Wednesday, April 3, 2013

8 Tips to Optimize Your Time for Blog Writing by Marko Saric

I regularly hear statements like I just don’t have time to work on my blog, I am too busy to get out there and promote the blog, I have to do this, I have to do that, plus many other excuses. What these people really mean is I prioritize something else.

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” – Harvey MacKay

Even though time is a limited resource, we still have 24 hours in a day, which is plenty of time, but it is a matter of reevaluating our priorities.

Most bloggers might have a job that takes some 9 hours daily, then you sleep some 7 hours and it leaves you with some 8 hours daily to do some house work, hang out with your friends and family or work on your hobbies.

That is why you have to learn to control your time, optimize it the best possible way and manage it wisely. There are the 8 ways that you can find more time to work on your blogging dreams.

Stop reading, take action

Reading and learning is important, but only to a point. It is important to stop and implement some of the things you have read about. If you don’t take your time to use what you have learned, nothing will change and you will stand still. Be a blog producer.

Stop checking the stats

If you are regularly stressing yourself checking your blog visitor stats, your RSS subscriber stats, your earning stats, stop. Checking them will not help, but actively working on things that will improve those stats will. Try not to check the stats more than once daily.

Focus on the tasks that have the highest impact

You must focus your energy on the tasks that have the highest impact on your goals. For bloggers, the goal usually is to increase the readership, and the task that will bring you closer to that goal is creating remarkable content and pulling your target audience to your blog.

Don’t get distracted

In the age of the Internet it is very easy to get distracted and waste several hours reading RSS, checking Facebook, sending tweets or reading Steve Pavlina’s blog (it happens to me every once in a while as Steve’s blog is so good). Shut out the distractions!
Throw away your television

Most of the people that say that they are too busy to be able to work on their blogs regularly, still seem to have enough time to watch hours of television every day. TV watching might be entertaining, but it is not going to bring you closer to your blogging goals.

Forget your strict schedule

Did you set yourself on a very strict schedule of having to produce regular blog posts? Forget about it. Your blog will not become extinct if you miss a day or two. The tight schedule just might strain you so much that you give up the blog. Writing one great post per week will have a much bigger impact than writing one average post daily.

Maximize your health

Eat healthy. Do some exercise. Get enough sleep. Leading a healthy lifestyle will definitely make you more energetic, fresh and will improve your productivity and will win you time.

Your passion motivates you

We always hear about the blog passion and it really is true. If your blog topic is something you really love, it is going to be so much easier to motivate yourself to work on it. You will not be able to fall asleep because you would want to blog, you would wake up very early energetic to get out of the bed and do even more blogging.

From passive viewing to active working

Majority of the “busy” bloggers are spending more time surfing the internet and watching TV than working on their blogs and at the end of another day they have nothing to show for. You must be disciplined and shift your focus from passive viewing into active working on your blogging targets and dreams. No one else but you can do it.

**You can always hire a "ghost blogger" from LaMothe Services. We offer monthly packages to help you keep up with the demands of your readers! Give us a call!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

How is Your Work-Life Balance? By Dr. Christina Grant~Guest Blogger

When you are in balance and harmony with life you can be most effective in your business. What you want to achieve suffers when you are too much engrossed in the tasks or worries of work and not taking time to maintain harmony within your body, mind, and spirit.

Most of us have been trained to work hard. If we are not working hard, we have been programmed to feel guilty about not working hard. Ever heard someone called lazy because they weren’t working hard enough?

Hard work has held the promise of reward, but there is a downside if we find ourselves not enjoying the living of it all. If balance between work and life outside of work is not maintained, your well-being can suffer, harming your peace of mind, physical health, and your relationships.

Even if you love your work, thrive on it, and can do it all day and into the night, it is important to take some time to rest and create a balance. Stop, reflect, restore, and revitalize. Your relationships need attention, your spirit needs nurturing, your body needs care, and your mind needs some time off. If these are neglected, is there any amount of success that can make up for their loss?

I think it is important to work at something you love, or at least like. Simultaneously, it is important to pay attention to your inner world. This helps you maintain a healthy balance. There are 10 simple things you can do each day to aid you in this worthy endeavor. I practice them myself and hope you will join me.

1. Inhale with awareness.

2. Walk in nature, even for just 10 minutes. Aim for 30.

3. Sit in silence and still your mind for at least 10 minutes each day.

4. Notice if you are thirsty, hungry, tired. What do you do about it?

5. While eating, slow down and give your full attention.

6. Avoid people who consume your energy.

7. Embrace people who accept and support your endeavors.

8. Regard the beauty of your surroundings.

9. Appreciate the freedom and ability to work or establish a business of your own.

10. Exhale completely.



Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who works in person and by phone. She has helped hundreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. She is co-author of Eight Minute Muse and is completing a book with a fresh perspective on women’s health. To learn more see her website www.christinagrant.com and blog http://christinagrant.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Are You Ready for START ART 2013 in Las Vegas?

