I’ll write alot more about the process, building the app, and all the fun stuff I’ve been doing here in Thailand, but for now, you can get a sneak peak and sign up for the beta version if you are interested in using actionable analytics to help your website or blog convert better!
SourceControl: The Truth About Outsourcing
I’m not usually one to toss around affiliate links anywhere but in my sidebar. I’m also not usually one to buy ebook type products without the recommendation of a trusted friend. But SourceControl caught my eye, offered a solution to a question I was debating with myself about, and is damn beautiful and clean, being a UX designer, that’s a good selling point. And after spending the last week soaking in and thoroughly enjoying the authors blog, MuseLife.com, I figured, what the hell. I was pleasantly surprised.
I’ve been thinking alot about jumping on this outsource bandwagon alot lately. I managed to avoid it for the last 2 years since I read 4HWW, and heard all the horror stories. But now I have a need for it, and it’s hard living in such a beautiful place while dealing with so many time-wasting menial tasks. Also I am getting close to launching SHERPA (which I’ll talk more about later) and need some help with transcribing, support desk tasks, ect. so I am not spending 13 hours a day shuffling through a helpdesk requests like a close friend has been doing since his web application launch 3 months ago.
This isn’t really a review, except that I can say that if your looking to outsource anything from web design to calandar management, this ebook is A MUST. SourceControl is the best comprehensive, no bullshit guide to outsourcing and managing your Virtual Assistants, hands down.
I have officially taken the leap onto the outsourcing bandwagon, and I did it with confidence and control. Highly recommended.
Thailand, Lifestyle Design HQ
I originally came to Thailand to work with a friend to design and help build his internet marketing / software / money making course, and I didn’t have plans beyond that. I fell in love with this place, and I fell in love will what could be accomplished in such a place.
The real killer thing about being a ‘lifestyle design’ type in a place like Thailand, is that it offers the ability to live an amazing lifestyle for what most people spend on a car payment back home in the States. Allowing you to have unpressurized time and money to focus and build your ‘muses’ or business. And your not the only one.
Sit inside a coffee shop in Bangkok, Pai, or Chiang Mai, and you will most likely meet someone who has escaped their 9-5 with the new updated audiobook of 4-Hour Workweek in their iPod and working on their muse, or some sort of young entrepreneur working on their ebook, online course, or blog. This is a great place to network with like-minded people.
I’m sure you know some of them… Cody Mckibben, Dwight Turner, Justin Dupre, and in a few days, Sean Ogle.
Cities should be fun — a little design innovation goes a long way to change behavior
And I’m Back…
Ahhhh. It’s been so long. I’ve been on a whirlwind of a ride for the last year that had me in Costa Rica, Panama, and now Thailand. Talking about keeping it super simple - I’ve been living out of a backpack. Now I’ll settle down for a bit here in Pai, Thailand while I work on some really cool projects.
My first of these projects, I began work on while in Costa Rica, and is none other than a super-simple web based ‘To-Do’ app that piggybacks off of Twitter. I will talk more about that soon though.
Looking forward to being back.
Neuro-Interpretation, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Neuro-Interpretation (is that even a real word?) of blocks of information are a huge factor in the success of sites like Twitter & Tumblr and a perfect model of how ‘simple’ works better.
Huh? It’s not as complicated as it sounds. What it really comes down to, is our brains ability to be engaged easier through small chunks of information. If you visit another blog that uses large paragraphs, small type, inside of a large content area, you should understand. It is incredibly hard to be engaged because our brains are always trying to find an easy out.
By breaking blog posts, emails, letters, ect. into smaller paragraphs and limited relevent information, our brains are more willing to work through the data because your tricking it into believing that you have less to interpret. In short, our brains are lazy.
Think about it? If your brain will allow you to…
I used to have about $30K in recording studio equipment which I’ve managed to unload over the last 6 years after I closed my studio. With today’s technology, I can do everything I could do then for less than a $2K investment and without all the bulk.
Learning to Manage a Short Attention Span
I have always had a super short attention span, in life and in business. I have always looked at it as my major downfall. My mind is constantly turning, coming up with new idea’s, always seemingly better than the previous. I have been known to spend weeks and even months of tireless nights hacking away at building, designing, and eventually destroying or giving up to move on to the ‘next big idea’. I get bored. I live somewhere for a year and have to move to another city, state, or even country. I walk through life realizing how precious and short it can be and am scared to miss out on the world around me. I have many friends who envy this about me, but they don’t realize how crippling it can be.
Then I realized that it’s not crippling, or a downfall, or even a bad habit. I came across Jim Coudal’s theory on short attention spans. I’ve listened to people like Steve Jobs and other great entrepreneurs talk about it. Short attention spans drive creativity. I am in no means putting myself in the same category as Coudal and Jobs, but they have helped me realize that I can harness it, take control, and make it work in my favor.
Over the past year or so, I have been slowly taking control of my finances, health, career, and life with little steps in the right direction and re-designing myself to become the best ME I can possibly be. That originally what this whole blog is about. I will be doing a series of posts about ‘re-designing yourself’. I hope you can take out of it all that I did along the way.
I know I talk about thee guys alot, LOL. I promise I don’t work for them, though I wouldn’t mind it. Today, Mint has launched ‘investment tracking’ - I effing love these guys. The coolest financial management tool ever. period. and free!
29things is a blog about lifestyle design, productivity, and entrepreneurship. Life is amazing and I don't want to spend 1/3rd of it in a cubicle. We are the architects of our existence.
