Tag Archives: social media

Productivity Tips For Writers – A Guest Post By Kristy Megan

Thank you to Kristy Megan for the below post.

(Disclaimer: I have no association with Coursework Writing Service UK or Coursework Buzz. Inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement by me).

 

Get The Most Out Of Your Workday With These 7 Productivity Tips For Writers

You open up your favorite word processor to write a piece that should take you only an hour but ends up taking the whole day;does that sound like you?If so, read on to find out how you can increase your productivity as a writer and do away without any distractions:

  • Do Not Multitask

Yes, you are highly in demand and your clients and your employers continue to email you regarding something else that needs to be done. But, donot answer your email until you have finished what you are doing. Switching back and forth between tasks will switch your focus and it will take you time to bring yourself back in swing. This can also cause you to lose track of ideas and your writing will suffer eventually.

 

  • Daily Exercise

You may think that you do not have enough time for exercise but you will find that taking out twenty minutes for exercise will actually help you accomplish more. Exercise has the effect of helping you stay focused, keeping you relaxed and improving your stamina, all of which increases your output and productivity.

 

  • Complete Your Research Before You Start Writing

Take all the time you need to complete your research before you start writing. If you have multiple articles to finish in a single day, try to carry out all your research in one go before you begin writing. That way you will have everything in its place before you start with it. Keeping all the facts in front of you will help guide the flow of your article beforehand, saving the need for edits and rewrites.

 

  • Unplug From The Social World

It is very easy to open Facebook “for a bit” and end up spending hours browsing the Internet randomly; there is nothing in there that cannot be checked at a later time. If it is possible, disconnect your laptop from the Internet to minimize the distractions caused by social media, chat software and random Internet browsing. Make it as difficult as possible to re-connect – for instance, switch off the router. The easier it is to re-connect to the Internet, the greater will be the chances that you will do so.

 

  • Reward Yourself For Your Focus

Motivate yourself to stay focused with mini-rewards. For example, tell yourself if you can write non-stop for twenty minutes, then you can take a five-minute break or enjoy that favorite chocolate of yours that you have refrigerated. Remember to make sure the five-minute break does not extend to ten minutes though.

 

  • Avoid Timers That Time Your Productivity

They may be touted as productivity-enhancing apps but in reality they have the opposite effect. For people with extreme focus problems, these timers turn you into “clock-watchers”, who can then no longer think about anything else except when their “time is up”.

 

  • Maintain A Productive Work Environment

Work in an environment that is free of distractions. Set up your working gear in a remote corner of the house, away from the television and where the activities of the other members of the household will not disturb you.

Last but not the least, cut down on your dependency on alcohol and caffeineas writing requires you to be in a completely fresh state of mind. Alcohol numbs your mind so that you will not be able to write as much as you should. Caffeine may give you a temporary boost in productivity but it will cause you to crash, ruining your productivity in the long run. Watch yourself become highly productive by following the mentioned tips while writing.

 

Author Bio:

Kristy Megan is the editor in leader at Coursework Buzz, a platform that’s been offering coursework writing service uk for years. Her passion includes writing creative, fictional materials and someday be able to write like her favourite stimulation, JK Rowling.

 

Humans Have Shorter Attention Span Than Goldfish Thanks To Smartphones

Thanks to my friend, Brian for drawing the below article to my attention. According to a study by Microsoft, the attention span of the average human has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2015. According to scientists a goldfish can hold a thought in it’s brain for 9 seconds. The decline is, if one is to believe the research, due to the growth in the use of smartphones, which began in 2000.

Now what am I doing? What is the point of this post? Oh look a fly is buzzing around the room. How interesting. Let me just check that text. No, wait I will check my email instead!

For the article please visit, (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11607315/Humans-have-shorter-attention-span-than-goldfish-thanks-to-smartphones.html).

Guest Post Submission Guidelines (New Page Added)

I have created a new page regarding guest post submissions which can be found here, http://newauthoronline.com/guest-post-submissions/).

I welcome guest posts, however please read the submission guidelines prior to getting in contact.

 

Many thanks,

 

Kevin

Author Websites – What Are They For?

I have been considering setting up an author website (separate from this blog). I am, however not sure as to what such a site would achieve other than replicating material already available here.
One advantage to a website is that it displays static pages while a blog has content in more or less constant flux. A blog post which attracts many likes and/or comments today will, in a week or so be buried by more recent posts. However my blog already has several static pages which visitors see when visiting the home page: About, Anthology To Raise Money For Guide Dogs, My Books, Reviews Of My Books and Contact Me. I could reproduce some or all of the content contained on these pages on a website. This would, however be pointless as visitors want to see something new, not recycled content when visiting sites.
This post is a “thinking aloud” piece and I would appreciate fellow authors (and readers) views. Do any of you have both a blog and a separate website? And, if so what distinguishes one from the other?

