whitwo.com

Pretty good article regarding paswords. Worth the read. I’m a big propenent of LastPass.

The Only Secure Password Is the One You Can’t Remember: LifeHacker.com

Everyone is still doing great.  Nathan actually slept pretty well during the night so we feel somewhat rested.  Eli is still sick at home but he got to see a quick video of “Baby Brother”.

Thanks to all those that stopped by yesterday – here’s some pictures we were able to snap.  Note the picture of Jon – he actually wore that shirt to the hospital.  Awesome.

Sorry for the delay  - here are some more pictures.

After a super quick labor (2 hours start to finish) Nathan Davis Whitworth was born at 2:30am on Monday Feb 7, 2011.  8lbs 2oz and 20.5″ long.  Mom and baby are both doing great – especially for no meds!

First off, this is a “do as I say, not as I do” post.  If you look at either of my blogs, whitwo.com or whitworthtech.com, it won’t take you long to see that there seems to be some pretty substantial gaps between each post.  If you’re like me it doesn’t take time to realize that managing multiple social media outlets, multiple blogs and the rest of life becomes an insurmountable task.  I don’t get paid to blog – I do it to work out my thoughts and ideas.  It’s easy to underestimate how valuable it is to take the time to work through those thoughts and write about them, but I’m also juggling a busy life (family, work and about a dozen other things).

Over the past few weeks I was blessed to get some significant time off.  During the break something kept nagging at me – how can I get back to writing without taking away time from the things I love.  After a good bit of thought I came up with some basic tips that I think will make a big difference.  Let me know what you think.

• Make social media work for you – This has been the biggest revelation I worked through.  The idea of managing two blogs (more on that later), Facebook, Twitter and who knows what else is daunting.  It just takes tons of time.  I’ve been slowly kicking Facebook to the curb for day to day use.  I really don’t Twitter.  However, I figured I could make them work for me.  First, there are some great WordPress plugins that will update your Facebook status with blog entries (I use Wordbooker).  My posts automatically hit Facebook for all my “friends” to see.  I also decided to use twitter.  Not to update my status, but to micro blog thoughts on the go.  The show up on my blog sidebar via the Wickett Twitter Widget plugin.  I spend less time on Facebook and more time blogging.  Plus, it’s a great way to get your blog seen.
• Pick great blog software – I use WordPress.  It’s free and has tons of community support.  I like it because there are tons of themes and plugins to do just about anything.  I know there are other ones out there, but they just don’t stack up.  You can get a free site at wordpress.com but I would recommend setting up your own URL.  That way you are in full control.  There are also some great features in WordPress for managing multiple sites.
• Don’t wait – When an idea hits you, get a draft started ASAP.  I think the number one killer of blogs is procrastination.  Great ideas come into our minds every day.  We usually just don’t take the time to write them down.  Even if you don’t finish a post immediately, you are much more likely to finish a post if you start it!
• Get help – This is one I’ve been debating recently.  The reality is that we all get busy so it may make sense to get some help every now and then.  Chances are you know of a few friends in the same boat (similar interests, not enough time to blog but want to, etc).  If so, consider asking them to be contributes to your site.  It makes things much less burdensome when you only need to get something written once a month instead of once a week.  Multiple contributors can also add some variety and spark more conversations in your comments.  You know that at least the other writers will be checking your site…  However, I’m sure there are plenty of doors this opens so it’s probably best to setup some ground rules you all adhere to.  My gut tells me it’s also best to keep it casual and don’t have high expectations.
• Think small – Pick a small enough subject set to make things easier.  The broader your subjects, the more daunting it can be to find a new topic.  You can also drive some people away that may be interested in your work but not your family life.  I set up whitworthtech.com for more techie related topics because I know a huge subset of friends really don’t want to read about working with DirectoryEntry object in a .NET environment.  See, I already lost some of you…
• Set aside some time – This is the most difficult.  We can’t manufacture time.  Adding writing, even once a week, means giving up something else.  For me, this has meant giving up some TV, which is a good thing.  I think creativity and writing win every day and it’s amazing that I never saw it that way.  Even if I have no readers, it’s much more important to take the time to think, process, write and be creative than vegging out in front of the TV.

I’m sure there are a ton more tips out there.  Feel free to share them in the comments section.  I’m curious to hear what works for you and what challenges you face.

PS – This post appears on both whitwo.com and whitworthtech.com – you aren’t seeing double.

Today marks the last day of my Christmas break (I took a couple days on the tail end).  It’s been a pretty great break.  Lots of time with family, good holidays and some great progress on the bathroom project.  We decided to do something special with Eli today since it was my last day home.  We took him down to the NC Transportation Museum to check out the trains.  If you are like us and have a kid that loves trains it is totally worth the 40 minute drive to Spencer, NC.  He loved getting to play on the track, climb on/in trains and walk through the train yard.  Great thing is the cost is $0.  Afterwards we stopped in Lexington for some great NC BBQ.

A great way to end Christmas break.  Back to reality tomorrow – followed soon by Baby Boy #2!