This week has been hectic, to say the least. We rolled out a new layout on 32 of our blogs, and it introduced a WORLD of problems. I’ve posted in the past about how you should reduce the number of PHP calls in your template files in order to reduce the load on your server, and speed up the delivery of your pages to the end user. In the interest of time, I decided to forgoe my own advice – And it made a real mess!

The new theme we’re using has a LOT of customizable features, all accessible from a seperate page in the WP Dashboard. It’s great for the beginner blogger, but it’s not needed if you know your way around themes. Because of this, there are a TON of PHP calls to check on what parameters have been set, and that really puts a strain on the server. Now multiply that by 32, and you’re totally screwed!

So I had to go through the theme files and remove the unnecessary PHP calls. As I worked, I saw the load averages dropping, so I knew I was on the right path. But now these changes had to be made 31 more times. Talk about tedious..

So learn from me – Do things right the first time, and you’ll end up saving time in the long run!

I spent 6 hours at my parents’ house today. Why? Their computer was acting up, and they wanted me to reinstall Windows XP for them.. What should have been a 1-2 process turned into a much longer ordeal, as I had to first back up over 15GB of digital pictures and data. Even better, the computer was running EXTREMELY slow, which is why we were doing the reinstall in the first place.

In any event, I got to spend some quality time with my folks (who spend 90% of their time down in Florida). I can’t remember the last time I spent that much time with them. It was a really nice day!

Have you spent time with your parents lately?

I was a professional day trader from 1998-2000. It was an amazing time, and the money was insane! Unfortunately, the bubble burst, and things got ugly in a hurry! I lost a TON of money in a matter of days, and walked away from the market. After that, I simply watched the market (with morbid curiosity), but refused to get sucked back into it.

With the DOW at 7300, and stock prices at all-time lows, I can no longer sit on the sidelines. GE is at $8.90! Are you freaking kidding me?! General Electric is a monster company, which has been unfairly beaten down as a result of the credit crunch. The stock traded at close to $40/share less than a year ago!

I just scooped up a bunch of GE stock as a long-term hold, and I think you should do the same. Is this the absolute bottom? Who knows. But whether you buy this stock at $9, $7, or even $11, it’s still a huge bargain, one that will pay you nice dividends down the line. Good luck!

-Z

In order to succeed, you need to learn how to effectively manage your time. Even with the best intentions, we often get derailed for one reason or another. But if you plan your day ahead of time, you’ll be better off in the long run.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a TON on my plate.. An e-commerce site, 40+ blogs, a subscription service, affiliate sites, etc. On top of that, I’m constantly networking through my various social profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc). How do I juggle all of these responsibilities?

Up until now, I used a series of to-do lists, in a simple Wordpad file. Unfortunately, this has gotten way out of control, and I currently have 7 Wordpad files open with HUNDREDS of tasks listed. I needed a better system.

As simple as it sounds, a yellow legal pad does the trick for me! I break down each day into 30-60 minute segments, and write down what task I intend to accomplish in that window of time. If it doesn’t get done, it gets pushed onto tomorrow’s schedule, and I move on to my next scheduled task. It keeps me on point, much like Microsoft Project used to when I worked in the corporate world, managing $20Mil projects for Fortune 100 companies.

Try it for a week, and let me know how you make out..

In 1962, Scrully Blotnick began a study focused on 1500 new college graduates. He divided those 1500 people into two groups.

Category A said they would pursue money first and follow their passions later. Over 1,245 people went into that group.

Category B made up of 255 people said they would seek their passions and interests first and trust that money would automatically come.

Twenty years later, he revisited the two groups. Of the original 1500 people, there were 101 millionaires. Interestingly enough, one hundred of the millionaires were from category B, and only one was from category A.

It makes you take a step back and re-evaluate what you’re doing..

Are you doing it for the money, or because you love what you do?

I just got back from Phoenix last night.. Flying commercial sucks, and having a layover makes it that much worse! Because my wife hates flying red-eye, we wasted the ENTIRE DAY yesterday flying back. We left PHX at 9:55am, and didn’t land in PHL until 9:30pm! We would have come in an hour earlier, but heavy rains in Philly caused a delay..

So we’re driving down Rt. 51 on the way to the airport, and there are cops just EVERYWHERE.. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then I pull into the airport, and what do I see? AIR FORCE ONE! And suddenly, it all clicks. President Obama was in Glendale AZ to give some speech that morning, and the police were out there to divert traffic when he was returning to the airport. It was an awesome site to see, but the police wouldn’t let me pull over and take a picture.

In any event, I’m back. 500+ e-mails that I’ve got to deal with now, but that’s what happens when I go away..