Hard to believe, but it’s true.

Normally, I post almost daily. But this is my first post in a week. WOW! And you know what, the blogosphere didn’t curl up and wither away without me.

Not only did it continue without me, it seems to be thriving. Just going by my own traffic stats and comments, I still had healthy activity on my blog during my absence (thanks, by the way).

I know, I know….what amazing, exciting adventure did I have that kept me away from my blog for almost a week?

I can’t tell all the details, but it had something to do with a birthday (mine), seeing an old friend (my spiritual teacher), celebrating the coming birth of our third child (4 weeks away), getting out of the construction zone (kitchen remodel) and swimming (my daughter now firmly believes she’s a frog).

Funny thing, I purposely didn’t take my laptop because I didn’t want to be tempted to work too much. I had all intentions of blogging from the business center at the Embassy Suites we stayed at. However, it was closed for remodeling - something I didn’t think about asking before we booked. So, no computer access….no blogging. And yet without me, the blogosphere continued.

Just goes to show me that while I sometimes believe I live at the center of the universe, the truth is I’m orbiting something much bigger than me.

It was a nice break. But now, as they say, back to work.

I love to read. Yet being a solopreneur, a husband, a father, a constructrion worker (I’ve just gutted our kitchen), a friend, etc - it’s hard to find time to read as much as I’d like.

So Doug Karr helped me out yesterday when he posted about the book, The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz & Don Jose Luis Ruiz.

From the book’s back cover: The Four Agreements…“reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom: true happiness and love”

Sounds pretty powerful, huh? So, then, what are the Four Agreements?

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
4. Always Do Your Best

Of course, this is great advice for life in general. It’s great advice for marriage, parenting and all relationships.

Which is why I immediately thought about it as a conversational blogger publisher. For me, each are essential for creating conversation and building relationships with you…

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
   Simple, mean what you say. Don’t lie, cheat or steal. And above all, be honest - even when it hurts a little.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
   I do my best to share myself through my blog. But truly you’ll only really know me when we build a personal, long-term friendship.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
   I try not to make assumptions about anyone who comments on my blog. Rather, I look at each comment as a chance to get to know a person a little better.
4. Always Do Your Best
   I don’t always write absolutely killer posts - I know that. But even the ones that aren’t interesting, I still tried to do the best I could in the moment - and I’m happy with the effort.

Aren’t these great? Simple, yet powerful concepts.

I’ve not (yet) read the book. I may. Though there’s many books already on my reading list. If you’re interested in the book, here are some reviews I found:

• Book Review - The Four Agreements - Your Key To Inner Transformation! at Matrimony Express
  
• The Four Agreements - Don Miquel Ruiz at Erica’s Reviews
  
• Book Review: The Four Agreements (links to another site for review)
• The Four Agreements by Don Miquel Ruiz at Gather
  
• The Four Agreements at Pencil Pushin’
  
• The Four Agreements at Dwell On These Things
• The Four Agreements at The Clinton Review
• The Four Agreements at Viva Las Vegas

So you know a bit of what I think. What I’d really like to know is what you think. How do you see each/any of the four agreements as essential (or nonessential) to being a conversational blogger?

I almost never work on the weekends. And I rarely work in the evening. So, then, how do I manage to remain a thriving solopreneur? How do I get my work done on time and under budget? Simple (mostly) through good productivity practices.

I have a number of processes that help me keep a stable and productive workflow. Yet I’m always looking for better and more efficient ways to run my business.

So is Ben Yoskovitz. But he wants to help all of us with our productivity. That’s why he’s instigated (sorry Ben, couldn’t resist) the Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project Meme.

Ben kicked it off by tagging Alister Cameron, Adam Kayce, Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Andrew Wee, David Armano, Tony Clark, Mike Sansone and Chris Cree. As of tonight, Adam and Andrew have responded with some solid tips. I’d love to hear from everyone else Ben’s tagged.

You’re probably wondering how did I get here then? Well, Adam tagged me along with Dave Schoof, Char, Chris Garrett, and Karin H. H. Each should have some great feedback.

So are you ready to hear one of the ways I stay highly productive?

