The Time Finder with Paula Eder

Find Time to Maintain Your Blog on Cyber Monday – 5 Tips to Get You Started!

Paula — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:33:58 +0000

Finding time to keep up with writing blog posts, as many bloggers know, can be a challenge. In an upcoming Cyber Monday post, I’ll be taking a look at some good sources of content (especially for when you’re stuck for blogging ideas).

Today, however, what I’d like to discuss is even more basic – finding time to keep your blog running smoothly. The Time Finder is a WordPress blog, but the basic concepts apply to any blogging platform.

A blog has a lot of “moving parts”, and if they aren’t all working well, they can spell difficulties for you and your readers. Yet blog maintenance is a task that, like car maintenance, can often be something that we postpone or let fall by the wayside. Sometimes, the consequences of doing that are annoying and sometimes they can be downright dire.

I highly recommend that you set aside time, at least weekly, to devote to blog maintenance. If you work with a Virtual Assistant (VA), this is a task that you can clearly delegate to him or her. If you are technologically inclined, you might find that you enjoy performing some of these tasks yourself. They give you an opportunity to explore your blog in a whole different way!

Whoever ends up taking care of these tasks, here are a few basic maintenance items that I urge you to consider:

Back-up, Back-up, Back-up! This is something you need to do weekly … and if you do NO other maintenance task, do this one! We needed to restore our blog once – and the back-up absolutely saved us! You can set this plugin up so that it performs the back-up at intervals that you specify. (We also have it set to automatically e-mail us the back-up file.)

Check for Spam: We do this daily, so that it doesn’t pile up. WordPress blogs offer a spam-catcher (Akismet) as well as different dashboard plugins that display spam comments and allow you to process them. The one we use (Ozh’ Admin Drop Down Menu) gives a very easy method for viewing and deleting spam.

Keep Your Plugins Updated! WordPress plugins are constantly being tweaked and improved by their developers. The dashboard that we use flags plugins that have been updated, and the process of integrating these updates into your blog is a matter of a few clicks. It’s very easy – and important – to keep on top of this. In addition, set aside time to periodically check on new plugins that can enhance your blog. There are hundreds to choose from – and WordPress has them set up in a searchable plugin directory!

Check your links … it’s so important to not frustrate your readers with broken links! This is another process that is automated by WordPress plugins. We run our Broken Link Checker weekly.

In addition to checking your links, be sure to check your “Blogroll” – that’s the list of links you maintain in your sidebar. Blogs come and go – and you don’t want to be sending your readers to a site that’s inactive! This is a check that we do at least monthly at The Time Finder.

I suggest that you develop a maintenance schedule with daily, weekly, and monthly categories of tasks. And remember – if you do nothing else, back-up, back-up, back-up!! And please drop me a line … I’d love to hear how you carve out time in your busy schedule for blog maintenance!

Want to learn how to set effective boundaries to honor yourself, your time, and your relationships? You can ask for the time and space you need, and get it, too! Claim your FREE MP3 of “Honoring Your Time With Boundaries” – a recent teleclass – and learn tools to move you toward a stronger self and stronger relationships! Learn how 24 hours really can be enough! To take your next step, click HERE and grab your MP3! It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time by Honoring Yourself and Your Time

Paula — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:32:31 +0000

Is finding time a challenge for you? Do you feel like you give your time away, so that you never get to your own goals and priorities?

This is not an unusual situation. It is not a character flaw. No – it is a predicament that many struggle with, and one that, with practice, time tools, and skills, we can all conquer!

When you find yourself in a situation where others’ needs are usurping your time, take a step back and ask yourself whether you are honoring yourself and your time in the choices that you are making.

Stepping back is very helpful, in that it takes you out of reactive mode and allows you to see that your ARE making choices. This puts the power back into your hands.

Then ask yourself, What does it mean to honor myself and my time?

First and foremost, it does NOT mean being selfish. This is a trap that it’s easy to fall into – especially for women in our culture.

