308 karma · joined October 19, 2013
anders (at) andersthue.dk
It is a new working methodology that helps Makers beat procrastination, get more time in flow and have time for creating quality code while helping their Managers get a better overview and more sleep.
We are shooting for public launch after the summer holidays, currently the methodology is freely available if you sign up to our launch list. It's a three day email course.
Get out.
Quick!
I don't understand why I have to sign up to get a recipe, I can get those for free all over the internet, so why should I sign up for yours - are they so much better?
Also the images and button styles make me think it's an old website, and since there are no clear dividers I had to re-read the "Any food you don't eat" to understand what pressing the buttons do (the opposite of what most food type buttons do on recipe websites)
The thing is that I still do personal sales and on boarding and often gets 2 new referrals every time I pitch it to one customer so I am not in a hurry yet.
When we are getting ready for a public launch it needs a serious brush up.
I soon got my first donation, and one more, and one more and realized that I had made something that gave enough value to others so that they wanted to give something back.
This made me look for the next product to build, and it ended up being TSR Watermark Image - a windows software that lets you watermark images (doh)
This gave me a (nice) side income of around 1000$/Month until I attended MicroConf in Prauge where I learned enough to 5x that business.
Currently I am pouring the money from the watermarker into the latest product http://timeblock.com that will be the next step in my business adventure, hopefully becoming a SaaS app that can make a 5-6 figure MRR
Take a look at these
I also learned that making decisions quickly and not ponder over them too long really makes a dfference!
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently : http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0684852861/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=...
Managing software projects : The TimeBlock Method by Me :) http://timeblock.com
It's a lot of entrepreneurial ways of working mixed and simplified into a method I can explain in twenty minutes.
The website and SaaS app is available at http://timeblock.com
I have pitched the method to around 30 companies, half of those are working after the method now (ranging from 1 to 60 employees) and of those, 6 is using the app (two are paying customers \o/)
I am looking for podcast and blogs who would like to talk about the method and how it helps Makers and Managers become happier and more effective.
The main takeaway is that you want internal motivation, not external!
I found my internal motivation through finding my "why", read "Start with why" for an explanation http://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/...
I can recommend http://zenhabits.net/lg a book about letting go, a concept so hard to do and so easy to say :)
Edit: the best book about Taiosm that explains Lao Tzu's words is http://www.amazon.com/The-Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers/dp/03...
As my self confidence has grown so has my openess!
When you ask if you are normal, you at the same time define "not normal" and put yourself in that box, what about rejecting the concept of normal and work on accepting who you are?
On the other hand I understand and recognize what you describe, sounds like what I used to do and what I have seen in many.
Try this: Divide your project into timeblocks of half a day's work (not in hours but in a size you can realistic reach either before midday or from midday until end og working day)
Then take a piece of paper and make a grid with the five weekdays and two cell's per day and write one of the timeblock you defined above in each cell.
Then show someone this paper and hang it somewhere visible, this is your accountability.
Then in each timeblock, after reaching your task, mark it complete and procrastinate until the next timeblock begins :)
This helped me.
Edit: then only sell timeblocks not hours - that way you get paid for doing tasks not doing hours.
The main gain for makers is that they get more time in flow and secondly get more control over their time and how and when they have to do the work.
What I have learned as a 43 year old is that it is just how I am and when I accepted that, it became easier and it is no longer a "problem" for me.
Perhaps you are like that?
I took the strenghtsfinder 2.0 test and that helped me understand myself which helped me to accept myself.
I can highly recommend the book "start with why" to figure out who your innermost values are, and the letting go book from zenhabits to accept who you are and letting all your ideas about who you should be go.
Then when you get to be legal, you will have a few (or a lot) of side projects that each will deliver a little trickle of money. Use these as fun money or even bette channel it into larger and larger projects, hiring others to do the important stuff you find uninteresting.
Find a mentor, someone wiser than you, let them help you level up faster than is possible alone.
Join a mastermind group, be accountable to others, learn to ship real stuff.
When you reach legal age, travel to conferences, talk to older more experienced people, learn how they did and copy what you like.
When you hit 20-25 you can have a steady income high enough to support you.
The theori is that if you cut resources you have to cut either quality (scope) or deadline.
So to answer your question, I would focus on quality by making sure there is resources enough - to make and to test.
It was fun because, it's nerdy, it's outside, you meet people from all around the world and all around society, they are fast.
Both gives me a lot of mental energy!
I am using the money to stairstep (as Rob Walling talks about) into the SaaS world with my sleep and happiness improving way to work called TimeBlock (http://timeblock.com)
I had been running my company of 5 employees for several years and never was able to get overview of projects and good and transparent feedback from the makers. This led me to create a new way to work that I am now turning into a method and an app.
The foundation of the method is 1) Leave the makers alone so they can be as much as possible in flow 2) Inform the Managers, honestly and transparent so they have total overview and sleep better. 3) Commit and be acountable to team members, manager and customers about what you will do during the week to improve internal motivation 4) Learn from mistakes, discuss how to learn from failures and how you can behave differently to prevent making the same mistakes.
Read more on http://timeblock.com and sign up for the newsletter to get the method in a three day course.