part time employment : Part Time Evening Work

This week’s episode of the podcast feaures an interview with Ben Brooks of The Brooks Review.

The Brooks Review has quickly become a “must read” by productivity and technology fans alike. Brooks’ insightul and informed writing has garnered the attention of well-known web personalities such as Merlin Mann and John Gruber, and the site delivers its content in a very reader-friendly design.

During this interview with podcast host Mike Vardy, Brooks discusses the various productivity methods and tools he uses and why he started The Brooks Review, among other things. Ah, yes…they also talk about Things and his “review” of the Playbook.

If you enjoy the podcast, please let us know. We’re working hard to bring some great guests on (as well as improving the quality as we go along), so if you have any suggestions on guests or what you’d like to hear, let us know in the comments.

Subscribe to the podcast
Play in podcast in new window

You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes here. Leave us a rating and review as well in iTunes…it’ll help people find us!

(Image courtesy of danbenjamin.com)

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

AllMyMacApps is an online tool based on the Fluid app that helps OS X users quickly locate and download apps.

I am not a Mac user (at least not yet), and so I couldn’t understand its usability at first glance. But after I read its reviews on major tech journals, I’ve concluded that the main advantage of this tool is that it makes the process of finding and downloading multiple Mac apps really quick. This can greatly help a new Mac user who is in search for downloads to get things done.

We know a lot of you use Macs, so I’d love to have you check it out and then give your feedback in the comments. You’ need to get that Fluid app first, though…

AllMyMacApps

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

This week’s Awesome Links includes free software for the new PC user, new Gmail Labs features and using a plain-text editor as a to-do list to get more done.

Top 10 Free Software To Install On Your New Windows PC
Setting up a new Windows PC isn’t usually a productive exercise. There’s loads of new stuff to install, obsolete factory-installed apps to get rid of and other such tasks that could easily eat up your entire day. This post at Guiding Tech on things you should install on a new Windows computer is worth bookmarking. It lists some time-saving tools for new PC owners.

Circadian Rhythms: The Key to Boosting Your Energy And Productivity
The Life Optimizer blog talks about how to make the most out of chunks of productive time during a 24 hour period. The writer highlights the importance of finding out the time of the day when you are likely to get the maximum done, and making sure you utilize it well. Worth a read.

New in Labs: Unread Message Icon
Gmail introduced a cool new Labs feature called Unread Message Icon. As the name suggests, it lets you see the number of unread emails without actually visiting the Gmail tab in the browser. Most of us have Gmail open in a browser tab all day, and we tend to peek into it frequently just to see if any new email has arrived. This feature should take care of that habit…and make you more productive, too.

Why I Get More Done with a Plain Text To-Do List
Kevin Purdy – Lifehacker’s contributing editor – talks about why he made the switch to a plain text to-do list from those sophisticated to-do list apps. He actually switched to a tool called Todo.txt that also works on Android phones in conjunction with Dropbox for online sync.

Eight Lessons from the Life and Work of Jack LaLanne
Finally, we have none other than Seth Godin on what one could learn from the life of Jack LaLanne, whom Americans called the “first fitness superhero”. The article has some useful advice for business owners on how they should emulate some of Jack’s tactics in order to build a great company.

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

This week Rockable Press launched its latest eBook, Get Going with Google AdWords by author Chandler Nguyen and we couldn’t be more excited!

This book is designed with the beginner in mind, introducing you to the world of Google AdWords. Once you start to get a handle on them, you’ll be bidding on keywords that will help push your site higher in the Google rankings — without all of the time it usually takes for that to happen organically.

Nguyen has put together an “easy to grasp” guide on what AdWords are, what using them can do to give your site that added exposure and how to get started using them right away.

In this book you will:

Learn how to put together AdWords campaigns that are simple and effective
Gain a better understanding of your audience’s search behavior
Discover ways to draw more people to your website
Find practical examples offered throughout, and find other tools that you can use to get started with Google AdWords right away.

So if you’re new to Google AdWords and what an easy-to-understand guide of how to get started or if you just haven’t been able to wrap your head around this valuable tool before, this book is for you. You can pick up a copy of Get Going with Google AdWords by clicking on the link below — the book is available now!

