Now that many of us are working from home…

The Revelation

It took me a while for some reason, but I finally realized that the way I was working was not conducive to happiness, health, or a sense of mental or emotional well-being. My priorities HAD to change if I wanted to stay sane. So I changed them.

Work is important, sure, especially when you’re your own boss and you’re doing the work of several people. But I finally remembered that I’m important too, and that I should be on the priority list along with everything and everybody else! Sleep is important. Eating is important. Socializing is important. Enjoying the life that I’m creating is important.

So here’s what I’ve changed so far, to balance my life. I’m happier, healthier, and I feel more rested and peaceful because of it.

I Schedule Social Time

Once every week or two, I make a few coffee or lunch dates with friends. I FaceTime with distant friends or family. I text with friends or family members that I don’t see very often.

Socialization doesn’t have to be face to face, but that would be ideal. Unfortunately, much of my family lives in other states, and so to socialize with them I need to talk on the phone or FaceTime or Skype, or text. These all work for me because it’s the interaction and connection that’s important.

I find a pleasant space to hang out, nowhere near my workspace, so I can fully focus and enjoy the interaction.

Whatever type of socialization works for you, do it!

I Have a Schedule

There was a time when I preferred to code for hours without any breaks, but that was not helpful in the long run.

One time, I started at 10 PM and the next time I looked up from my screen it was 6 AM. I had no idea. When I was new to working from home, I didn’t want to have “a schedule”. I really felt that the beauty of working from a home office was that I could work “whenever” I wanted. And often I wanted to work very late at night.

It didn’t take long for this new found “freedom”  to negatively impact my sleep cycle. Having the freedom to work “whenever”, wasn’t working for me at all. I wasn’t tired at night when I should be sleeping, and I was tired all day when I was also working and taking care of other responsibilities.

So I decided to have more structure in my days and nights. In order to keep that feeling of freedom I now use a loosely defined schedule, beginning anywhere between 7 and 8 AM and ending anywhere between 4 and 5 PM. But it works for me. I work only half a day on Friday and I don’t work most weekends.

Making myself stick with this structure has fixed my sleep cycle and given me back a sense of control over my life.  It impacts how I plan my days. I can work more, or less, depending on what I need to get done.

I Take Breaks

Now that I have a schedule, I still have a tendency to get immersed in my work,  sometimes to the exclusion of everything else.

When I first started taking little breaks, I worried about how “behind” I was getting in my work. But I soon realized that for some reason, my mind worked better, my thoughts were clear and I was actually more productive after I took a couple of breaks! I had no idea that would happen simply from taking a little time away from my work throughout the day. So I decided to keep taking breaks and make some of them a little bit longer.

I’m getting all of my work done and I don’t feel like I’m falling behind on other responsibilities while at the same time, I stay sane.

During a 30 minute break, I might do a little banking. On another break, I’ll make myself a nutritious snack or lunch. On a shorter break, I’ll play with the dog.

See what I mean? I don’t have a set break schedule but I’m aware that I need to take them and I honor that. I take them in the morning and in the afternoon, at various times and for various lengths, depending on my needs. I no longer drive myself like a workhorse. I’m kinder and more considerate to myself, and it shows in my work. Go figure, huh?

I Get Out of the House

I think one of the best ways to stay sane is to get out and about. Even if it’s just to make a quick coffee run, pick up the dry cleaning, or go to the grocery store for 2 things, I DO IT.

Some ways you can get yourself out of the house are:

If you have a dog, take her for a walk or go to the park for an hour.

Join an exercise class.

Join a small business club or your Chamber of Commerce. These types of groups often have get-togethers, so not only will you get out of the house, you’ll meet other entrepreneurs, hear new ideas, learn new things and build your network. All good for you AND your business.

Check the mail or take a short walk. Get your muscles working and your blood pumping.  Your body will appreciate movement, you’ll get to look at something besides your computer screen. And that brings me to the next thing:

Make a Change of Scenery

I started working from a different area after each break. So on some days, if I’ve had three breaks, I’ve worked in three different areas, including outside. This one really helps me stay sane.

