Super Ways To Promote Your Blog Post!

I wanted to share these awesome tips via Launch Grow Joy brought to my attention by lovely and clever Sarah at Yes and Yes.

I think I have a long ways to go until I get the knack of successfully promoting my blog; but I've always loved learning new things and I pride myself in keeping at the things that challenge me.  The above is something I will be pursuing whole-heartedly!

Hope you're having lovely weekends!

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bloglovin' // twitter // instagram // tumblr // facebook

5 Tips to Keep Calm When Looking at Your Blog Reader

Source

When I go away for a while I simultaneously dread and look forward to checking out my blog reader.  I look forward to it because of all the delicious posts waiting to be devoured but I also dread the sheer number of them.  It takes time picking out the good'uns from the not so good'uns.  

This is why I'm practicing 5 simple rules to help keep me from feeling overwhelmed.

1. Only read articles that you are genuinely interested in/are relevant to you.

I often feel like I have to read everything in front of me.  I have this irrational fear that I'll miss something super cool and relevant to me.  As hard as you try, you cannot read EVERYTHING.  This is fact and no wishing on the universe will change this.

2. Allocate time in your day to catch up on blogs and don't go over it.  In all honesty, there are probably more important things you should be doing. Discipline is key!

3.  Start culling.  There are several blogs I haven't checked in on for a while and there's a blatant reason for this.  At times like this, it's time to get brutal and start culling.

4.  Don't get bogged down by chronology. It's absolutely fine to skim through and go straight to those posts which are relevant to you rather than reading them in chronological order.  Use the 'Like' button on Bloglovin to save posts for reading later on.

5.  Have fun categorizing.  I imagine like most people, I have my blogs sorted in groups on Bloglovin. If you don't, then I highly recommend doing this.  This is tip number one to prevent feeling overhwhelmed!  I always find myself checking out one group more than an other often leaving the other groups unread for days and days.  Every once in a while though I like to peruse my unread list as it is - without discriminating against groups.  It feels great and refreshing reading up on topics and new information that would otherwise be left unread.

Have you any useful tips? Please share!  
Have a great Sunday! We're off to go exploring in the woods again!

*****

bloglovin' // twitter // instagram // tumblr // facebook

To Do or Not To Do

That is the question.

I like making lists. No. I LOVE making lists. And over the years I've collected magazine articles on the best way to make lists.  Below are some tips and finds I came across in PSYCHOLOGIES magazine where Oliver Burkeman writes about the classic self-help book David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity aka the GTD method.

Key quote:  'There are more meaningful things than your in-basket, but if your management of that level is not as efficient as it could be, it's like trying to swim in baggy clothing"

1.  Get it out of your head. Write down every 'to do' in your life in one notebook or computer file, with 'waiting fors' - responses you expect - and even a 'someday/maybe' list of things you might like to do.  Once it's all there, your mind can stop stressing about keeping track, as it'll you know it can check what Allen calls a 'trusted system'.

2.  Ask yourself 'what's the next action?'.  Too many things don't get done because we don't clarify the next step.  Whether it's as daunting as 'save my marriage' or as dull as 'tidy the attic', neither is a physical action you can really do.  But 'find marriage counsellor' or 'get boxes' both are.  Think what you can do now.

3.  Follow the two-minute rule.  You'll save yourself a lot of hassle if you cultivate the habit of immediately doing any new, 'incoming' task that can be done in under two minutes.  We often fret for days about 'to dos' that actually take no time at all.  Need to make a doctor's appointment, just pick up the phone.

The best tip for me is whatever can be done in less than 5-minutes just do it now.  You'll actually have something to tick of your list and you'll feel SO much better for not having to worry about it.

Source

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How-to: Install CommentLuv on Blogger

Today is a happy day!

I know lots of Blogger users have had issues with the fact that the comments section of the blogging platform is a) completely unnoticeable and b) does not allow for a real and engaging interaction with your readers.  

A while back, I noticed the CommentLuv widget on many blogs I read, most notably the SITS Girls blog, and I really love how easy it makes commenting and how it truly shares the love by allowing commenters to link back to their most recent post.  For a long while, I've been determined to add this feature to my blog and after many failed attempts, I've finally done it!  Thanks to the help of this great tutorial.

If you're using the new Blogger interface,  I found that the following steps really helped me:

1.  Temporarily switch back to the old interface - you won't lose anything!

2.  Follow the installation steps provided in the tutorial here.

3.  Save all of your settings.

4.  Sign out of Blogger.  The sign back in.

5.  Write out a 'Test' post to make sure you've installed correctly. Then preview it.

6.  Voila! You should see your brand spanking new CommentLuv widget ready for action.

How about you leave me some CommentLuv to celebrate what I consider to be a significant achievement today!

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