Time and time again, I’m surprised by the effect of time on human behavior.  Time is tracked and managed. Time heals wounds. Time is ever-present yet always passing.  Driven by our watches, distracted by our clocks, time dominates our thinking.  Yet half of the time, our focus on time distracts us from the beneficial aspects of time as the moments occur. So take the time this time around to spend a little more time smelling the roses.  Time is money yet time is priceless.  Time is ticking away so take time to realize that being timely isn’t what it’s always cracked up to be.  In good times and bad times, the question is not a matter of time, but a matter of quality.  Focusing on past, present or future time can distract from the actual time we have right now.  So maybe it’s time for a change; time to live in the moment this time around.

BBC’s come up with the perfect way to follow the Olympics: an Adobe Air-based desktop application that lets you follow your favorite Olympic sports, set reminders, view the medal table, etc…

You’ll certainly love the art if you like the Gorillaz (same artist).

Plus, everyone loves monkeys so this is the perfect excuse to have one of the furry bastards around until you feel the need to move on to other forms of entertainment. The fact that you don’t actually have to do much is the more obvious upside to the app.

Why you should like the Gorrillaz:

NB: a definition for less is “a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree” so this post is still textless because it has less text than the usual blog post. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

It would seem as though we are going through what could be a prolonged global recession. Banks collapsing, easy credit gone, rising fuel and food prices, the continually weakening dollar. None of these portend good things.

If you haven’t already felt the effects of these less than ideal economic times, chances are you will in the near future. If you rely on subscriptions, sales, or advertising for your cash flow, less consumer spending means less money in your pocket. The entire American economy is something of a huge bubble right now and it could be that the bubble is bursting.

To ensure your business survives and perhaps, even thrives during these times, you’re going to need to bring your best game to the table. The credit bubble has provided a lot of room for excess. If we really are going through a prolonged recession, you can be sure that people who have just been ‘playing’ business will quickly find themselves out of business.

Here are a couple of things that will make your business stronger no matter the economic situation, but that become increasingly important as economic valuations begin to accurately reflect reality.

Provide real measurable value and make sure your customers know it.

How do you save your users money? How do you save their time? How do you provide joy for their life? If you have a hard time answering these questions you’re probably going to have a tough time generating much revenue if the economy worsens. If you can answer these questions easily and your users recognize that, then you’re in a much better position.

Save Money.

Evaluate your costs regularly and ruthlessly. The more cash you have on hand, the better off you’ll be and the longer you’ll last. Resist the urge to live up to or beyond your means. If the economy continues to worsen, you can be assured you’ll have to start cutting costs to survive. If you’re already used to saving money, you’ll have a much easier time adjusting.

Invest Wisely.

Advertising, staffing, equipment, all these things need to be helping you break even. Eliminate any investment into a resource that isn’t contributing measurable value to your company. Invest in equipment that lasts, staff that’s competent and make sure your advertising is promoting the value you deliver. You should never be content to hemorrhage cash into an investment that’s not working out.

Some people make fortunes in economic downturns, most people go broke. How will you ensure that you’re in the former category?

How often are you checking your e-mail? Is it the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night (not a good idea)? How does inbound communication, like calls, IMs, Facebook messages, tweets, and texts affect your daily schedule and productivity? If you’re like me, chances are you check your e-mail at least a few times a day and dare I say quite a bit more. I know I check my e-mail at least 20 times a day and on a slow day I’ve received at least 100 and have sent a minimum of 50.  This is in addition to other communication mediums!

Perhaps you suffer from OCECD (obsessive compulsive email checking disorder).  Or maybe it’s your iPhone or Blackberry that’s tempting you to check-in every 10 minutes.  Whatever the cause, keeping your inbox open can be stressful, distracting, and counter-productive.  Not to mention a serious vacation-killer. Whether you’re writing a blog post, working on a proposal, or are on a call with a prospect, an e-mail, good or bad, can completely derail your train of thought.  

Many people check e-mail because they secretly hope for that elusive job offer, key contract, or response on their mortgage application.  Though 99% of e-mail isn’t urgent or isn’t necessarily a positive, breakthrough message, it’s the 1% of the time that positive news hits that prompts people to incessantly follow their inbox. It’s kind of like checking your snail mail each day hoping for a Publisher’s Clearinghouse check, notification from the IRS that you don’t owe any taxes for the rest of your life, or letter from your long lost lover, even though the majority of the time it’s simply junk mail and bills.  If not an aspiration for a positive e-mail, it’s a dread of letting e-mail build-up.  It’s the thought of 25 e-mails sitting in your inbox the next day, just waiting for you.  It’s the idea of 15 people having to wait a few hours on a response (oh the tragedy!).  And sometimes, it’s sheer boredom or procrastinating on other more important tasks.