I see honoring yourself and your time as a personal responsibility. If you do not, you will be constantly depleted and will seldom, if ever, have the internal resources to bring your best self to the situations you encounter in your life.

In order to honor yourself and your time, you need to learn how to establish, communicate, and follow through on time boundaries.

Boundaries give shape to your life, and enable you to move from where you are to where you would like to be. Without boundaries, you simply can’t gain traction. Your sense of self will dwindle as your feelings of frustration and overwhelm increase.

Are time boundaries a part of your repertoire as you move through your day? I’d love to hear how you are moving toward using time boundaries in your life.

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time by Maintaining Your Time Boundaries with a Timer

Paula — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:08:14 +0000

Your efforts to find time are greatly enhanced when you know how much time you have planned for your activities AND you stick to your plan! If you don’t do that, one activity after another will overrun its allotted time, and you will fall further and further behind. What a recipe for stress and frustration!

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Not at all!

Try this:

Buy yourself a small timer and, when you can, use it to remind you when the time allotted for a planned task has run out. This is especially helpful for things like computer work, where it’s easy to get caught up in tasks and lose track of time.

I find using a timer to be a very big help when it comes to focus. It allows me to really immerse myself in whatever I am working on, and not worry about losing track of time. I know that the beeping of my timer will bring me right back to the moment when my time is up. Then I’ll move on to my next task.

When I use my timer to help me maintain my time boundaries I am more focused and productive, without a doubt. Sticking to my planned boundaries also enhances my self-trust. I (and the others in my world) know that when I set a boundary I am going to follow through on it. This gives a boost to my self-discipline, self-esteem, AND the cooperation that I receive from others when I communicate a boundary.

There are just so many ways to benefit from using this small, practical tool!

Stay tuned for more, TOMORROW, from Finding Time, LLC about boundaries and the ways that using them can improve things in your world.

In the meantime, I encourage you to give timers a try! Please drop me a line and let me know how it goes for you … I’d love to hear!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Personal Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time to Overcome Overload and Exhaustion

Paula — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:30:29 +0000

Finding time for what matters most in today’s busy world can be a world class challenge!

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of your life?

Are you exhausted and depleted?

Would you like to be able to change all that?

Time boundaries are key! I’ve written a lot about time boundaries here on The Time Finder. They help you make time choices and stick to your time priorities. Using time boundaries, you learn to say “No” to spending time in certain ways, so that you can say “Yes” to the things you have prioritized.

Today I’d like to extend the notion of boundaries, because time is the coinage of our lives: it isn’t really something that you can isolate from everything else. When you set a time boundary, for example, it affects everything that it touches! Most especially, it affects your relationships with those closest to you – your family and friends, your co-workers.

The way you communicate your boundary, along with the quality of your follow-through, will not only define your success in the moment. It will also affect the response you receive when you set your next boundary. It’s a building process. The quality of each step ripples out and impacts both the next steps that you take, and the ways that your efforts are viewed by the people in your life.

For example, assertiveness in setting a boundary is more likely to bring you success than an aggressive, critical or “victimy” tone. (These are likely to elicit a rebellious response.)

When you are on overload, it is especially challenging (and important) to pay attention to your tone. Remember the ripple effect. Something like tone can seem like a small thing … but its impact on you and on others can be very, very powerful. All the more powerful, in fact, because if you are not tuned to it, it can seem very subtle!

Stay tuned for more on boundaries, as we get ready to launch a VERY SPECIAL OFFER here at The Time Finder. We’re excited to share more information with you SOON!

Do you generally pay attention to tone as you set boundaries and move through your day? I’d love to hear how this works for you.

Let’s explore time together …

Finding Time for October’s Time Finder Favorites!

Paula — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:02:55 +0000

Happy November, everyone! As I embark on a new month, I always spend some time reflecting on the month that came before. Please join me as I share the 5 posts that readers of The Time Finder were most drawn to in October.

