Author: brianjohnson

Posted on

Giving Anything Up Makes me Vulnerable to Slipping Elsewhere

This is one of those posts that feels a little bit like… Duh. But it’s still worth discussing.

Recently, I uninstalled the YouTube app from my phone, because I wasting way too much time using it. The goal was, of course, to not waste time on YouTube.

And I found that the first day after that, I was very anxious and had a hard time concentrating. As a result, I slipped in other areas.

It took me a long time to get going with work, and other tasks that I as trying to complete just didn’t get done.

Granted, I now know that I was also coming down with covid at the time, so it’s not entirely fair.

But even so, I think the point stands: when trying to quit something, you use up a lot of your willpower and energy and it makes other things harder.

I just need to be careful with that. I can’t let everything fall apart when I’m trying to accomplish just one thing.

I’ve also realized that I still have a social media problem. Because now I’m just using the YouTube website a lot, now that I don’t have the app. It’s not better.

I’ve tried to get my social media use down to near zero and I’ve struggled to do it. I think the addiction is actually way more powerful than anyone thought.

That’s it for now. I think I’ll try to really get rid of YouTube (and all social media) going forward.

Posted on

I’m Going to Rewrite all of my Top Blog Posts to Make Them More Relevant

This is not a very exciting blog post to read again in the future, but it’s important for me to think through this because it could have a huge impact on my success.

I’ve been working on improving my website from a technical SEO perspective and also just more broadly trying to improve its rankings. It has a lot going for it, yet I still have not been converting many visitors into clients. For a few years now, I’ve slowly been losing traffic but at least I’ve gotten to a point now where that is no longer the case.

So that brings me to today’s task.

I’ve made the realization that all my top-ranking pages are essentially irrelevant to building or maintaining websites. Most are random tutorials involving Photoshop or other misc. programs. I couldn’t tell you why these happen to rank so well when my far-more-relevant content does not.

Either way, I have learned that this could actually be quite counter-productive. I used to think that all traffic was good traffic. But if my top-ranking pages are irrelevant, Google won’t know what I actually do and will never rank my for what I want to be ranked for.

So first, I’m going to try to make those pages more relevant.

I started today with a Photoshop-related tutorial. I added a handful of references to website design and building websites, and generally framed the whole thing as a website designer’s guide to this particular problem.

I’m hoping that this – along with adding some links to other website-related pages – will indicate to Google that the real topic is websites.

So now I want to go through all of my top-ranking pages (perhaps the top 20 or more) and re-write them so that they are more relevant to websites. It’s possible this will have a huge impact.

There’s also the chance that it won’t.

If months go by and it hasn’t made a difference, I may need to consider trying something else. I maybe even want to consider removing the posts and redirecting their URLs to somewhere else on my site.

It would be a shame to lose that traffic, but if those rankings are actively preventing me from ranking my other pages, and none of those visitors are ever converting, why would I keep them? It doesn’t make sense.

I hope it doesn’t come to that. But it might. We will see!

Posted on

If I Have the Right Conditions, I Thrive – What Feels like Self-Discipline Often Isn’t

I’m currently dealing with my second bout with covid. Even so, today I got up early, I got my studying in quickly, I got all my work done and was productive there, and I even added in a weight training session and a sunset walk around the neighborhood.

Many of these things – especially the physical activities – weren’t really planned. I kind of just did them.

And it made me realize that a huge percentage of my behavior is really just based upon having the right conditions. I like to believe that I’m a free-willed being that strategically uses discipline and willpower to do exactly what’s needed at any given moment.

But in reality, I’m starting to think I have more in common – day-to-day – with a hamster that just needs to have enough food, water, clean bedding, and a wheel.

I think back to times when I’ve been super productive and even gone above and beyond on extra projects, and I’m realizing that it wasn’t any extraordinary effort or careful planning or anything like that. I just… Did it. I finished all my normal tasks, and still felt like accomplishing things, so I did.

And then I think about times when I wasn’t nearly as productive. And often it’s just the case that I got to the end of the day and just had nothing left in the tank. No desire to get anything done.

Now that I’m stating all of this, it seems so incredibly obvious. And yet I feel like I’ve almost never expressed in this blog before how critical it is that I get these conditions right.

Maybe it’s because I’ve so infrequently done it, so I never really knew.

