Sunset In Miri

DO NOT PLAGIARISE OR COPY – THE ORIGINAL WAS FIRST REGISTERED BY ME ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM ON 29-NOVEMBER-2022 2:21am EST

• The dangers of infatuation and the happy discovery of love
• Knowing the difference can save your heart
• If you want a lasting relationship, don’t mistake infatuation for love

Introduction

Infatuation and love are two different things. Infatuation is often mistaken for love. It is that intense, passionate feeling we have for someone that can border on obsession.

Infatuation is when you have a strong attraction to someone and you feel like you’re in love, but it’s usually not based on anything else other than physical attraction. We become preoccupied with the person and how they make us feel.

Infatuation is based on physical attraction and fantasy rather than reality. The object of our infatuation can be anyone – a crush, a celebrity, or even someone we just met.

Love, on the other hand, is usually based on more than just physical attraction. It is built on a foundation of trust and respect. You may be in love with someone because of their personality or how they make you feel.

Love takes time to develop and grows stronger over time.

Defining love and infatuation

Love and infatuation are two different things but both are intense emotions and are often confused. Love is a deep feeling of affection – a deeper, more lasting emotion, while infatuation is more of a crush or intense liking for someone.

Love is usually based on trust, mutual respect, and commitment, while infatuation is an idealization of someone, is often just physical attraction (looks) and maybe even lust (sexual chemistry) and can be fickle and short-lived. Infatuation usually leads to unrealistic expectations and disappointment.

So how do you know if you’re in love or just infatuated?

If you find yourself constantly thinking about the other person, wanting to be around them all the time, and making sacrifices for them, it’s probably love. Love takes time to grow, while infatuation may happen quickly. Over time, love will continue to grow stronger while infatuation can fizzle out in a short time. Love is also usually more stable and lasts longer than infatuation.

If you’re not sure, it’s always best to take some time to get to know the person better before jumping into anything too serious.

Infatuation is often blind and you may not notice any of the other person’s faults. Love also makes you think about what you value most and appreciate in the other person, and then deciding to accept the good and the flaws. When you love someone, it’s also natural to want them to be happy. You might even go out of your way to help them achieve those goals.

Love is more about giving and sacrifice, while infatuation is often about getting what you want.

The dangers of confusing love with infatuation

It is noted that though infatuation and love may feel the same, they are two different things and can often be confused.

The danger of confusing love with infatuation is that people set themselves up for disappointment, and can often get their heart broken when the infatuation fades away. They may think they are in love when they are really only in lust or infatuated with the other person.

Infatuation is not built to last because it’s not based on anything real. Once the initial excitement wears off, you are left with nothing.

It’s important to take the time to get to know someone before you declare your love for them. Also, it is best not to declare your love for someone unless you are sure it will be returned.

How to know if you’re in love or infatuated

When it comes to love, it can be difficult to know the difference between infatuation and the real thing especially if it’s your first time experiencing such strong feelings.

Both love and infatuation are intense emotions that can make you feel like you’re on top of the world. Infatuation is often characterized by feelings of excitement and anxiousness, while love is more stable and calming. If you’re unsure whether you’re in love or just infatuated, there are a few key things to look for.

One way to tell the difference is by thinking about how long you’ve been feeling these intense emotions. If it’s only been a few weeks or months, chances are you’re simply infatuated. Love, on the other hand, often develops over time.

You may want to consider how you feel when you’re around this person. If you’re infatuated, you may feel great when you’re together but feel really bad when you’re apart. But if you’re in love, your mood will be much more consistent. You’ll feel good when you’re together and when you’re apart.

Another way to tell if you’re in love or just infatuated is by considering your level of commitment. If you’re in love, you’ll actually be willing to make sacrifices for the other person. Infatuation may make you feel like the other person is perfect for you, but love makes you want to work at things and be the best partner you can be.

Again, we said that infatuation is all about how you feel, but love is about how the other person feels. You want what’s best for the other person. If your infatuation is strong, however, it may not last long enough to warrant a real commitment.

Once you’ve proven that you’re ready to commit and work hard to be a good partner, then you can feel confident that your feelings are real love and not infatuation. You’ll be more able to determine whether your infatuation is real love or just a passing phase.

The benefits of being in a healthy ‘real love’ relationship

Though being in love may sometimes seem like a whirlwind of emotion, there are actually many benefits to being in love.

For one, being in love has been linked with improved mental and physical health. In fact, studies have shown that people who are in love have lower levels of stress and anxiety, and higher levels of immunity. They also tend to live longer with less heart problems and even lower rates of arthritis and depression.

But it’s not just the physical benefits that make being in love so great – it’s also the mental benefits. People who are in love tend to be more optimistic, outgoing, and creative. They feel good about themselves. They feel loved, supported, and appreciated. They know that someone is there for them, and can count on them. They also have increased self-esteem and feel more confident overall – and that helps growth and learning as a person.

And, of course, being in love is simply a lot of fun! You can explore new things together, try new activities, and learn more about each other and what you want in life together.

Conclusion: Love is worth the risk

When it comes to love, is it worth taking the risk? It can be scary to put yourself out there, especially if you’ve been hurt before. But sometimes, the rewards are worth it. Love can give you a sense of security, happiness, and companionship that nothing else can provide.

Sure, there’s always the possibility that things won’t work out. But if you never take the chance, you’ll never know what could have been. So go ahead and take that leap of faith. It just might be the best decision you ever make.

There is a time for everything. I like to believe that a time will come for you.

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Coming Up Next: The 4 Types Of Infatuation

• Limerence
• Hero worship
• Sexual obsession
• Dependency

from Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia:
Limerence is a state of mind which results from romantic or non-romantic feelings for another person, and typically includes intrusive, melancholic thoughts and/or tragic concerns for the object of one’s affection as well as a desire to form or maintain a relationship with the object of love and to have one’s feelings reciprocated. Limerence can also be defined as an involuntary state of intense desire

Psychologist Dorothy Tennov coined the term ‘limerence‘ for her 1979 book, Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love.

