News And Updates
I was totally planning on attending a networking event tonight. I had already RSVPd. I’d put it into my Google Calendar. I’d e-mailed the info to a few friends. Then I began losing momentum…
I was afraid to go alone. I didn’t feel like taking a bus into the city, especially during rush hour. My energy levels were low, anyway, and there was work I could get done if only I stayed at home.
I put on a dress in order to motivate myself. After all, who wants to waste a pretty dress by not leaving the house?
I took the dress off.
Then I noticed that I was having a good hair day. Could I possibly waste a good hair day by not leaving the house?
Yes. Yes I could.
If only I could find a networking group closer to home.
[Image via]
Since scheduling my days into blocks of time dedicated to specific projects, I’ve been much more productive (we’ll discount the latter half of May for a multitude of reasons…), miraculously finishing up projects that had previously kept on falling to the bottom of my list of priorities.
Hallelujah!
While I have my personal schedule stored only in my noggin, on my weaker days (like that day I got sucked into a Tales from the Darkside marathon after sitting in front of the TV for a lunch break), I probably could have benefited from some sort of time management application.
Because I hope you can succeed where I have failed, I present to you 4 time tracking applications that will help you stay on…well…track:
Saving money can be difficult even at the best of times. When your paychecks pop up irregularly, and at odd times, it can be downright frustrating.
Lately, I’ve been struggling to pay down my credit card debt and cover all my bills. I’ve been unable to contribute to the mortgage since October, and I’m desperate to save up money for both a house and my career coaching certification. With so many things to save for, retirement can seem miles away.
Lord knows, though, I don’t want to be living paycheck to paycheck like this into my 90s. Which is why Freelancers Union’s announcement of a freelancers retirement plan is so intriguing.
[RCA Rp5022 64 Mb Voice Recorder With Usb, $19.98, Amazon]
[Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device, $17.71, Amazon]
I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately and, to get the job done, I’ve been using the items above.
My voice recorder (new versions are available) has a ton of storage place, allows me to place markers within my sound files, and includes a USB port for uploading to my computer. My telephone recording device also works like a charm, one end plugging into my recorder, the other going into my ear, allowing me to record all of my telephone interviews. Both of them being quite cheap, I’d recommend them to any writer on a budget.
But once the interviews are done, the worst part still remains: transcribing.
After the jump, a few resources for those who wish transcribing could be easier, or for those who’d like to outsource it altogether!