Topping our list for October was a post about being flexible titled Finding Time by Being Flexible-3 Timely Tips! It looks at the importance of flexibility when dealing with unexpected glitches (like oversleeping). Finding time to be flexible in your response to change helps put you back in charge of your time choices!

Next on our list of favorites was a post about the impact of sleep! Find Time for Sleep – It’s SO Important! looks at some interesting information about the ways that even seemingly small increments of sleep can significantly affect performance … namely:

… A students average 15 more minutes sleep than B students, who average 15 more minutes sleep than C students, and so on. Every 15 minutes can count.

That was eye opening for me! And speaking of eye-opening, the next-favorite post speaks to changes in perspective – a subject I find fascinating. Finding Time to Change a Pattern and Find “New Eyes” looks at the powerful fact that “When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”

Next on our list come two posts that focus on boundaries – a very timely topic at The Time Finder, as we are on the verge of launching a VERY SPECIAL OFFER to members of the Finding Time Community. It will help you incorporate the power of time and relationship boundaries into your daily life. You’ll want to know about this … so stay tuned for more information this week!

Finding Time by Setting Time Boundaries in Our Ever-Evolving Cyber World is a Cyber Monday post that looks at how vital time boundaries are, as we move toward a world in which we are “plugged in” 24/7.

Last, but definitely not least, Finding Time with Assertive Time Boundaries takes up a theme that is very dear to my heart, as it explores the vital difference between assertive and aggressive boundary-setting.

Did you have particular favorite posts in October? Was there one that was especially helpful or challenging? Something that you’d like to read more about here? Drop me a line … I’d love to hear from you!

Let’s explore time together …

Finding Time for Balance

Paula — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:33:57 +0000

The Finding Time E-zine fires today at 11:45 AM – always an exciting day for me! I love sharing information, ideas, and tips about time. To give you a taste of our e-zine, I’ve been posting archive articles from time to time here, and today I’d like to share an article about Finding Time for Balance.

Oh, and if you would like to receive our monthly e-zine (along with weekly tips) in your in-box, just sign up in the sidebar. If you do so before 11:45 today, you’ll receive our latest edition! Now, on to the article …

Remember when you played Statue as a kid? It was an exhilarating challenge to run around and then to freeze, holding your balance, when the whistle blew. Anyone who moved was “out”.

And have you ever seen the old-fashioned balance scales? The purchase of fruits, vegetables or meat on one side was counterbalanced with lead weights on the other side. When it balanced, both sides became level with one another, and ceased moving.

Notice that both of these examples require stillness, stasis, no movement. Many equate work/life balance with an even split (50/50) of activities for work and those for home. But it’s seldom that simple. And what’s difficult to grasp is hard to add to your life.

Let’s try a short exercise:

Ask yourself what balance means to you.

Quickly jot down the first five to ten words you think of when you think of balance.

Next, write down three times when you have felt balanced in your life. Describe the situations or activities that helped you feel balanced. How do these descriptions match the words you listed? What do you discover?

I approach balance from the vantage point of energy. We have both feminine and masculine energy, or yin and yang, within us. Masculine energy is usually associated with logic, work and taking action. Feminine energy is equated with creativity, intuition, nurturance, and compassion.

The goal to reaching balanced energy is to observe yourself and notice when you are involved with only one kind of energy in your life. For example, are you thinking about work continually? Driving yourself to do more, succeed more? Or do you spend most of your time engaged in creative daydreaming, nesting, and thinking about how you relate in significant relationships?

To achieve balance, you need to build a bridge, joining these two poles. For example, as you combine work activities with self-expression and exploration, you are both creating and doing, dreaming and acting. In this way, you develop balance by integrating both masculine and feminine energy.

I invite you to objectively observe yourself as you move through your day, noticing where and how you integrate these energies. How does that feel different from how you generally move through your day? I’d love to hear how you are moving toward more balance in your life.