Rockable Press: Get Going with Google AdWords

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

This week’s episode features an interview with Dan Benjamin of the Internet broadcasting network 5by5. This relatively new network features shows that involve not only Dan himself, but other well known “internetians” such as John Gruber (Daring Fireball), Marco Arment (Instapaper), Jeffrey Zeldman (A List Apart) and Merlin Mann (43 Folders).

WorkAwesome editor Mike Vardy had the rare opportunity to put Dan on the “interviewee” side of things to find out about his own workflow and habits, what tools he uses to stay — and increase — his productivity and what triggered him to forge out on his own and start 5by5.

Enjoy the podcast!

Subscribe to the podcast
Play in podcast in new window

You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes here.

(Image courtesy of danbenjamin.com)

No Comments yet, be the first!

Add a Comment

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

Nowadays we use computers almost everywhere — and for everything. We use computers at work to do our job and at home to play games, chat with friends, view pictures or videos and sometimes even more work.

There are a lot of professions that require 8 to 12 hours of work each day on a computer. You have to protect yourself so you can get your best work done without compromising your own well-being. Here are several things that you can do to protect yourself from your computer.

Your Eyes

Firstly, you need to protect your eyes. If you work on a computer they are your most important tool. One of the things you must do is to take a 15 minutes break every 45 minutes. Another thing you can try to do is to blink more often while you stare at the monitor or use an eye drops every 3-4 hours.

Why? Well, when you work and stare at your monitor you blink less often and that causes your eyes to dry up. This can cause problems later on, such as blurry vision, irritation or even inflammation of the eyes. Blinking is a natural way to keep the eyes wet; if you can’t blink often when you work using eye drops will compensate for that.

The next problem is that your eyes are not moving much at all when working on a computer. This can cause atrophy of the eye muscles which means that you can lose the ability to focus on things that are close to you. Don’t worry — there is a solution to this problem. You just need to do some exercises with your eyes twice daily. It takes less than 5-7 minutes for all of them.

Exercise One: Move your eyes in circle from left to right 6-8 times and then the opposite another 6-8 times.

Exercise Two: Move your eyes from left to right or right to left horizontally 10-12 times.

Exercise Three: Move your eyes from top to bottom 10-12 times. You have to be careful here. Do it slowly because you can harm your eye muscle.

Exercise Four: Put something 30 cm away from your eyes. Focus on this thing and then focus on something which is further away. Then resume focusing on the thing closer to you, repeating the focus shifting 6-8 times.

These four exercises will help you to save your eyes just for 15 minutes a day. Do the exercise session in the first break when you’re at work and the second after lunch — and don’t do the exercises too fast, either.

Another tip is to look around at natural surroundings, like trees, grass and such things. Their colors will influence the eyes and make them feel good. Another idea is to close your eyes for 3-4 minutes during a break. This also helps, giving your eyes some much needed rest.

The Rest of You

Working on a computer doesn’t affect only the eyes. It has a negative influence to the whole human body. Let’s talk about sitting at your desk. Maybe your chair is comfortable, but think about sitting on the same chair for 8 or 12 hours. This can cause bending of the spine and another unwanted pains. To keep your body in good shape, try to practice some kind of sport or exercise. Running early in the morning will help, as will swimming.Try to move your body as much as you can as this will help you to avoid these kind of problems.

The type of foods you eat is another important topic to cover. Here are some tips:

Try to eat the best possible foods you can.
Remember, moving less will result in weight gain. So…move!
Don’t eat fast food.
Eat more vegetables and fruits. They contain a lot of vitamins that are extremely important for the human body.

The last piece of advice is to try to put your computer as far away from you as possible – whether at your desk or when you don’t need to be using it. The reason for this is simple. The computer processor generates super low levels of radiation which can harm you, considering that you spend so much time in front the computer. In addition, try to spend less time in front the computer on the weekend. Go out with friends and take a good break. Forget about computer work and think positively. After all, your computer will still be there (as will the work) when the new work week begins.

Conclusion

All of these tips can allow you to get your best work done when working on the computer. Protecting yourself from your computer is just the thing that can lead to awesome work when you’re using it. Remember that a good user experience isn’t just set by the computer, it often can be set by the user’s habits as well.

(Image courtesy of racatumba under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license.)