DO NOT PLAGIARISE OR COPY – THE ORIGINAL WAS FIRST REGISTERED BY ME ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM ON 6-OCTOBER-2022 4:12Am EST

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t delegate nearly as much as you should. You may think it’s faster or easier to just do things yourself, but delegating can actually save you time and help you get more done. Delegating can free up your time quite significantly and enable you to start focusing on what matters most. Here are 7 reasons why you should start delegating today:

1. DELEGATION FREES YOU TO FOCUS ON IMPORTANT TASKS

Delegation is important for business growth because it gives you more time to concentrate on strategic planning and other important tasks while delegating operational ones. This increases efficiency and effectiveness in your company as a whole. Without delegation, you would be bogged down in day-to-day tasks and would not have enough time to work on tasks that directly relates to your business growth.

2. DELEGATION HELPS YOU AVOID OVERWHELMING YOURSELF

An obvious benefit of correct delegation, is reduction in your workload and avoiding overwhelm.

Letting go of control can be liberating. You can avoid burnout. Imagine the relief of not having to do everything yourself will make it even easier for you to sleep better at night.

Delegation indeed makes your job easier by eliminating the need to do some tasks yourself. You may also have a more relaxed work environment if you let your employees do some tasks. And you may not have to run from one meeting to the next anymore.

3. IT CONTRIBUTES TO A BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE

When you delegate, you don’t have to put all of the responsibility on your own shoulders. Instead, you are actually sharing the load with other people. This can help you feel less stressed and more relaxed.

Delegation enables you to relax and unwind after a demanding day. Relieved from the headache of having to worry about everything yourself, it can help you mentally as well as physically. It frees up time for you to take in leisure activities, like spending time with friends and family members – such social interaction has been found to have a favorable influence on health. Delegating means you don’t have to put in 60-hour weeks, every week.

4. INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MANAGER AND EMPLOYEE

You can focus on developing your team members into leaders and be able to identify potential leaders within your organization. While you are actually developing other people’s strengths, their skills may make them better than any new candidate you can presently only hope to find with a new recruitment drive.

On your part, delegating allows you to focus on your strengths. You can even improve your own leadership skills over time.

5. TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Delegation can help develop your team in many ways.

By delegating authority, you are empowering your team members to make decisions. This builds trust and confidence within the team. When team members feel trusted and valued, they are more likely to be engaged and fulfilled.

Delegation can help to motivate and inspire employees by providing them with opportunities to take on new challenges. This may also lead to innovation and creativity.

Good delegation can also help build a strong team spirit, as team members feel they are working together towards a common goal. When done correctly, delegation can lead to improved communication and teamwork.

6. GET MORE DONE IN LESS TIME

By delegating, you can focus on the things that only you can do and leave – or ‘delegate’ – the rest to others.

Delegating tasks is a great way to get things done faster. And, not only does it save time in the short term, but it also saves time in the long run. It’s like getting 2 things done at the same time (think ‘multi-tasking’) the difference being that the other person is doing the other task.

7. SAVES YOU MONEY

Cost wise, it is very likely that you may not need to recruit another employee on a standard one-person’s remuneration. Even if it means compensating your existing employee for doing the extra job, this could save you money in the long run. Effectively, you are also investing in your business when your employees are given the chance to learn new skills by your assigning them new tasks.

Conclusion:

Delegation is critical if you who want to avoid becoming overwhelmed and bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of running your business. By delegating, you free yourself up to focus on the important tasks that contribute to the growth and success of a business.

In addition, delegation can help you build a stronger team by empowering your employees and giving them the opportunity to show what they can do. When done correctly, delegation can be a win-win for both you and your employees.

And if you’re always feeling overwhelmed by everything on your to-do list, delegation can be a lifesaver!

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Introduction

Self-sabotage is a common occurrence in which people undermine their own success or happiness by engaging in self-destructive behavior. This can manifest in many ways, such as procrastination, self-doubt or feelings of inadequacy, or risky behaviors. People often do this because they are afraid of change or feel unworthy of success.

We’ve all been there. We’re finally in a good spot, things are going well and we’re taking care of ourselves. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, we do something to ruin our hard work and send ourselves right back to square one. Whether it’s eating that pint of ice cream after a long day or skipping the gym, or relaxing on the couch to view a late-night show because we’d rather watch TV, or putting off until tomorrow what could be done today, we’ve all engaged in self-sabotage at one point or another.

Recognizing the signs of self-sabotage is the first step to overcoming it. It is possible to overcome self-sabotage with effort and awareness. With awareness and practice, it is possible to break the cycle of self-sabotage and lead a more productive and fulfilling life.

. . . to be continued

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Introduction

Being a self-proclaimed semi-retiree from the mainstream 9-to-5 working world, I have chosen to be a work-from-home writer and content creator. As such, I need to spend much of my time working on my projects (though I enjoy it).

I have a small home office which I am content with and am surrounded by several things that are part of my ‘tools’ such as my laptop, my phone, a notepad, a mini ‘sticker board’ and of course my book collection.

I have four hours established and available in the morning. After lunch, I can continue working for another four hours before taking a break – and that’s when I go for my evening ‘fitness program’ – usually a so-called ‘effective’ walk or I do minor ‘upkeep’ activity for my garden.

I use a time planner supplemented by the notepad to organize my tasks and priorities. I am the type of person who gets upset if, for whatever reason, I start late or miss a pre-established time slot. And that’s so, especially for a priority item. A rather regular ‘incident’ – hopefully with reduced frequency by now – related to this expectation makes up the specific case study which I am sharing here. The lessons learnt will be discussed subsequently in the later part of this article.

I feel guilty if I don’t get everything done. I can only relax when my to-do list – at least the day’s ‘quota’ – is complete . It makes me uncomfortable to have open tasks. I feel relieved when all of my tasks or daily quota are completed for the day.

