Confessions Of An Article Writer: Time Wasters!

Word Count:
387

Summary:
Managing a business means managing your time. Matt discusses five time wasters that can impede the profitability of any online business.


Keywords:
freelance article writer, web manager, HTML, PHP, DHTML, forums, message boards, blogs, bloggers


Article Body:
I hate to admit it, I even think I'll be misunderstood, but there are several time wasters I encounter throughout the day that can negatively impact my business. Let's be honest: the internet is a cool tool, but there are enough distractions to it that can keep you from what you really need to do: make money. Here is my short list of things that are real time wasters:

Blogging -- Yeah, I like to blog. Love it even. Still, there are times that blogging can become an end to itself. What is my page rank? How do I rate with Technorati? This particular blog is my favorite -- I manage 7 of them -- but some of the seven aren't worthy of my daily thoughts. Just thought that you would like to know!

Forums -- Going back 8 or 9 years I used to regularly participate on this one particular, not-to-be-named forum. Got into a lot of heated arguments, but I still had some fun. When it all adds up, the only thing I can chalk up to experience is that spending too much time on any forum is a real time waster. Okay, I still like forums, so I control my time usage.

Web Pages -- Tweak, I must! There is no such thing as a "done" web page. Maybe overdone! There are times that I simply have to stop making updates and simply go with the page as it is. No one else cares about the javascript, the background color, the font as much as I do. Why sweat it?

Ad Networks -- Three years ago I relied heavily on banner ads to help generate revenue. All that work for the occasional $25 monthly check...not worth it!

PPC Schemes -- Some plans are better than others. Personally, I haven't found one that works as well as Google's AdSense program although the Yahoo! Publisher Network is improving. For 30 consecutive months I have made the monthly minimum payouts with AdSense -- even generating that much money in just one day -- so it is a good program. Still, I don't have time to monitor every ad on every page on every site.

So, there you have it. My short list of time wasters. I am sure that there are more, but you probably have already gotten my point.