This week was a great one around the McHale household. Booked a coffee with a friend that I haven’t seen in a few months. Had a friend I haven’t seen in 15 years over for the night, yup 6 kids were watched while the four adults went out.

It also was tough in that I lost a whole bunch of video due to an app having…issues. It’s all created again, but still we just don’t need this extra stress in our weeks do we?

What I Shipped

Monday I wrote about why I choose a Bullet Journal for my productivity instead of some software. I even did a video on it as I test out YouTube as another channel for content.

Wednesday I reviewed Talk Triggers, which is all about word of mouth marketing. You can get it in written form or audio via Should I Read It. Subscribe to Should I Read it to make sure you don’t miss a book that matters.

I’m already planning for 2019, at least I’m getting set so that I can launch well over the holidays. Thursday I talked about the planning I’m doing for 2019. I’d love to know how you set your goals and systems each year. Also, would you be interested in seeing more about my goals and updates throughout the year on where I’m at?

For Liquid Web I wrote about A/B Testing Your WooCommerce store. If you’re running a site of any scale, you should be A/B testing.

If you’ve been following me on YouTube you’ll notice that I’ve been working a fair bit harder on my video work. One of the key pieces to this is FiLMiC Pro. If you want to get a quick tour of it then head over to The Sweet Setup to read my article: Using FiLMiC Pro to Control Your iPhone or iPad Camera

Friday Five

1. Newt Scamander and masculinity

Very much enjoyed watching this video on Newt and how he shows masculinity in a non-traditional way. I watched the movie and enjoyed it, but I didn’t think of his masculinity on the terms provided. We do need male role models that break out of the typical role model we get stuck with.

2. Jeff Perry and GTD Capture

Jeff writing for Rocket Panda on Capture:

When it comes to GTD, the first thing you are introduced to is the idea of “Capture.” For the most part it’s straightforward. You can’t store your ideas without getting them out of your head, so you need to have a system in place to make it seamless and second-nature to go from idea to capture.

He goes on to show his hybrid digital/analogue system for capture. The big thing he walks us through it the decisions to drop a bunch of inboxes that he simply doesn’t need to manage. Many people have too many inboxes and then feel overwhelmed with the incoming tasks.

Have you ever evaluated your inboxes and streamlined your system? It may take a few hours, but you’ll reap the benefits for the whole year, so you’ll gain so much more back.

3. Cal Newport on Facebook and Network Effects

Newport says that unlike adding a phone to your life in 1908 would give you something you couldn’t get anywhere else, real time communication with people over distance, social networks provide:

In 2018, joining a network like Facebook enables you to connect with or monitor the status of people you know using digital networks. Unlike telephones or Ethernet cards, however, you don’t need a private network like Facebook for these benefits. Both the Internet and SMS, among other technologies, already provide many different tools, protocols, and services for connecting and disseminating information digitally.

Case in point: I’ve never had a social media account, and yet I constantly enjoy connecting to people, and posting and monitoring information using digital networks.

When I read this section my first thought was convenience which Newport then addressed.

So what then exactly do massive social media platforms like Facebook provide? A more honest answer is that they offer a more convenient experience than the wilder, less centralized social internet, but not something fundamentally unique.

I continually think about quitting all social networks, because of the lack of value they provide. Yes, people find my work through them when I share things, but that traffic is dwarfed by search traffic. Dwarfed by many orders of magnitude.

4. Specialization talk, fixing the problems of specializing on a platform like WordPress

Lots off good tidbits. Here they talk about the problem with specializing on a platform like CraftCMS or even WordPress. The boom will end and you’ll be in trouble.

Here you hear when the research really started. He emailed 50 potential clients to talk about their problem.

Here they talk about the importance of having good conversations with clients. I wrote about effective questioning methods you can use to ha e good client conversations.

The whole episode is here.

5. Chris Lema on fulfillment

Chris says:

Finding fulfillment isn’t about being perfect or getting everything right. It’s not about being skilled and an expert at something – recognized as being the best at something.

He says fulfillment is when all your skills come to bear on a hard problem and you win. The struggle and overcoming the challenge is what makes you smile.

Remember this when you’re working through hard problems.