The Perfect Setup

Posted On: 2009-05-07

No, I'm not going to talk about the perfect sting or the perfect practical joke today ... what I am going to talk about though is the perfect work setup for anyone who wants to be an online marketer. We're going to look at the sort of equipment you need to maximize your productivity.

For a long time now both Steve and I have been aware of the need to be more productive every day and we've taken steps to ensure that we get the most out of every minute we're sitting at our computers. However I'm still amazed at how many long-term workers in this industry still don't seem to think that productivity is important.

So whether you're just a beginner here, or you've been around for what seems like forever, here are a few tips for the perfect setup that might help you make better use of your valuable time.

Desk and chair
Yes, I know that a lot of people like to work on the couch with their laptop. Seriously folks, you do need a proper desk and a good office chair if you're going to spend long hours working online every day.

Sure it might seem like fun to work on the couch but it's not doing your body any favors and before long you'll be suffering from back aches and that's not good for your productivity.

Two screens
I love this one ... every time I mention it someone tells me that they just can't see the value in having two screens hooked up to your computer. They don't believe how much saving in time there is when you don't have to keep switching between programs as you do when you only have one screen.

Of course later those same people ultimately do make the switch to two screens and then they spend time telling me that they wished they had made the transition sooner. And you will too ... try two screens and you will never want to go back to just one.

Not on a laptop
And of course that brings me to whether you should be running your business from a laptop or not. Both Steve and I have laptops and we take them wherever we go but they're certainly not our primary computers. If you're serious about your business then you need a PC ... or if you're like Steve you need two.

Of course there are plenty of people who run their business from a laptop but when you want two monitors and a keyboard that is even close to ergonomic then you need a PC.

Why two computers?
Ok, so I only work with one but then that's all I need to keep my workflow happening but if you're like Steve then two PCs can be invaluable. If you need to render video then that can tie up all the processing power in your PC for long periods of time so what do you do while you're waiting for the video rendering to finish? If you need to watch trending topics on a social network like Twitter then that can tie down one of your screens if you're running two screens but only one PC ... so what do you do when you need two screens for your normal work?

Those are just some of the reasons why it pays to have two PCs and if you're into search engine optimization it also pays to have a PC that's about as free of Google's influence as you can get so you have one that has no Google toolbars, Gmail accounts, Chrome, iGoogle etc installed on it and one that does have the Google apps that you may need.

Personalized desktop
The last thing I want to suggest for the perfect setup is a personalized desktop. Every one of us has programs and files that we need to access often ... and websites that we visit frequently. You can save a lot of time if you have all those links set out on your desktop in an order that makes sense to you.

Of course no one else might be able to find anything on your desktop ... I know I have absolutely no hope of working out where to find what I'm looking for on Steve's desktops but it works for him and saves him a heap of time as he flicks between the software and files that he needs.

So there you have my suggestions for the perfect setup for anyone who wants to work online. There are lots of things that I haven't mentioned ... like a dedicated office, even if you're working from home, and some of the important pieces of software that you might need ...but those things are more likely to vary from person to person.

What I have mentioned are those things that we all need to consider if we're serious about making better use of our time to make more money.