Dead-Time Learning

It's been a few weeks since I have started organizing my life a bit differently, using what I would call the bi-tasking model. I've read several articles and heard several podcasts on productivity, banning multi-tasking. Well, I agree but to some extend only. Let me explain: During a whole day, we normally go through several phases that I categorize as follow:

1- Active Time: these are the times where you interact with people, concentrate on a given task or simply read a book. These phases require your full attention or it can be either dangerous (driving and talking on the phone....), very impolite (pretending listening to someone while watching a beautiful woman passing along) or simply unproductive (try reading a booking while watching tv...).

2- Passive Time: as opposite to the active phase, passive are moments during the day where you are doing something that does not require your full attention/concentration (cleaning the dishes, sitting in a bus, waiting your turn at the doctors..).

3- Sleeping Time

After looking at the use of my time, I realized that I was spending several hours a week in passive mode. I do clean the dishes :), I take the bus or train or plane at least once a week, I go (walk) food shopping, etc... During this time (that I now call the dead-time learning moments), I multi-task by listening to my ipod - I learn new things every day (currently learning spanish, thai, internet marketing classes and french history) by using these dead-time moments.

But be careful not to fall in the trap of keeping your ear-plugs day long. Connect with people is still the most interesting and valuable time you can have in a day.

Don't do like Balthazar Picsou (Scrooge McDuck)

I have just finished reading the book "The Millionnaire Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.

It's a book that tells you how rich and very rich people managed to accumulate wealth during their lives. They don't really tell you how to generate money, but rather how not to spend it. The big trophy is held for the millionaires, who during all their lives worked very hard, and spent very little. Accumulate is probably the most used word in the book and I find it AWEFUL. Saving is one thing, investing is another thing - but accumulating has this notion of total emptiness. I repeat, emptiness.

Start make sense of the money you just earned and give yourself a treat after reading this blog:

- Buy yourself a bestseller book and read it at the terrace of your favorite café
- Book a cheap air ticket for yourself+someone special
- Learn something new (spanish, climbing, kitesurfing ..)
- Buy flowers and send it to someone special
- Buy a new bike and start going to work biking!
- Buy a cooking book, go to the market (a real one) and cook a great dinner for your family in the evening

Anything you can think of, do it. Really, do it. Life is too short but it's never too late.

Making Money Online

Lots of new businesses bet on making money online with advertising as main revenues. Indeed, adsense from google made it very easy for anyone to earn a few dollars from the ads displayed on the side of a webpage. Making a living with adsense/ revenues from advertising is another story.

1- It's extremely hard is to attract people to your site, blog or podcast.
2- It's even harder to keep them coming back

=> If you want to make money online, do not create your site or blog or podcast. Instead, get your product or service right, and use social-network sites, classifieds and/or bloggers to sell it for you.

Tip: Testing online is cheap. Let's say you want to sell tennis rackets online, assuming to can have it at a cheaper price than retail of course... You may first post the rackets on craiglist and wait to see the response. If you receive 10 emails or phone calls the next day, it means the response is rather positive and you may start your business in real . However, if you receive no emails or calls, it might be that your product is in low demand and/or your price is too high. You would need to refine your offering and try it again.

Mind Blogging

It's been a while since I blogged. I guess, the main reason is that, when an interesting idea comes in my mind, I am not necessarily in front of my computer. That's the problem with blogging. I'd love to have a chip in my brain, scanning all my thoughts everyday, and i could decide what to "mind-blog" at the end of each day. Not that I love the idea of having a chip in my brain....

But really, I read at least 50 blogs per day, listen to business, tech and history podcasts daily for hours - so I assure you, lots of topics to be blogged on... But yet, it's been nearly 3 months since my last blog. Anyway, I'd like to share with you some of my readings and listenings:

Favorite Blogs:
Seth Godin
Tim Ferris
Guy Kawasaki

Favorite Podcasts:
The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders
Businessweek Cover Stories
Internet Business Mastery
Marketing Online Live
Diggnation (Video)
The GigaOm Show (Video)
43 Folders