Obsessively checking your e-mail can lead to a feeling of treading water.  It’s also when you spend (or waste) time reading e-mail or thinking about what you need to do as opposed to actually getting stuff done.   

If you’ve read the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss or just one of the dozens of articles on checking your e-mail less and organizing your email space, you’re probably familiar with the idea that being in a constant state of reaction to inbound communication, specifically e-mail, may not be the most productive behavior.  It can become addictive, distracting, and detrimental to productivity.  Maybe you’ve tried to change or check your e-mail less.  Not as easy as it sounds, huh?

In my opinion, this notion of slimming down the amount of time you spend in your inbox and the frequency of even opening it up has a lot to do with a fundamental and more general concept of time management, prioritization, and a misguided attitude towards reactive vs. proactive behavior that affects many business owners, entrepreneurs, managers, and individuals.  If you ever feel like you spend more time answering e-mail than getting things done or fighting small fires then planting seeds, maybe you can relate.  If you feel like you’re always in react mode rather than being proactive like you know you should be, you’re my target audience.

You probably have heard of the 80/20 rule; most people have.  I like to apply the 80/20 rule to small businesses and individuals as well: as an example, the majority of small business owners spend 80% of their time focusing on day-to-day tasks, inbound communication, and “reacting” and 20% of their time on longer-term strategy, proactive thought and action, and outbound communication.   I’ve consulted with dozens of small business owners who spend at least 80% of their time on daily tasks and operational responsibilities and the leftovers are for long-term strategy and proactive aspirations.  This may be because many small businesses are started by people who love the core product or service the small business offers, but aren’t necessarily business-savvy strategic thinkers.  For instance, a restaurant owner probably started his restaurant because of a passion for food.  And a clothing line was likely founded due to a love for art and clothing.  Many small business owners are all about the product or service and not so much about the “business” side of things.  So they focus on the “business” and don’t focus on the “business“.  They begun to run their business on auto-pilot mode worrying only about operations and not the bigger picture and wonder why they crash and burn in 5 years.

I’m not saying you need to neglect your product, service, or day-to-day operational responsibilities.  I’m not saying you should forsake short term for long term.  And I’m not saying you should neglect your e-mail and enjoy a margarita instead.  What I am saying is that in order to be successful, you have to learn how to prioritize.  You have to learn how to filter.  You have to learn how to say no, when to say yes, and how to delegate.  It’s my belief that in the connected, oft-cynical world we call home, there is much clutter and many choices.  It’s the individuals, businesses, and organizations that focus on being proactive, differentiating, and offering something worth talking about that will rise to the top of the heap.  The entrepreneurs and managers who are stuck in their own world of operational bullshit will tread water, even though they may look good doing it.  Break out of your daily routine and stop reacting, whether it’s your inbox, your business, or your life in general.  It’s time to stop living your life and growing your business by way of inertia.  Take control of your inbox, take control of your your time and reverse the formula so that you spend 80% of your time on the bigger picture and 20% of your time on the menial, but necessary tasks (anything else should be delegated, automated, optimized, or outsourced!).

-RB

I know a technology has reached maturity when my mom starts using it. I remember, my mother was always fairly familiar with technology. However she has always been behind the curve compared to my generation and people more familiar with technology.

My parents started using e-mail in the mid 90’s. They didn’t really start taking advantage of smart phones and PDAs until 2002-2003. They’re both in their fifties now, err, I mean mom is 38. And when they do adopt new technologies, they usually end up using them fairly regularly, even though my dad does have trouble getting around a computer.

Yesterday morning I woke up, checked my email, and found that my mom had requested me as a friend on Facebook. As I approved her request, I realized that social networks have nearly reached complete market saturation. If my mom is using a technology, it’s not a niche product anymore, it has become a commodity.

Up until then I had thought that maybe, just maybe online social networking utilities could be just a fad, something like eight track cassettes, Tamagotchis, or Furbies. For better or for worse it seems to me that this is not the case. Facebook, Myspace, or some version of them are here and they’ll probably be around for quite some time now that the mothers of the world are taking advantage.

-MW