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

This week’s Awesome Links discusses some insights on the changes underway at Google, finding work-life balance and tips on mentorship for freelancers. In addition, there’s a link that offers tips to help you become an early riser and another providing a list of companies with a large user base despite having very little manpower behind them.

Finding the Elusive Work-Life Balance
In this post at Zen Habits, Leo answers a question from a reader who is trying to find work-life balance. Leo suggests certain ways to do so; in particular I like his advice to immerse oneself in a different activity, and try to find work that pays more — yet isn’t stressful.

25 Ways to Wake Up Early
Waking up early is better. (Yes, I am saying that despite being a night owl.) People tend to be more productive in the early hours of the day, no matter what the work. These 25 tips mentioned on the Life Optimizer blog could be what you’re looking for to get yourself out of bed each morning.

Page is Back as CEO, But is That What Google Really Needs?
You’ve likely heard that Google now has a new CEO. Well, not exactly new. Co-founder Larry Page took the reigns from the outgoing Eric Schmidt. There’s an interesting commentary on this development by Mathew Ingram over at GigaOm. Considering how important Google is, I think it’s worth staying acquainted with what’s going on with them, and whether this change is for the good.

Internet Companies with Few Employees But Millions of Users
Finally, a really cool list by the Royal Pingdom blog on internet companies that have amassed millions of users around the world, are very successful and yet don’t have a huge number of employees as one might think they would. A very interesting read.

5 Tips for Freelance Mentor Relationships
Just a few days ago, I was having a conversation with a friend on mentors and the act of mentoring. A good mentor (who’s usually not that easy to find) can significantly alter the aspect of life you are struggling with. But that can only work if you are receptive to the mentor. Our sister site, Freelance Switch, has tips for freelancers on how to approach mentors to get the best out of them. FreelanceSwitch also runs the only hand-moderated job board built exclusively around the unique way freelancers find work. Check it out now.

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

SEO can be made as complicated as quantum physics, but the reality is much simpler. While there may indeed be the oft-cited “200 ranking factors,” anyone with experience knows deep down that backlinks are the lynchpin to scaling the heights of Google. However clever your keyword selection and copywriting are, there’s no getting around the fact that you need more links, stronger links, or more relevant links pointed back at your content than the next guy’s.

Like everything else in SEO, the best way to get backlinks is to write outstanding content that compels other bloggers to refer readers to your site. But, let’s face it, that’s a little pollyanish. Even if you think your own content is outstanding, there’s no guarantee that the rest of the world will. If you don’t want to leave anything to chance, you need to take a more deterministic approach to getting your content recognized by Google.

Simply put, this means that instead of writing stuff that you hope will attract backlinks, you write content to create the backlinks yourself. You write posts on other sites that contain links back to the on-site post you want to promote, and repeat the process until you push your main post to the first page of Google. In other words, you’re essentially writing guest posts in exchange for links whose anchor text contains the keywords your want your main “money” article to rank for.

If you intend your money article to rank for “compact treadmills”, your backlink article would include a sentence like, “Compact treadmills are suitable for use in apartments,” where “Compact treadmills” is hyperlinked with the URL to your money article using the HTML: a href=”http://yoursite.com/your-article”Compact treadmills/a. Most off-site posting systems allow one to two links.

There are three main off-site places to post your link building content: on the top blogs in your niche, in article directories, and in guest posting systems. This article will focus primarly on the latter two, since there’s not much detail I can offer on the first method.

Guest Posting on Mainstream Blogs

Submitting guest posts to A-list blogs is simple, but not necessarily easy if you’re shy about contacting them. You email bloggers or webmasters an offer to write a post for their site, making sure that it’s tailored to their specific audience. They might turn you down, or they might not even reply, but you’ll probably get more bloggers taking you up on the guest post than you would if you were just asking for a link without offering anything of substantive value in exchange. Most bloggers are either jaded or skeptical about two-way link exchanges, but a guest post saves them the work of writing a post, while you get a one-way link back to your site, which carries more weight with Google than a reciprocal (two-way) link.

