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Yesterday I started talking about productivity and if you've come late to the conversation then I know, that's probably what you were beaten around the ears with by the owners and the managers of wherever you worked before you came to adult online marketing. And I know that you came over here to escape all that and just take it easy while the money rolled in. And I know that you probably hoped that you would never hear that 'P' word again.

If you did get so sick and tired of being made to work harder in your old day job that you made a start in this business then I hate to disappoint you but if you want to succeed here then productivity is going to continue to be very important. In fact, if you aren't productive and using your time wisely then you're just not going to make enough money to survive.

So let's look at some more strategies that you can employ to be productive.

Remove distractions
Yesterday I suggested that the very last place you should try and work was in front of the television but that's not the only distraction you should avoid. Families can be a huge distraction and you need to be able to work somewhere that you can simply shut the door and shut the family out.

Now I'm not anti-family for one single second. Families and the support you can give them ... and the support they can give you ... are vitally important but then so is your work. If you want to feed your family then you do have to work and work without distractions. So if you're working from home make it clear to the family that you'll have time with them and you'll also have time when you need to work ... without distractions.

Message boards can be a huge distraction too so be careful not to spend too much time hanging out on the boards. That can be very hard for some people and I know one or two guys who have actually changed the settings on their computers just so they couldn't access their favorite message boards. Things may not get that bad for you but be aware that those boards just might steal too much of your time.

Stats and emails can be a huge distraction too. It's so easy to become a stats junkie and spend all your time monitoring your traffic and sales. For some business models in this industry monitoring your stats can be important but most affiliate marketers don't need to be logged into sponsor sites all day every day.

It's the same with your emails. For some of us it is important to monitor our incoming emails regularly but not for most people. Keep your email program out of site down in the task bar and learn to only look at it when you need a break from whatever it might be that you're doing.

Speaking of breaks
While we're thinking of breaks let me add some extra thoughts to what I said yesterday about taking regular breaks.

Be sure to get up and move away from your computer and do something totally different to what you've been doing while you've been stuck in front of the monitor. As I write this the floor of Steve's office is littered with lots of gadgets that he's photographing during the breaks he's taking from his usual work.

We've got an online shop where we sell all manner of gadgets and so Steve isn't wasting any time during his breaks. He's getting away from the computer and getting up out of his chair but he's still being productive because he's busy organizing the next batch of stock that will go up on our shop. Other times he'll go and grab a coffee and goof off but not every break has to be like that.

Short breaks aren't the only sort of breaks you need to stay productive. You need to take much longer breaks too ... breaks for sleeping ... breaks to go out and do the shopping ... breaks to spend quality time with your family and friends ... and breaks just to get away from work and have a few days or even more just doing nothing (I think they call that 'having a holiday' - but it's a while since I had one of those so I'm not sure ...).

So there are a few more tips on ways that you can maintain a high level of productivity. They're simple and easy and they don't even cost any money but if you implement them you might find that they will certainly help you make money.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more on productivity so stick with me because you really do need to work smarter rather than harder.