This STARTART Congress will be held August 8-10, 2013 at:
Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel
3400 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV


For your convenience, a direct link to reservations at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel is available on our website at www.directrsvp.com/STARTART. Enter the group code STRSTRA to receive the discounted rate of $99 + tax. Reservations can also be made by calling toll free 800-750-0980 or locally 702-784-5700. Refer to the STARTART Room Block.

I hope to see you there!!
Sharon LaMothe

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 
From
LaMothe Services, LaMothe Surrogacy Consulting and Infertility Answers!
Wishing you all the best in 2013!

Monday, December 31, 2012

Please Support Fertility Within Reach in 2013






Through education and coaching, Fertility Within Reach (FWR) aims to empower infertile individuals to advocate in order to build their family. Information on our site is intended to support your communication process with physicians, insurance companies, employers, and legislators in your efforts to access Infertility treatment for yourself and the infertility community.


How can YOU become your own best advocate?
We have first hand experience with overcoming the many obstacles in order to access treatment for Infertility. Please visit the Empower Yourself page and review our 1 page guides on ways you can empower yourself in navigating this path.

Read how these Fertility Within Reach
families became their own best advocates


Monday, December 24, 2012

Come to the Fertility Planit show for FREE!


The Giving Season

We cannot thank you enough for your support of Fertility Planit. With our show only 3 weeks away, we want you to be empowered by the world class experts, therapists and inspirational leaders speaking at our show -- and find everything you need to build your family -- as our guest. Now through December 31, use promo code FPHOLIDAYCOMP and attend our show at no charge. This offer is limited. Please take a moment to register while you can: http://bit.ly/FPShowReg

http://fertilityplanit.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=a154528d9f0d5de2b7f2c0668&id=fa29884840&e=ce1af6d7ab

In return and as a gift to the community, please consider sharing where you are in your journey to parenthood, what you've learned along the way, or how you became a parent, as part of our new Fertility Planit Diaries. Simply create and upload a video on YouTube. Our Founder/CEO Karin Thayer kicks off the discussion in the short clip above, describes her own journey to motherhood and how to post your story. With so many of you using video to capture holiday memories, there's no time like the present.

We can't wait to see what you have to say and meet you at the show.

Happy Holidays! 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

From LaMothe Services, LaMothe Surrogacy Consulting and Infertility Answers

Friday, May 25, 2012

Coaching Outside the Box by Dave Krueger, MD

We are all coaches in our own way. Below is a short article written by Dave Krueger, MD that may open doors for you and your clients.
Sharon LaMothe

Ben Fletcher at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom devised a study to get people to break their usual habits. Each day the subjects picked a different option from poles of contrasting behaviors -- lively/quiet, introvert/extrovert, reactive/proactive -- and behaved according to this assignment.

So an introverted person, for example, would act as an extrovert for an entire day. Additionally, twice weekly, they had to stretch to behave in a way outside their usual life pattern – eating or reading something they would never have done.

What do you think was the biggest change in the group?

The remarkable finding was that after four months, the subjects had lost an average of eleven pounds. And six months later, almost all had kept the weight off; some continued to lose weight. This was not a diet, but a study focusing on change and its impact.

The Underlying Principle

Requiring people to change routine behavior makes them actually think about decisions rather than habitually choosing a default mode without consideration. In having to actually process decisions actively, they exercised their choice and decision-making abilities, extending to other choices such as what to eat, and what not to. Once becoming aware of actively making choices, they could decide what’s in their best interest.

“The box” most of us are in is the result of programming and conditioning. And it is self-created in adulthood. Recognizing yourself as the author, the creator of your story challenges an assumed model and leads to the deeper question, “How do I create something else instead?” And, “What will the ‘something else’ be?” Coach outside the box and watch your clients flourish!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Maine’s Highest Court Rules that District Courts Have Authority to Make Parentage Determinations in Gestational Surrogacy

Maine’s Highest Court Rules that District Courts Have Authority to Make Parentage Determinations in Gestational Surrogacy

Last week, Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court addressed for the first time the issue of parentage in a gestational surrogate birth, finding that the District Courts have authority under existing law to determine who a child’s parents are when the child is conceived through ART and then carried and delivered by another person.

In Nolan v. LaBree, a married woman (Mrs. LaBree) agreed to carry a pregnancy for a married couple (the Nolans) resulting from transfer of an embryo created from the Nolans’ egg and sperm; all parties were in agreement that the Nolans were the parents of the resulting child.

ASRM and SART were signers on an amicus brief, along with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders and other medical and legal authorities on assisted reproduction.

The court’s decision may be read at http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/maine/supreme-court/2012-me-61.pdf?ts=1336158415.



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Winners Announced for the NIAW book drawing of A Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow!



A copy of Surrogacy Helps Make a Family Grow! will be sent out to the following 5 lucky winners:


M.C. of Fresno, CA

J.H. of Redmond, WA

T.B. of Lake St. Louis, MO

N.C. of Rockport, ME

and

S.W. of Streetsboro, OH



Thank you to the 182 participants who entered this contest! I will be doing it again very soon!