As an entrepreneur, web developer and designer there are constantly new things to do, think about, get done and take on.  It’s easy for “stuff” to add up and for me to have the experience of being overwhelmed and stressed- when I get to this point working is almost impossible.  When I have hundreds of emails coming into my in box each day, phone calls to make, projects to work on, and teams to manage it’s easy to throw up my hands and say “forget it!  I’m done!”

So how is it that I, or you, can properly start managing all of the “stuff” that starts adding up in our work and life?  Well you can’t actually manage the “stuff” or information or time- that’s the first down fall.  It’s not possible, as author David Allen says, to do this- think about it you can’t “. . .manage five minutes and end up with six” or “. . . manage information overload- otherwise you’d walk into a library and die”.

So what do we do?  How do I avoid going insane on a daily bases and how do I avoid looking like a crazy person when I yell at my computer screen?  Here’s the secret, the key to everything . . .

In David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, he says that “the key to managing all your ‘stuff’ is managing your actions”.

Put in another way David says-

What you do with your time, what you do with information, and what you do with your body and your focus relative to your priorities- those are the real options to which you must allocate your limited resources.  The real issue is how to make appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time.  The real issue is how we manage actions.

This is brilliant in my mind, because you can’t do a “project”, you can only do the actions that are associated with accomplishing that project.   Trying to do the “project” creates the overwhelmed feelings because you’re trying to tackle the wrong thing!

When we approach anything like this we run into trouble because there is a lack of clarity.  When we can define the action-steps of the project then the fear and ambiguity of that project disappears.  Now, I did not say when we can define the project, but when we can define the action-steps and clarify what those are at the start do we then have peace of mind.

So the next time you get a new design or programming project- get clear on every possible task and all associated next action step to move the project closer to completion.  I promise you a much more smooth and peaceful journey.

Step 1: Download and extract WordPress

First download the latest version of WordPress and extract the files.  You can download it here http://wordpress.org/download/.

Step 2:  Setting up your database

One thing to note is that some hosting providers already have a WordPress Database set up for you, or there is an automated setup solution for you.  Check with your provider to see what’s available.

I host with 1and1.com so all of the screen shots you see here are going to be based on 1and1’s admin panel.
The first step is to go to your control panel (cpanel) and locate the area where you can create a database- this should be called “MySQL  Administration”

Once you find this area select “MySQL  Administration” and begin the process of creating a new database.

Click on “New Database” and enter the new description name of your database and the password you would like to have.  Once you’ve done this step click “Set Up” and your new database will be created.

After entering your database description name and password you will be sent to a details page with all of the information you will need to plug into the WordPress config file (wp-config.php) during your set up.   Most hosting companies well keep these details in the “MySQL Administration” section, but make sure you write down these details to be safe.

Once you’ve done all this you’re ready for the next step, which is to install WordPress onto your hosting server.

Step 3: Configuring Your wp-config.php file

WordPress has resources on how to configure and install the software that you can find here, but if you need a more visual guide then continue reading.

Once you’ve unzip the folder you want to look for the file called wp-config-sample.php and change the name/save it as wp-config.php.  Now open the file in any editor of your choice- I personally like using Adobe Dreamweaver.  If you want to use Adobe Dreamweaver you can download a 30-day trial here https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=dreamweaver

You can also use something as simple as notepad to open the file and make the changes to the file that I’m going to walk you through. Assuming you’re going to use Dreamweaver, go ahead and open the file wp-config.php and follow these steps.

Add the database details to the appropriate code lines- (the detail that is not listed in the “database details” when you first create your database will be the password).  Just go to your MySQL  Admin in your cpanel to access this.  Once you find your password enter it into the password line.

• • NOTE:  you only want to replace the code that is in bold, between the apostrophes: example
    • define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘putyourdbnamehere‘);
    • define(‘DB_USER’, ‘usernamehere‘);
    • define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘yourpasswordhere‘);
    • define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost‘);
  • As far as the other two:
    • define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8′);
    • define(‘DB_COLLATE’, ”);
    • Leave these as is- there is no need to change them (this tutorial will not go into what these are for) just know that they don’t need to be changed in order for you to set up your WordPress site.
• The next thing you want to do with the wp-config.php file is to add the Authentication Unique Keys. The best site to go to for this is http://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/ Now again you only want to add the code that’s in the apostrophe marks (‘ or ’).
• Example (See image below for visual details)
  • define(‘AUTH_KEY’, ‘put your unique phrase here’);
  • define(‘SECURE_AUTH_KEY’, ‘put your unique phrase here‘);
  • define(‘LOGGED_IN_KEY’, ‘put your unique phrase here‘);
  • define(‘NONCE_KEY’, ‘put your unique phrase here‘);

Once you’ve completed all of these steps, save the file and then upload the WordPress files to your server, which is the next step.

