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Bill came in. I thought about how strange it was that he had two legs, two arms, one head, etc. – almost exactly like a regular human being.

So, maybe Bill isn’t the right person to compare ourselves against but the point is that the people around you need to easily recognize that you are a real person, just like them.

When I was first starting out, I pretty much ignored returning emails and phone calls under the impression that I was simply “too busy” for it**. Then one day I realized that people had stopped coming to me when opportunity knocked, and it hit me: I had to make myself more accessible if I wanted to get ahead.

“So, how do I become more accessible?”

First, make sure you give people multiple ways to get in touch with you. If you’re reading this, you probably have a cell phone, email account, Facebook profile and a Twitter account. Use them.

Then, **make sure you actually reply like a human*. It’s *that simple.

Well, not really, but it’s a start. Here are some extra tips for you:

• Visibility creates opportunities. People will never know how great you are unless they know you exist. Use blogs, Facebook, and your voicemail greeting to start getting your personal brand out there. (You did rethink your personal brand, didn’t you?)
• Be reachable. Let’s be honest, you probably have an account on nearly every Web 2.0 site out there. OK, maybe not *every *one but you probably do have an email, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or FriendFeed account. Just use them.
• **Show your face. **You can’t get ahead by sitting behind your computer all day. Get out there and start meeting people. You know the saying – a picture is worth a thousand words. Start putting a face to the name by actually meeting the people you interact with online.
• **Respond promptly. **Most people are on deadlines. The more quickly you can follow up when someone contacts you, the more likely they will return the favor. If you have the time, respond to messages right away.

We’re all busy. Some days it seems like you’ve got neverending phone calls to return and emails to answer, but it’s time to stop making excuses.

I wake up at 6am every morning to catch up on email because I know that the people I’m replying to are still in bed — they can’t possibly reply back to me immediately with a one-liner. Stick to your schedule and keep the lines of communication open, the results will be well worth it.

Just remember that there’s a fine line between using your downtime effectively and stealing time or resources from your employer, family or friends. First and foremost, if you’re getting paid to do a job, that work needs to be your top priority. Don’t forget about your family either.

With that being said, there are some ways to use your legitimate downtime to focus on getting ahead.

1. Exercise: This is the best way to spend your down time. A good workout gets your mind off of things and gets your body in shape at the same time. Try to get into a routine of working out at least 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes — it’s easier than you think and you’ll probably gain some new perspectives on yourself in the process.
2. Change your environment: A change in scenery is well worth the effort. It can be as simple as heading over to a new coffee shop or taking a weekend getaway. Putting yourself into new situations tends to give you a new perspective on things.
3. Read a book: There’s nothing like holding a book in your hands and flipping through the pages. Pick up a book from time to time and get a new perspective on things. I’ve been picking up books from thePersonal MBA’s recommended reading list and running through them on the weekends.
4. Go offline: This can be as effective as you want it to be. Some people simply turn off their laptop while others ditch technology for the weekend and go cold turkey. Personally, I’ll grab my notebook & trusty pen and head off to a local coffee shop. Using a nice pen and paper is much more relaxing than you might think — seeing your thoughts on paper tends to help you see them from a totally different perspective.
5. Take a Nap: This is a tough one — I’ve found it hard to not feel guilty for taking a nap in the middle of the day. Despite what you may think, your body needs rest from time to time. Don’t feel bad for taking a 15 minute nap on the couch. You’ll bounce back with more energy than you think.

So, continue screwing off — just make it worthwhile in the process. If you’ve got any other ideas on how to effectively waste time, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

I know what you’re thinking (because I used to think the same thing): Life can’t always be fun and games. True. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take roll with the punches.

Besides, no one’s ever been on their deathbed and wished that they had worked harder.

Most people think that work is not meant to be fun, and those are the same people that work themselves into the ground, stress themselves out, and end up absolutely miserable (if you think stress in your work life doesn’t find its way into your personal life, you’re sadly mistaken). Trust me, I’ve been there.

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, stop and take a breather. Go joke around with a coworker. Leave early and spend some time with your family. Do whatever it takes to lighten your mood, and you’ll get back to work feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world.

