As it says in my tagline; “It starts with an idea. It’s what you do with that idea that matters.” But keeping fresh ideas coming can be a challenge, especially if you write in a crowded niche like this one.

I try to keep fresh ideas rolling in by checking my twitter stream and checking in with some of my favorite blogs on a regular basis, but it can be a challenge to be productive once you dive in for a good read. It’s easy to find that you’ve lost hours of your day reading articles on various topics and end with your mind full of ideas that will never be nurtured from a glimmer of inspiration to a completed article or guest post.

Write it down

One of the best tips I have to offer is to write down your ideas. It doesn’t matter if you do this by jotting them down in a ragged, dog-eared notepad (my preferred method) or if you start a new draft in your preferred blogging software. (Ecto anyone?) Get those ideas jotted down somewhere or it is very likely that you’ll lose them in =your next round of brainstorming.
Even the barest wisps of an idea may spark something wonderful and exciting at a later time, so don’t underestimate the power of a three word concept or a vague notion. These can be very powerful tools and should not be overlooked. You’ll be amazed at how these little notes to yourself can spark grand ideas when brought together.

Bring your ideas together

There will be many times when just one little idea won’t be enough to spark something larger. These ideas alone simply aren’t strong enough to carry a theme, but when you put several of these ideas together they become something far greater.
Routinely look over your idea pile. Check to see one or more of these ideas compliment each other. If so, combine the two and see if the result is something worth taking the time to flesh out. I’m positive that you’ll find this method works very well after a few days of keeping up with what you’ve thought.

Expand on older ideas

Look back over your old posts or articles and see if there are ideas that you can expand on. Perhaps something that you wrote a year ago needs a fresh take. Have the rules changed? Has public opinion shifted? Do you feel in retrospect that you could cover a particular piece of information in more depth? If so, run with it.
Older topics can often benefit from a fresh perspective. Product reviews can be updated as updates are available. As an example, each time TweetDeck is updated with new features, you have something to write about. It’s free fresh content. In my case, ecto has been upgraded, so its time for a new article on software I use every day.

Relate your own stories

Always remember that your experiences in your chosen niche are the things that make your writing unique. No single person shares the same experience in anything, whether that experience was using a word processing program or a web-based text editor. Your point of view is your unique angle and should be leveraged.
If you have a particular method you use to attack a large project, write about it. If you have a pet peeve with everyone else’s favorite blogging platform, write about it. If there is something everyone else seems to have mastered that you are struggling with, write about that too.
Anything that relates something personal is a great idea for a blog post. Your readers want to connect with you on some personal level. The last thing you want to do is drone on like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This will not only detract from your readership, it will bore the pants off people and they will leave.
In droves.

Anything goes

Anything that you have a decent understanding of or a point of view on is good blog fodder. Making sure the content is high quality is something that only you and your readers can attest to, but in time I assure you that quality will come; It’s only a matter of time.

Now get in there and start writing.

Today started like most others.  Coffee, check email and twitter.  Also normal for the beginning of the week were people lamenting the fact that it was Monday again and that a full week of work was ahead of them.

I think a small adjustment in thinking is in order here.  Mondays are not your enemy.  Mondays are your friend.  Mondays hand you a full week of opportunities after a weekend of relaxation.  You get to tackle projects refreshed and renewed.  You’re at the top of your game.

All it takes is a change in the way you look at it.  Mondays shouldn’t be dreaded, they should be embraced.  By thursday you’re getting tired and if you’re like most people, on Friday you’re concentrating on the weekend.  Monday is a day full of possibilities.

Embrace your Monday, everyone.  Get something wonderful accomplished.

Peace.  I’m out.

It seems that just when everything is moving along at exactly the clip you want it to, something will come along to break your routine.  In my case summer is a hard time for work.  I have three kids in the house that doubles as my office.  This is enough to throw my most carefully planned projects into a state of chaos, but work and writing must continue even through the maelstrom.

