Time Management

Time Management Trap #2 - Trying to do More Than You Can Handle:

As more and more webmasters and website designers continue to chase that ever elusive dollar, they keep adding more and more to their sites in the hopes of making those dollars materialize. The problem here is not knowing when to say enough is enough. They go out and start getting involved with every affiliate and sponsorship program that they can find, and then have to spend long amounts of time adding code to their site pages just to make a buck. Or they go out and sign up with every banner exchange known to man and again spend hours of time adding code to their site. Either way it's all the same, and there are other examples that I didn't even list, but you get the idea.

This type of shotgun approach rarely accomplishes anything. Actually it does accomplish something: burning out new webmasters and site designers with wasted energy on unfounded principles. There are so many sites out there on the net. In today's Internet world a business needs to target their market in order to see any results on their efforts. Then take into consideration the way that search engines now index pages based on link popularity and you can see how a new site can have major problems when it comes to getting visitors through their doors. And that is only the beginning. What about sites that try to be everything to everyone? It is far too easy for a site design to sprawl out of control. You need to keep in mind that each new thing you are going to add to a site, if it is a kind of updating content, is going to need to be updated in some form. For the new webmasters or website designers, that usually translates into extra hours of creating the content that will update to bring their visitors back.

Webmasters and website designers usually tend to be people with vision. They tend to be creative and artistic in some degree or form. Their concepts, if unchecked and unbalanced with reality, can grow into huge monstrous hulks that will eat away at their time and life. Remember, I am speaking to the new webmasters and website designers here, NOT the ones that have the funds for their own domains or their own CGI scripts or ASP support which can greatly reduce the time needed to administer one of those hulks.

Each new area, service, newsletter, mailing list, or any other stuff that can be used to generate repeat traffic, will cost you time in preparation and distribution. Not only will you end up having to promote your site to get the traffic, but you will also have to spend the time in developing relevant content for each of the areas I mentioned. After a while, it all begins to snowball. The reality is, it only snowballs so long before the domino effect kicks in and other things begin to suffer.

The key here is to work smarter instead of harder. Knowing when to say when, and keeping your design in line with your design time abilities are crucial. Take this site for example. There is quite a bit of information here, if you took the time to look around, isn't there? The site appears professional doesn't it? Would you believe me if I told you that this site concept and design is handled by a single person? How do I do it? The answer is simple. Do I know what I'm doing? You betcha, I got you here didn't I? I work smarter instead of harder. I have been in the business long enough to have resources that help me to accomplish just that. That is one of the reasons that I decided to start putting tutorial stuff here online. I wanted to help others accomplish what I am accomplishing. At the time I am writing this, you will also notice that this site sits on a free hosting service. I have my reasons for that also and will go into them in other areas of the site.

A new site needs traffic in order to survive. That is the most basic principle of a business endeavor on the net. Finding the right programs that maximize the desired results is the most critical part of content generation. You have to have content that visitors want. And if you don't have a catalog of goods that you sell, and you want repeat visitors, then your content has got to update. These are simple facts and all part of the webmaster or website designer gig. Don't get me wrong, there are reputable businesses out there that help webmasters and website designers accomplish the appearance of having goods, or updating content, but if you are starting out then you have no clue about these things available to you. As an example of this fact you can check out my Telecom Services or Homebased Business Opportunity at those links. Just click on the words to pop open a new window to see what I talk about. Those are just two of the possibilities out there to help you look big while not having to spend the additional time to be big.

The point I have been trying to make here is simple. Proper time management guidelines are important to maximize your personal time investment. Schedule things in such a way that your efforts are maximized with the least amount of time. It takes some thought, and some self education, but in the end is well worth the effort. The questions to be asked are the same as in trap #1 above.

Time Management Trap #2 - Trying to do More Than You Can Handle Solutions

You can begin with the same questions in the solutions to the first trap above. Is there a way to automate what you are trying to do? Does the cost of the automation fall in line with your budget? If it can't be automated, can you really accomplish the added tasks with the present time commitments of the site? If you can't automate it, can you outsource it through another company that will seamlessly integrate with your present site to make you appear larger? Do I really need to do this, and how will it benefit my site and the goals I have for it?

