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Bloggers: Are You Procrastinating Right Now When You Should Be Working? This Article Will Get You Back To It

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Bloggers: Are You Procrastinating Right Now When You Should Be Working? This Article Will Get You Back To It 27

Procrastination is in many ways the blogger’s worst enemy. You haven’t uploaded a new post in a long time and have a small window to do it in, so you sit down hoping to write a few blog posts only to find yourself browsing around YouTube and watching funny videos of cats. Sure, those cats are often hilarious, but they aren’t going to make your blog any more successful, appease your impatient readers or earn you any money. This is a problem faced by many of us and it’s one of the biggest time (and therefore) money wasters that we deal with on a daily basis.

In fact, I’d say that there’ a good chance you’re procrastinating right now. Perhaps you sat down planning to write an article for your site, but then got distracted while you were browsing through the research. You maybe read a couple of unrelated articles, checked your email, then went back online to ‘close the tab’. Maybe you were just about to when you saw this article title and though ‘just this one more article’.

Well it’s time to stop, and fortunately I know just how to get you back to work. Below I’m going to share some strategies that can make it much easier to work through your to-do list, and by the end of it you should be back to work and have stopped putting it off. Then, whenever you find your eyes and mind starting to wander, you can just apply these same strategies again…

Step 1: Create a To Do List

Bloggers: Are You Procrastinating Right Now When You Should Be Working? This Article Will Get You Back To It 28

The first thing you need to do is to outline exactly what’s required of you for today. By doing that, you will be able to better plan your day and you won’t find yourself putting things off because you’re not sure what’s best to do next. Make this detailed too so that nothing vague is on that list. For instance, don’t just write ‘write blog post’, but instead write the title and subject of that post. This way you won’t lose time deliberating on what precisely to write and you can disengage that part of your brain to just work through the tasks directly.

Step 2: Start With the Fun

Bloggers: Are You Procrastinating Right Now When You Should Be Working? This Article Will Get You Back To It 29

You’d think that it would make more sense to start with the most boring or the largest task on your to-do list first would make sense, but in reality that’s often a mistake. Instead, try starting with the job that’s mot fun or at least most bearable. That way, you won’t dread getting started quite so much and you’ll be less likely to carry on putting it off. But then, once you’ve done the fun task, you’ll find that the whole list looks much shorter and more bearable.

And if you don’t have a fun or a bearable task on there? Well then find a way to make the jobs more interesting. If you need to do some writing for your blog, then you should try and make the posts you write relate directly to something that’s currently on your mind. Likewise, if you were putting off going to the gym, you could make it more fun by using new exercises or making a challenging routine to push yourself. However you do it, if you make the job fun and challenging then it won’t be so likely to feel like work and it will be easier to stay focussed on it. This is an example of working with your brain. There are more here.

Step 3: Don’t Check Your E-Mail… Or Anything

So you have your to-do list and you’re raring to get started with work. What do you do now? If the answer you were about to say was to ‘check your e-mail’ then that’s what you’ve been doing wrong. Checking your e-mail at the start of your ‘shift’ will mean you’re not focussing on your work right from the word go, and will create too many opportunities to get even more distracted (by thinking about what’s been written, or by writing a response). Instead then, make checking your e-mail a ‘reward’ and use the same attitude for making tea or doing anything else that distracts you from your main job (and only award yourself one at a time after you’ve done a good amount of work). That way, rather than making tea, checking your email and reading the news and finding you’ve done no work after an hour, you can do one of those things at the end of each hour and find you’ve finished most of your work by the time you’ve done all three.

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John Miller is an expert at social media marketing. Having been in this field for over 10 years, he has sound knowledge of its working. A music lover, he likes listening to his favourite soundtracks in his spare time.

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Lost? Since You Can’t Trust Apple Maps, Check Out These 3 Apps Instead

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Lost? Since You Can't Trust Apple Maps, Check Out These 3 Apps Instead 43

Lost? Since You Can't Trust Apple Maps, Check Out These 3 Apps Instead 44

Maybe you have the new software on your Apple device that has made headlines as not being reliable, or perhaps you’re just tired of the rivalry between Apple and Android. Either way, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you may want to invest in some apps that can get you from Point A to Point B without any hiccups. If map apps are what you want, these three are good places to start.

1. MapQuest

Well, before Google Maps was popular, you probably looked directions up on your computer through a bit of website known as MapQuest. Well, MapQuest now has an app, and if you have a dedication to the web version, you’ll undoubtedly want to download the app.

MapQuest is not only free to use, but it will also provide you with voice-guided directions, which can help you from having to look at your screen while driving. You’ll also receive turn-by-turn directions, so there’s no need to try and guess where the map is trying to take you or how to get from one street to another. You can also use the app to check current traffic or look for restaurants or other establishments in your area.

2. Waze

With over 30 million users, you can rest assured that Waze will help you get to your location. Not only does the Waze app serve as a GPS, but it will also provide you with real-time traffic information and give you route options to take. In addition, the directions are voice-guided, so you’ll never have to look at your phone for directions. And if you end up in a traffic jam, Waze will help you find the best way to get out of the jam and get to your location.

Waze uses the information from its users to determine roadblocks, traffic jams, and times, so if you’re using Waze, you’ll be helping others in the area learn the best routes. And to make Waze even better, you can also use the app to find the cheapest gas in your area.

 

3. Motionx GPS Drive

If the first two don’t sound appealing to you, you still have Motionx GPS Drive. This app will provide you with real-time and predicted times for your trip. You can view the app in both landscape or portrait mode, and you can also see the designated speed limit for the road you’re traveling on the right on your screen.

