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Productivity for Writers: Tips to Increase Your Productivity During Hot Weather

Posted on August 10, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

 

Writer Productivity in the Summer
Writer Productivity in the Summer. Or not:)

August already arrived and yet it is still typically very hot. Oh, I’m not complaining. I always take my summer wardrobe & weather over looking like an Eskimo and a bleak winter.

However extreme heat reduces productivity and the will to work. It might also cause you to stock on iced-drinks and face the wind/air-conditioner, and ultimately making you catch a cold, like the one I’m trying to fight off right now.

Fortunately, applying a few simple tips to your daily life can help you make the best of the summer, while managing to get all your work done.

1)      Air- conditioners. Not every house has one, but it is unthinkable for any respectable coffee shop not to use them. If you don’t have air-conditioning in your living quarters, you can always go to the next Starbucks or a similar concept coffee shop where you can work.

 

You just need to make sure that directly under the conditioners as this will most probably cause you to get sick. Also make sure you bring a sweater with you just in case. After all, outdoors might be hot enough to walk around in your swimsuit, indoors might feel like the North Pole.

 

2)      Fans.  Fans are more affordable and a lot less complicated than air-conditioners. However, most of the time, they tend to be less effective. But then again, a fan is the next best thing when there is no wind outside and you feel like the heat is suffocating you. Just make sure you get the cool indirectly as fans can also easily make you sick. I should know, I’m a few hours from taking my prescribed antibiotics.

 

3)      Beaches and pools. If you live near a sea or an ocean, take advantage. Not only swimming will help you get fit, it will also keep you cool and fresh.

And even if you don’t live near a sea, there are usually affordable pools around. Although some people don’t enjoy the pool experience, it is a nice way to energize yourself. For instance my university gym offers a reasonably-priced membership so I go swimming almost everyday. I can work for much longer and much more productively after I swim.

 

You just need to make sure you don’t get in the sun without protection.

 

4)      Showers. It is all very well to save water and protect the environment, but you can’t restrain yourself from taking regular showers as this will help you cope with the heat, especially if you live in a city where the daily average temperature easily hits 40 degrees Celsius.

 

You can be careful about not wasting much water, but you can’t survive without getting under the water at all.

 

5)       Cold drinks and lots of water. Drinking lots of liquids is always crucial, especially during hot weather when you lose a lot of water through sweating. Try to make sure you consume healthy drinks, though- such as water and freshly squeezed juices. As simple as this may sound, many people often neglect this or just try to fulfill their liquid needs through fuzzy drinks, which is not the healthiest option.

 *

 

Try to apply these daily and you will find it easier to work in the summer.

 

 

Related Posts

Intelligent Productivity for Freelance Writers by John Soares

How to Use Our Email Accounts Productively to Avoid Procrastination

 How to Turn Procrastination into Productivity: 7 Fun Tips for Writers

9 Productive Things Writers Can Do When They Have a Cold

Filed Under: Productivity & Time Management Tagged With: hot weather tips, how to stay cool in hot weather, increase productivity, increasing productivity, productivity, productivity for writers, summer health tips, summer productivity, writer productivity

How Far Should A Writer Go for a Story?: Ethics, Story Ideas and The Movie Beautiful Boy

Posted on August 7, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

EAustin Nichols and Maria Bello in Beautiful Boy
Movie still from Beautiful Boy - Austin Nichols (the writer) and Maria Bello (the mother of the shooter). Before she knew what he was up to....Image via aceshowbiz.com

 

 

Whether you are inspired by real events or love taking advantage of your imagination, coming up with a great story is hard. Especially if you are writing a book.

And having come up with a great idea, you are most likely going to do some research. But how far would you go for that research and story?

Yesterday, I watched a very compelling movie called Beautiful Boy, a story about how a married couple deals after their son killed many people at his school and then killed himself. And while it is not a crucial part of the story, the event that intrigued me the most involves a writer:

In the movie, the mother of the shooter is a spell-checker, and her current writer client runs into her after the tragic event and acts like a very understanding friend. And then we find out that he was writing a book about the events, and that his shoulder to cry on was a way to just get his story right.

And the interesting thing is, while I didn’t approve of his behavior, this writer character managed not to come off as a total jerk. Maybe he wanted to profit from the tragedy, and that is wrong. But on the other hand, he said that he wanted to shed light on the event – he wanted to show that anyone could be capable of such rage. And for a moment, I wanted the mother to call him back and let him write…

OK, obviously that didn’t happen. But when she found out his real motive, she didn’t try to beat him. She didn’t shout. She just told him to go. Sure, he should have come clean way before…but what were the odds that she would let him into the house, had she known?

So let’s say that you found this incredible story that you feel compelled to write. You need to research, and maybe you need to talk to people who probably wouldn’t talk to you if you said you were a writer. What would you do? How far would you go?

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: beautiful boy, beautiful boy movie, research for writing, writers, writing

What Non-Fiction Topics Don’t You Like Writing About?

Posted on July 28, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

 

Writing Topics
Writing experts keep discussing whether a writer should be a specialized writer or a general writer. No need to worry. None of us can be that general anyway:)

There are so many writing markets out there, but it is hard to find the ones that are just up our alley. The thing is, even if you enjoy writing about a variety of topics (I know I do), there just seems to be plenty of publications that want queries in areas that exclude a lot of writers.

