One of my biggest problems that I wrestle with is managing my time better. I'm have more than enough to do, but some days, no matter how "busy" I am, it seems I don't get much done. Anyone else have that problem?

OK, so this month I'm implementing a schedule for myself. From this time to this time I will work on such-and-such; from here to here I work on this other thing. I have set times to work on Facebook posts and blog writing, too. While it doesn't take long to do those 2 things, they can get pushed to the back burner, so if I have a set day and time to do them maybe I will.

I know it's only a matter of discipline and I need to be more disciplined. I found some tips for managing time that I plan on using:

Understand how you use each day

Honestly review your day and understand how you are wasting time, then commit to becoming more efficient with your time. It's important to be honest and objective about how you really spend each day.

Set Priorities

Even with a well organized schedule and good work habits, there is still often not enough time in each day for workers, particularly small business owners and managers. So it is essential that we prioritize tasks and categorize them into Urgent, Very Important, Important and Wasting Time categories. Spend the majority of our time on tasks that are important and either delegate low priority jobs or move on to them only after completing the more urgent tasks.

Plan Your Time

By having a clear and precise plan for each day you have a target to aim at which eliminates many of the hours wasted in-between tasks or thinking about what to do next. Along with a daily plan, there should also be longer term goals to work towards. Setting daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals can dramatically increase your focus and productivity.

Review Your Progress

Many work habits have been formed over a lifetime, so we will often slip back into them if we fail to continually review our progress. Some habits will be harder to overcome than others, but the effort we put into overcoming them will be rewarded with added productivity, profitability and a more focused workplace.

Take Time Out

We're only human, so we should also plan for times when we can wind down and do less important tasks. Browse the web, call a friend or have a longer lunch sometimes. It's only when we make a habit of doing these time wasting tasks that they become a problem.

I'll keep you posted on how I do. Wish me luck!

Realtors have been doing it for years: Putting their faces on all their marketing materials, from business cards to billboards. Why do they do it? Are they so full of themselves that they believe we all want to see their smiling mugs?

No. They do it because they know that a buyer or seller wants to deal with a human, not a company. They are trying to connect with their prospects on a more personal level.

In today’s competitive market that’s your edge: Humanize your organization to deal with, well, humans. We all want to connect; that’s the draw of social media, to connect. It’s also a powerful tool for your business. It gives you and your company the opportunity to interact with your customers. Interaction is an experience and a good, or bad, experience has a greater impact than a canned slogan or catchy logo. (Not that these elements are not important.)

Add pictures of you and your staff to your website or Facebook Fan Page. Send out a couple of blasts a week from your page, and they don’t always have to be selling. Send out links to articles of interest in your business. Do you sell building supplies? Send out links to DIY articles. Become a trusted friend and expert in your field.

The point is you’re building a relationship with those fans. You’re becoming a friend and people like to do business with friends. It’s comfortable and safe, and that’s what will build customer loyalty.

So, put your “mug” out there. Connect with your customers. The Internet has evolved from making things more impersonal to helping people connect with people. Use it and grow your business.

Urban Influence is a branding studio in Seattle that really "gets" branding, and helps others "get" it, too. Brand is product, service and experience. This little video is worth you 3 and a half minutes.

I came across this ad made in the UK. It's about wearing your seatbelt and getting home safely, a message we've all heard before, but this one really connected with me. Consequently, I will remember this ad for a while to come.

Keeping it simple, yet pushing the right buttons may be a challenge, but it's very effective.

I've include another that has stuck with me for years: The crying Indian of the '70s "Keep America Beautiful" campaign. I've never forgotten that ad and I don't litter. Is that because of the commercial? Maybe not, but I still think of it when I see how the neighbors in my apartment complex constantly throw their fast-food cups and trash on the street rather than carry it into their units and throw it away.

Magnify the positive benefits to the consumer. Touch them where it will get to them and, well, you'll get to them.

The other day I was asked which email service I use to send out our monthly newsletters. My answer was Vertical Response. I like this service because I can buy as many or as few as I want, and the price seems comparable to the others. And I have a fairly successful return on that investment.

Then I got to thinking about direct mail and it's response rate, and wondered what the experts were saying. I found this article that was typical of the general consensus:  With a clever, targeted subject line you almost half of those delivered opened. Direct mail? I don't know, but we do know that the bottom line is about 50% more response from the email than from the direct mail. And the use of video will only increase those results.

Is this true for all businesses and services? Of course not, but the numbers are worth a look and serious consideration should be paid to acquiring quailified email addresses. More on that later. Now, here is a case study with some interesting stats.

Case Study: Direct Mail vs. Email Marketing with Video

Last night I sat on my deck with a friend watching the storm go by to the north. It was putting on quite a light show, so I grabbed my camera and began to shoot. I managed to get some good shots, but it was only dumb luck. You see, no matter where I pointed the camera the good strike would be elsewhere in the sky.

Then it struck (a thought, not lightning); that's how ideas are, at least with me. An idea can come from anywhere at any time, but often I miss it. I'm busy looking somewhere else in the sky through a tube. You know, you get it in your head that the solution to whatever the challenge will be within certain parameters, so we confine our "search" to a specific area. But, if we take the tube away and allow our peripheral vision to work we stand a much better chance of "catching" an idea.

I wasn't thinking about a topic for a blog entry last night when this notion hit me, but I was receptive to ideas. I try to stay that way, in the now, noticing what's happening around me, open to a new thought or a new spin on an old one. Marketing ideas are no different. I think the most successful campaigns probably started with an obscure thought out of the now, just there in the corner of a person's eye, then developed into reality. Too Zen? Maybe, but I hope you get my drift. (Get my drift? What am I, in the 80s?)

Be receptive today. Take off any blinders you may be wearing and relax and enjoy the show that happens everyday all around you. The ideas will come when you least expect them. Oh, yeah, you may want to write them down. I carry a couple 3x5 cards with me all the time.