The following is a short video that explains why I created AwayFind (and touches on how to batch your email). I delivered this as a presentation to the School of Blogging Conference in Chicago (under the parameters of 20 slides presented in 5 minutes). I hope you’ll enjoy this, and will participate in the private beta. Feel free to skip to 0:42 for the meat of the presentation…

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Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, AwayFind, Email, Productivity, SET Consulting
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Most people don’t own their email’s domain (i.e., the part after the @ symbol).  Many exclusively use an email address that was provided to them by their internet service provider or place of employment.

This is a wake up call: don’t wait any longer to own and control your email. Here are some scenarios that may fit you, and how to fix things.

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Filed under: Email, Professionalism, Technology
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Keeping in touch isn’t good enough.  Social media improves the quantity of connections but not necessarily the quality of relationships.  So how do you build a real friendship with people you don’t see regularly?

You create presence.  This concept has long helped me in romantic relationships but it’s equally relevant with friends and colleagues.  I want to address this for three reasons:

1. I see people using social media as a replacement for other forms of relationship building.  It is a vehicle for keeping in touch, not a destination
2. Keeping in touch is different than presence–both easier and more difficult
3. I’ve just returned from the School of Blogging Conference and I want to hold onto some of those folks (#sobcon08)

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Filed under: Business, Happiness, Social Media, Technology
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This weekend’s School of Blogging Conference in Chicago will be very productive; after all, there’ll be many there who write about personal growth and productivity.  I’m anxious to see how everyone does at practicing what they preach.

Below are some great articles by each of these excellent writers (so if you’re not attending, check them out!), an open invitation to get together with them and others in Chicago, and a nifty map for those who are attending.

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Filed under: Productivity, Social Media
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Three quarters of the meetings that “merit a face-to-face” really don’t.  It’s not “telecommuting” (that’s so 1997) and it shouldn’t even be called “working remotely”–it’s just WORKING.  I’m putting my foot down and removing any distinction.  Working from home has greatly improved my business, my sanity, and my life.  So I’m opening up the kimono here on my tools.  No, you don’t need to come in, you can read this from anywhere in the world.

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Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, Business, Productivity, SET Consulting, Technology, Tools I Use
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Social media rockstar Chris Brogan suggested that we spend more time today reading and commenting online.  I sometimes feel like I don’t link enough to other sites I enjoy, so I’m going to combine those two ideas and let you know about some great posts I’ve come across and commented on lately.  They range from productivity to self-growth, and from social media to springtime…

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Filed under: Productivity, Social Media
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A pet peeve of mine is receiving unprofessional email–but I realize there’s no easy way to learn the subtleties.  I’m not talking about email content, but how you format and configure it.  This stuff is visible to your recipients and easy to fix.  If you’re not familiar with this, then that’s the point–I hope you’ll read on to improve how your email reflects upon you.

Next week I’ll tackle the much harder topic of the email content, but for now…

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Filed under: Business, Email, Outlook, Professionalism, Technology
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Social networking and blogging can feel like a high school cafeteria, full of cliques and at-times silly symbols of popularity.  But unlike high school, there are always more people to win over and stages to advance.

Take a step away from the contests and consider applying the lessons you’ve learned in the real world to build deeper relationships online.

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Filed under: Happiness, Social Media
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Why is it that in school we always got our work in on time? We had outside pressure. If you have unfinished projects, commitment is often the missing ingredient.

Learn 7 commitment hacks that’ll get your project done. I guest-posted this article at Dumb Little Man: 
 

–> CLICK HERE to read this article on Dumb Little Man <–

This article is the third in a series on Everyday Productivity…

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Filed under: Business, Productivity
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Actually it’s curiosity that prevented him from ever becoming one. There are formulas, many formulas for spreading your message or building a personal brand online. These formulas actually work, but not if you let curiosity be the death of you first. Here you’ll find advice on spending your time a little more wisely on the internet so that you find your formula and stick with it.

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Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, Business, Happiness, Productivity, Social Media
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