If you are looking to other businesses to provide your needs here, then there are more questions to ask. Is this company reputable? Do they have a track record of accomplishing my task? Do they provide past customers that I can talk with and get opinions from? How do they compare to other companies offering the same service? Are their claims hype, or can their claims be proven? Do they have a file with the Better Business Bureau? If I attempt to do any research on them, can I find information about them online OTHER than from their own site? ( Kind of shooting my business in the foot with that one since it has only been online for about a month now. I have been so busy in the past doing design for other customers that I never took the time to put the business online till now. ).

Here is where I will plug the software that I use in order to automate the design process. Feel free to click the links without losing your spot here on the tutorial. All links on this page within the tutorial itself are linked to open in new browser windows. For website submission I use SubmitWolf by Trellian Software. The Pro version allows you to submit your site to over 1000 search engines and 500000 link pages. It also supports the new "priority submission" that some of the search engines came out with to make money. The other nice feature of this program is the ability to query the search engines based on the keywords you provide to tell you your exact placement on search listing results. I began with the free download to get an idea of how it works and am planning on upgrading to the Pro version. You have 30 days to use the download version with limited functionality.

For my FTP needs, I swear by CuteFTP Windows Based V.4 . Cute FTP totally automates the FTP experience. Set it up with your account information and upload entire sites with drag and drop features. Also supports file search, MP3 search, and a host of other features. This is a must for webmasters and designers who get sick of the web based upload utilities that most hosts provide with the 5 to 10 maximum file upload at a time. Drag and drop with CuteFTP and do something else while all of your files upload.

For my link building needs, I use LinktoLink by Wintertree Software Inc. This is a nice little program that helps to automate the reciprocal link process. I target websites that I find in searches that have products or services that fall in line with my own, and then use this handy little program to send off link requests. The Pro version allows you to import links from search engine results, will check the linked site and yours for active links back and forth, can import links from other sites, e-mail templates for requesting a link swap, and more. This program helps to cut down the time spent on reciprocal links generation. Yes, they also have a free download trial, and an adds supported free version of this program.

For my site recommendation needs, I use Bpath. I wanted a form that my visitors could use to refer their friends via e-mail messages. This service is totally free, and there is little to do in the setup process. I added the code to the site, then added the paragraph toward the bottom of the pages that tells people they can recommend the site to a friend, and I even pop it open in another window. They also have other free services designed to help webmasters and website designers with automating their websites.

I also thought it would be neat to allow my site visitors to post their own links. I happened upon another free service that allows them to do just that. It's what they call a Free For All links page. You can see mine in action and sign up for your own if you wish, or just add your link. Either click the link there, or the visitor links at the bottom of the page. They will both lead you to my visitor's links page. It isn't as integrated as my Telecom Services page, but still serves the function. Hopefully you are using these links, if nothing else but to see what is available out there to help you accomplish your webmaster or website design tasks.

The main trick is to find things that help to cut down the amount of time it takes to complete a task. Another helpful tool is to write down a schedule, and then stick by it. Sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in your work, especially when it is something that you love to do. Further help might include putting a clock next to your PC, or possibly setting the alarm function to alert you when the time has come to stop. I know that these ideas may all sound weird, but if you sacrifice everything else to accomplish your goals, then what is the success you get worth if you have nobody to share it with?

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By James R. Sanders
December 17, 2001

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About the Author

James R. Sanders is the owner of Sanders Consultation Group Plus. He has been a webmaster and website designer since 1997. He has also been involved in self employment ventures since 1992. He is presently a contributing author of NewbieHangout, and has been published through WebProNews and 4Rankings.com. His writing is targeted to webmasters, would be webmasters, website designers, would be website designers, self employed, or those researching information looking for solutions to questions associated with design, business operations, and promotion today. His goal is to provide practical information based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website designers, and self employed people achieve their goals in today's competitive global market. You can subscribe to his free newsletters at SCGP - Newsletter and become a member of the SCGP Portal. If you like SCGP content and would like to use it on your site, then check out our content agreement and terms of use. Use our articles on your site without the hassles of writing your own content. Get back to the things you could use your time better for, like site promotion.

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This page last updated: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:43 AM EST