Either way, I now believe that there is almost nothing more important than setting up the right conditions for myself to thrive. These are things like:

  • Getting adequate, quality sleep (treating sleep apnea is obviously key here)
  • Not drinking much or at all
  • Keeping up with exercise (both weight training and cardio)
  • Eating well
  • Staying hydrated
  • Staying on top of work
  • Keeping my home well-maintained
  • Keeping personal relationships in order and an active social life
  • Keeping up with hobbies

Of these, the first two are probably by far the most important both short and long-term. As long as those are good, I should generally have the energy to handle all of the rest.

Now clearly, self-discipline still has its place. And energy should still be used strategically, especially for things like building effective habits. But those are all multipliers.

I feel like establishing these conditions is really the base of my productivity and well-being, from which all success – in all areas – springs. Habits, willpower, and just about everything else – including productivity “hacks” – are really just going to be multipliers beyond that.

But 0 times 1000 is still 0. So if you don’t have the base established, you’re still going nowhere.

And either way, it is far easier to establish a new habit or stay on track if all of these conditions are met. When I’m well-rested and everything else is in place, it feels like I can do anything easily. There’s far less need for discipline or “willpower”.

While improvements from treating my sleep apnea haven’t come quite as quickly as I had hoped, I’m realizing now that many of them have absolutely have come.

Before treatment, it felt like I was exhausting all my willpower every day just to do the bare minimum. I didn’t have these conditions met, and so every day was kind of a struggle.

It wasn’t immediately obvious because I wasn’t “dropping the ball” on anything critical just to keep going, but long-term I think it manifested in lack of growth and other long-term initiatives stagnating.

But now… Even while recovering from covid, things are easier than they were. I can finish everything and still have energy left for more projects.

Obviously it’s better when I’m not sick, but the point remains that I didn’t have this before. It’s very subtle in that I don’t actively “feel” super different, but my behavior is totally different. I can get so much more done, my thinking is way more clear, and really it’s just all better.

Going forward, I need to prioritize getting these conditions right nearly all of the time. That may even entail near or total teetotaling. I’ve intentionally not really placed any limitations on myself in that area since ending my year-long break, just to compare. But the results seem to be clear: the benefits do not outweigh the cost.

I haven’t made any firm decisions yet, but either way: I will be much more conscientious going forward about making sure all my conditions are met to maximize my success – in all areas.

Posted on

I May Need 9 Hours of Sleep For the Foreseeable Future, and Caffeine Could be a Problem

When I started on CPAP, I had hoped that I would soon need less sleep since I would be sleeping way better. And while that may technically be true, I think I still need over 9 hours.

I spent around 5 straight days sleeping between about 7.5 and 8 hours, and I felt like I was pretty dead. I was still very tired in the morning, and waning throughout the day. I also generally lacked motivation and energy.

Last night, I slept more than 9 hours, and I do feel quite a bit better today. So for now, I’m going to try to make sure I sleep 9 or more hours each night.

I’ve also considered the possibility that caffeine may play a role. My AHI has been between about 1.5 and 2 for a couple weeks consistently. I’ve had caffeinated tea most mornings, and I’m wondering if even that small amount had an impact.

I reviewed data and realized that some of my lowest AHI nights were when I was sleeping in the alternate cabin. One notable thing about that is that I had tea every morning, but it always lacked caffeine. At the regular cabin, I still had caffeine.

It could also just be the bed, or some other environment factor. It’s hard to say at the moment.

Regardless, I think I’ll try avoiding caffeine for a while and seeing how that goes. If it leads to a lower AHI every night, I may have to forgo it permanently.

And if it turns out not to make a difference, I should consider what other factors may be leading to a higher AHI. I’d like to see if I can keep it under 0.5.

That’s it for now!

Posted on

I Need to Stop my Phone Spam, and Start Answering Calls from Unknown Numbers

A lot of things have slowly started becoming very clear to me lately. As I’ve thought more about my business, the more I’ve realized that I’ve been really blind to some obvious truths.

One of them is that never answering unknown numbers on my phone is costing me business. It’s likely that most potential new clients that reach out to me are probably calling, and of those, few will leave a voicemail or email me if I don’t pick up.

In high school I worked at a small business office and the owners would be furious if the phone rang more than 2 times without getting picked up.

I should probably have a similar mindset.

The problem now, of course, is that I believe almost all of the calls I get are spam. In the past, I would have said that virtually all of them are spam. But I guess I don’t actually know that.

So first, let’s deal with that.

I might have to sign up for a service that removes me from spam lists. I know there are a handful of services that do this, and I’ll need to research them and see which is the best. I just added this to my list.

If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll be removed from most lists and the spam will die off.

It’s possible it won’t. Given my position in the web design industry, it’s likely I’m on lists that you can’t be removed from.