Obviously a writer can’t and won’t write about everything. But it can be frustrating to realize that there is a huge number of outlets you won’t be able to pitch to.

I’m Not Pitching to Publications On:

• Parenting/Family

I am not a parent, and I am not thinking about becoming one in the near future. I don’t have a degree /certificate in anything regarding parenting or children. And guess what? I don’t know any experts in these areas either. Which is a shame, because there are many high-paying publications that are parent/family-oriented.

• Brides/Wedding

I might be tempted to submit an article to a brides/weddings magazine if I get married and want to share the experience. But right now, I am just not interested. Plus, I really do have nothing to say…

• Fashion

As much as I love shopping for clothes, shoes and accessories, I just don’t like or follow fashion. I am against the idea of someone else telling me what is cool and what is hot. It is my style, my wardrobe and my body. So frankly, only my opinion counts (to me).

And being a bit of a shopaholic, I am more interested in quality, and quantity, than brands. So paying $100 for a T-shirt seems outrageous. So I guess being a huge fan of Sex and The City, doesn’t qualify me for fashion writing…

• Technology/Gadgets/Computers

While I might be considered somewhat of a geek when it comes to movie and rock trivia, I am just a clueless soul when it comes to computers and gadgets.

I like my laptop and other home office equipments, as well as my cell phone and mp3 player. And that is pretty much it.

• Technical Music Stuff

I might know my favorite bands by heart, but as to which musical instrument is better than which and why…Have no idea.

• Boy/Girl Scouts or Cheerleaders

Never been one.

• Ultra-techy WordPress Stuff

I’m a self-taught WordPress user and I know a lot about blogging on this platform. However, I’m a stranger to coding or web-design. So if a publication covers more of these, I’m out of my depth. But this is totally OK, because there still tons of stuff I can write about blogging and WordPress that don’t require me to be extra tech-savvy.

• Cooking

I rarely feel like performing my abilities in the kitchen. And when I do, it is usually to make uncomplicated desserts and vegetables, whose recipes are typically born from my imagination. Unless there are cooking magazines for people who hate to cook 95% of the time, I am not meant to write about this.

 

**
So far these are the most popular subjects I can’t/don’t write about. What don’t you write about? And do you feel like your writing income would have increased, had it not been for those topics?

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: writing, writing markets, writing topics, writing topics we don't enjoy, writing topics we love

Gary Vaynercuk’s Crush It: A Terrific Guide for Bloggers!

Posted on July 24, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Gary Vaynerchuk, Crush It cover
Gary Vaynerchuk, Crush It cover. Image via amazon.com
It is not a shocker that I didn’t discover Gary’s sites through my enthusiasm for wine. Frankly, I can’t stand the taste or smell of any wine most of the time. But I am always on the lookout for a good resource about social media and blogging, and I came across Crush during one of my book hunts. 

 

Considering that Gary Vaynerchuk has been  a famous online figure for quite a while,  my discovery was  a little late. After all, this guy has been on Conan and on Ellen and a lot of other places and yet  I had no idea who he was when I bought the book.

 

 

And after reading, I didn’t find it strange that this guy was this popular.

For one, he uses a conversational tone,  and he really knows what he is talking about it. He also has great pieces of wisdom to offer to any blogger/entrepreneur on every level.

 

 

Not to mention, Crush It! is recommended by guys like Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek ,which I also covered on pinartarhan.com) and Kevin Rose (founder of Digg.com).

 

After having read the whole book, including the appendixes and all, I can safely saythe book is by no means just for bloggers. It is for anyone who wants to make money out of doing what they love (yep, including writers), who wants to make a brand for themselves-even though they are not selling or producing anything (let’s face it, we all sell our CVs at the very least).

 

So yes, Crush It! is for anyone who wants to take advantage of the internet, social media and the new age in marketing.What does Gary say in this book? I highlighted a lot of stuff and used some serious magic markers on i. Below are some of my favorite quotes from Gary:

 

“Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.”

 

“There is room for everyone in the world of social media, which is the same thing as saying there’s room for everyone in today’s business world”

“…crying about how things should be instead of embracing how things are doesn’t do anyone any good”.

*

 

He proves his points by showing you what you can do with a blog-whether audio/video/written- what you can and should do with twitter and facebook. He lists resources,  and names sites we should be keeping an eye on. And by  sharing true stories, he proves over and over again why he is the right guy to write this book.

At 142 pages, it is a page-turner, but it doesn’t mean you should read and then do nothing. Take the advice, take the action. When you read his life story, you will understand how much he accomplished and so can you.

I am big on self-improvement books in the business area. And being a writer in the web-dominated age, I learned a lot from him.

 

* Gary blogs on Wine Library TV and you can check out his website Gary Vaynerchuk.

 

P.S. I love e-books, but I still prefer paperbacks. Yeah, I am one of those people who print out their e-books whenever they can:)

 

P.P.S. I used affiliate links for Crush It and The 4 Hour Work Week.

 

Author Gary Vaynerchuk
Author Gary Vaynerchuk. Image via pinartarhan.com/blog

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Filed Under: Blogging, Book Reviews, Recommended Resources Tagged With: books on blogging, branding, business, Crush it, Gary Vaynerchuk, marketing, social media, the 4 hour workweek, Timothy Ferriss

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