Submitting to Article Directories

Article directories work by syndicating your content across multiple sites. Directories like Ezine Articles, GoArticles, Buzzle, ArticlesBase and Article Alley typically allow you to submit articles with a minimum of 250-350 words and one to two links—usually one in the body of the article, and one in a “resource box,” which is an author bio or note at the end of the article (find the terms for each directories submission policy and follow them to the letter). Most people use the link in the resource box to provide their home page URL, but if you’re a clever wordsmith, you can usually figure out a way to work in a second keyword without looking spammy.

These directories allow other sites to download your articles and post them on their own sites, turning your initial one or two backlinks into dozens or hundreds of backlinks. The quality of the links tend to be poor, since the articles are duplicate content, but the quantity of links makes the process a net positive. Some bloggers have questioned the value of article directories, claiming that they’re not as powerful for SEO purposes as they used to be. While this is somewhat true in terms of delivering link juice, the links are still good for sending traffic. If you write a good post on a high traffic directory like Ezine Articles (the ones listed above are the top ones), you can sometimes get hundreds of visitors.

Submitting to Guest Posting Systems

A guest posting system is a network of individually hosted blogs connected by a single admin panel. When you submit a post to a guest posting system link PostRunner or Build My Rank, it’s technically the same as submitting a guest post to an A-list blog—or your own blog, for that matter. The main difference is that once you’re finished editing your post in the admin panel, you select where it gets posted from a menu of participating sites.

Instead of having to email a blogger and ask permission to submit a post, you simply pick from hundreds of blogs that have already consented to publish user submissions. They still have the discretion to reject posts on the grounds of inaccuracy, poor English, or other criteria, but the bar for most of these sites is fairly low, on par with article directories. Unlike article directories, guest posting systems cost money—current $33 a month for PostRunner and $59 a month for Build My Rank. BMR is all the rage right now, but I’ve been quite satisfied with PostRunner, so I’ll use the latter for describing the details.

PostRunner allows you to submit a post with a minimum of 300 words and up to two links, though some of the pickier blogs in the network have a higher word minimum (usually 400) or only allow one link. You have over 1200 sites to choose from, most of which accept posts on all topics, while some are niche sites that only accept certain types of content.

While many article directories accept duplicate content, guest posting systems do not; so a duplicate content checker is run prior to any post submission. The lack of syndication and duplicate content gives each PostRunner link more valence than a link from an article copy-pasted from a directory. It’s possible to do all of your link building exclusively through a guest posting system. Unlike a typical link farm, each blog has a different owner, theme, IP address, index count (i.e. the number of pages indexed by search engines), and PageRank, so you’re not in danger of creating a suspicious link profile unless you link too aggressively. 20 links a day will look suspicious under any circumstances.

The drawback of many of these networks is that they can be labor intensive, since they don’t accept “spun” content. Article spinning uses automated tools that “rewrite” a post to qualify as “unique” content by substituting synonyms and rearranging phrases, sentences or paragraphs. The vast majority of spun articles read poorly—worse than articles written by writers with poor English skills. Networks like Article Marketing Automation and Unique Article Wizard specialize in spinning and posting submitted articles to low-quality blogs. The effectiveness of article spinning is questionable, so sites like PostRunner will ban users who submit anything judged to be spun.

This means that you have to write each post individually. With practice, and depending on your subject matter, you can train yourself to write a 300-word article in under 15 minutes as you become more familiar with the topic. The standard practice is to take some aspect of your money article, write a 300-word version of it, and repeat the process for each pair of backlinks you need to create.

Outsourcing

If you’re not inclined to write the articles yourself, you can outsource the process to writers (usually in developing countries like India or the Philippines) for $3 to $10 per article. Some Internet marketers find individual writers on Elance, vWorker or Craigslist Manilla, while others use firms that use a team of writers. Companies like The Content Authority, TextBroker and Need-An-Article typically charge $0.01 to $0.02 per word, depending on the quality level. Build My Rank actually offers in-house article outsourcing. BMR article submissions are 125 words and one link, and the company charges $2 to have each article written for you.

Good Enough Article Writing

Whether you write backlink articles yourself or outsource them, it’s important to understand that the main purpose of these articles is to have their links followed by search engines back to your money site. They’re primarily written for search engines, not readers. They do need to be readable, and they do need to answer the search query adequately, but you don’t need to be high quality like your money post.

