through them all yet.

Then, there’s the 190 or so feeds I regularly follow in my reader.

I’m usually quite judicious at going through my reader; looking for the most interesting and useful post titles. When open my reader daily, it takes me less than an half-hour to scan and partially read all the posts on 190 feeds. But that’s usually a few hundred.

What do you think happened when I didn’t check my reader in a month? Same as email…but worse. Thousands of posts sitting unread in my feed reader. I know some of them have to be great. I know that some of them have to be helpful. What’s more, I know reading some of them would help me as a blogger and a business owner.

But there’s just no way I have the time to wade through all those posts to find the jewels.

My option…just not read any of them. Let them all go. Mark them all as read. What I missed, I missed. Simple as that.

I does pain a bit. But I guess that’s just comes from being afraid I’ll miss out on something amazing. And, well, I haven’t really. Information that’s that good will be back around. And I’ve certainly not missed out on the important things…like family.

Anyhow, when you’ve gotten way behind, what have you done to catch up? Have you slogged the mountain of email and lived to tell about it? How?

I guess it must because it just keeps increasing. And not only increasing, but it’s getting harder to spot – especially for those of us who often get a lot of comments and get a lot of spam.

Take a look at this image. Look at it closely.

Looks like a benign comment at first glance, right? But look closely at the text in the next image:

Notice all the little blue underlines under some of the characters? Each one of those is a link. Hard to see, huh? And if you weren’t looking for them, you might think this is a legitimate comment and let it through.

But it’s not a legitimate comment – it’s spam. All told, this comment had more than 25 links in it. It’s just, as you can see, they’re under individual characters – making them hard to spot at a glance.

This comment spam thing is a real pain in the rear. Darren Rowse even wrote about the cost of comment spam to our blogging. Can you imagine how much spam Problogger or Scobleizer get?

That’s why I’m siding with Lorelle:

You cannot stop comment spam on your blog…Comment spam can only be stopped when comment spammers are stopped. The efforts you make on your blog only stop comment spam from reaching the public eye.

…I’ve put out a call repeatedly to bloggers (read her post on The Blog Herald) to use the power of their blogging voices to put an end to the rewards of being a comment spammer. We need to put comment spammers out of business. Anyone listening?

As a united voice, I believe that the same creativity and sense of community spirit that built MyBlogLogs, MySpace, FaceBook, and Digg can put their energy into stopping the virus that infects all of us.

We know what spam bots do and can watch their behavior. I agree with Lorelle, we can’t stop spamming unless we stop spammers. So what can we do about it? Any ideas? Know anyone who might have an idea?

Being a Mac user I hardly ever think about Internet Explorer except when I’m coding and testing websites. Primarily I use Camino (love it) and Safari (now available for Windows). Sometimes I open Firefox, though most for StumbleUpon. And I really love OmniWeb’s thumbnail tabs. And, of course, I didn’t mention probably the best browser I don’t use much – Opera. Okay, maybe I have a bit of an obsession, but each of these have some great features that the others don’t.

But most people, however, don’t use multiple browsers. They choose one browser and stay with it. And it appears more and more people are choosing Firefox.

And that’s exactly what my stats in Google Analytics showed me this morning. Two-thirds of all my site visitors this year are using Firefox. And less than one-third are using Internet Explorer.

Now I do have a bit higher rate of Mac users – around 12%, but that certainly doesn’t account for the huge percentage of Firefox users.

What I’m thinking is that a large number of bloggers use Firefox. Why? And why are so few using Internet Explorer? And what does this say about browser trends?

An article from Popular Science that I saw predicts that by 2009Â Firefox’s market share could be as high as 50%. When I read it I thought, “no way.” But looking at my stats makes me think otherwise.

Then I found a post from PC World reporting that Firefox’s market share in Europe is nearing 30% – almost double the U.S. market share.

Does it matter?

I’m not sure. But maybe you know. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

What browser is most used in visiting your site?Â

According to Tim Ferriss, that’s what the The 4-Hour work Week is all about.

Yesterday I was talking to my good friend Adam Kayce and he asked me if I’d read the book yet. I said no and that I had no plans too since I thought the book was all hype. I mean, who can really work a 4 hour work week?

So he suggested I watch Scoble’s interview with Tim Ferriss. Of course, being the Scoble fan I am, I had to watch it. And it turns out I was wrong. There’s some real depth to what Tim Ferriss is sharing.

I also watched a few other videos where Tim Ferriss makes a compelling statement around our information overload:

There is an epidemic, and I do mean epidemic, in this country of information abuse and information addiction where people have come to believe that checking email 200 times per day, having a Blackberry to your head or in your hand while you’re at dinner, or on the subway, in the car, with your friends is the path to becoming more productive and more successful.

Being someone that works inside information and its distribution for a living – I agree completely. There is far – I mean far, far, far, far – more information coming at us than we can possibly process.

One of his tips…check your email only twice a day – but not first thing in the morning. Why? Because often you’ll check your email and get stuck working on something that’s unexpected and perhaps not as important as the one to two most important things you need to do for the day.

Think about it. How many times does it happen that you sit down with your daily to do list, only to be derailed by some ‘emergency’ email that must be handled. Happens to me, I know that. And it can sometimes derail my plan for the day. Not a great way to get things done, huh?

So Tim recommends checking and responding to your email twice a day – once just before lunch and a once near the end of the day – where people are less likely to respond unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I’ve had to go a step further. I shut down my email client all together when I’m not actively checking email AND I close my feed reader. I’ve found that both can be great distractions to getting my work done.

Watch the video – it’s definitely worth it. If you want more, read interviews with Tim Ferris from Darren Rowse or LifeHacker, . Or reviews by Dave Seah or John Murch. I’m going to go buy the book.

What do you think? Can you check your email only twice per day?