My advice to you: change up your workspace now and then. Work in different areas of your house or sit in a different chair or in a different room, so your view changes. Work outside for 30 minutes if you can, sometimes in your front yard, sometimes in the back. Work from your favorite coffee spot and change-out the location now and then. Not only will you have a change of scenery, but you’ll meet and interact with different people.

I hope you’ll try a couple of these yourself and see if it makes a positive difference in your life. 🙂

Questions?

[email protected]

My Contact Page Other articles you might like: -How your personal brand makes the difference -Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings -10 Things to Do After Creating Your Website

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection. I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place. I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts. I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves. ‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online. Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

When we use the passive voice, it means that our writing is often wordier and seems detached or aloof. The reader is required to put more effort into thinking about the sentence in order to correctly understand it. With passive voice, the reader doesn’t know who or what took the action until they get to the end of the sentence. It’s very different from how we usually talk or make sense of events. All of this means there’s a greater chance we’ll be misunderstood, and as writers or bloggers, that’s the last thing we want.

Active voice: clear and concise

On the other hand, the “active voice” is consistent and logical. Sentences written in the active voice are usually shorter and more assertive. They also require less brainpower to interpret, and although they might lack formality, they deliver clarity.

Yoast SEO (“the #1 WordPress SEO Plug-in”) recommends using the active voice for the majority of our blogging and only using the passive voice in 10% or less of our writing.

Having said this, I need to note that there are exceptions:

1. If the “actor” in the sentence is unknown or irrelevant, it’s OK (and makes more sense) to use the passive voice. When the actor and receiver are switched around, because the actor isn’t (or can’t) be identified, using the passive voice makes more sense for the reader.  
2. When you want to focus on the receiver, then it also makes sense  to use the passive voice.  This works when the object is more central to the subject then the actor. For example: “Joan d’Arc was burnt at the stake on May 30, 1431 by the English.” Passive voice works best here.

Summary

When you’ve finished your article or blog post, scan it for the passive voice. If you find it, see if there’s a better way to express that thought by using the active voice. If there is, change it. Your audience will appreciate it because readers typically prefer articles that provide useful, unique, and engaging information. Using the active voice will improve your writing, and it could boost your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) as well. Win-win for everybody.

Other articles you might like:

-6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

–Balancing Consumer Personalization with GDPR Regulation

Questions?

[email protected]

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

Your website is your brand’s personalization headquarters

The transition to GDPR compliance absolutely created more work for businesses. Now that we’ve done the hard part, let’s take a look at how using your visitor-data could help demonstrate your company’s concern for your audience.

You can test your ideas: With tools such as Certona and Optimizely, you can test different personalization strategies to see which is most effective. You’ll have the ability to change tactics quickly, which saves both time and money. You’ll be able to discover the best way to enrich the customer experience with your brand.

You can adjust your ideas for personalization in real time, almost as fast as visitors are interacting with your site.  You can easily and quickly go back to a previous version of your page if you find that the new strategy isn’t working. If you find that your strategy is working, you can go ahead and scale that across the whole site if you want. 

Three ways to use data for personalization:

1. Identify repeat visitors: If you sell products or register your users, you can use the collected data to greet them or direct them to more relevant content on your site. 
2. Improve customer retention: When customer retention is the most important thing, consider how you talk to your customers. Try highlighting their purchases, preferences, or their status. Consumers who register on your site usually assume you’re tracking their data, so try to discover ways to make it beneficial for them.
3. Identify new visitors: Even if you don’t know the specific names of the people using your site, you can still personalize their experience by using their IP addresses. (The IP address is a location’s digital address. It changes depending on what network the visitor used at the time they visited your site). You could use the collected data to make observations about your customer’s language preferences, the time of day they visited,  and other metrics. You’ll make your new visitors feel special because you recognize them when they return.

Using personalization to achieve your business goals

Look at your click-through rates, conversion rates, scroll and exit rates, time spent on the site, bounce rates and other important metrics to see if you’re improving overall site engagement.

Then take a look at your Return On Investment. Was the investment worth it? Did your numbers change at all?  Or did personalization have a negative impact on those important performance indicators? Evaluate these questions according to your goals and adjust your strategy to align with them.

Other articles you might like:

-6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

Questions?

[email protected]

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.