Sunday, September 9, 2012

Fall Asleep Before 2 a.m.

In a world fraught with information overload, it's hard to fall asleep when you fear missing out on that juicy piece of gossip or latest news, maybe you're worried that a competitor might be outselling you while you were in bed getting some shut-eye. The operating term here is "worry".

You may want to take the help of meditation to observe silently the thoughts in your head. When you do, you'll realise just how much useless chatter is in there. Your emotions define the number of thoughts in your head but on average we think about 70,000 thoughts a day. That's about 48 thoughts per minute!

Remember that worrying doesn't solve anything. If you're actually focusing on the problem to come up with a solution, it's best to just stop thinking about it for a few hours. When you wake up the resolution of your issue will present itself. You'll know because you're thinking straight and aware of your thoughts.

TIPS
  • Eat by 9 p.m. Food takes time to digest and if it's not yet digested all that effort by your body to break down the food in your system is going to make itself conspicuous and have you tossing and turning and even waking up. 
  • Have a plan for the next day. If you have a reason to get out of bed in the morning you'll get yourself to sleep earlier. 
  • Stop seeing the time. If you're used to sleeping at 2 a.m. you might tell yourself "Oh well, I still have 2 hours to fall asleep, might as well do something." What you're doing is giving up already. It takes 21 days to make or break a habit, hang in there.
  • Stay up until you're actually sleepy. If it takes more than 10 minutes to nod off, wake up. Watch T.V. but yeah avoid any activity that encourages you to think.
  • Set up your alarm away from you on loud but pleasant music. You don't want to spend the rest of the day being crabby.

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Monday, September 3, 2012

Stay Ahead of Other Writers

At this point, who hasn't given a thought to freelancing, considering how easy it is to be gainfully employed working from home. But why should anyone pick your services over the thousands of others? What's your USP? That one's upto you to mull over. In the meantime, here are some must-have requirements asked and expected of a freelance employee - no matter what field you choose.
  • Time management: Are you capable of meeting deadlines? If you can prioritise & assign work hours, keeping a buffer for any foreseeable/ unforeseeable delays then the hiring company has less to worry about. This, of course, is also good for you in the long run since the next time a job opens up they'll have you at the top of their heads because of your commitment to turnaround time.
  • Constant communication with client: Once the client has shared his requirements, you should ensure that there are no misunderstandings regarding the exact needs of the project. Share your work once you've begun work on it to ensure that. Foresee delays? Let them know. Even if it's a Sunday evening. It's understandable. It's best to under-promise and over-deliver than be unrealistically optimistic.
  • Awareness of all work obligation: Have you asked all relevant questions and cleared doubts about the inclusions & exclusions of the project? Are there any grey areas regarding exact expectations from you? You may want to clarify with clients, especially when there's an unwritten, unspoken understanding that there are things you have to do regardless of whether you're being paid for it. 
  • Good research skills: Whether you're a writer or a designer, you need to be able to find what you need when you need it. That's what will make you an ideal resource, especially where deadlines are concerned.
TIPS
  • Work in a clutter-free area
  • Keep empty notebooks and any other required material by your side to avoid distractions & procrastination
  • Keep a calendar for all important deadlines for projects, meetings and short-term goals 
  • Foresee client requirements & keep checking in with them to know whether the work you're doing is worth the time you have to spend doing it. Also you want to be certain that you're both on the same page in regards to the kind of work needed to be done.
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