Focus your time

In the months of school break my writing and research time are diminished, so I have to shift gears to make the most of the time that I have.  Instead of a solid four hours of no kids in the house, I have two in the morning and then I have the time after the kids are in bed.  During both of these periods I try to cram in as much writing as I can.  I leave researching to the moments that I have in between “Dad!s” and focus my writing time to those precious moments of silence that I do get.

By using only times when I won’t be interrupted for writing I ensure that this time is productive.  Email, twitter and RSS readers are shut off. All of those things can be dealt with in the hit and miss schedule of the rest of my day.  Quiet times are for writing. Period.

Research in short bursts

Unless something you are researching is a very in-depth subject, you can generally research in bursts.  Not only does this give you time to mull over what you’ve read in between dealing with everything else that demands your time, but it may just lead to ideas you wouldn’t have explored if you were buried neck deep in just one topic.

Researching in small, focused bits of time also causes you to remain focused on what you’re doing.  Minor distractions are just that.  Minor.  if you work from home you have to learn that there will be times that your attention is pulled from what you need to get done.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

The little things can’t be allowed to bother you.  Yes, they will stop you from writing a 600 word post in the middle of a hectic day, but they won’t stop you from laying out all the notes you need to complete that project as soon as the house quiets down or in the morning when it is still quiet.

If something comes up during research time, jot a note, go deal with the interruption and get back to research as soon as possible.  Don’t get frustrated with it.  Interruptions are a part of the work at home world.  Those who deal with them and can get back to it are the ones who succeed.

Keep goals reasonable

Don’t set goals that will sabotage you.  Set reasonable, attainable goals for your work sessions.  nothing will undermine your confidence or productivity faster than setting goals that are nearly impossible to complete.

Keep your spirit high by breaking large projects into easily finished segments.  That way, even if you don’t have a lot of time to put into your larger project at a single stretch, you still have the satisfaction that comes from finishing what you set out to do. Trying to accomplish more than you can reasonably attain is a sure fire path to frustration.

In closing

Working from home (or even in certain office environments) can be stressful.  The methods above can help minimize the chaos a bit. Keep in mind that even monstrous projects can be broken down into much smaller and achievable tasks.  These can usually be completed in a relatively short amount of time.

Know what your day has in store and remember, I managed to get this piece out by focusing my attention to each point.  The actual post took several hours and was written in-between lunch, picking up kids from sleepovers and dealing with an active three year old.

If I can do it, so can you.

Clutter in your workspace is inevitable from time to time.  We all at times have a need to set a few things on our desks.  papers, notes, keys, wallets, cups, pens and other supplies will inevitably find their way onto the desktop. The problem for many of us (including me) is that these things tend to stay there even after their purpose has been served.

Clutter in your workspace is a distraction.  Even if you aren’t concerned with the mess, you’ll still waste valuable time and effort shuffling through lose papers, rearranging items and trying to find a place to put your coffee or tea cup. The old saying is that a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind and whether you like to think so or not, the saying is true.

We all have different reasons for our clutter.  Mine is a combination of items I’m working on, mixed with the odd bit of leftovers from completed projects and topped off with little bits and pieces brought to me by a curious 3 year old. it all adds up very quickly and I’m the first to admit that it goes on for far too long at a time.

There are many ways to get yourself and your workspace organized, and I’ve compiled a few of them below.  Hopefully some of these tips can help you get your office, home and life running a bit more clutter-free.

• Declutter your desk with a general reference filing system
• Declutter an office and gain productivity
• Declutter 101: conquering office clutter, part 1
• How to declutter your to-do list
• Office Cleaning and Decluttering: A Plan to Thoroughly Organize a Workspace
• How to declutter your workspace
• Declutter Your Desk
• Getting Set to declutter your office
• 7-Day Declutter and focus – YouTube video
• 10 ways to remove clutter from your life

Hopefully one of the methods described in this list can help you find a little bit of order in the chaos of your everyday work life.  Even if you only manage to get a little bit more organized, it’s sure to boost your productivity by a lot.

What are your tips for staying clutter free? Is there something that has worked for you for a long time? If so, please share, we’d love to hear about it.