Kevin

My Past Five Years As A Blogger – My Guest Post On Cupitonians

Many thanks to Anju for inviting me to lull her readers to sleep, err I mean entertain them! By writing about the past five years of my life as a blogger. For my guest post please visit (https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/last-5-years-by-new-author-online/).

 

Kevin

The Daydreamer Challenge – Day 3

I am participating in the Daydreamer Challenge which is being run by A Little Daydreamer, For day 3 participants are asked to say something nice about another blog, (https://theteendaydreamer.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/the-daydreamer-chllenge-day-3/). There are so many excellent blogs out there so picking one was a difficult task. Consequently I have chosen a number of blogs as follows:

 

  1. https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/ – Anju has a wonderful blog which deals with life, the universe and everything. Her posts include travels to other countries (she lives in India) and articles about Indian culture.
  2. https://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com/ – Tess has fascinating articles regarding her travels in China and some excellent flash fiction.

Seeking Guest Posters

I am always happy to accept guest posts. If you are interested in doing a guest post please contact me (putting “guest post” in the subject line of your email). Your post can be about any topic (within reason of course)! But subjects might include: a piece about your favourite book, why you write or anything of a literary nature. Please send emails to newauthoronline (at) gmail .com.

 

Kevin

Teenagers Are Taking Steps To Protect Their Online Privacy

Earlier today (15 March 2015) I wrote a post entitled “Post In Haste Repent At Leisure”, (http://newauthoronline.com/2015/03/15/post-in-haste-repent-at-leisure/). In that article I drew attention to the dangers of posting content which could come back and bite the poster (for example unsubstantiated allegations have led many a social media user into very hot water).

I was interested to read this article (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2995686/Teenagers-tired-sharing-aspect-lives-online-taking-steps-ensure-privacy-social-media-report-reveals.html). The report appears to contradict statements by the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg that people are less concerned about online privacy than was previously the case. It shows that many teenagers have both a private and public Twitter account and will share confidential information with friends using the former. Teenagers are also creating false identities (you could have knocked me down with a feather when I read this snipet of information which, as Basil Fawlty might have remarked is, surely a statement of the “bleding obvious”). The use of false identities has the potential to put a spoke in the wheels of marketers who use online activity to market products, (if they don’t know the identity then how do they target). My heart is sore on behalf of all those poor marketers.

 

Kevin

Post In Haste Repent At Leisure

I deleted that Facebook post I wrote after having consumed 10 pints of strong beer, the one in which I made unfounded allegations about Ms Y and Mr X. Its no longer showing on my Timeline so it’s all fine now, isn’t it?

Well no, it isn’t! Once something is out there on the internet it is impossible to completely erase it. In the above (fictional) example the post has disappeared from the Facebook user’s timeline. It has, however already been shared many times before the drunken Facebooker had the nouse to delete it. Mr X’s lawyer has already written to Facebook asking that they disclose the poster’s details in order that legal proceedings may be commenced against him. To compound matters Ms Y’s boyfriend knows who the poster is and is on his way round to his home to “have a word”.

In this purely fictional example one may smile at the stupidity of the poster. However such instances of stupidity are commonplace. Take, for example the unfounded allegations regarding certain prominent persons that they where paedophiles. Quite rightly the persons libeled took great exception to the slur on their character and sued.

I feel sorry for young people today. While at university there was no internet so student antics could not be plastered all over the World Wide Web (not that there was anything to plaster in the case of yours truly I hasten to add. I was, of course a model of rectitude …)! However in this age of the internet every unguarded comment made online can come back to haunt the poster. A young teenager, their emotional and mental development still in flux says something on social media which on reaching adulthood they bitterly regret. Sadly it often seems to be wholly irrelevant that the poster now genuinely disavows their youthful comments. The media shows no mercy and they are pilloried for comments which, had they been made in the pre internet age would have been, in all likelyhood long since forgotten.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell introduces Memory Holes. All scrap paper and documents which are no longer relevant or are embarrassing to “The Party” go into these recepticles and are taken to furnaces in the depths of The Ministry Of Truth for destruction. It is never made explicit in the novel but one is left with the strong impression that there are no such furnaces. The Memory Holes are just what it says on the tin – a place where information is stored by the authorities to be used at a later date against the population of Oceania. Virtual Memory Holes are alive and kicking for anyone with the patience and technical expertise to access them. Post in haste repent at leisure.

 

Kevin

Open Invitation To Share A Post

Inspired by fellow bloggers, including A Opinionated Man, I have decided to post an open invitation. So, if you would like to share one of your posts please leave it in the comments box below. It would be great if you could also include a few words explaining the background to the post. This is, however not obligatory.

 

Kevin