My regular challenge is to establish time slots for each of my priorities so I do not miss their daily ‘required’ input. So, that means that I try my utmost to ‘fit them in’.

The other challenge is to stay focused during the time slots of course. I will get distracted usually by my own thoughts although they are related to my main goals. At times I get stuck in a thought loop and this can take up a lot of time. I believe that is not quite the same as a ‘writer’s block’ as I do get inspirations and new ideas even though they come as ‘random’ mind wanderings.

I had to learn how to stay focused and not get distracted. I also had to learn how to focus on what is most important and not get lost in the irrelevant. The third challenge is that there are a lot of things that need my attention, so I tend to feel overwhelmed by them sometimes.

Despite my past chaotic relationship with time, I have actually learned a few things about how to manage it better. Here are some of the things I’ve learned from my personal experience with time management (or lack thereof).

A Time Management Overview

The importance and benefits of time management is known by most if not everyone. It’s no secret that time management is a key to success in any field. And in today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to manage your time wisely and efficiently.

One way to do this is by learning how to prioritize tasks after identifying them. Not only does this help manage time better, but it also ensures that you’re working on the correct things and the most important things – tasks that will help you achieve your goals in both your personal and professional life.

Prioritizing can be tough, especially when everything feels important and there are competing demands on your time. There always seems to be a lot of things vying for our attention on any given day. How do you know what deserves your attention first?

Identifying tasks: First, think about what your overall big goal is. What do you value? Once you have your goal in mind, consider what steps you need to take to reach it. Break down those steps into smaller tasks.

Think about what is urgent and what can wait. Urgent tasks are those that need to be done immediately, while important tasks are those that contribute to your long-term goals.

Next, consider what is most important to you. What are your goals for a particular day? What do you hope to accomplish? Once you have a good understanding of your priorities, you can start to rate them. By learning to rate your priorities, you can make better decisions about how to spend your time.

There are a few different ways to prioritize tasks. One popular method is the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps you categorize tasks by importance and urgency.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a tool for time management and prioritization. It was developed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and is also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix.

The Eisenhower Matrix helps you to prioritize tasks by their urgency and importance. Urgent tasks are those that need to be done immediately, while important tasks are those that contribute to your long-term goals.

To use the Eisenhower Matrix, simply draw a four-quadrant grid on a piece of paper and label each quadrant as follows:

Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent & Important

Quadrant 3: Urgent & Not Important

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent & Not Important

then, place each of your tasks into the appropriate quadrant. This gives clarity and is the first guiding step when assigning activity to time slots in a daily time plan.

The Incident

This is my case study from a personal real life experience of course.

On the previous day, I had laid out the current day’s schedules on my time planner with priorities all established, time slots allocated and even the sequencing of activities for a whole day.

I woke late and lost a planned 2-hour time slot for what was established as an important and urgent task. It was 9.15 am when I woke up that day. I slept well beyond my time.

I had wanted to get an early start on the day, but that did not happen. I felt frustrated, upset and annoyed with myself. I knew I needed to get the task done, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to make up the time. Immediately, I was quite sure that another time slot (and its activity) may have to be ‘sacrificed’. And I felt that the day was going to go all wrong.

Note: The task happened to be a social media posting. I was not ready to skip a day of this for some reason. I had also learnt that there are ‘best times’ to post to optimize the time of day when people are said to be active on internet / social media. Additionally, there is the fact that I am living in another part of the world with a time differential to conform to. Losing the planned time slot was going to put me behind and I now need to find another similar time frame to complete the task. I felt stressed about this because I know how important and strategic it was.

The night before, I had lain in bed awake for some time, thinking about the day ahead and feeling anxious. When I finally fell asleep, I slept deeply and, as mentioned, woke up later than usual.

It was so hard for me to admit that I had made a mistake when I lost a time slot for an important task. I felt like I had let myself down and I was really upset about it.

There were other ‘ideas’ that came to mind as I resorted to mitigating what was not a perfect start to a day which I felt would be a struggle trying to catch up on pre-planned work and even some deadlines. I thought I may even have to skip breaks for the day. That, to me, was just one ‘firefighting’ quick fix which is not the way an organised person would want to do as a long term lifestyle

These were some of the quick fixes (firefighting) which have saved (or rather, salvaged) many such days but they were not going to be the lifestyle that I would want to sweat over long term:

• Work through lunch time
• Push every item 2 hours ‘forward’ – I have done this often but had always felt uneasy about this one
• Skip ‘fitness’ program item for the day – this means not having a recreational break
• Go to bed 2 hours late ‘tonight’ say 2.30 am – this would mean I can still have my standard 8-hour ‘workday’

Perhaps more acceptable forward-looking steps would be:

• Use multiple alarm clocks 🙂
• Don’t allocate ‘urgent’ ‘important’ things to the first time slot of the day ~ there may be an alternative ‘cycle’

Note: I could have delegated some items to someone who can assist me but my ‘pre-set’ is: no delegation

No one likes to oversleep and lose a time slot. It’s even worse when it’s a time slot you really wanted or needed. Maybe you were scheduled for an important meeting at work, or maybe you were supposed to meet a friend for lunch. Regardless of what the time slot was, oversleeping and losing it can be really frustrating.

Of course, other unforeseen circumstances can occur to prevent you from completing a project, like your hard disk crashing or your hosting server going down for the day. But I do not consider that as bad compared to experiencing something that you have control over by yourself.

Learning Points

Since that day, I’ve been more vigilant about setting my alarm clock, respecting bedtime and making sure I get up on time. It’s a small change, but it’s one that has made a big difference in my life. And it’s one that I hope will help you, too.

If you’ve lost your time slot, don’t fret! There are a few other things you can do to catch up. Let’s take an overview in the next two paragraphs before diving into the details.

When it comes to time management, everyone has their own way of doing things. Some people can get by with relatively little sleep, while others require a solid eight hours of rest. Some people can work for long stretches without a break, while others need to take frequent breaks to stay focused. And some people prefer to work on one task at a time, while others like to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously.