With all the buzz about the iPad and rumors of the iPhone finally moving into the wild where mere mortals can afford it, you may not have heard the news that TweetDeck has undergone a major upgrade.  The venerable desktop social media client now sports some of the coolest features around, including the long awaited ability to post scheduled updates.

TweetDeck can connect you with just about any social networking site you might want to keep on top of as well.  The list  now includes Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, fourSquare, Google Buzz and others. This expanded ability to stay on top of the networks you interact with on a daily basis can’t help but make you more (or less) productive.

There are a lot of new features included in this release, like better filtering, spam blocking and in-client video capabilities but the one feature that TweetDeck has been sorely missing is the ability to schedule replies.  That’s no longer a problem.

If you’re a die-hard HootSuite user you’ll probably note that the scheduling function of TweetDeck is only good as long as the application is open, so is not a replacement for the online app’s functionality.  For most Desktop users this probably won’t be an issue, since I doubt that you ever shut down TweetDeck anyway.  So for all of us who really couldn’t get into HootSuite as a tool for social media, TweetDeck has closed some pretty serious gaps in functionality.

Updated: I’ve been informed that scheduled updates are stored on the TweetDeck servers, not in the client itself, so the function is 100% on par with that of HootSuite and in a much shinier package.  Thanks very much to @richardbarley for clearing that up!

Will you switch from HootSuite to TweetDeck, or is this just one more reason that you’ll stick with TweetDeck rather than moving to something else?

One of the best ways to keep your blog readers coming back for more is to make sure that your blog is an interactive experience.  Keeping a dialogue open with your readers is as simple as answering comments. Unfortunately every blogger knows that sometimes this is far easier said than done, and this can be even more difficult on multi-author blogs.

I just recently found the solution to the problem of having to drill through your WordPress posts looking for comments you might have missed.  The My Comments Manager WordPress plugin can dramatically improve your ability to respond to those readers who have taken the time to share their opinions with you.  It’s the least you can do, after all.

Another plus is that My Comments manager was designed to work with WordPress MU, so it can be used by any blog author on your system.  It tracks comments by post author, so for blogs with multiple authors, it distinguishes between post authors, a major help in keeping up with comments on guest posts or just the posts in your category.

Installation was a snap and the plugin was up and running in seconds for me with no  conflicts with any other plugin on my system.  if you prefer to install through the built-in plugin manager, just click Add new and do a search for “My Contacts Manager”.  You’ll be all set!

And now, I have 68 comments to reply to.

Peace.  I’m out.

A lot of the time, a blog suffers from neglect because some small thing has distracted the writer.  In my case this time it is no small thing.  My wife has been home from the military for a few weeks.  My priorities lie with her and the family that she got the chance to rediscover.

The skies may be gray and gloomy, but I still have the memories of her visit, as do my kids.

There will be much more soon

Peace.  I’m out

Working from home has its perks.  the coffee is always fresh.  Every day can be casual Friday if you want it to be.  The hours are flexible and there is time to spend with your family and help the kids with their homework at the end of the day.  All of these things are a huge plus but nothing is without its flaws, and working from home has those in abundance.

There are distractions at home that you probably would not encounter in an office environment.  The phone will most often ring with personal, not business calls, if you don’t have the willpower to turn off the ringer.  Pets, TV and normal household chores can place your work day in jeopardy.  (Seriously, a half pit bull who feels unloved at the moment can put a serious dent in an hour of work-time.)  It takes a nearly steel resolve to get past the little interferences and continue plugging along at whatever it was you were supposed to be doing during your work day.

Overcoming these distractions can be a challenge.  The discipline so just get to your desk and work can be difficult to come by at times, but if you want to succeed, you hve to find a way to do so.

Of course I’m not the first person to cover this topic, nor will I be the last.  It’s an issue that haunts almost everyone who has the luxury of working from their own home.  You have to get a schedule set and then stick with it. You have to learn to ignore the fact that the kitchen sink has dirty dishes stacked in it, that the dog wants to play, or that it’s really the perfect day to sweep the drive and plant some peonies.

Treat your work schedule the same way you would if you worked in an office for someone else.  your time is valuable.  Wasting that time costs you money, effort and in some cases, credibility.  make that work day count.  you’ll be glad that you did.