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time to Manage Your In-Box and EMPTY It Each Day

Paula — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:40:43 +0000

Finding time to manage your in-box, let alone EMPTY it, may seem an impossibility.

Not so, says Marty Marsh in an intriguing new post on the Solo-Entrepreneur blog titled “Never Check E-Mail in the Morning.”

His basic advice?

Only check your e-mail at certain times during the day,

Act on every piece of e-mail you receive, and

Have the goal of cleaning out your in-box with each visit.

I know, when I first read that, I thought it was absolutely unrealistic. But read on … this is definitely doable!

Marty suggests that you set up three folders for yourself. One titled ACTION, one titled TOMORROW and one titled REFERENCE. As you check your e-mail (at the time you set for yourself) your commitment is to either act on an e-mail or move it into one of those folders, working through each item until your inbox is empty.

Items in your ACTION folder should be acted on quickly (i.e. today) but needn’t be done right now. (As a rule of thumb, if it will take no more than 2 minutes to respond to something, do it immediately – don’t even move it to your ACTION folder.)

Think of your TOMORROW folder as a way of giving yourself time to respond to less urgent items in your own time. (This is not procrastination. You’ll know the difference.)

Your REFERENCE folder is for items you have already tended to, but want to keep as a record or for reference. Marty suggests NOT creating subfolders here. His advice is to use the search function that is available with most good e-mail managers, if you need to find something in your REFERENCE folder. I have discussed this with my VA, and I know that she finds it helpful to manage her mail with a number of subfolders. You certainly ought to exercise your personal preference in this area, with the goal of keeping it as simple as possible!

Is managing your in-box a perennial headache for you? Consider giving Marty’s suggestions a try – and then let me know what you think. I’d love to hear if it helps you find time!

Let’s explore time together …

Finding Time for Time’s Mystery

Paula — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:55 +0000

Finding time wasn’t easy yesterday. Do you have days like that? It was both busy and one of the most beautiful October days that one could hope for … blue sky, bright sun, clear air, and yellow leaves making the woods vibrant with color and energy. I hadn’t gotten outside on Sunday, so was determined to find a moment at some point in the day, just to be still for a few minutes and appreciate.

I did find time yesterday afternoon and took in the sun and October air for a few brief, enriching minutes. Opening to the moment, I heard the breeze blowing tenderly through the dry leaves. As it touched my cheek, I listened to the Blue Jays’ cacophony in the woods and the sound of a far off car driving by. The sun was wonderfully warm, even as it had begun its westward decline. A leaf fell from a nearby oak.

I felt at once utterly alone and deeply connected as I let the moment flow into and through me. Joyfulness filled my heart! And right on the heels of that joy was the knowledge that I needed to return to my work.

Having created a boundary so that I could open to the moment, I also needed to create a boundary to enable me to let go and continue with my daily responsibilities.

That is such a fundamental and mysterious part of the rhythm of living, isn’t it? We enrich ourselves when we open to the depth, complexity, and aliveness of the moment – and then our self-discipline calls us back to our tasks, goals, and responsibilities. It can be challenging, that opening to depth and then letting it go – yet it is what most powerfully refreshes, nourishes and enlivens us.

Thinking about this I am reminded of some lines from Mary Oliver that I love. They are from her poem “In Blackwater Woods” and speak to me about this core mystery of living in time – how we are called to embrace and to let go, over and over:

To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

Do you find time for this mystery in your life? Is it challenging to open to the moment? To let it go? I’d love to hear what you’ve experienced!

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time by Optimizing Your WordPress Blog

Paula — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:32:08 +0000

Finding time to keep your blog running at peak performance may not be your top priority. You’re probably more focused on writing great posts and responding to comments left by your readers.

But making sure that your blog is working properly and loading as quickly as possible as important as your content, in many ways.

How often do you click on a blog or website, find it slow to load, and leave before it has finished? No matter how great the content is, if people don’t wait around, they will never see it. You sure don’t want that to be happening with visitors to your blog!