It’s not uncommon to find yourself behind schedule. Life has a way of getting in the way of our best intentions. Whether it’s due to an unexpected event or poor planning, there are times when we find ourselves with lost time that needs to be made up. While it may seem daunting, catching up on a lost time slot is possible with a little focus and effort.

• The first step is to assess how much time you will need to catch up. This can be done by looking at the deadlines for each individual component of the task and estimating how long it will take you to complete each one. Once you have a general idea of how much time you need, you can start to make a plan.

• If possible, try to make up the lost time by working faster or taking some time out of your schedule later on. Check the schedule to see if there is another time slot that would work better for you.

• My favorite plan of action is to cancel the day’s pre-planned ‘not important – not urgent’. I would also additionally choose an ‘important – not urgent’ activity to cancel, if more time is required. I would then put the ‘important – urgent’ item in their slots.

Note: This should not be a regular daily step as an important task can usually become urgent after a length of time. This is just a mitigating step only when an occasional top priority time slot loss occurs.

• As you might have noticed, another way I catch up on a lost time slot is to work on the task for longer periods of time when I can find free or ‘extra’ time. This usually means working on it during my lunch break or staying up an extra hour or two in the evening.

There’s one thing that everyone has in common: we all want to get more done in less time. That’s why we invented fast food and coffee, right?🙂

• Additionally, if possible, it can also be helpful to set aside a day or two where you can work on nothing but the task at hand.

Please note again that this is just a mitigating step when once in a while a priority time slot is lost.

Remember that it is important to stay calm and focus on catching up rather than dwelling on the lost time. Getting frazzled will only make it harder to get back on track. Take a deep breath and dive back in!

Conclusion

It is important to be able to identify what tasks are the most important and need to be completed in timely manner.

Time management and prioritizing can help with this. By taking the time to plan and prioritize, you can save time in the long run.

Being organized is not always easy, but it is definitely worth it. It helps you feel more in control of your life and less stressed.

When you know how to prioritize and manage your time, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. This leads to a healthier and happier life overall.

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DO NOT PLAGIARISE OR COPY – THE ORIGINAL WAS FIRST REGISTERED BY ME ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM ON 27-SEPTEMBER-2022 4:15am EST

🏵 If I Only Had Time 🏵
‘ if I only had time … dreams to pursue, if I only had time … they’d be mine ‘ ~ John Rowles

In a fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to use time wisely. With the demands of work, family, and social obligations, it’s easy to let time get away from us.

There are 3 ‘levels’ of reasons (benefits) for encouraging time management. The 33 reasons for time management are categorized here under 3 broad conceptual headings:

• Immediate or Direct Rewards
• Effects On Lifestyle
• Being In Control

Immediate or Direct Rewards

By taking control of our time, we can improve our productivity, reduce stress, and live a more balanced life. Individuals who are good at time management tend to be more organized, efficient, and productive.

It can help you be more productive

Time management is not only about scheduling your day. It can also be about finding ways to be more productive with the time you have.

There are a number of ways to be more productive. Time management can help you find the best way for you to get the most out of your day. One way to be more productive is to focus on one task at a time. This means that you should avoid multi-tasking, as it can actually lead to more mistakes and less productivity.

Another way to be more productive is to take breaks when you need them. This may seem counterintuitive, but taking breaks can actually help improve your focus and concentration. And finally, make sure to set realistic goals for yourself each day. Having specific and achievable goals will help you stay on track and motivated throughout the day.

It can help you make better use of your time

There are many reasons to manage your time wisely. One reason is that it can help you make better use of your time. When you know how to manage your time, you can use your time more efficiently and get more done in less time. This can free up more time for other activities, such as relaxation or hobbies. Additionally, managing your time can help reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.

If you’re not sure how to get started with time management, there are many resources available to help you learn the basics. Once you start implementing some simple techniques, you may be surprised at how much difference it can make in your life.

It can make you more efficient

Note: This is a work-in-progress. These sub-headings will be expanded.

It can help you get more done in less time

It can help you get organized

It helps you meet deadlines

It can help you and your company save money

It helps you achieve your goals – in fact, time management is important for success

It can help you get to places on time

It can help you be a better student

It can help you get to sleep easier

Effects On Lifestyle

Time management can help us get more done in a day. When we’re efficient with our time, we can free up extra time for activities we enjoy or use that time to relax and recharge.

When the resource of time is managed, it is easier to create an improved work-life balance

When it comes to time management, there are a few key benefits that can help create an improved work-life balance. For one, having a set schedule and sticking to it can help ensure that you’re getting the most out of your work day. This can help free up time for other activities outside of work, or simply give you more time to relax and unwind.

In addition, good time management skills can help you avoid burnout. If you’re constantly feeling overwhelmed or bogged down by your workload, it’s likely that your work-life balance is suffering as a result. By learning how to better manage your time, you can reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.

Finally, taking the time to plan and organize your work can make a big difference in your productivity levels.

You’ll have more free time as if you have more time than others but that’s not the case – you are just well-organised

Note: This is a work-in-progress. These sub-headings will be expanded.

Time management can make your life feel less pressured

It can help you not worry so much about things

It improves mental and physical health subsequently

It can help you develop a more optimistic outlook on life

It can help you feel better about life and yourself

It can be a boost to your self esteem

It can help you deal with stress, and fears from being disorganized

It can make life easier for your family members

It can make your life easier

Being In Control

A lot of people seem to think that time management is only important for people with busy schedules. However, even if you don’t have a lot going on, time management is still crucial. Here are a few more reasons why:

It can help you focus on what’s important

There are many reasons to manage your time wisely. One of the most important is that it can help you focus on what’s important.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and lose sight of what’s really important. By taking the time to plan your day and prioritize your tasks, you can ensure that you’re spending your time on the things that matter most to you.

Time management also allows you to better manage stress. When you know what needs to be done and when, it can take a lot of the guesswork and worry out of your day. This can lead to improved focus and concentration, which can in turn lead to better work quality and productivity.