Focus. No, not you - if you’re reading you’re focused enough. My productivity tip is focus. For every 60 minutes of the workday, I stay micro focused for 50 minutes. Then I get out of my chair, away from my computer and out of my office for 8 minutes (give or take). The remaining two minutes I settle back down in my chair, look over my next todos and look at what I can accomplish in the next 50 minutes. Then I’m off to the races again.

During my 50 minutes of focus, I do nothing except what is on my todo list. If I’m writing code, I code for 50 minutes. If I’m returning phone calls, I do that for 50 minutes. If I’m writing a blog post, I do that for only 50 minutes. I keep a timer running in the background with an alarm so I don’t have to watch the clock.

This sounds similar to what Ben suggested about working in bursts. I take a bit different approach then being single tasked for a length of time. For me it’s all about how much I can get done in 50 minutes. Like Ben, I stay focused to one task at a time. But if I complete that task in under 50 minutes, I move on to the next task that needs to be done. Sometimes I can get dozens of tasks done in 50 minutes. Sometimes, like with coding and styling a website, I may work an entire day at 50 minute intervals. They key, for me, is in working uninterrupted for 50 minutes.

Also, during the 50 minutes I don’t answer the phone, I shut down my email client and turn off my feed reader. I minimize all programs that don’t directly relate to my task at hand. Not answering the phone and shutting down my mail client are TWO MAJOR KEYS to making this work.

So when do I answer email or return phone calls? Well, that happens in its own 50 minute block. As does scheduling coaching and consulting sessions with clients. I just don’t do these things during a 50 minute block where they’re not included.

One other trick to this…you have to walk away for the 8 minutes. Regardless of how little or much you’ve gotten done, stop at 50 minutes. Walk away. And then come back. That short break every hour has helped me stay even more focused during my 50 minute blocks. And, I find that I’m more refreshed at the end of the day.

So that’s it. This process has probably increased my productivity two fold, minimum. Probably more.

To summarize…

1. Begin with a clear task list for the day based on all the projects you have going on (I’ll let someone else tackle creating task lists)
2. Work through your task list in 50 minute intervals. Remain highly focused on the one task you’re working on.
3. If you complete your task in less time, move on to the next one. If not, stop at 50 minutes anyhow and pick up where you left off in the next interval.
4. At the end of 50 minutes - stop what you’re working on. Get away from your work, leave your computer/office for 8 minutes. Get some water, do something completely unrelated to work. Breathe…
5. After 8 minutes (or so) return to your office and spend the remaining two minutes preparing for the next 50 minute interval.
6. Repeat.

So now it’s time for me to tag some folks I’d love to hear from. I’m tagging Dave Taylor, Liz Strauss, David Airey, Ted Demopolous, Andy Beard, Mike Sansone (again), Edward Mills, Drew McLellan, Valeria Maltoni, Sarah Lewis, Doug Karr, Easton Ellsworth, Aaron Potts, and David Armano.

I’d love to hear feedback on anyone else who’s using or trying this method of working. It’s worked great for me.

I’d also love to hear your ideas for improving on it or adding to it with other productivity tips. So please, share your thoughts, ideas and tips.

And remember to visit Ben, Wendy Piersall, Kathie Thomas, Harrison Loke, Ploop, Engtech, Lorraine Pirihi, Janet Barclay - who have already shared their gems for productivity.

As you can see from my past two posts, I’m working through a shift in my business. It’s not so much a new direction as it is an evolution.

All the work I’ve ever done has been about caring for people and people’s needs. When I was a waiter, I took care of people’s dining experience. When I was buyer at a large outdoor clothing store, I brought in the products my customers most wanted. As a spiritual teacher and healer, I cared about the unveiling of my client’s authentic self. And even as a web designer and web-based business developer, my cares have been about helping my clients understand how to use the web to build their business.

It hasn’t matter. At every turn of my life my work has been about helping people. And that’s certainly extended deep into my personal life as well.

So why hide any more…I care about people. Really, I care about you. I care about your life, your well-being, your family and your business. I care enough to help you overcome your ‘problems’ and help you create success in all parts of your life. I can’t help it, it’s just who I am.

