Last week, I hosted a Thank You Note Lunch and Learn Workshop for The Candy Factory, a co-working space I use in Lancaster, PA. I’ll share more details later, but I’m now posting two handouts I used during the presentation. I’d intended to embed them, but apparently I need a plugin to do that–so that will have to wait for the recap post. In the meantime, here are the links:
Quizzes to discover which Hobbit you’re most like…videos of grumpy Great Danes. Facebook can be a massive time and brain cell drain. But one Facebook activity making the rounds has users challenging each other to share a list of positive things in their lives or things they’re thankful for.
Lots of people in my Facebook circle took part over the last week, expressing gratitude or thankfulness for people or situations. It’s always good for any of us to take time to reflect on what brings us peace, joy, comfort, laughter, and so on.
And as cool as it is that so many are posting a gratitude list on Facebook, it’s also super-important to thank the people in our lives in a personal way. That’s where old-school handwritten notes come in.
Whether you’ve already posted a gratitude list on Facebook or not, I challenge you to stop what you’re doing and let someone know they’re important to you. Here’s how to write a thank you note:
1. Pick a person, any person.
Seriously, anyone. Maybe you already have someone specific in mind, but if you’re out of ideas, here are a few:
2. Get pen & paper.
If you only have time to shoot off a quick email thank you, that’s better than nothing…but there’s something to be said for handwriting a note and sending it snail mail. No need for frilly personalized stationery or special pens—I mostly use note cards and colored pens bought at Target or Walmart.
3. Write like you speak.
Sometimes folks don’t write because they stress out about their writing skills. Penning a thank you note has little to do with whether you know how to use a semicolon and everything to do with letting a person know that you value them.
Unless you’re a news producer sending thanks to The Royal Family for getting pregnant again, forget stuffy language. Imagine you’re speaking to that particular person face-to-face, and then write those words. That means if you have the kind of relationship where you can say “You’re awesomesauce because…” then that’s the perfect way to start. Just be you.
Don’t worry about writing a 5-paragraph essay either. Even 2-3 sentences will get your point across and make the recipient feel warm and fuzzy.
4. Do it today.
It’s easy to get tangled up in all the things we HAVE to do, whether your task is blog writing for clients or wrangling the kids into the car. But life is short–so take just a few minutes and tell a fellow human being that they matter.
Faster research + faster writing = more billable hours. I never learned that in math class, but it’s a gotta-know for freelance writers. The “faster” part isn’t permission to research badly or write sloppy content, of course, but it is a smart way to boost productivity and, by extension, your income. Try these 5 quick tips for researching and writing blog entries and web articles more efficiently:
1. Learn to love your browser’s Find feature.
Need to scan a science article for norepinephrine references? Want to find the sole quinoa dish in a list of 50 or 75 recipes? Hit Control + F or your browser’s Find button to search for terms. Using Find doesn’t mean you won’t need to read more for context, but it does speed up the scanning process so you can hone in on the needed info faster.
2. Block similar topics together.
Some freelance writers work in a niche. Others write across a variety of topics. No matter which particular animal you are, one way to streamline is to group similar topics together during research, when possible. If the freelancing gods are good, you may be able to use the same resources for those articles…or you might find that researching one article provides insight into writing the blog entry or article for the similar topic.
3. Tackle ugly topics first.
Procrastination won’t make a toughie go away—and it can make the task take longer because you boost the risk of last-minute snags that lead to flurried hassles, like fumbling through jargon you don’t yet understand or scrambling to find proper sources. Save time (and sanity) by placing tricky or unfamiliar content high on the to-do list.
4. Take a break.
Seriously. Research shows that taking regular breaks makes workers more productive and–this is a biggie, fellow writers–more creative. Find a regular work-break schedule that makes sense to you. I tap online timer e.ggtimer.com to use the Pomodoro productivity method—work intervals of 25 minutes followed by 5 minute breaks (h/t Jennifer Mattern who shared this technique on All Indie Writers). Try it out, or check out the many other apps available to keep yourself awesomely productive.
5. Go for a two-fer.
Monitors, that is. Stop flipping back and forth between a research tab and draft document. Stop squinting at squished-up windows on your single screen. Consider investing in a second computer monitor. When they’re placed side by side, you can use one for researching, the other for writing. I went dual-monitor about 3 years ago and it was a serious productivity boost.
Don’t ever try to take away my second screen. Ever. I *will* go bad-fairy Maleficent…and smote you.
What quick productivity hacks do you use while writing or researching content?
From an administrative assistant charged with writing up project memos to a freelance writer tackling a new website, grammar goofs, gaffes, and errs will make you, at best, look unprofessional and, at worst, worthy of a viral giggle. So check out this handy infographic from the writing gurus at Copyblogger:
Go directly to Copyblogger for a printable version—and while it’s probably not good office politics to leave a copy on your grammar-challenged office mate’s desk, don’t be afraid to print out a copy for yourself.