So if you’re looking for ways to improve your focus and stress levels, start with managing your time more effectively.

Get all the benefits of being in control

There are many benefits to being in control of your time. When you are in control, you can choose how to spend your time. You can also set priorities and make sure that you are getting the most important things done. Being in control of your time can also help you reduce stress and improve your productivity.

You will feel less overwhelmed

Note: This is a work-in-progress. These sub-headings will be expanded.

It can help you be more prepared

It frees your mind to be able to think more clearly and creatively

Helps you prioritize your tasks

Helps you avoid procrastination

It helps you not sweat the small stuff

There are plenty of good reasons to manage your time wisely, but one of the best is that it helps you not sweat the small stuff. When you have a handle on your time, you can better prioritize what’s important and let go of the little things that aren’t worth your stress.

Time management also gives you a sense of control over your life. When everything is chaotic and feels out of control, taking charge of your time can be empowering. It can help you feel like you can handle anything that comes your way.

Finally, managing your time well can lead to improved mental and physical health. When you’re not constantly rushing around or worrying about what’s coming next, you’re less likely to experience anxiety and stress. You’re also more likely to make healthy choices like exercising and eating right when you have time for those things.

It can help you find a greater sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in your work-life

It helps you have a greater sense of calmness and peacefulness

It can help you feel more secure in yourself

Conclusion

It is evident that time management is a critical skill to develop in order to achieve success in any field. By taking the time to learn how to properly manage one’s time, individuals can set themselves up for success. Proper time management can help to increase productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency in any area of life.

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💠 I first learned about launch jacking from Jono Armstrong through his ‘$0-To-$100-In-24-Hours‘ program. I did not make $100 straightaway (and now I believe I know why) but I made $96.70 😀

Later, I applied what I learned and got on the leaderboard of a reputed vendor and product creator. I was not in the ‘Top Three’ so nothing to brag about big-time – but it was the first time I got on a leaderboard of a Warrior-Plus promotion.  That will be another subject I plan to talk about some other day.

Anyhow, besides ranking high – like ‘No. 1 Page 1’ – on Google and YouTube for ‘review videos’, ‘launch jacking’ depends a lot on ‘bonuses‘ – the type of bonuses affiliates offer on top of the bonuses that the product vendor may be including.

👉 Briefly, given a choice between buying from an affiliate with just a vendor’s product and another affiliate who promotes that SAME product but the latter affiliate includes the ‘extras’ via offering free ‘bonuses’, most buyers would go for the so-called ‘get more of your money’s worth’ addition.

👉 The subject of ‘bonuses’ had become a serious topic for affiliates hoping to attract would-be buyers.  Even to the extent of someone mentioning that ‘other’ bonus offers may consist of ‘crap’. I don’t want to go further into that here. And some big time ‘guru’ has a chapter about the use of bonuses like it has become a science.

👉 The words ‘bonus war’ started entering posts and chats over the internet. So-called crap or not crap (quality) ‘extras’, bonuses has been proven or touted to make the difference between capturing a sale and losing out to the other affiliate who had not only included bonuses but also selected relevant, quality and valuable items.

💖 I started off those early days of affiliate marketing sometimes not offering bonuses at all or offering one or two. I had thought that people buy:

◼ from people they know and like (and that is true) but . . .
◼ yea, they also buy because the ‘extras’ were there – especially when some affiliates offer really good bonuses that seem irresistible

Heck! 🤦🏻‍♂️ I have been guilty of buying the same product twice – yes! from 2 different affiliates – just because I really (‘badly’) wanted particular bonuses one affiliate has which the other did not offer and vice versa.

🔥 I will be parking all my selected bonuses here. It will be a work in progress because: remember I said if there was going to be a continued bonus war, I have over 600* (I stopped counting!) too many to select from.

Some items I have paid for (I bought with Resell and/or Giveaway Rights) and some I get (as bonuses!) from products I purchased. ‘Over 600’ is a fact and possibility.  *you know how and where to get or buy giveaway stuff if you have been ‘on internet’ for some time already.

🌼 Stay with ‘Life Begins At 5 pm’ … not just to get the bonuses (if you like) but to read the free magazines (and I hope get some good ideas on MMO / online income) AND very possibly pick up some good information on resources too

Please use an email you have regular access to. ‘Cos that is where I will send you passwords, download links and/or updates at your request and if you have requested

🌼 If I am promoting any affiliate products, there will be specially selected (relevant-to-product) items as bonuses and they will most likely be parked on a password-protected section of my site here. And I usually attach the access link to the vendor receipt page anyway 

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Disclaimer: The resources, websites and links listed here were active and available at the time this article was written. It is expected that most or all will be existent for a long time to come. Please also note that there are no affiliate links in this article.

PayPerClick Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

There are many websites and apps that can make a huge difference to helping you generate clicks, along with sales and saving you time, resources and frustration. These can enable you to choose the most search-engine friendly key terms, develop landing pages, test your most effective combinations to generate sales, create paid promotions and more. And we’re not simply talking about Google here. These tools can also help you set up Facebook ads or Bing ads.

Keep in mind, however, that the best possible tools won’t compensate for a poor strategy to begin with! Make sure you are starting your tool reviews with the best strategy and that you utilize a little common sense as well.

• Local Keyword Generator
  5minutesite.com/local_keywords.php

The Local Keyword Generator tool, as the name suggests, assists you to generate location-based keywords. This tool comes from5minutesite.com. Just enter any U.S. city name, area code or zip code or radius and let this tool do its work!

Local businesses have a considerable advantage with AdWords since they will be contending with less severe competition with a far less-crowded niche. This tool helps ensure that this advantage is not missed.

• SplitTester
  perrymarshall.com/splittester and teasley.net/calculator.html

In the world of PPC, split testing is an ‘essential’ – but, unfortunately, it takes up a lot of time. SplitTester allows you to use short-term data to extrapolate or deduce the likely long-term performance of two different ads in order to help you identify the best long-term option.