This is a controversial point for some people, who insist that these kinds of link building posts are “littering” the Internet. For better or worse, Google’s algorithm works by following backlinks with the appropriate anchor text, so even if you decide to avoid link building and rely on high-quality posts, you still have no control over the keywords used for the anchor text chosen by other sites. Systematic link building requires a mindset that accounts for the logic of search engines. Writing good content for your main site is necessary, but not sufficient.

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

Having effective communication skills is imperative for your success. Positive communication will certainly increase the opportunities you find in your career and business. Having good communication skills will enable you to get ahead in certain areas where others who are less assertive may not succeed. A few things to keep your eyes on while practicing the fine art of communication are:

Body Language

Do not shy away from the person with whom you are speaking. Be sure to maintain a relaxed, but not slouching posture, regardless whether you are the one speaking or listening. Other things that ensure your body is communicating your attentiveness to the conversation can include:

Making eye contact.
Nodding occasionally to acknowledge a strong point in the conversation.
Standing with hands clasped in front of you, never crossing your arms.
Not displaying nervous ticks such as wringing hands, picking at your nails, or anything that the person communicating with you will view as a distraction from their conversation.

Speech and Attentiveness

When speaking, you need to be clear and concise. Speak on important matters directly and do not waste time with long drawn out stories that will cause your listener’s mind to wander. Make sure you ask whether they understand, and be willing to further explain any of your points. Do not expect someone to just “know” what you are saying, even if it is crystal clear in your own mind.

In addition, one of the most important aspects of verbal communication is the ability to practice active listening. This is not just actively waiting to talk. Always make mental notes of key points when someone is speaking to you. That way once you are given a chance to speak, you can respond to the most vital issues being dealt with. When others are speaking, try to think about the exact words that they are saying. If you practice this, you will comprehend and contain 75 percent more of the information that you hear.

Communication Consistency

Maybe your weakness is in the quality or quantity with which you communicate to your employees. Communication seems to have dwindled to superficial small talk. Great communicators practice the ability of consistent communication by remaining available. Do not be afraid to be the one who voices any concerns or difficulties. However, ensure that you are practicing open and honest communication with those who may depend on you. Be available and bold with tact.

Be sure to leave communication lines open to those who may need to address problems with you. You will find that you prevent the small issues that normally have the habit of becoming large ones by making those in your life aware that you are open to discussing issues at any time.

Patience

During your communications with others always give them time to communicate their issues as well. Remaining focused on what they are trying to communicate will show them that you are indeed open to assisting with their issues. Many of people’s communication lines tend to break down on the side where impatience is in a rush to get out of the conversation. Since you cannot control the other side, do yourself a favor and take a breath. The conversation you’re involved in is important.

If you are confused as to what someone may be requesting, than repeat back to him or her what you think they said and ask if that is correct. Often this will inspire the speaker to be more in-depth about their needs, which will help you to understand them fully.

Practicing Effective Communication Skills

If someone has communicated a need or an issue to you, then your main priority should be to aid him or her in repairing the problem. Following up on an issue is the only way to convince others whom you need to communicate with that you have listened to them and that their problems or issues are important to you as well.

Practicing strong follow-up will also leave the impression that you are involved in the bigger picture. When people see this commitment, they will know you are open to future communications. This creates a loyal and discerning surrounding that cultivates positive movement and communication. This will develop a strong sense of confidence in those with whom you communicate.

Conclusion

Since the world is so incredibly diverse and communications come in such a wide variety of forms, it is important to know many appropriate and helpful interpersonal skills. By practicing the few suggestions found here, you will find yourself understanding more of what people say and repeating yourself less to other people. Your co-workers and friends will have the confidence to come to you when they find themselves in need. Remember, great communication skills take practice. Do not give up on Day One. Your ability to express yourself will grow almost daily as long as you apply yourself in improving communication skills.

(Image courtesy of dickdotcom under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license.)

Filed Under Job Help
Tags: Job New, part time employment, part time positions, part time vacancies

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Related Posts

Add a Comment

Your Eyes

The Rest of You

Conclusion

Guest Posting on Mainstream Blogs

Submitting to Article Directories

Submitting to Guest Posting Systems

Outsourcing

Good Enough Article Writing

Body Language

Speech and Attentiveness

Communication Consistency

Patience

Practicing Effective Communication Skills

Conclusion