That’s why I was so pleased to see this guest post by Sid Savara on ProBlogger this past Friday. He shares “5 Plugins To Make Your WordPress Blog Blazing Fast.” People expect to see things immediately when they are surfing the web. So, any way that you can take seconds off of their wait time is definitely time well spent.

And the great thing about these plugins is that they work behind the scenes. Once you have installed them, they will be doing their magic, compressing files and images, and speeding up scripts – all in the background.

In addition to the 5 plugins that he recommends (WP Super Cache by Donncha O Caoimh; GZIP Output by Austin Matzko; WP Minify by Thaya Kareeson; W3 Total Cache by Frederick Townes; and Free CDN by Phoenixheart) Sid also offers information about some plugins that you can install to check your blog and see, more specifically, where it is slow.

If you’d like to learn more tips about enhancing the speed of your blog’s page loading, Darren Rowse wrote a very helpful post on the subject titled 5 Methods to Enhancing Page Load which is certainly worth a look.

The bottom line is, if your blog loads slowly, your readers are likely to find time by going elsewhere. That’s not something that you want to see happen.

I encourage you to explore these options (or share them with your VA, or whoever manages your blog). And in the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think. Please feel invited to drop me a line!

Let’s explore time together …

Find Time to Make a Successful Beginning

Paula — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:33:56 +0000

Did you find time to attend last night’s teleclass with Melissa McCreery and me on Honoring Your Time with Boundaries? If not, we’ll let you know when the MP3 becomes available. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and hope that you will, too!

As we discussed last night, time boundaries give shape to your priorities – they put your priorities into effect.

But what happens within those boundaries, when you are ready to start on a project or priority? How do you start? Here are some helpful tips on making successful beginnings, from a Finding Time E-zine article. Enjoy!

The toughest moment in any project or activity is taking the first actual action step. Despite mental rehearsal and preparing the optimal environment, the first step is a big challenge for many people.

There are traditional methods for overcoming this hurdle. Approaches vary from one person to the next. For example, many would say that the best way to get mobilized is to sit down and write an outline of your project. However, in the initial stages of many projects, too many elements remain uncertain for outlining to be either easy or productive.

Other people highly recommend a Zero Draft. They believe you should simply start writing, not thinking about spelling, format or structure. Once you have something on the blank page, they reason, it’s easy to edit.

Neither of these approaches uses your time wisely.

Instead, begin a project by defining desired outcomes. Identifying your goal allows you to effectively visualize the overall result. You don’t become mired in the topics you need to address, the resources you must consult, or the specific methods you will use. This definition of desired outcomes becomes the framework of your project. In fact, once the outcomes are defined, you can work backwards to lay out the needed action steps.

How does starting by defining desired outcomes ‘find time’ for you? You are engaging in a form of goal setting that is flexible. You avoid false starts, going off on tangents, or feeling obligated to follow traditional steps in order to achieve your optimal results.

Give yourself permission to define the desired outcomes in terms of what you want. This automatically activates your powers of visualization. You are creating the picture of what you plan to create.

If you are willing to experiment with this alternative to writing outlines and Zero Drafts, you will begin your project with the two most useful states of mind: “awareness” of what you want, and “flexibility” in how you achieve it.

In summary: free yourself from the obligation to follow the rules. Experiment with this alternative approach. The creative focus you develop through this process will enhance your success.

Let’s explore time together …

The Time Finder with Paula Eder

Find Time to Maintain Your Blog on Cyber Monday – 5 Tips to Get You Started!

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Find Time by Honoring Yourself and Your Time

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Find Time by Maintaining Your Time Boundaries with a Timer

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Find Time to Overcome Overload and Exhaustion

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Finding Time for October’s Time Finder Favorites!

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Finding Time for Balance

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Find Time to Manage Your In-Box and EMPTY It Each Day

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Finding Time for Time’s Mystery

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Find Time by Optimizing Your WordPress Blog

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Find Time to Make a Successful Beginning

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!