When I work I usually sit at my desk and type away. However today is a little different as the car is in the garage for a yearly service and I have idle time that I “effectively” need to fill. So I am sitting in my local library on the laptop doing some research for blog posts and writing away on notepad. I have been here for around two hours and am surprised by the amount of work that I have got done. I think because i have surrounded myself in a new environment that I have been able to be more effective.
This has got me thinking of some other environments I could use to work on my laptop to work remotely.
The Library - the library can be a good environment as its silent, has plenty of power sockets and one or two books around to aid you if necessary.
The Coffee Shop – mmm if your a slave to coffee then this environment could suit.
The Wine Bar – a nice summers day, cool glass of white wine mmmm
The Park – sitting under a tree in a lovely city park may be just the trick, its amazing what fresh air can do.
The Workplace – perhaps not the greatest of surroundings, but if you have a quiet room somewhere you may be able to complete some work and miss the traffic coming home.
The Beach – another summer idea. Just be careful not to get sand on your laptop.
The Garden – a quick and easy way to get some fresh air although be carful not to get distracted.
The Airport - an unconventional place to work but you will not look out of place sitting on a chair using the laptop, there may also be internet access.
This brings be to remember a blog that I once enjoyed reading www.locationindependent.com The writers at location independent have sold there house and possessions and work remotely from laptops living the dream. They spend there life working remotely in airports, hotels and coffee shops.
Understanding how the supermarket functions can save you money, there are plenty of saveins to be had, and here are my top tips to finding them:
Know the reductions - Every supermarket has a reduction system, where the out-of-code products(products on todays date) get reduced, this is done to sell the products quick and lower the sections waste bill. Each store and sometimes, each department; has there own method of doing reductions. I’ll explain how the UKs leading supermarket Tescos system works:
Every evening a member of staff(usually the same person) will scan all of the products that are being reduced the next day into a PDA. The next day someone will use the PDA to reduce these products. There are two rounds of reductions the system sets, one at 25% and one at 50%, so its best to catch the time of day when there doing the 50% routine.
This may take alittle trial and error to get the timing right, but once you know how the store operates you can better choose the best shopping time to make the most savings.
Don’t be tempted by offers - Offers are just about everywhere ‘half price’ or ‘buy one get one free don’t be tempted by things that you dont need, always keep to your list and you wont go wrong.
Assess weight as well as price – Often prices don’t change week to week, but sometimes the weight will change. Always keep an eye on the weight and when assessing the price compare price per weight and compare with other products of that nature to find the best deal.
Know the Law – Know the law, if something is priced wrong – the supermarket MUST sell it to the customer for that price, or remove it from sale for the day. If a ticket price is wrong, take the item to customer service and you will get the product for that price. If not ask to use there phone to make a call to trading standards.
Also if you have been overpriced for a product, take it to customer services, they will usually give you a coupon for your trouble and if they don’t, a letter to head office will definitely get you some free money next time you shop.
Use your coupons and collect points - Always make the most of your coupons, read them correctly and if the checkout wont except them then leave the item. But never use coupons un-productivley – if you dont need the item don’t buy it just because you have a coupon. Also don’t forget to use your club-card and collect points!
Staff loyalty cards - If you have a friend that works in a supermarket, you should see if you can do your weekly shop at the same time
Be price loyal only – Don’t stick to the same supermarket because just because your accustomed to it, shop around and find a routine for the best prices for your shop. Take a notepad inside the supermarkets and assess the prices for your products. Tesco may advertise to be ‘the cheapest supermarket’ and across a wide range of products this is probably true. But there are definitely cheaper places out there still.
Consider alternatives or bulk buying – Toilet paper may be cheaper if brought from a wholesales for example, or razor blades may be cheaper on ebay, remember ‘be price loyal only’
Online shoping - If getting to and from a supermarket is expensive, consider shopping online. There is a charge for this service, but it may save you both time and money in traveling.
Add your own here – Everyone has there own way to shop, you need to find your own style and find your own methods to cut the shopping bill in half.
Today everybody seams to be blogging, everyone for there own reasons. I choose to blog because I feel i have knowledge to share, and also knowledge to learn; Learning is a big driver for me, and I aim to improve my writing skills. Blogs seamed a perfect productive outlet for me to practice with.
I have been reading blogs for many years now around the topics of: Design, Technology, Productivity, Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance among many others. Starting a blog of my own was a natural progression from the nights of long reading. Below are 5 reasons to love a blog
(1) The blogging journey – In life its not the end result that brings the most satisfaction it can be the journey along the way, as it is the journey where you learn, grow and develop.
(2) Additional Income – How nice is it to go to work and to know that in the back of your mind that if you lost your job you can still survive just from your blogging income. (unfortunately my blog does not earn this yet, however many others do)
(3) A Personal Journal – It is nice to have a journal where you can reflect over the day, or what you have learnt and blogging technology offers this with the added bonus of sharing your thoughts with the world.
(4) Add Value to the internet – The internet is what it is today because of the richness of the communities of people that contribute towards its existence, these include the designers, developers, writers and most importantly the readers.
(5) Meet great bunch of people – the blogging community is filled with millions of subscribers who daylie follow particular blogs, leaving feedback and offering comments and opinions on your posts.
(6) Learn new skills – blogging is simple and anyone can pick it up however it does take a learning curve and you will develop some new skills. That may be design, writing or other technical skills.
(7) Educate yourself – To blog you need to find content and topics. You also need to do some research and some thinking around a particular topic once you have done that you then teach it back to your readers via the post. From this process you learn and improve your skills and knowledge and are therefore educating yourself.
(8) Your Hobby – last but not least – everybody needs a hobby, some hobbies can cost lots of money however why not make blogging your hobby as its cheap and very rewarding.
I hope I have convinced you to also enjoy blogging as much as me. If you enjoy blogging for whatever reason then please tell me your reasons below
Hot For Words is a youtube channel with a pretty russian lady who explains the origin of words.
Sounds boring huh? normally id say yes however I cant help but flick through her videos.
Is that productive? -- Nope….. Is that Effective -- Probably not! However I cant help but admire her innovative idea to draw in a crowd on youtube…. Do you think she makes money from this idea -- YOU BET!
So question time: how would you live the life of riley?
The Greatest Salesman In The World is a short book that focuses on teaching 10 principles to success put across in 10 scrolls. Each scroll is recommended to be read morning, afternoon and in the evening to sick the concepts into your head forming the habits for success. This book has allot of 5star reviews on amazon and I can see why.
Here are the subject contents of the 10 scrolls:
1. Today I begin a new life.
2. I will greet this day with love in my heart.
3. I will persist until I succeed.
4. I am nature’s greatest miracle.
5. I will live this day as if it is my last.
6. Today I will be master of my emotions.
7. I will laugh at the world.
8. Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
9. I will act now.
10. Today I will pray for guidance.
These sound concepts sound simple however this short well wrote book does a fantastic job with sinking the concept into your head. I highly recommend this book and it has a rightful place on my best books list.