Step 4: Uploading your WordPress files using FTP

I use firefox FTP add-on and recommend using it- so if you’re interested you can find it here https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/684/

Once you install the add-on (you may need to restart firefox) you can access it by the browser menu bar by selecting Tools >> FireFTP – the program will open in your browser.

Once the program opens you need to set up your sites account information, basically create a new account.  The steps below will show you how this is done:

Note:  the FTP program is going to show all of your computer files on the left screen and will show the folders on the server on the right side of the screen.

• Click the dropdown in the top left corner of the program (highlighted in red in the image above) and select “Create an account”
• When the pop up appears fill in the information
  • Account Name: enter what you would like to name your account (ex: Unstuck Media)
  • Category:  No need to worry about that one
  • Host: Host is going to be your websites URL (ex: unstuckmedia.com).  You can enter it in different variations (try the first one and if that doesn’t work then try the others) for example:
    • unstuckmedia.com
    • www.unstuckmedia.com
    • ftp.unstuckmedia.com
  • Login: This will be your FTP login name that you get from your hosting provider when you create an FTP account.
  • Password: This is the password you enter when you create an FTP account with your hosting provider

Once you’ve got your entire information added click on the “Connect” button to connect to the server.  Now it’s time to upload your files to the server!

First determine if you want to upload the files to the root (e.g. http://example.com/) or to a subdirectory  (e.g. http://example.com/blog/)

Take a look at the image below so you have a visual reference.  Scroll through your local folders (the ones on your computer) to where you have your WordPress files located and click the folder.  Once you’ve done that you want to select/highlight all of the files (including the wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes folders) and click the green arrow to port them over to the right side of your screen.  This is the server.

It might take anywhere from 5-10 minutes to complete the upload depending on your internet speed, but just be patient- we’re almost there.

Step 5: Running the WordPress Installation script

If you installed WordPress in the root directory, you want to navigate to: http://example.com/wp-admin/install.php

If you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you want to navigate to: http://example.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php

From here WordPress will guide you the rest of the way!

Congratulations on installing and setting up your first WordPress site/blog.  For additional resources please visit: http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress#Famous_5-Minute_Install

If you’re interested in having us create and install a WordPress Site for you please contact us. We would be more than happy to consult you and answer any questions you may have. If you contact/email us with all your info and put “Get WordPress” in the subject line, we’ll give you a 30 minute free consultation.

look out for my next post on installing new themes, plug-ins and customizing WordPress

It seems to be human nature that we want to associate and define ourselves by what we do or by our accomplishments- and as a creative person at times, for me, that seems like a logical mindset. Recently I’ve started to look at things a little differently.

I’m reading the book The War of Art: Breaking Through the Blocks and Win your Inner Creative Battles by Steve Pressfield. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend that you do. In it, he talks about how resistance takes hold of us and all the ways it can show up in our lives and in what we’re out to accomplish.

As a designer, developer and entrepreneur I’m always facing my inner demons about how my work and what I create defines who I am . . . it was a passage in this book that woke me up- he talks about the difference between a pro and an amateur around their work.

“We do not overidentify with our jobs. We may take pride in our work, we may stay late and come in on weekends, but we recognize that we are not our job description. The amateur, on the other hand, overidentifies with his avocation, his artistic aspiration. He defines himself by it. He is a musician, a painter, a palywright. Resistance loves this. Resistance knows that the amateur composer will never write his symphony because he is overly invested in its success and overterrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him”

As much as we would like to think that we’re defined by what we do or what we create- that is just not the case. Now you don’t have to agree with this statement, but I promise you if you just take on looking at your life, your career or expression from this perspective/point of view something will open up for you.

For me, I’ve found that I have a new sense of freedom in what I do and the projects I take on. I am not attached to the outcome- now that’s not to say that I’m not committed to doing a kick as job, I just don’t let the success consume me and ultimately incapacitate me. It provides the freedom to go full out, balls to the wall if you would, in what I’m up to.

Have fun with your job, have a sense of humor about it and if you find yourself being resistant or being significant about what you’re up to- take the advice the Joker gave to Batman “Why so serious?”