• SEMRush
  semrush.com

SEMRush lets you spy on your competitors. That sounds shady. But, ‘everyone’s doing it!’ Just think of all the information you can get by just entering the address of your competitor’s website. You will be shown AdWords ad copy, keywords, CPC, and loads of other juicy (you can say) details.

• KeyWord Spy
  keywordspy.com

KeyWord Spy is another great tool for checking out what the competition is up to.

Maybe you are just trying to get inspiration for your own keywords, or seriously want to try beat your competition, Keyword Spy can be very helpful. You can see who is spending what on PPC, what keywords they are targeting and more.

KeyWordSpy offers a premium account (which is well worth it) but you can get a lot out the free features as well so it’s worth checking out.

Note: KeyWordSpy.com is not accessible (access blocked) in some countries.

• WordHippo
  wordhippo.com

WordHippo is a synonym or antonym generator which is very useful for mixing up and matching your core keywords as well as your negative keywords. Can a Thesaurus not do the same job? Sure, but it is great to have a software built especially for PPC. And it’s free!

• Facebook’s Suggested Likes and Interests
  facebook.com

Facebook is also a big player in the PPC field. PPC isn’t just about Google. Suggested Likes and Interests is a tool that does what it says. Found on Facebook, you can use this to get suggestions for the most common likes and interests. You can then show your ads to only the most targeted Facebook users.

• ROI Calculator
  tools.seobook.com

With ROI calculator, in most cases, you can know for certain whether your advertising campaign will return a profit. Enter the monthly clicks and the average cost per click along with the necessary details and you will be able to get a good ROI estimate for any specific advertisement.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could determine whether that PPC campaign was going to pay off before you spent all of your hard-earned money on it?

• JUMBO Keyword
  jumbokeyword.com

JUMBO Keywords can help you to edit and clean up your keywords with a single click. It also has an Ad-Maker for testing copy and placements to see what your ads are going to look like in the top 3 positions.

• Google Web Designer
  webdesigner.withgoogle.com

Animations and interactive components are known to grab attention, encourage interaction, engagement and clicks. Google Web Designer makes it simple to add animations and interactive elements to your banners.

This is also a great tool that is generally useful for learning HTML5 while enabling you to create those flashy HTML5 display ads. As it’s completely free, it’s definitely worth downloading and trying out for yourself!

• AdWords Editor
  ads.google.com/home/tools/ads-editor

There is no denying that the absolute most important tool on Google is still its AdWords Editor. From the guys who brought you AdWords themselves, Google’s Ads Editor makes the advertising process much faster and easier, providing you with the tools and assistance needed.

Content Research Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

To have a high conversion rate, you must have great content. And if you’re not sure what content gets the most attention, then these tools can help you find out.

• BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is among the best tools for finding out what kind of content to post. Just enter a keyword and you will get a display with links to the most linked and shared content related to your keyword. You can then study what makes the content shareable.

• Similar Web

Two questions that get asked all the time:
1. which sites are most like yours?
2. where is their traffic coming from?

Similar Web will tell you which of your keywords is generating the most traffic and give you ideas about where to post and share your content online to increase conversions.

• Land-book

A great landing page is one of the keys to a high conversion rate is. Land-book is a free collection of some of the most successful and effective landing pages. It’s a truly great resource of ideas if you want to learn where to start with creating and optimizing your landing page.

• Really Good Emails

Do you want to improve the conversion rate of your emails? Really Good Emails is a free collection of proven and effective marketing emails. This is a helpful resource if you’re new to writing emails and want to improve your email writing skill. Use them for inspiration.

Tools to Capture Leads
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

Here is a list of tools that will help you capture leads once you’ve ‘enticed’ a visitor to your website.

• HubSpot has a suite of tools for managing inbound marketing campaigns, including blog posts, landing pages, email sequences, and more. It also has a powerful lead capture tool that includes exit intent popup and a form builder that works with the landing page.

• Sumo is a suite of tools that include the Sumo List Builder package which is is a powerful email list building tool that allows you to quickly and easily create high-quality opt-in forms to grow your email list. You can also create action-triggered popups that include a Welcome Mat popup, a scroll-triggered popup, and a Smart Bar to help you attract more email subscribers.

• HelloBar is a serious software plugin that can be used to create bars at the top of your site, as well as several other pop-ups to help you engage with your users. The top bar can include a call to action, like “subscribe to our newsletter”, or a message, like “we’re closed for maintenance”. HelloBar is designed to be unobtrusive and easy to use.

Heat Mapping and Mouse Tracking Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

A visitor’s behavior on your site can give you a great deal of insight about your conversion rate not being as high as you’d prefer. There are a range of tools out there that can help you obtain the data you need.

• Clicky  can provide you with statistics about the length of time guests spend on your web site as well as their activities while they are on it. It offers real-time information including heat maps. It is an excellent way to get up and running with this kind of conversion optimization.

• Crazy Egg offers a full suite of tools that include heat mapping and click isolation.
  
  Get statistics on your website visitors, where they come from, where they’ve gone, and where they’re getting stuck so you can move forward with confidence.
  
  Find out if errors on your website are preventing visitors from converting.
  
  Track the traffic coming to your sites to determine which is performing best, and which might need improvement. You can see how each of your traffic sources and marketing channels is performing

Analytics Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

Reviewing your analytics will enable you to optimize your conversion rate. The analytics tools listed below enable you to get down and dirty with the numbers so you can make the most out of your conversion rates.

• Google Analytics is a tool that’s free and serves as an analytics tool for anyone with a Google account. It can be used to create detailed metrics which you can then use to help improve your conversion rate.

• Kissmetrics is reputed to be the gold standard of premium analytics tools. It’s best suited for optimizing email conversion. It includes an built-in A/B testing function and generates data sets optimized to bring in conversions.

Testing Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

It is important to continually test all components of your marketing campaigns to ensure an optimal conversion rate. Conversion optimization should always be an ongoing process as there will always be room for improvement.

