Moving…
I’ve been consolidating all my websites recently. This site will soon redirect to my primary domain: cjchilvers.com. Please visit and kick the tires. If you’re subscribed here, please subscribe there or just follow along on Twitter. Thanks!
By C.J. Chilvers.
I’m really trying.
Productivity is for machines. If you can measure it, robots should do it.
—Kevin Kelly via Patrick Rhone
Free Time
Most people will tell you the thing they want most is more free time. But they never keep it free once they get it. Work to live.
All productivity methods tend to ensure efficient completion of unnecessary tasks.
Most people spend just seconds looking at a billboard. Most people spend just second looking at a website. Wouldn’t it be great if more websites were designed like billboards?
Easy is never easy enough.
One Pen Addict to Another
Brad Dowdy (@dowdyism) was kind enough to include me in the lucky circle of writers to receive some samples from JetPens.com. I took my time and put each pen and mechanical pencil through its paces. Real world. From the heat of my car to the classroom to a jangly pocket full of change.
Most did well. One stood out.
I was sold the first time I took the Pilot Hi-Tec out of pocket and scribbled my first hurried note on a hand-held index card. The lightest touch is all that’s needed to write something legible and, on the rare occasion, when I’m writing in ideal circumstances, it remains consistent in its easy flow without clumping, stumbling or scratching.
I’m almost ashamed to say I wasn’t aware of the Hi-Tec. Apparently, it has a huge following. In fact, a kickstarter project started to give it the exceptionally-designed casing it deserves.
It’s easy to see now why this pen is causing a stir among writers and I never would’ve picked one up with Brad’s help. Check out the pen, Brad’s blog and the story of how he landed his dream job.
VHE Updates
I’ve started a twitter feed for my first book, The Van Halen Encyclopedia, currently being revised for its third edition. Follow @vhencyclopedia for updates, insider info and news on future versions of the book.
Hypocrisy
Being consistent is WAY less interesting than being yourself. And if you’re not interesting? Good luck with your Big Consistency Project.
This is why I call most things I do around here experiments. I write heated posts on a topic, calm down for a bit and then try the opposite, just to see the other’s guy point of view. If you get too hung up on consistency, you can easily find yourself itching for a fight on a topic for which you have no real vested interest.
Drawing a Blank
Business cards are one-size-fits-all affairs, revealing the same information for total strangers and your best customers. Pre-packaged, pre-designed and pre-determined. What a waste of an opportunity to connect.
I’m talking about blank business cards.
Marketers often talk about the greater impact of hand-written materials when compared to printed materials, yet every marketer I’ve ever met uses highly polished materials to project some kind of professionalism. But is that how you measure professionalism? I measure professionalism by what you’ve done up to now, not what you’ve spent on designers and printers.
Do yourself a favor and buy some great blank business card paper stock and keep a pen handy. When you meet someone, make them feel a little special by taking the time to write out exactly what they need to know. It’s unique. It stands out. It’s powerful.
Of course, offering a solution that isn’t about throwing money at a problem may not ever be popular, but doesn’t that make the solution all the more unique?
