As far as the clock – I was trying to create some kind of logo, but I agree it is kind of weird. I think I might just add the graduation cap to the letters TCK…I tried that out in a banner and liked how it looked.

I’ll keep in mind everyone likes productivity.

I’m iffy on MyBlogLog. It doesn’t really look all that great, and doesn’t really tell you all that much. Mostly though, it just counts people who are also MyBlogLog members so it can give a false impression that you don’t have a lot of readers.

I suggest you make a survey trough an online survey maker and ask your readers to complete that. That way you can get everyones opinion on specific issues. I asked stuff such as their thoughts on advertising, which category they liked the most, etc. I got a lot of people to do it, because they didn’t have to write anything, rather just choose check-boxes.

I am going to be conducting another reader survey soon, and I am toying with the idea of offering some kind of freebie at the end as an incentive for people to participate.

I think you should also spruce up your sidebar. Put stuff like the MyBlogLog widget or the Amazon widget that are not essential to readers.

For me, the finance stuff is interesting but not that useful. Generally, finance tips only apply to readers in the USA, which is likely to be the majority of your audience, but don’t forget about those of us from abroad (tied into that, don’t forget that many of us don’t understand °F and the imperial system because we prefer °C and the metric system).

I think productivity and the like would be a great area to focus on, there are many productivity blogs out there, but none really cater to the academic setting (which I find surprising).

I have nothing against link posts, a post is better than no post. The layout is fine, but I’m not too hot on the clock icon (the favicon looks great, but the smiling clock is giving me the creeps… just me though). Don’t fret too much about the layout, because those 75 readers are looking at the feed, not your blog per se.

Anyway, best of luck with your blog.

Also, more productivity! Maybe some examples or explanations on how you set up your work day and follow that up with questions that provoke readers to comment on their own schedules or systems.

Weekend links posts are a great idea, I think; you might get some more trackback pings and find yourself getting more traffic and vice versa.

Hope that helps! I really like your blog so far, and you’re doing a fantastic job.