If I’m getting too much spam even after that, I may have to look into other solutions. I could have a robot-answering machine or find other ways to filter out spam. Maybe I need a service that scans numbers and makes sure they aren’t on any lists.

And then once that is all set, I need to start actually answering calls. I might need to figure out a way to have a schedule on my phone to have it ring but only during business hours.

Hopefully, if all my efforts pay off, I’ll start having lots of potential new clients reach out to me and I can start signing them up for our services.

I’ll write more about that in the coming weeks but hopefully things will really start working out. Little issues like this one now seem obviously problematic to me and I’m hoping to work through them all.

Posted on

I’m Growing Tired of a life of Entertainment, and Increasingly Interested in Creation & Connection

I’ve had a variety of posts in the past that touch on some of these themes, but more than ever, I feel myself becoming less interested in simply being entertained or consumption and more interested in creating things of my own or genuine connection with others.

This is particularly evident after a night where I just stayed in and played games or watched shows or movies. If that’s all I did, the next day I always just kind of feel hollow. Like I wasted the whole day.

Conversely, when I focus on improving myself – whether that’s reading, developing a hobby like guitar or disc golf or another sport – or just socializing and connecting with others, it feels much more rewarding.

I think I’m at a point in my life now where I just really need to focus on improving myself more and getting into the habit of almost exclusively engaging in activities that are going to bring me long-term improvement and satisfaction.

And simply consuming entertainment is not going to do that.

It’s not to say I can never just enjoy things. And particularly at this moment, I feel like it still has a place as I feel like I improve after my sleep apnea diagnosis. I don’t want to be too hard on myself, and sometimes it’s totally fine to just relax and enjoy something.

But I want to continue moving towards creation and improvement. I think that is going to really help me long-term.

I want to cultivate a sense that I’m providing value to the world and to myself beyond just my job. That I am inherently talented and capable.

I suspect it may just be human nature to desire that. Regardless of why I want it, I feel that it is quite important and I’d like to achieve it.

Historically, it has often felt overwhelming to focus on anything difficult after work. It has sort of felt like just doing my work and working out were the only things I had the bandwidth for, and so the rest of the time all I could do was just enjoy entertainment.

But as my energy returns, I’m starting to feel like I can and should be doing way more than that. So that’s what I’ll do!

I’m sure similar ideas and updates on this same one will come up over time.

 

Posted on

People Dig In Once they’ve Stated an Opinion, and the Internet Makes this a Terrible Thing

I had the realization that people tend to commit to a thing once they’ve actually said it aloud or typed it. It’s as if they trust themselves that they’ve fully thought through something by the time they are willing to actually state it.

This is helpful to realize, but also demonstrates some areas in which this is absolutely a terrible thing.

First, I want to point out that, in general, people tend to be a lot more careful with what they say in person. People are likely to react immediately if someone says something stupid or totally out-of-line. And in-person, if you get scolded or called-out, you tend to care more.

But online, people will say whatever comes to their mind. They don’t fear the consequences. They don’t care if someone calls them out. They have anonymity to shield them if what they said is stupid.

Not to mention the fact that they are likely to post in places where everyone is bound to agree with them anyway. It would seem that the method of choice by social media networks to avoid hostility and toxicity is to separate everyone into silos of people that already agree.

In person, people are far more likely to listen, to think, to gather information. Only after they’ve done those things are they comfortable giving an opinion.

And that’s a great thing!

They’re also more likely to change their opinion. If someone they respect and value is explaining something to them, they will be way more likely to listen with an open mind and work to find common ground.

Online, people just dig in. And when they inevitably fail to change any minds, they just go back to their silo and say the same things with people they know already agree.

As a result, people are more divided than ever, but just don’t talk about anything in person. They come to conclusions quickly and never have their ideas questioned. They then seek information that confirms their existing beliefs, and things just get worse.

I really hope that the newer generations that were raised on the internet can see through these things clearly, and that they are able to develop strategies to combat these things. Otherwise, I’m not exactly sure how humanity is supposed to recover.

It does seem like there is hope though. The boomers – who obviously had no experience with the internet and social media until they were already middle-aged, seem to be the least equipped to deal with this, and it shows.

Younger people do seem to be inherently tuned-in to these problems and as a result, might be able to avoid the worst of it.

It’s hard to say. I just hope things improve, because I don’t think the world is in a good place right now.

Posted on

I Need to Get Serious About Paying for Leads

I’ve decided I should actually put some work into paid ads and trying to acquire clients that way.

In talks with a business owner whose business I wanted to acquire, I learned that he had been using paid ads on an obscure directory site and was paying $60/lead.

