The Dave Litten Experience

Yesterday Was A Good Day. It was a Catharsis, a Tipping Point. Whatever. I get so used to giving advice that sometimes I forget to take it.

Enter my clever nephew (Nick of http://www.projex.com). He must be one of the best IBM/AS400 consultants on the planet. And we were talking of some web site changes I needed, and the conversation turned to what the heck am I doing, which direction am I heading, etc, etc. 

So here I was, back in my beloved Spain for the week, my wife packing and ironing for another intensive set of training seminars in the UK - Kent next week, then London, then Leeds, then......eventually crashing into Christmas...

I've got 4 or 5 website projects in various states of completion, and my mind was flitting from problem to problem. As a project manager, I should have known better...Oh, I had the "To Do" Lists going on - but I haven't made the time recently to sit down and devise a strategic plan. Simple stuff here really.

Mentoring is getting a much needed revival on the Internet right now, the global financial situation is causing much change in peoples lives - some for the good, some for bad. As my nephew gave me a gentle bit of "advice" as well as swift action I might add....I sudenly realised I was being "mentored"

It's not that the mentor is clever and you are stupid - just that a different perspective can be determined. Also remember the old saying "a trouble shared is a trouble halved"? Yeah - it still works. I'd swap a pound of knowledge for an ounce of common-sense any day!

There are some interesting pieces of software out there that can help you "project manage" your life. One you should install right now - even if only for a week or so is: http://RescueTime.com. This little gem logs how you spend your time on the PC - so you can become more effective. Too many hours on CNN or answering email? - cut down on the time-stealers!

There's other stuff too - you need to decide, but to get you started, how about:

http://www.ActiveCollab.com
http://www.TasksPro.com
http://BaseCampHQ.com
http://JingProject.com

Or maybe you need to outsource some of the clutter in your business life - particularly if like me, you run your own business. English speaking collage grads are probably better than you at techie stuff, and for as little as $10/hour - you should check out: http://www.AgentsofValue.com

"Real results and success come from sustained implementation of simple actions over time"

Now let's see if I can take a large spoonful of my own medicine! 

Speak Soon.