This app also has voice-guided directions, and you can choose the voice you want to hear. They will also give you detailed maps to ensure that you stay on track when coming to complex intersections. You also have the option to integrate the app with both Facebook and Twitter, and if you’re not traveling by car, Motionx GPS Drive will also give you walking directions.

Nobody likes getting lost, and sometimes you want something different than Google Maps or a non-functioning Apple Maps. If you’re headed out, make sure to have these apps on hand to keep you on track.

Jacob Smith works for Nissan auto in the sales department. He is an avid blogger and enjoys writing about his favorite car models and the dangers of drunk driving.

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An Overview Of Business Models

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An Overview Of Business Models 47

Knowing Where To Start

There are a number of conceptual business models that are used throughout the professional world in order to enable business to have direction and a clear set of achievable objectives. One of the most beneficial aspects of the ISO 27001 standard is that it is defined with an organization’s business plan in mind. It is the intention of the standard to fit into an already decided set of principles and liberate a business in its information security procedures.

What Should A Business Model Encompass?

Businesses can thrive or fail on their business model and planning, so knowing what should be in your plan is critical in every sense. An effective business model should be aligned with the goals and objectives, both short and long-term, of the organization. To this end, every single individual element of planning or task should be undertaken with the business model firmly in mind.

ISO 27001 is in fact a great way to discipline a business model. The ISO 27001 standard calls for the continuous evolution of information security and of high levels of governance. Applying similar principles to your business model will ensure your business remains operating at a healthy level and continues to be ahead of the competition. If the business model of an organization does not work within the objective framework then it is more likely to prove to be unsuccessful.

Types Of Business Model

There are four main types of business models that are used throughout the world. Understanding which one fits best with your business could give you the key to profit and success. Understanding how an information security management system, such as ISO 27001, fits into these models in relation to your business, could also prove critical.

The most common in use today is the business model canvas. This is such a straightforward and productive method as it has many positive outcomes. At a glance, a potential investor can look at an overview of the business as a whole and decide whether or not they see investment potential in the organization. On a larger scale, it enables consortiums to bring together ideas and formulate a plan in a simple manner.

This is by far the most well-rounded business model and also allows for the most consideration of information security, as it allows many aspects of a business to be viewed at once.

Other popular ideas include the business reference model and the component business model, although both of these focus specifically on business areas rather than an overview, meaning ISO 27001 implementation may not be as simple to integrate into the business plan.

Bough SEO is a London SEO agency that specializes in all forms of digital marketing.

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Google’s New Tool For Bad Links

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Google's New Tool For Bad Links 50

Google recently announced it has launched its Disavow Tool which allows webmasters to alert Google of any backlinks they think may be harming their website. When Google rolled out their Penguin algorithm update, many webmasters saw their search engine rankings plummet as Google was penalizing their website because of the types of links pointing at their website. This algorithm update created a lot of stress for webmasters as they were not entirely sure which links were causing their rankings to decline.

Now, thanks to the Disavow Tool, webmasters can tell Google which links to ignore when assessing their backlink profile in an effort to improve their rankings.

 Why you Should Use the Google Disavow Tool

If you were one of the many webmasters who was hit hard by the Penguin update, you will want to use the Disavow Tool to help your website recover. This tool is sort of a way for webmasters to wipe the slate clean if they happened to build backlinks for their website using automated tools or link-building services.

By providing Google with a link of links to ignore when deciding where your website should rank for a specific keyword, you should be able to clean up your backlink profile and only be left with high-quality links from relevant websites. When your backlink profile is cleaned up, you should see your rankings improve. Your rankings may not rebound to the levels they once were before the Penguin update, but they should be higher than what they currently are.

 How to Use the Disavow Tool

Using the Disavow Tool can be a cumbersome task at first, but once you use it for the first time it should be easy for you to use it again for another domain that you own. The first thing you need to do in order to use the Disavow Tool is to gather a list of URLs that contain a link pointing to the website that you believe is hurting your website’s rankings. These URLs can be gathered using a backlink profile tool.

Once you have a list of low-quality URLs that contain a backlink for your website, you will want to open up a text file and paste those URLs in that file using the following format: http://www.domain.com/pageA.html where the entire URL is the location of the page where your backlink resides. If you want to disavow all links from an entire domain, you can do so by including a line in your text file that reads domain:TheDomainYouWantToDisavow.com. At the top of your text file, you can create comments for yourself and set those aside by placing a hashtag (#) before the line that contains the comment. In the end, your file will look something like this:

# Comment goes here

# Tried removing links from www.domainD.com but the owner was unresponsive

Domain: TheDomainYouWantToDisavow.com

http://www.domain.com/pageA.html

http://www.domain.com/pageB.html

http://www.domain.com/pageC.html

Once you have saved your text file with all of the URLs where you believe there is a backlink that is harming your site’s search engine ranking, you will then need to open up the Disavow Tool while signing into your Google account. After you navigate to the Disavow Tool, you will then go through all of the prompts and warnings and upload your text file for the appropriate domain that you own.

It is important to remember that it can take up to several weeks for the Disavow Tool to take effect, so you will not see an immediate increase in your website’s rankings. Just keep a watchful eye on your rankings to see if they improve in the next couple of weeks. If your rankings do not improve, you can try disavowing more links.

Richard H. blogger, writer, hobby photographer. He enjoys life as much as he can, the biggest happiness for him is when he helps others. Currently working for Samuelson Hause & Samuelson as a content contributor.

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