I hate to say it, and I'm even afraid of being misunderstood, but I spend a lot of time on things that aren't important and hurt my business. Let's be honest: the Internet is a cool tool, but it can keep you from doing what you really need to do, which is make money. Here's a short list of things I think are a waste of time:
Blogging — Yeah, I like to blog. Love it even. Still, blogging can sometimes be a goal in and of itself. How does my website rank? How do I get my Technorati rating? I run seven blogs, but this one is my favourite. Some of the other blogs don't deserve my daily thoughts. Just thought you might be interested!
Forums — I used to spend a lot of time on this one forum, which I won't name, about 8 or 9 years ago. Even though I got into a lot of heated arguments, I still had a good time. The only thing I can say I've learned from experience is that spending too much time on any forum is a waste of time. Okay, I still like forums, so I make sure I don't waste too much time.
Web Pages — Tweak, I must! There is no such thing as a web page that is "done." Maybe overdone! Sometimes I just have to stop making changes and let the page stay the way it is. No one else cares as much as I do about the javascript, background colour, and font. Why bother?
(b) Ad networks (n.) — Three years ago, banner ads were a big part of how I made money. All that work for a $25 check once a month? Not worth it.
PPC Schemes — There are good plans and bad plans. Even though the Yahoo! Publisher Network is getting better, I haven't found one that works as well as Google's AdSense programme. I have made the monthly minimum payout with AdSense for 30 months in a row. I have even made that much money in one day, so it is a good programme. Still, I don't have time to watch every ad on every page of every site.
So, that's the end of it. My small list of things that waste time. I'm sure there are more, but I think you already understand what I mean.
