why your brain is the best tool of all - a look at 86 billion free tools (#ionsearch 2013)
TRANSCRIPT
By Mike Essex@Koozai_Mike
86 BILLION FREE TOOLSWHY YOUR BRAIN IS THE BEST TOOL OF ALL
There are:
in the brain
86BILLIONneurons
So why are we so focused on tools?
Tools are great at helping you focus
But they can block out important noise
We tested a link
building tool
We submitted 210 links
After 3 months
none accepted
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
We tested a link
building tool
We submitted 210 links
After 3 months
none accepted
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE
The tool made us feel great,
the reality was awful
Tools presume a static market,
but we work in markets filled with rapid change
The first ever
banner advert got 78% CTR
Now Facebook adverts
get 0.05% CTR
That’s a 99.93%
decrease!
RAPID CHANGE #1
Source: Andrew Chen
RAPID CHANGE #1
The first ever
banner advert got 78% CTR
Now Facebook adverts
get 0.05% CTR
That’s a 99.93%
decrease!
What tool could prepare us for this change?
Source: Andrew Chen
RAPID CHANGE #2
What tool could prepare us for Google updates?
Why do we fill our heads with tools?
We could learn to adapt instead
Soft assets (brain power, networks, people) are
stronger than hard assets (tools, computers, cash)
If you have the same tools as competitors
then what is your advantage?
Without tools, what makes you irreplaceable?
Creative Work
Skilled Work
Rote Work
Robotic Work
The Robot Curve Marty Neumeier
Non Creative Work is becoming robotic
It’s not even that robots are becoming human.
It’s because humans are acting like robots.
You don’t have to be a designer or an artist
to think or work creatively
The way you absorb knowledge is what separates
a £10,000/yr job from an £85,000/yr job
Source: BrightonSEO
“Get as much education as you can. Nobody can take that away from you.”
Eben Upton, Executive
Director of the Raspberry Pi
Foundation
Source: LifeHacker
"Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.”Edward de BonoPhysician, author, inventor and consultant
Source: Good Reads
Creativity Is The Best Way To
Become Better Than Tools
So How Can You Become More
Creative?
FIND A SANCTUARY
Employees at McLellan Marketing Group put a cone outside their office door when they want privacy.
“I got more done in those 90 minutes than I had all week. And best of all….I felt great. I felt calm, I felt successful. I felt like I was back in control.“
- Drew McLellan
Source: Drew’s Marketing Minute
Or find a room you can use for the task, block out the time and stick
to it.
Find a room where you can get some privacy and book it so no one else can use it during your time.
"I guard my time fiercely and without apology,"Gary KellerAuthor of The One Thing
Source: Entrepreneur.com
"I guard my time fiercely and without apology,"Gary KellerAuthor of The One Thing
Gary uses “Time Blocking” to get things done:
Block out four hours a day for one key task
Source: Entrepreneur.com
SHRINK YOURPROBLEMS
Broken Goal: Make something people want to read and share
Better Goal: Make something that resonates
with people and captures their
interest
Then break the goal into manageable steps
Task Three (25
Minutes)
Task Four (25
Minutes)
Task Two (25
Minutes)
Task One (25
Minutes)
Task Five (25
Minutes)
Take a 15-30 Minute
Break
3-5 min
break
3-5 min
break
3-5 min
break
The Pomodoro Technique Francesco Cirillo
Reward yourself for
accomplishments,rather than
saying:
“I have to get this done RIGHT
NOW!”
Getting Things Done Workflow
David Allen
Source: LifeDev
A place for everything and everything in
its place
USE LESSRESOURCES
Source: Snopes
Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham after his editor
challenged him to write using less than fifty words
Vine shouldn’t work given how restrictive it is
but the six second limit is what makes it so exciting
Delete Delegate Respond
INBOX ZERO
Defer Do
MORE EMAIL TIPS
By Sane Box. Available at:
http://kooz.ai/email-hacks
BEBORED
Step Away From The PC
And Breathe….
