Dave Caolo

Just yesterday I posted my professional goals for the week. Credit good karma, motivation or that giant bag of crystal meth I smoked this morning, but I’m beating this sucker up like Iron Mike Tyson. Here’s an update

• Order new business cards (2 points) Score! +2
  
• Complete website (2 points) Score! +2
• Publish WordPress video (2 points) Score! +2
• Write new blog articles (2 points per)
• Draft new video series (2 points)
• Pitch my presentation “Blogging for Artists” to local galleries (2 points) Score! +2
• Connect with local members of the tech community (1 point)
• Mail proposal to Client A (10 points) Score! +10
• Land Client B (10 points) Score! +10

Plus, I got five posts up at TUAW today. Sweet Mother of Mary, I’m on fire. Here’s to organization, discipline (turn Twitter OFF once in a while) and the motivation offered by a monthly mortgage.

I use Backpack by 37signals for personal project management (the electronic arm, that is). Recently, I completed a project (go, me). However, I didn’t want to delete the project page and all of its files. Nor did I want to stare at it in the middle of my projects list every day.

So, I decided to “archive” it. By renaming the page with a “z” as the first character, it dropped to the bottom of the list in my sidebar. This is how I’ll deal with all archived projects in the future. The page continues to exist as it was when the project was open — all files, history, communications, etc. in place — but it’s no longer grouped with my open projects.

As David Seah points out, CEOs focus primarily on actions that move their companies forward. As an easily-distracted freelancer (New iMacs are out? Cool!), I need assistance in identifying and accomplishing these goals.

So, I use Dave’s Concrete Goals Tracker (CGT) forms. Each Sunday, I sit down and list the actions I’ll take in the next six days to move my business forward. The CGT makes that fun by assigning point values to different categories of activities.

For example, life-sustaining billable work (like signing a new client or contract) is worth 10 points. Concrete planning or accounting is worth 5, acts of self-promotion are worth 2 and relationship maintenance is worth 1.

I thought I’d share the goals I’ve created for this week with you. This weekend I’ll tell you how many points I scored.

• Order new business cards (2 points) Score! +2
  
• Complete website (2 points)
• Publish WordPress video (2 points)
• Write new blog articles (2 points per)
• Draft new video series (2 points)
• Pitch my presentation “Blogging for Artists” to local galleries (2 points) Score! +2
• Connect with local members of the tech community (1 point)
• Mail proposal to Client A (10 points) Score! +10
• Land Client B (10 points) Score! +10

Check back this weekend. Now, back to work!

It’s important to feel productive and useful. However, there’s an erroneous assumption that “productive” is always synonymous with “busy.” The image of an office worker who can simultaneously handle a phone call, fire off an email and staple the new cover to his TPS Report is enviable. “Multi-tasking” is a buzzword which suggests a peak state. We should all be so busy, so motivated, so … productive.

He’s getting things done for sure. But I’d argue that the most productive part of my week is when I appear to be doing the least.

Each Sunday morning I sit at my desk with my notebook and pencil. My iPod plays my Weekly Review Playlist and a cup of hot tea silently lets off steam.

My computer is off. Nothing is printing, beeping or chirping. It’s my favorite part of the work week, and I’m sharing it with you here, including a free download of my weekly review music. Enjoy!

Project Status

Each of my open projects has a folder in my Support drawer, and each folder contains a project overview sheet, which lists the overall goal and all action steps that must be completed before I can mark the project “done.”

I’ll pick the action steps I want to accomplish during the upcoming week and move them to my notebook, and cross off the steps I completed during the past week. I repeat this process for each folder, and when I close the last one, I’m done.

Delegated Items

If any items I’ve delegated remain unfinished, I make a note to contact the appropriate person on Monday.

What’s in the inbox?

Once I’m finished reviewing my projects, I review my inboxes, with are

1. My notebook It never leaves my side and captures all the verbal requests I receive, things I hear on the radio, etc.
2. Email I go through all my messages one at a time, decide what needs to be done (if anything) and act accordingly.
3. Voicemail A necessary evil (for now!).
4. Physical inbox Handouts from my daughter’s preschool, paper mail, etc. are piled in my plastic inbox during the week. Each is processed in turn and an action step (if any) is moved to my notebook.