• Optimizely is an experimentation platform. In addition to traditional A/B testing, they also offer multivariate testing options and detailed analytics.

• Effective Experiments is a platform that makes it easy to track your content and testing experiments. It’s beneficial to have a place to keep everything organized instead of juggling multiple spreadsheets probably in a ‘glorified data dump’.

Visitor Feedback Tools
Dated: 24-Jan-2021

Direct feedback from your visitors and customers is one of the most important elements of your business. Here are two favorite sites to take this to a higher level:

• Five Second Test offers an affordable option that allows testers to download an app-based version of your website and rate their experience. You can choose from a variety of testing methods.
  
  Five-second tests are used to determine how well a website has been received to assess whether it is communicating the desired information to the audience. They enable you to understand what the users understand and what they’ve taken away from your website within the first few seconds of it being shown to them.

• Intercom is a Customer Communications Platform. It provides you information about who is currently utilizing your product or service and makes it easy for you to communicate with them directly using various solutions, including behavior-driven messages and interactive support.

NOTE:  A clear copy of the article as first published at LifeBeginsAt5pm.com at 11:20:55 am 2021-01-24 EST has been captured as a screenshot for record

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Let the journey begin . . .

You’re probably now aware that a blog is a web content source, and among the biggest components of your visibility and ranking on the internet. This article is going to explain to you why posting regularly to your blog is so important for your marketing reach and how you can drive returns to your site with great content.

A blog is a means of communication that can connect the public to your business, which is why you should think about the five features discussed here and why they are so important to your business:

1. Adding New Content is EASY

For most individuals, editing their site is quite difficult. Websites are viewed as being complex and technical and the average business owner is reluctant to update the site in case they make mistakes.

Blogs have fundamentally changed all that. They provide a self-publishing platform that’s so simple that even the newbie internet user and small business owner can run a blog and create new content with ease. The technical barriers have been removed, permitting millions of bloggers to publish blogs about their business.

2. Blog Posts are Listed Chronologically

This is the most consistent characteristic of virtually every blog. Articles begin with a headline or title with accompanying content or body text starting at the top of the page, with the most recent upload on top, and then followed by subsequent versions.

This arrangement was used mainly by journalists who were the main users of blogs in the early days of blogging. The word blog is derived from ‘weblog‘, which means an online diary or journal. Diaries have date-based entries, and blogs are based on that too.

Although the blog structure is conventionally the same, blogs are no longer really used as online diaries these days. For the most part, business owners use blogs to attract potential clients and stay in touch. The blog has become a relatively effective marketing tool.

3. People Can Share Their Comments on Blogs*

*Preamble: The back-office setup of a blog system permits the owner to disable (or disallow) comments under certain circumstances.

Being able to interact is one of the most important features of a blog. Below each post is a comments section where anyone can leave a comment about the post.

Websites went from being one-way broadcasts to two-way communication tools with this enhancement. Readers can directly communicate with you, the author of the post, discuss the content of your article, and essentially turn a blog into a community.

4. Content is Consistently Updated

A problem that hounds many conventional websites is that they become stagnant and stale when fresh content becomes increasingly difficult to find. A lot of people either don’t realize the significance of keeping their content up-to-date or don’t have the resources or technical skills to do so.

Blogging has changed that, so even a user with minimal technical skills can now update their site with relative ease.

This has helped them to attain excellent results in the search engines, especially on sites like Google. Google favors websites that publish quality content on a regular basis. Blogs, by their very nature, do this, assuming motivated bloggers are maintaining them and are consistently updating their content. Consequently, companies find that their sites climb high up in the search engine rankings bringing in more traffic and new customers.

5. Blogging is a Conversation, and People Respond Better vs. Normal Websites.

If you combine the elements mentioned above, your authentic writing style, the ability to create new content that leads to regular updates, and your ability to communicate directly with your readers, you have the winning formula for a natural communication tool.

Because of their nature, blogs are considered trusted sources of information, and the blogger is commonly perceived as an expert, regardless of whether they are or not, purely as a result of their successful blogs.

This aspect is significant and distinguishes personal blogs from normal sites. If people trust the words written on a blog, if they identify with and like the person who wrote it, then all the elements for a well-liked community can be formed around your company.

This is one of the key reasons for any small business becoming successful. With a blog, they can quickly build a loyal audience, ensure repeat traffic and ultimately earn revenue from that traffic.

How to Attract Attention to Your Blog?

To attract traffic to your blog, your greatest priority should be providing good content. This will form the foundation of your blog.

In addition to content, you also need to set up an effective marketing campaign to highlight it.

• Content

How to Write a Killer Blog Post

Once your blog is launched, it is time to begin working on your first killer blog post. It should be an article that your readers will enjoy. If you post a great and compelling blog post, it means more comments, more pins on Pinterest, more Facebook shares, more tweets, and usually more traffic, all of which can help your blog grow. But what makes a killer post?

A killer blog post:

Is easy to read. Blog posts should be clear and straightforward. Research suggests that blog readers typically skim through an article if it appears to be too long. So use short paragraphs, headers, and bullet points. Make sure that you write in a casual manner, and ensure that you use correct spelling and grammar. Readers will not forgive sloppy writing or grammatical errors.

Makes a clear point.  A killer blog post always includes a clear and concise message that can be summed up into one sentence. If the author isn’t able to summarize his or her point, how will the audience be expected to understand his or her logic? Always write with the point in mind. If you have multiple points, it would be smarter to split up the article into two posts.

Empowers the reader.  A killer blog post is not about YOU or what you’ve accomplished or created or cooked. Yes, you may be sharing something you have done, but the best blog posts do it only in a way that makes the reader feel that THEY could do it too, with your clear tips and helpful instruction. They want to feel like they’ve learnt something new after a visit to your blog.

Provokes an emotional response.  The posts that people remember (and share) are the ones that have made them feel a certain way, whether that be happy, angry, encouraged or inspired. This means they usually take a stand one way or another. Neutral may seem like a safe choice, but it is boring and less memorable. Your aim is to provoke some kind of response from the reader – to make them think and react.