The key to a well lived life is to avoid taking things so seriously. Just accept that unexpected things are going to happen and have a good time along the way. Besides, unexpected problems are rarely as bad as they actually seem.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Get tips from other bloggers. Despite what some people might have you believe, blogging isn’t new anymore — Technorati is tracking nearly 113 million blogs now. So, why not learn from the pros out there and avoid reinventing the wheel? When I decided to start this blog, I spent 2 hours reading nearly every post on Problogger, Copyblogger, Remarkablogger and Performancing. These guys are giving away nearly everything you need to know, for free. After reading all of those, I can confidently tell you that the secret to a great blog is incredibly simple: Help People. That is, help people by sharing what you love (and what you’re good at), and the rest will follow. The more value your blog provides, the more likely it is to succeed. Really, that’s all there is to it.
2. **Discover the quickest way to provide a TON of value. **I’m going to let you in on another big secret: The blogs that focus on dominating a single market usually destroy the blogs that try to be the best at everything. Focus on what you do best and then tell the world about it — widen your lens, narrow your focus. Find out what you enjoy offering the world and the remaining steps are going to be easy. This is exactly why you need to devote as much time as it takes to this step. Failing to focus, failing to choose one discipline and stick to it, is exactly what leads most blogs to mediocrity.
3. Form your team. The magnitude of your success depends on the number of kick-ass people around you. Instead of relying on your own brains, tap the collective wisdom of a number of smart people. I’ve learned that it’s really not hard to get mentors to help you – I found bloggers that I knew and asked them for advice. (Let me take a second to thank two people that provided a ton of great advice: Ramit Sethiand Chris Yeh. Thanks, guys!) So, go find your goal buddies – today.
4. Don’t waste money (or anything else). I didn’t waste money on paid blog hosting or custom designs. It’s simply not worth it when you’re first starting out. Sign up for a free blog at WordPress.com and move on to the next step. Seriously.
5. **Just get started. **I know many people that have great ideas. I know far fewer that are actually successful. The problem is that they never even got started. Don’t fall into this trap. The sooner you start, the quicker you will actually understand what works and what doesn’t. By the way, don’t waste time thinking about which one thing to do – the choice doesn’t matter, just do something. I forced myself to simply sit down and start writing – you need to do the same.
6. **Don’t become technology’s bitch. **Sure, there are a ton of great WordPress plugins, editors and gizmos out there – ignore them all. They take away precious time that you should be spending on writing and creating new content. Here’s the key: exploit tech only when you know precisely how it can help accelerate your ability to get ahead. (Here’s how I avoided becoming technology’s bitch.)
7. Get used to the work. I hate to break it to you: Plain old hard work is the best way to get better – it’s really that simple. You’ve got to have the self-discipline to stick to your blog for the long term. It takes patience, passion, vision and a little bit of luck but you’ll get there.

So, there they are — the seven steps I followed to get this blog to where it is today. Follow this process for your own blog and you’ll get further than you have ever imagined.

Introducing: The Skimmer’s Checklist to Blogging Success

Save yourself some time, pick up a free one-page checklist to learn everything I think you should know about successful blogging. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter below and download the checklist immediately!

In a word: energy.

Dragging yourself to a job you hate takes effort.  Being civil with a crazy boss and the lazy jerks called co-workers takes effort.  The job itself is boring and repetitive, so staying on task takes effort.  By the end of the day, you’re worn out, so you eat whatever’s handy and go to bed.  From here it’s a downward spiral because you’re not replenishing your energy.

The next day you get up and go through the same routine again.  Now what happens when you have a boring repetitive routine?  Your mind goes on autopilot.  Sometimes habit is a good thing.  If you had to relearn how to tie your shoelaces every morning, how much would you accomplish with your life?  In this case autopilot is dangerous because you’re locking into a self-destructive pattern.  Getting out of the rut is a classic catch-22 because you’re required to exert yourself when your personal energy gauge is pointing at empty.  The trick is to start small, taking one step at a time.

• **First listen to yourself. ** Are you joining the gripe sessions on work breaks?  Are you whining to all your friends about how tired you are?  Positive affirmations work by programming your mind through repetition, and negative affirmations work the same way.  Every time you tell someone you’re tired, you actually make yourself feel more tired.  So stop.  If your co-workers won’t change the subject — apparently some people get an addictive adrenaline charge from complaining — find something else to do on your breaks.
• **Then shake up your routine. ** If you normally wear dark colors, wear something in a lighter color.  Take a different route to work one morning.  Drink a different beverage on break.  Eat a decent supper, or at least pick up better quality fast food.  Little victories lead to bigger ones.  The more you stay off autopilot, the better you’ll feel.
• **Make a plan. ** Time wasted on whining is better spent brainstorming ways to escape.  Make sure your friends understand you’re talking about a real life escape.  I’ve discovered the hard way that some people love to daydream out loud with you, but they have no intention of doing anything.  To them it’s just part of hanging out, sort of like playing Dungeons & Dragons without dice.  (If they’re happy with their own lives, they’re being ultra polite in not telling you that your dream of telecommuting is rather lame as fantasies go.)  You need someone who’ll hold you accountable.  If you can’t find a serious goal buddy, consider getting a life coach.
• **Finally, carry out the plan. ** Where do you want to be?  What specifically do you need to do to get there?  Break it down into simple steps.  Take a step every day.  Even if you just send one networking email or make just one phone call, you’ll have moved forward.  Some days you’ll have more momentum.  Some days you’ll have less.

