Today I completed 5 CFT’s, and it feels awesome.
CFT stands for Critical Focus Time and is something I’ve picked up from Ed Dale.
A CFT is time you set aside for content/product creation – in other words real work.
Each CFT lasts for just 25 mins with a 5 minute break in between – I use the timer on my iPhone.
In that 25 minutes you just work, 100% focus on the task in hand.
I’m doing a CFT right now, and I’m just writing… yes I’ll take the time after to edit, check spelling and review but the fact is I’m writing for 25 minutes which equals content on my site.

My CFT’s for today

I’m currently working on an installation guide for an up and coming free minisite template I’m giving away over at QuickSiteStudio.com. My aim is to provide everything you need to get a website up and running for FREE.
Today I completed the bulk of the guide which currently stands at 38 pages with over 7000 words written. The next task at hand will be to create all the illustrations and maybe some videos too.

Do you use any techniques to boost your productivity?

Technorati Tags: cft, content creation, going pro, productivity

Here’s the second part of my Going Pro process for creating content.

If you haven’t read how I use my iPhone to draft ideas read that first.

So after I have a few ideas saved as drafts in my WordPress dashboard, I’ll go through them to see which one I want to tackle first.

After I pick one, I reach for my trusty iPhone again and open an app called iThoughts.

iThoughts is a mind mapping app that basically allows you to easily get your thoughts down… kind of like brainstorming.

I’ve used mind mapping software on my PC before but there is definitley something about actually creating some stuff while touching the screen of the iPhone compared to using the mouse with the PC.

Here’s the mind map for the original blog post. (in the end I split it up into 2 posts). Click the image to see the mind map full screen (opens a new window)

To start off I have the central idea for the post in the centre.

Then ideas for the sections in the post are added as branches off this central area.

I just let the ideas flow and it’s so easy to flip from one section to the next if you come up with an additional idea.

Then once the bulk of the mind map is complete (I say complete, but 99% of the time I’ll go in at a later and add something else) You should see the mind map as something organic that grows over time.

Anyways, once I have the bulk done I’ll go in and move sections around… treating each idea as as paragraph in my finished post.

I’ll play around with it until I’m happy with how it flows.

Once I am then I’m ready to start writing the first draft of the post.

The beauty of iThoughts is you’re able to sync with dropbox… so within seconds I can have the PDF version of the mind map on my PC and have it there to refer to while I write the draft.

And that’s my process for content creation on my blogs. It may not be revolutionary but I’m finding it so much more easier and time friendly than sitting in front of my PC scratching my head wondering what to do, plus I’m enjoying it a whole lot more.

I’ll update you on my progress.

Technorati Tags: content creation, going pro, iphone

Some people stress over creating content for their websites. And to be honest I was one of those people.

I constantly put off writing because I saw it as a job that needed a lot of time to do. I made excuses that the “atsmosphere” wasn’t right and I hadn’t worked myself up enough to write. Crap excuses I know but basically I would do anything other than knuckle down and write the damn article.

I really didn’t like writing much at all, coupled with actually coming up with ideas to write about, I found it a problem… but you can probably tell that when you look at the last post I made… 4 months ago!

Anyway, after following Ed Dale for some time now, I’m finally Going Pro… and doing it the right way.

Now this just means going at content creation in the same way the “professionals” do it… processes and systems to make the job easier and faster.

So, I’m a big iPhone fan… the nifty little device is hardly out of my hand all day, checking email, surfing the net, catching up with what’s going on in Reeder and posting to Twitter, you name… I can do it.

As Ed teaches in the Challenge – Market Leadership has never been so easy.

But now with my iPhone, I have found and dveloped my own process to be more productive across all of my niche wesbites as well as here at RichardPargeter.com.

And I do it like this -

First off, I was reading a blog post the other day by Lynn Terry on the secret to writing really great content. She was saying how she uses the “DRAFT” feature in WordPress to document her ideas for posts… so that when she logs in she has a list right in front of her of things she can be getting along with instead of staring at the computer screen for hours thinking…”What shall I do” (not the Going Pro way!)

Anyway this got me thinking, because of my love for the iPhone this was something I was doing in a notes app… making lists of ideas… the problem being I wasn’t actually using these lists.

So I figured I’d do a search on the app store for a WordPress app and bingo there was one. Basically you can post and add to all your blogs from the one app… excellent.

So now when I get an idea I open up my app, wherever I am, whatever I’m doing… I could be watching TV and something springs to mind I make a quick note of it in the WordPress app and there I have it. Once I save it as a draft I know the next time I log in to my site from my PC I’ll have a list of things to do posts to make, there in front of me.

Here’s how to set up the App:

1. Open the app and you’ll see this screen…

Tap the “+” icon to add a blog

2. Select “Add self-hosted WordPress blog”

3. Fill in the details and tap “Save”

4. You’ll now see your blog in the “Blogs” screen, tap on it

5. Tap “Posts” at the bottom… if you already have posts you’ll see a list here

6. To add an new draft idea… tap the icon in the top right hand corner of the screen

7. Add your post idea in the title and any additional notes in the “Tap here to begin writing”

8. DON’T tap “Publish” as your post will go live.. Instead tap the “gear” icon at the bottom

9. Tap “Status” – at the moment it will say Published and you’ll see the following…

Scroll down to “Draft” and tap “Done”

11. Tap “Save” and your draft idea will be uploaded to your site, ready for the next time you log in.

Pretty nifty eh? I was going to run through the whole process I go through from start to finish in creating content but I’ll leave the next part for another post.. [Grabs iPhone]

What do you think? please leave a comment below

Technorati Tags: content creation, going pro, iphone, wordpress app