Super secret “If I told you what I’m working on I’d have to kill you” type projects are exciting.  They conjure images of spy movies and covert operations. (At least they do for me, but I’m a pretty odd duck about things like this.)  You’re working on something that only you, or a very select few people, know anything about.  It’s cool!

At least at the start.

Once you’re several months into a super-secret project that you’re working on by yourself you realize that a good portion of your time might be spent feeling like this:

You have nobody to turn to when something isn’t going right.  There’s nobody to keep you motivated to finish the project but you.  That can be difficult when you’ve spent three days trying to find the answer to the same problem with no decent results.  It can be worse when you’ve come to the point of desperation or there are other projects that need your attention.

Of course, because it’s a super secret project, you can take a break if needed.  As long as you haven’t been running around giving people a release date for said super secret project, you’re all good.  Nobody knows that they are supposed to be waiting for anything, so there’s no time crunch.

That’s where I find myself now.  Just walking back into a super secret project that had me stymied a few months ago.  Instead of letting it take me over the edge, I walked away for a while and focused on other issues.  In the time I was away from the project, someone came out with a WordPress plugin that solved one of the biggest issues the project was facing and now it’s rolling again, though slowly…

All because it’s super secret and I haven’t started telling people when they could expect it to be there for them, which will hopefully be soon.

Yes, there are problems with super secret projects, but if you look hard enough you might just see that there is a bright side as well.  Leaving a project as hush-hush allows you to take the time you need to get the job done right the first time, with no compromises to your initial vision.

In my case the end result of this project will be going head to head against some very well established sites, so compromising the aspects of the site that will make it stand out from the crowd is simply not an option.  I have to do almost exactly the same thing that the big boys are doing, but i have to do it in a more effective way.  the site has to have its own selling points.  If not, it fails.  Period.

So now it’s back to the lab.  I think Igor is ready.  perhaps soon it will live!

I use a Mac, but I don’t use iPhoto for anything.  Why?  Because I can’t stand the way iPhoto manages my images.  I don’t want to have to search by event when I’ve added a new batch of photos I need to upload.  I don’t enjoy my software trying to rethink how my files are organized and because when you take 30 to 40 pictures a day as I often do, it quickly becomes obvious that iPhoto wasn’t built with a serious photographer in mind.

Sure, there’s Aperture. I’m sure that it would do 99% of what I need it to do, but it comes with a fairly steep price tag, which isn’t what I’m looking for after already shelling out the money for Photoshop and my Wacom tablet.  What I need is something that can handle an inordinate amount of images, do so without burning through all the memory in my system and let me get to the business of editing and uploading images as needed.

That’s where Google’s Picasa^™ comes in.  First of all, it’s quick.  Even with over 20,000 photos in my collection (and that number grows by up to as much as 100 per day), Picasa opens in just a few seconds, where it takes iPhoto a full three minutes to get up and running.  Images are stored chronologically, rather than in collections, but I do have the ability to create my own albums at will and can add as many as I need on the fly.

Picasa also gives me the ability to upload images to multiple image sharing sites on the fly.  It can upload to Google’s Picasa photo sharing site by default, but with the addition of a few simple add-ons, Picasa can upload photos to Facebook, Twitpic, Yfrog and other social media sites with ease.  All you have to do is select the images you want to upload and click the upload button.  No fuss, no hassles, just done.

Picasa comes with all the basic image editing tools that you would expect in any decent image archiving package, like straightening, image sizing, red-eye reduction and brightness/contrast adjustments.  it also has a few nifty image effects in its arsenal that can be used to enhance your photos before you upload them to your favorite sharing site or decide to load them up in a more powerful editing package for final touches.

I’m sure there are some pretty loyal fans of iPhoto out there that will disagree with me.  If so, I’d like to hear why you feel that iPhoto is a better tool.  Have I missed some golden gem of insight that would get me to use iPhoto over Picasa?  What is is about iPhoto that keeps you coming back for more?  I’d love to hear your opinion, so feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.