Even though I’m identified as a web developer and business coach, I do so much more. The only problem is I’m not talking about it with you until you become my client. That’s where I’m evolving. In the coming weeks, I’m going to rewrite my entire website services content to say more about what it is I actually do, how I do it and what you can gain from working with me.

It’s time to be open about what I offer my clients. It’s time I fully express who I am, what I do and how I can really help you develop your business.

So are you fully expressed in your business? How? And if not, what do you need to do to fully express yourself in your business?

Found a great post on To-Done about getting better, more restful sleep. Points 4 (keep the bed for bedtime things), 5 (meditate) & 6 (exercise during the day) have worked for me for a long time.

I also like to spend some time breathing. No really. Doing focused breathing exercises where you bring your breathe low into your belly can really help you relax. It’s great for relieving the stress of the day and for calming the mind. Similar to meditation, I sometimes will practice breathing out stress parts to my day so to not keep them in my body.

While Dave Schoof has been blogging for more than a month, we just officially completed and launched both his website - The Disquiet in Men and the accompanying blog - Engaging the Disquiet. He’s already seen success in the way of fast growing traffic, contact with other bloggers, a few inquiries into his work, and two new clients. All in a couple of weeks.

With his design, we set out from scratch. The look and feel of the site were very important to Dave. He wanted the site to be soft and engaging without being feminine while having a sense of depth and calm. He also thought having a slight amount of tension would help his audience (men feel something’s missing) identify themselves in his design.

By my suggestion, the blog became a central piece for starting conversation, creating community and building relationships with men who fit his target market. No sales here, though. Just good and helpful information.

As many of you already know my wife and I had our second child, a son a few months ago. His name is Ahmed Dawud Miracle. He’s now four months old and doing great adjusting to life, as my daughter says, “outside the womb.”

The birth of my son has led to great adjustments for me, my wife and daughter, and my business.

Both my kids have taught me so much about living. And they’ve also taught me about business.

Yeah, I know, sounds odd. How can a 2 1/2 year-old and a infant who freshly planted here have anything to teach me about my business?

Well, just the other day, I was working on a design. It was all but complete, except for a bug in Internet Explorer (no surprise) that was causing some of the text to disappear. It worked fine in all the other web browsers, just not in IE.

After three hours of trying to fix the bug, I had made little progress. My normally patient, calm self was disintegrating fast. And just at the point when I let out a loud UUUGGGHH!, my little girl knocked on my office door.

She was bringing me lunch - which she often does. Of course, she’s two, so she asked me what UUUGGGHH! was. I gave her some answer she could understand. Then she reminded me that I was using my outside voice inside. Which was true.

She then asked the question that can haunt adults to no end…”why?”

A’esha, my amazing little two year-old, wanted to know why I was using my outside voice inside. Now I usually do my best to answer every question she ever asks in a way that she can understand. And, I’m human and do get frustrated from time to time with the constant curiosity of the two year-old mind. Rarely, however, do I display my frustration with her on this.

This was one of those time I had to make a choice: either let her see my further frustration. Or take a brief moment, let the frustration go a bit, and give her a loving answer she could understand.

Luckily, I find her curiosity to be delightful, refreshing and often joyous.

In a single moment, I connected with those feels and started to laugh. I was laughing, of course, not at my little girl’s questions, but at myself. I knew I had been taking what I was working on too seriously and it was creating unnecessary stress.

So, I picked up my little girl, who was still holding the lunch my wife so lovingly made for me, and gave her a bit hug as I chuckled at my situation. I then answered ten “why” questions - which were enough to satisfy her for the moment. I got a big hug and kiss and my little girl informed me that she was going to close my door because I need to work during lunch today.

The love and caring from my daughter’s visit, and my wife’s lunch preparation, relaxed me from my growing frustration. I chose to take a lunch break with my family. Then went back to my office refreshed and ready to tackle this problem.

You can probably guess where this story ends. With renewed calm and refilled patience, I quickly found the solution to my problem.

In this case, my family was instrumental in helping me in my business. It could have gone another way if I didn’t stop to appreciate the love from my daughter and wife in supporting my business; my wife with preparing food and my daughter’s lovely curiosity.

Stop for a few moments and consider how your family helps you with your business.