WARNING - If you have no self control and are easily distracted do not read the following post.

Self discipline has never been one of my strong points and I’m not sure that bodes well considering that in starting in December the internet will be my only source of income. In an effort to try and see how much time I waste I’ve compiled a list of the usual suspects. I’ve really got to do something about my wandering mind because I don’t think checking stats, posting to Facebook and commenting on blogs pays very well.

The culprits:

• Google Adsense - Back when I was earning $0.40 per day I checked Adsense a million times a day. Now that I’m making more, it’s up to about a zillion.
• Google Analytics - I don’t understand most of the stats this thing spews forth but I like looking at the pretty graphs.
• Email - I am hooked on checking my email and having a whole load of different accounts really doesn’t do me any favours.
• Affiliate Sales Stats - I’ve got about 6 different affiliate programs going at the moment with only one really earning me any money. I still log into all of them a few times a day with my fingers crossed that I’ve made some massive sales. I like to live in hope.
• Blogs - I only really like blogs about blogging or travel but that still leaves plenty of choice and I’ve been discovering lots of little gems over the past few weeks to provide me with plenty of distractions.
• Forums - Before my discovery of blogs I would do the rounds on a handful of travel and webmaster forums learning a few things here and there but mostly just avoiding doing any work.
• Facebook - Crackbook. Need I say more?
• MyBlogLog - Clicking on little pictures is fun.
• 103 Bees - This cool little gadget lets me know, in minute details, what search terms people are using to find my websites. Why I need to know this or what I can do with this information I do not know.
• Technorati - I haven’t quite figured this one out yet but it looks primed to become another top tool in my quest to waste time.
• Feedburner - This is a new one and had been serving as a distraction 473 times per day but now I feel really dumb because I think it’s only updated daily proving that I truly am a master time waster.

I need to come up with some kind of plan to keep myself away from these little goodies because at the moment I think I’m wasting some serious amounts of time. Are there 12 step programs to ween me off of these highly addictive distractions?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I love it when I come across a fantastic idea online and wanted to share this one with you.

Sean Aiken is a 25 year old college graduate from Canada who has no idea what he wants to do with his life. Most people in this situation would take any job they can get their claws on in the hope of paying off their student loads but Sean made a promise to himself not to settle for a job he wasn’t truly passionate about. With this in mind he started One Week Job project and will spent a year working various different jobs but only for, you guessed it, one week at a time.

I think this whole project is a damn fine idea and a great way to see the country, meet loads of people from all walks of life, and raise money for charity all while trying to work out what to do with his life. I’m just annoyed that I didn’t think of it first! Although I don’t think I could handle starting a new job each week… it must be tough always having to be in a good mood, especially when he seems to be clocking up plenty of 5am starts.

Sean’s message is an important one. Too many people spend their entire lives working in jobs they hate, trapped there by debt and financial obligation. I think you can make things a lot easier for yourself by living a bit more simply and not getting weighed down by possessions because once you get saddled with debt you’re options become more limited.

I’ve got a business degree that I don’t expect I’ll ever use. I’m wondering if Sean is regretting not doing this whole one week job thing before he went to college. Sure, a business degree is handy for some but it’s not going to help much if he decides to pursue a career as a vet. I went to uni because it was just the done thing. I felt pressure from my parents and went despite not having a clue what I wanted to do afterwards. Going to uni for uni’s sake is a waste of time… travel a bit, talk to people in industries you might be interested in, do what Sean’s doing! Ok that might be a bit extreme but you get the idea.

I’m a bit cynical about the whole higher education thing though. I think far too many people head to university thinking that having a degree alone will somehow make them in demand. Everybody and their dog has a degree these days. I think showing some initiative and making your own experience is essential. If you want to work in business - start a business!

If Sean decides to pursue something media related then I think his involvement in this project is far more beneficial than any amount of media studies he could have racked up at college or uni. Getting out there and doing things in whichever industry you’re interested in will make you far more employable in my opinion than slogging it out for four years at uni.

Check out the site at One Week Job. All of his wages are donated to charity so he’s looking for sponsors to help cover some other costs. For $50 you get to help Sean out and also get a permanent one-way inbound link to boot! Sweet deal. Or if you’d like to sponsor on of the show episodes, I know they want to hear from you.

I think I’ve found the perfect ‘job’ with this webmaster thing. I can work from anywhere, be my own boss, I get to write about topics I’m passionate about, I’m always learning new things and I make money in my sleep! What about the rest of you? Could this whole earning money online thing be the perfect gig?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I have to admit that I don’t really have my ear on the pulse of the internet and any new term that comes my way has probably been around for at least 3.5 years so forgive me if this is seriously old news.

Well it’s not really even news, just a new term. Or maybe an old one. Who knows. Ok enough of me talking to myself… the term is ‘bacn’. It’s pronounced ‘bacon’ and I think the idea is that it’s better than spam or something witty and clever like that.

It refers to all those emails that you get that aren’t spam but aren’t from a living, breathing person either. Stuff like bills from your internet provider, notices that someone has just invited you to be a pirate on Facebook, a notice that someone has commented on your comment on a blog etc etc etc. All those emails that you’ll probably want to read at some point but never seem to have time for.

Do we really need to give this stuff a name? If we’re going to give it a name and it’s going to sound like bacon, why can’t we just call it bacon instead of the ridiculous looking bacn? Why does this even bother me?

I need to get out more.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!