At this point, I’ve done several things. First, I know where I stand on all of my open projects. That’s a tremendous feeling.

I’ve identified my goals for the week. I’m the kind of person who likes to be told, “Here’s a list of exactly what I need you to do.” This way, I give myself such a list.

Finally, I’ve crossed off many completed actions. That’s an even better feeling.

The Music

As a special thank-you to all my readers, I’m sharing my Weekly Review Playlist. You may download each track individually or as a whole. I hope you enjoy it. Now, turn off your computer, find a quiet place, make a lovely cup of tea and experience the most productive two hours of your week.

Weekly Review Playlist — 30MB

1. 3 Plus 4 – El Ten Eleven
2. Dot 2 – Gregor Samsa
3. Lorge – El Ten Eleven
4. My Only Swerving – El Ten Eleven
5. No One’s Gonna Love You – Band of Horses
6. The Thief – Jeremy Larson
7. Jezebel – Iron & Wine
8. Rise Up With Fists! – Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins

Every weekday morning, my wife drives her clunky old Nissan to work. At the first stoplight, she turns into the Hess parking lot, walks inside and gets a coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s the kind of daily non-event that that doesn’t warrant a mention.

Until this morning.

“Do you know Dunkin’ Donuts sells pizza now?” she asked.

“Pizza?” I said.

“Sandwiches, too. Not the breakfast sandwiches, but hot flatbread sandwiches. Turkey club, that sort of thing.”

“Well, that’s crazy,” I said.

“I know!” she said. “Who wants a Dunkin’ Donuts pizza?”

Several weeks ago, I was stammering and stuttering in a room full of small business owners, a bank manager, a CEO, a public accountant and my career counselor. “Will you explain your business idea to me once again?” the accountant asked.

“Sure,” I said as a small BB of sweat rolled down my spine. “I do technology counseling for home and business, technology writing and marketing through weblogs.”

“Wow,” she said. “That’s a lot of stuff. Which one do you do well?”

Ouch.

This was the culmination of a week-long business class. After forming a basic business plan, financial projection and so on, our assignment was to speak for three minutes about just what we intend to do. Several of the students nailed it. I wasn’t one of them.

Later, when the group was mingling, exchanging business cards and eating donuts, the accountant approached me.

“Good job up there,” she said.

“Oh, please,” I said. “I think it’s too early in my ‘career’ for me to be in this class.”

“No,” she said. “It’s the perfect time. You’re full of good ideas and enthusiasm. That’s great. You just have too many ‘buckets.’ When you told me what you do, I thought, ‘Here’s a guy who is mediocre at three things.’ I want to know that you’re an expert at one thing.”

In other words, I was selling pizza at Dunkin’ Donuts.

For all I know, the pizza at Dunkin’ is the best in the world. Their flatbread sandwiches might surpass those at my favorite deli. But I’ll never find out, because I won’t try them. My perception of Dunkin’ Donuts is that they make great donuts. They taste good, they’re fresh (in the morning anyway), they’re consistent and inexpensive. I know that if I buy a Boston Creme from Dunkin’, I’ll love it.

But pizza? No. If I want pizza, I’ll go to Carmine’s. Flatbread sandwiches, The Corner Store. They’re the experts at pizza and sandwiches, respectively.

It’s easy for ambitions freelancers to inadvertently market themselves as Dunkin’ Donuts selling pizza and sandwiches. You’ve got killer ideas plus oodles of talent and confidence. That’s all wonderful, but consider your customers’ perception of that same far-reaching ambition.

I once heard someone describe himself as a “New media freelancer.” My immediate thought was, “I have no idea what that means” — and I’m a techie! Imagine you’re the owner of the General Store or the director of the tri-county library system. You may very well benefit from the services of a new media freelancer, but you probably won’t because that confusing title won’t get him in the door.

The lessons I learned are

1. Identify your niche. I’m an IT guy.
2. Describe it in plain language. I help people and small businesses make computer repairs, set up networks, make purchases and get the most out of their technology with one-on-one coaching.
3. Avoid “also-rans.” Again, it’s not easy, but it’s crucial. Consider your client’s perception of what you actually do.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck!