Howdy Reader! Chatted with a dear friend tonight. He's approaching a crossroads with his career and warned me that he was going to ask for advice. He was looking at certificate programs that lead to jobs. His talent stack is deep. He knows how to do many, many things. Me being me, I mentioned becoming a content creator. This is my thing I can't shut up about. I'll turn the conversation at the first hint to this topic. It's a passion of mine. Whether I'm super-good at it yet or not, I'll talk...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I regularly come down with a case of the Oh-I-Need-To's. "Oh, I need to print out that song for practice tomorrow." "Oh, I need to send that email to Philip to invite him over." "Oh, I need to make sure the Amazon Prime thing is handled." These are examples of the Oh-I-Need-To's that came up tonight. At least, these are the ones I can recall! Why I get the Oh-I-Need-To's This happens because I still don't have a full task management system that I trust. It's not that I haven't...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I'm thankful for my 9-to-5. I'm close by my workplace, and the schedule is flexible. Along with the flexible schedule, we have "core hours" that everyone is expected to be there. So I can't just come in whenever I want. There are limits. Some days I cut it really close. I get in as late as I'm able to. And those days it's stressful to make it there. Other days I have margin. Just like on a neatly-formatted report or a school essay. There's room. I don't have to watch the clock...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! My wife writes historical fantasy. She's gearing up to re-release three books that she published a decade ago. They're with an editor now and she hopes to get them back over the next few months. Aside from that, part of selling them again is giving her books and novellas a unified look and feel for their covers. She's learned a lot about how to put these together. She told me that "it was keeping her from writing." I guess it was, but she figured out a ton of stuff in doing...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! Someone I follow on Threads posted this: People keep DMing me to review their: - Landing page - Threads profile - Digital product funnel So I turned it into a service. For $47 I’ll: - Record a 10–15 min video audit - Give you a step-by-step action plan - Show you where you’re losing sales If there's a demand, meet it with a service. Let's grow and be productive together! ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! Organization isn't my strong suit. As music director of our church, I'm responsible for getting the music schedule ready for each service. For months, the schedule would come out only a week in advance. Not much opportunity for others to plan. So our pastor brought someone else in to help, and now the schedule is filled out through the rest of the month. But what if you don't have help? In an organization, a corporation, whatever, there are team members. But what if it's just...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! One of the creators I follow on Threads said that he has his Threads posts scheduled through October. Twenty-five posts a day for several weeks. That's a nice buffer! That puts him in the driver's seat and takes a lot of stress away. Something to aspire to! Let's grow and be productive together! ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there with a question about building your online presence Check out my other...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I don't watch many shows on Netflix. It swallows up time. Ironically, one of the main characters in my current show is all about time. Whiterose I'm halfway through Mr. Robot, the psychological, cyberpunk series starring Ravi Malek, Christian Slater, and others. Whiterose, the leader of a Chinese hacker group, wears a timepiece that chimes every minute. One thousand, four hundred forty times each day. The first meeting with Whiterose in the series was scheduled for three...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! A quick one today: Not being hard on yourself is top-tier self-care. Let's grow and be productive together! ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there with a question about building your online presence Check out my other writing on my blog or on Medium Learn from my current side hustle challenges on Substack Note: Some links in this email may be affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no additional cost...
11 days ago • 1 min read