Teaches a simple lesson.  Whether your article is a step-by-step tutorial showing how to create something, a recipe, or some other helpful tip, the best blog posts stick to a single, easy-to-follow lesson. This is not to say you can’t do complex projects or recipes, but in general, simple projects tend to have the highest rate of sharing on social media.

Creates controversy.  Killer blog posts do not sit on the fence. They take a strong stance and require the audience to respond in one way or another. The stronger the stance, the more intense the reaction will be. But don’t simply try to be controversial just because you want to spice things up! Readers are sure to smell insincerity a mile away.

If you are passionate about a particular issue, try to stay true to it. Being neutral is boring. Just be ready for people to challenge your point of view – it can most surely make your community come alive. Your site will generate more attention and of course there will be more visits to your site then.

Is visually appealing.  Killer blog posts have killer images to go with them. This is not only important for recipes and DIY, but for ALL articles – especially with the emergence of Pinterest. You might have written a fantastic post but if you don’t have images your readers won’t be able to ‘pin’ anything.  You need to make it as easy and simple as possible for your content to be shared, especially on social media.

Is not overly complicated. Do not use large words or pad it with a 100-word phrase when only one simple word will do. Nobody will impressed if you use big words just to look smart. If you write in everyday terms, anybody who visits your blog will easily understand what you’re saying.

Makes you say WOW.  This is the stunning factor again. Whatever you share, be it a recipe, a party, an idea, or a project, should be so compelling that it makes your audience stop what they’re doing and turn their attention to it.

If it is not awe-inspiring, don’t bother. It is much better to share one awesome post every month as opposed to twenty forgettable ones. The more you impress your audience with your articles, the more they will want to share them on social media.

Keep in mind that not all of these tips even have to be incorporated in a single article, but the more you use of them, the better off your article will be.

So now that ‘how to create killer content’ has been discussed, let’s discuss marketing.

• Marketing Your Blog

Once you have your content in place and you are ready to release a steady flow of that content, the next step is to attract people to your blog so that you can show them how useful and appealing it is. This is where marketing becomes essential.

You could try marketing your blog by yourself, but if you are already running a busy offline business, you will probably find the whole process of online marketing challenging if not time-consuming.

This is where ‘marketing’ service providers may be able to help you.

The touted plan is not only to ‘drive traffic to your blog’ with a tailored marketing campaign, but also to create the steady flow of content to keep customers and visitors coming back for more, which – as a service provider naturally will tell you – will result in more sales, leads and thus revenue for your business.

and I am not one of those ‘marketing’ service providers 😀

. . . I hope this post helps,

1735 words | 10053 characters | 8263 characters w/o spaces | 751 unique words | 117 sentences | 49 paragraphs

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Preamble: This just happens to be one article (or ‘writing’) of mine I chose to ‘bring out’ sooner or later. I guess that ‘sooner or later’ is now. I am parking this ‘article’ here for now as it is an expression in writing of something I felt strongly about. I am not sure whether I will move it to my other site: LifeBeginsAt5pm. I probably would . . .

This was actually a message I sent to email addresses submitted at my e-commerce ‘online store’ site by visitors. These are the exact words except – for obvious reasons – I do not show the related domain names here now.

Quote:

Hi

I note your email was submitted on a visit to our site _____.com

I am writing to everyone on the list to thank you firstly for your visit and your interest

ANNOUNCEMENT

Upfront, I would like to inform you that I am not going to promote this online store anymore for reasons I mention below in this message

Firstly, I would say that _______ is a good e-commerce platform. And, together with the ______ app, you have practically all you need for an e-commerce function and its process.

My ‘hang-up’ is with my product sourcing and the feasible or expected markups for profit

Let me give you 3 examples

EXAMPLE 1:
I get a product through A_________ that costs $30.21
A typical e-commerce platform would suggest $60 as an appropriate price point for a product source at a cost of $30
I offer the item at my site for $57.81

EXAMPLE 2:
I get another product through A_________ that costs $20.05
I offer this at my site for $42.13

So, the selling price would typically be derived from a markup of 100%

EXAMPLE 3:
It has been suggested (by a certain e-commerce platform) that for cheaper products costing, say up to $5, ‘you may find success’ by marking them up 4-5 times (i.e. 300% to 400% markup), which means that, for an item that costs $5 you’d be selling them for $20 – $25.

I don’t know about other sellers. Speaking for myself, I will never feel nice if I made a profit of 300% off you or anyone. But I do realise however that sellers do have to cover other costs e.g. shipping, hosting etc. But just imagine the bottom line is: I buy something for $5 and then sell it to you for $20 or $25. It’s just not the way I want to do things

Also, together with the previous 2 examples, and with so much awareness about the existence of A_________ (and how it operates) – and I may be insulting your intelligence if I think you don’t know – why would you (or anybody) not go direct to A_________ to buy the item … and without paying for the 300% markup or even the 100% markup?!

When I first got attracted to the much-hyped ‘e-commerce’ craze and the ‘build your own online store’ vision, I was happy (and proud) to build _____.com from scratch. With the 3 examples nagging on my mind, I once reset all my percentages to a point where I would be making as low as just ‘$3 here and $3 there’ (hoping of course that site visitors will notice my low prices and I get ‘volume’) – but when some suppliers set (and dictate) the shipping rates, I found that I would be even making a loss just to get a product to a customer. I quickly reset my markup percentages and tried to follow the ‘norms’ that I believe most sellers and dropshippers use.

Anyhow, don’t want to take more of your time here. I’ll conclude by saying it looks like this will not be my business model anymore. You could say I am not cut out for this.

After I get this message off to all of you who have so kindly submitted your email at my site, I will be putting this store and/or domain up for sale, and move on to ‘better’ things online.

Thank you all for your time and support

Peter Chai
_____.com
ProvenWebSuccess.com

~ unquote

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