Someone posted in a forum today something that caught my attention and apparently hers too. A ‘guru’ not in the Internet Marketing space but  finance arena, had recommended that we try not turning on the computer for the first two hours of our day to improve our productivity.

Well that’s sound advise. It’s logical right?

I think so. And while I do not know what context the guru was speaking in, I do agree… to a point. This is what I posted as a reply and it explains why.

It really depends what you do. If you’re a writer or insurance agent or something like that. I can understand it. But us… if I don’t turn on the computer how in the world am I going to write that plugin or build that theme or tweak the web site? You certainly can’t do that stuff on paper.

Since the guru’s reach is wide and mostly offline, I’d say he wasn’t thinking about people like us whose business is largely if not entirely online. In that case Yes! Yes! Yes! But that’s not the point of my post.

In business a lot of people will tell you a lot of things. Some will swear that you have to do things a certain way (usually their way) or else be doomed to a life of toil and failure forever and ever. Others are not as forceful but equally convincing.

It is OK to follow in the footsteps of super successful people. Those who are one, two or multiple levels ahead. In fact I recommend it. But at the same time, if it is not working out, I don’t think we should feel like we have to always follow everything a successful person advises to a T. I don’t believe we should feel guilty if parts of it just don’t work out for us.

• TRY it first
• Pull out the things that work for YOU
• Chuck the rest. Create your own methods and systems

When I look at the people ahead of me, I often see bits and pieces of different expert’s teachings. I see someone doing a little bit of the 4 Hour Work Week method but not entirely because they also have something from David Allen in there and a dash of techniques they learned from some other expert.

Copy means duplicate, replica, clone. If each of us are unique human beings, not clones – so should our journey to success.

P/S: And for the record about the computer off thing. I have and do something similar. I don’t usually turn it on until after the first hour which I reserve for bible reading, studying and prayer. When I do get it turned on, email is not usually the first thing I check and often try to complete one or two tasks before giving myself permission to check emails. But there are some days reserved for writing or strategizing – those are done offline as much as possible. This is not something rigid but rather a general rule of thumb. If I have to I’ll boot up first thing or check the phone. It works for me and the key is discipline.