He was then profiting like $80/month on each of the clients he got.

Even if only 10% of those leads signed-on, this would still be a great deal. Considering the going rate for a business like this is 1x annual recurring revenue.

So in his case, each client should be worth around $1200 to him.

And I need to start looking at it that way.

Obviously these aren’t as good as acquiring a company, because every client will require onboarding, and there will be lots of sales work I’ll have to do. So I can’t pay that much.

But if I’m trying to sign them up for services which will yield $80/profit per month, I’d argue I should be willing to pay at least… $800 per new client. That’s still far less than I was willing to pay for his company.

That’s a lot of money to be able to throw around. And they’ll still pay themselves off quickly.

If I could pay $800/lead and get… Say 5 new clients each month, I’d obviously be spending a lot on it but I’d be adding $400/month of extra profit, every single month in the future. And I’d be adding to this number each month.

After just one year, I’d have another $4800 of profit coming in each month, or $57,600/year. That sounds pretty good to me.

Granted, I will have spent $48,000 that year in advertising, but it would be worth it. Because these clients would keep paying for years.

It’s also worth noting that I would literally be cash-flow positive even in year one. It would be a lot of work taking everyone on, but absolutely worth it.

With this in mind, I need to get aggressive and try a ton of things. I need to try ads in various directories, Google, Google Maps, and wherever else I can find.

I will have to do research to figure out what keywords to use. I’ll need to track things so I can figure out which keywords are the most successful and which ones are a waste.

Regardless: I just need to do it all. The specifics remain to be seen. But I need to put some serious money into this because it will still be profitable.

One advantage I have over most is that my overhead is basically zero, so I don’t need to be as profitable as the bigger shops. I can afford to spend a lot more on each lead because my margins are still high. Once you have a large staff, an office, and a bunch of other pricey things, it gets difficult to maintain.

I’m feeling excited, though, because I’ve never really taken paid ads seriously and I’m only just now realizing how incredibly helpful they could be.

I’m hoping to kick this off within the next few weeks and I’ll report back with results.

 

Posted on

I Need to Tune Up My Website and Focus on Improving SEO

I have a large website and tons of useful content. Until recently, it was getting a ton of traffic, too.

But it’s been consistently dropping despite adding new content regularly, and at this point I’m at like 20% of what I had just a year ago.

It’s time I figure that out.

The first thing I need to do is fix all the issues identified on my site by SEMrush and Google Search Console. I’ve already done the most critical ones and some of the low-hanging fruit, but there is way more to be done.

The biggest things remaining are that I need to make sure all images have alt tags. It will be slow-going, apparently, because some of the ways images are used on my site apparently do not automatically load the alt tag data even though I’ve entered it.

Regardless, I need to get my traffic to return, if for nothing else than to attract sellers of their website hosting companies.

I have a list of things I can fix, and we’ll see if those things make a difference over time. I’m hoping my traffic starts to creep back up again.

If not: I think what I’ll do is share some of my data with the SEO community and see if they can help with ideas, or possibly find and hire someone with lots of experience to take a second look.

But this should be my priority for the time being.

Posted on

On the Importance of Sleep

If there’s one specific topic that comes up more than any other in this blog, it’s sleep.

Time and time again I have recognized the issues with my sleep schedule and attempted to fix them, only to fail over and over again.

It’s time I finally did something about it.

I feel like I constantly have brain fog, except on days when I sleep really long. But if I sleep really long, I can’t sleep well the next night, and my problems continue.

It’s possible the implications of this are massive.

So for starters, I’m going to finally do the one thing they’ve been telling us to do for ages. I’m going to put my phone in a different room and sleep without it near me. I just bought an alarm clock and am finally going to try that out. It might make a big difference!

I’ll probably also try to minimize doing anything else in bed. Without a phone, I’m hoping it’s way easier to just get up immediately and get going. I should probably also not do anything else in bed, including reading. I might have to either read in another room or get a chair I can read in.

I think my sleep has just generally been pretty terrible, and even though I’m spending a lot of time in bed, it’s not quality sleep and as a result, my memory is terrible and I have constant brain fog.

Overall, I think I need to do all of the following things:

  • Leave phone in another room
  • Get up at the same time every day
  • Limit time in bed to like 8.5 hours
  • Don’t do anything in bed other than sleep
  • Get out of bed right away after the alarm goes off and no snoozing
  • No naps

I need to develop my circadian rhythm and I need to have quality sleep when I’m trying to sleep. Anything short of that is just going to cause serious problems for me.

I know I’ve tried similar things countless times before, but this time I’m serious. It has to happen.