I get my best thinking done
whilst walking my dog
I was so bored getting the train to work
I wrote a 350 page book in 3 months
“For kids, being bored is the best possible thing – it fosters imagination and self-entertainment, and lets them dream and think.” David PierceSenior Reviews EditorThe Verge
Source: Digitizd
ABSORBMATERIAL
“Reading Poetry Can Help You Learn How To Write Headlines”Lyndon Antcliffe
Try blogs outside of your niche, or general blogs
like the excellent MBA Mondays
Look at art and great visual illustrations -
Read “Information is Beautiful”
We were inspired to create an Infographic on
“Business Books” after reading other articles
Use Spotify on Radio mode
and listen to the lyrics
Source: Life Hacker
The editors of Kotaku found “Music for Airports”
to be the best music for deep tasks and studying
Talk to any children you know
and start thinking like a child yourself
Source: YouTube
This Reddit video series explains complex topics
to five year olds – you’ll learn a lot too!
Source: Twisted Sifter
Read about Life Hacks
(Why didn’t I know this sooner!)
DO SOMETHINGNEW
Sometimes just avoiding best practice
can yield game changing results
Create videos to record your company knowledge
and discover how to use a new medium
YOU NEEDFEEDBACK
Find your own Simon Cowell
to tell you what needs to be improved
Buzzfeed UK was created thanks to a Photoshop
mockup by Luke Lewis. He got hired too.
If all else fails….
COPY THEPRESIDENT
“The president has three moments in his schedule that are unquestionably his: the morning workout, his dinner with his daughters, and the nighttime after his family falls asleep.”Sean BlandaAssociate Editor and Producer of 99U
Source: 99u
Take control of your time
1
Free your mind2
Find inspiration3
Make amazing things!
4
IMAGE SOURCES2 - © vladgrin - Fotolia.com3 - http://www.slideshare.net/KimberlyHudson/1001-free-twitter-apps-and-services-3717347http://everything-pr.com/content-marketing-tools/240289/http://dailytekk.com/2012/03/05/100-professional-social-media-business-tools-for-brands-and-marketers/http://www.slideshare.net/langwitches/70-tools-70-minutes4,5,8 - © alphaspirit - Fotolia.com11 - http://doghalloweencostumesshop.com/item_121/Penguin-Dog-Costume.htm / http://www.buy.com/th/alphakey-products-costume.html12,13 - © Rudie - Fotolia.com14 - © dimdimich - Fotolia.com15 - © Africa Studio - Fotolia.com16 - © Vibe Images - Fotolia.com18 - © charles taylor - Fotolia.com19 - © Gennadiy Poznyakov - Fotolia.com20 - http://www.brightonseo.com/uk-seo-salary-survey/
IMAGE SOURCES21 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EbenUpton.jpeg22 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehub/3700509015/in/photostream/ 25/ 26 - http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/09/unless-the-buil.html27 / 62 - © Koozai.com28 / 29 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GaryKeller_Speaking.jpg36 - http://lifedev.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/gtd-workflow.gif 44 - © Andrey Zyk - Fotolia.com46 / 47 - © Mike Essex48 - https://twitter.com/piercedavid50 - © Lonely - Fotolia.com52 - Information Is Beautiful56 - © lassedesignen - Fotolia.com57 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS1v3pn744058 - http://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/63 - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simon_Cowell_in_December_2011.jpg67 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/intelphotos/6763303437/
REFERENCESSlides 9/10: http://andrewchen.co/2012/04/05/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughsSlide 20: http://www.brightonseo.com/uk-seo-salary-survey/Slide 21: http://lifehacker.com/5978324/im-eben-upton-executive-director-of-the-raspberry-pi-foundation-and-this-is-how-i-work?tag=how-i-workSlide 22: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6980.Edward_De_BonoSlide 26: http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/09/unless-the-buil.htmlSlide 28: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226231Slide 36: http://lifedev.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/gtd-workflow.gif Slide 39: http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/greenegg.aspSlide 40: http://www.digitizd.com/2009/06/22/unplug-yourself-sparingly/ Slide 55: http://lifehacker.com/5365012/the-best-sounds-for-getting-work-doneSlide 57: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS1v3pn7440Slide 58: http://www.twistedsifter.com/2013/01/50-life-hacks-to-simplify-your-world/Slide 61: http://www.pointblankseo.com/creative-link-buildingSlide 67: http://99u.com/articles/7223/how-barack-obama-gets-things-done