Just keep moving forward.

To make things worse, I was coming from an entrepreneurial family (seriously, every Indian family owns at least one business) and working for “The Man” wasn’t something I couldn’t handle for much longer.

I’m not sure what changed my mind, but I decided to accept one of the invitations to head out to lunch with the office. Boy, I wish I’d made that choice way earlier. I instantly realized a few things:

• **It’s cheap. **Going out to lunch with the office wasn’t as expensive as I thought. In fact, the food was cheaper and tasted better.
• **You’ll make new friends. **I immediately started associating with people that I never interacted with while I was at the office. Expanding your circle within the workplace is never a bad idea.
• **Find out who’s who. **A casual environment tends to make people loosen up. It was easy to figure out who was committed to the company and who the chronic complainers were. (Tip: Be sure to keep your distance from the complainers when you get back to work – they’ll talk your ear off.)
• *Get close to the movers and shakers. **Thanks to that casual environment, you’ll also form a rapport with your colleagues. And if one of your peers gets promoted, guess who she’s most likely to recommend when other promotions come available? Yep, you got it – her favorite lunch buddies. It really is all about *who you know!
• **You’ll expand your circle. **Lunch was a cost-effective way of networking. Everyone wants to eat around the same time so we were surrounded by other local professionals.
• **Know where you stand. **The fact that I was actually invited to lunch was a good sign. (If you’re not getting the invitations yet, take a look in the mirror and make sure you’re sending the right messages. My series on rethinking your personal brand will help you get started.)

Going out to lunch can not only be fun, but a valuable career tool – you never know who you’ll meet. I met two of my mentors and future business partners at one of these office lunches – that was the best $8 I could have spent. (Tip: Attend or Host a Lunch 2.0 event in your area – it’s a great way to meet even more people.)

Here’s how I spend no more than 30 seconds a day keeping in touch with everyone I know:

I set a daily reminder (I use Remember the Milk) to email atleast one person from my contact list every single day. It takes 30 seconds to pick someone at random and fire off a quick email to say hello.

Here’s an email I shot off just a few days ago:

Subject: Saying hello & mastering the iPhone keyboard

Hey Ben,

Hope all is well and that you had a great time in Costa Rica. (From the look of the pictures on your blog, it sure looks like you did!)

I dropped into a post today that reminded me of the brief conversation we had about mastering the iPhone keyboard, thought I’d pass it along: http://blog.crankingwidgets.com/2008/06/12/iphone-keyboard-mastery/

In any case, just wanted to say hello. I appreciated your time on the phone a few weeks ago – if there’s anything I can do to return the favor, please let me know.

Ok, so now you know how I do it, so let me give you one more tip: Do your recipient a favor. (See how I passed along a blog post that was relevant to our conversation from a few weeks ago?) As they say, it’s better to give than to receive. Consider each favor an emotional deposit. When it’s time to call in a favor of your own (whether it be help finding a new job or an industry expert that you might need some insight from), you’ll thank me.

“So, what changed?”

It was simple really: I realized that the majority of the successful people I knew relied on paper. PAPER! Not the latest iPhone. Not the latest GTD tool. Not the latest whatchamacallit. Just plain old paper.

“What’s the big deal with paper?”

First, go pick up a copy of Todoodlist and you will quickly see what I mean. It’s an easy read, you’ll get a few good chuckles and it includes a number of practical tips that I was able to use immediately. (One of the best things about it is the 30 day refund policy – so you have absolutely no excuse not to buy it. Just return if you really don’t get anything out of it.)

As I’ve said before, learning just one new idea from a book is the best way to spend $20 today.

“What system do you use?”

Here are my tools of choice:

1. Parker Jotter Stainless Steel Ball Pen
2. Parker Gel Ink Inserts
3. Moleskine Ruled Notebook

That’s it – three simple things that won’t go out of style tomorrow, won’t break the bank and never, ever need to be charged up.