Managing Your Time for Your True Fans

Take responsibility, get those true fans and be productive AF! Oh, and learn a language!

Another Excuse Newsletter

Welcome back to the Another Excuse Newsletter. It isn’t just another excuse, but a reason to start that thing you’ve been putting off.

What to expect this week:
👓Perspective — Responsibility
🔨 Tool — Quazel
🍿Consume — 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
📖Concept — Pomodoro Technique

Remember to share this with one person! Help your boy out 😉

Perspective

Responsibility

This topic walks a fine line between cheesy spiritual woo-woo and actionable advice that affects the way you live.

That goes for many things, but you don’t know if it works and applies to you unless you try it.

By taking full responsibility, life goes from happening to you — to you being in control of it.

It stops you from blaming others, complaining, feeling hopeless and powerless, having no direction, and settling.

I know it sounds simple and most people think they’re in control of their lives, but the proper test is how you react when things get tough. When it’s your fault, are you blaming others for your misfortune?

A useful thought experiment is picking a situation that you’re unhappy about. You then tell yourself that you put yourself in this situation and you are the one that has the power to change it.

A common example is your job. It must be the most frequently complained about topic. Once you realise you put yourself there and you don’t owe anyone loyalty by sacrificing your happiness, you gain control.

It’s up to you to change your circumstances. I know there’s fear of the unknown of taking the next step, but knowing you’re in full control helps to take the next step.

No one is going to save you, only you can.

Tool

Quazel

Many AI companies are applying the tech to solve similar problems. It seems like a race to the bottom, so it’s tricky to stand out in such a noisy market.

Although Quazel’s use case is obvious and was an inevitable use case for AI, I didn’t expect it to be here so quickly.

What is Quazel?

Quazel is an AI language-learning app. I can already hear you saying, “That’s what Duo-Lingo is!” Yes, you’re right. Duo-Lingo has some AI capabilities and I’m sure they will add more, but for now, not like Quazel.

Quazel is purely conversational. You have a conversation with the AI in your desired language and it will give you feedback on your pronunciation and use of words.

Everyone says the best way to learn a language is to live amongst the people who speak that language. That’s easier said than done, and Quazel is the next best thing.

After giving it a go, I found you need to be relatively proficient in the language to get the most out of the app.

Its use case is more to practice what you know and not let it slip, rather than starting from scratch.

If you want to practice speaking in your second or third language, check it out.

Consume (Read / Watch / Listen)

1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly

The concept is simple.

You don’t need millions of fans or customers. You only need 1000 to make a comfortable living.

What is a True Fan?

A True Fan is someone who will buy anything you produce. They will drive to where ever you perform or support your Patreon for the content you produce.

The Math

1. Produce enough to earn $100 dollars per year or under $10 p/m from each fan.
   +
2. Have a direct relationship with your fans. They pay you directly.
   =
3. $100,000 a year. That’s a solid wage.

The tricky part is growing this fan base. It doesn’t happen overnight.

They’re obviously fans for a reason and it’s because you’re providing value in whatever niche they’re interested in.

That’s the process I’m in with this newsletter. I try to provide value to spark something in you, the reader.

Consistently playing the long game, knowing that I achieve my goal each time I post. And that’s getting a little better each week.

If you have any feedback or suggestions to speed up my journey, respond to this email. Let me know!

Here’s a link to Kevin Kelly’s essay.

Concept

Pomodoro Technique

What is it?

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method used to improve productivity.

How do you do it?

Break tasks up into 25 minutes of focused work with 5-minute breaks. After 4 consecutive 25-minute focused work sessions, take a longer break of 15–30 minutes.

Why does it work?

1. It makes it easier to get started

• 25 minutes doesn’t seem as daunting as an undefined amount of time to complete a task. It breaks the big task into smaller chunks.

2. Combats distraction

• It helps retrain the brain to focus on tasks undistracted. The more you practice it, the faster you can get back into a flow state.

3. Improves time management

• You become more aware of where you’re allocating your time. Making you better at allocating time to complete tasks.

4. Gamifies your productivity

• Pomodoros are measurable, so you can compare your productivity to previous sessions and how much time it takes to finish certain tasks.

It’s an interesting way to improve your productivity. It’s always good to have some sort of routine when approaching work. No harm in becoming more efficient.

Let me know if you try it. I’d love to hear how it goes.

P.S. Pomodoro means tomato by the way because the inventor (Francesco Cirillo) of the technique used a tomato timer.

Thanks for Reading

Now start something!

P.S. Feedback is welcome and needed! If you’d prefer to send me an email and not respond, you can do so here: byron@anotherexcuse.xyz