How to be More Productive When Writing at Home

Please enjoy today's guest post by Margaret Latham :-)

Every parent who has tried to hold down a writing job at home has struggled with productivity sometimes.
I know I struggled with it for months at a time until I made some serious changes. I want to share with
you the changes I made to help you accomplish the same things and become more productive.

I would find myself constantly distracted by the TV shows I wanted to watch and by ads and irrelevant
articles online as I did my writing research. My writing time is spent researching as much as I write,
and it was easy to get distracted when I became stuck or bored. Then I would just browse the internet,
check my Facebook feed, watch YouTube videos or read celebrity gossip. I had to make some changes
to ensure that I wasn’t just wasting my time at home while everyone else was at work or school.

Take Breaks

This may not be the most important piece of advice I can share with you, but it is one that is often
overlooked. You do need to take breaks every so often. It’s good for your eyes to get away from the
computer screen for a while, so if you tend to spend your breaks looking at websites that don’t involve
your research, then you need to find a different way to take a break. Your body needs a break from
sitting in the writing chair or wherever you are sitting while you work.

You need to get up, take your eyes off the screen and move around a bit. I like to take a break like this
every hour or two. Tina from DiamondClean mentions “I will go do some housecleaning, wash dishes,
do laundry or just pick up some toys or trash throughout the house.” This not only gives me a break
from sitting and staring at a screen, but it also allows me to accomplish something that I would have to
do later anyway.

Plan Rewards

A lot of times, writers feel drained after sitting in front of a screen for a long time. The body gets tired
and slows down, and it is easy to tall into the trap of just lazily going from one website to another
wasting time. One way to change up that routine and get out of the rut is to place awards for yourself
throughout the day. If there are sites you like to visit regularly, you can tell yourself that once you get a
project done or write so many thousand words, then you will take five minutes to look at the site.

You can also use snacks as self rewards and take a snack break when you finish something significant
in your writing. You want to be careful about binge eating and overeating, though, so limit your snack
breaks and try to eat healthy snacks.

Keep Your Energy Up

A similar problem that writers suffer from is a lack of energy. Sitting all day at a computer screen is not
good for your energy levels, and it is normal for you to feel like not doing anything. Your motivation
feels shot, and you start to feel depressed. You need to change up the way you eat and exercise to
bring up your energy levels.

Instead of having a soda or something with sugar while you work, you should eat something with
Omega-3 fatty acids or some fruit. Water is a great way to boost your energy levels too, as it detoxifies
your body and hydrates you to keep your body working at optimum efficiency.

You can also take an exercise break every now and then. If you sit down all day, your energy levels
will be very low, but if you spice things up by doing a little bit of exercise every few hours, then your
body will stay active and your mind will work much better. This gets the blood pumping and keeps your
body feeling alert and active, and that allows you to get a lot more work done.

Set Goals

If you have no set goals for the day or the week, then you will feel like you don’t have to do very much
sometimes. You may sit down to work and then not feel like doing much, and since you have no goals
in mind, it won’t seem bad to you to just be lazy. You can change that behavior and stop it dead in its
tracks by making either a mental or a physical list of goals for the day and the week.

You can determine to get so much done each day or even break it down hour by hour. Those people
who are easily distracted need to have constant goals in mind to keep working steadily, so an hourly
breakdown of goals is not a bad thing.

Determine to accomplish a certain amount of work for each of your goals, and if you don’t meet those
goals, then you can skip one of your breaks, take a shorter lunch or work a bit longer that day. Goals
are a reward in themselves, but you need a way to punish yourself if you fail a goal. You can use the
tips we just mentioned or come up with your own creative methods of penalizing failure. The important
thing is that you make it important to stick to the goals. Now, you can revise goals as necessary, if you
find that they are unreasonable as you start to do the work. That’s fine, but you need to keep the goals
in mind and keep working toward something.

If you don’t give yourself set goals, then you are more likely to wander and lose productivity. You can’t
just say that you will work until a certain time. You need to be setting yourself objectives to accomplish
in that time. Otherwise, you will end up doing very little and then quit at your appointed time, having
accomplished almost nothing.

Putting Wrongs to Rights In Your Life

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Life doesn’t always tend to go as planned. While we may want to live a stress-free life, completely
devoid of obstacles and complications, there’s a good chance that we are going to encounter relatively
negative experiences at some point along the way. What’s important is that we know how to deal with
and overcome these negative experiences, as this will allow us to return our life balance to a neutral or
positive mode, and give us the opportunity to move on to bigger and better things. Huge numbers of
people allow themselves to feel defeated, sink into procrastination or avoidance, and consequently end
up wallowing in negativity for extended periods of time. So, how can you go about putting wrongs to
rights in your life for the sake of your overall health, happiness, and well-being? Here are a few different
steps to try out!

Seek Legal Advice

There are various situations in life where legal help can significantly improve your personal situation or
standing. Some areas can include:

• Unfair dismissal from your workplace
• Personal injury through no fault of your own
• Mis-sold services or products
• Medical negligence or malpractice

If you feel that you have experienced any of these situations, make sure to reach out to a reliable lawyer
or group of lawyers, such as the professionals at Derrick Law Firm. These individuals will have a thorough
understanding of your country’s legal system and will quickly be able to take a look at your case and
determine whether it is worth pursuing in legal terms. If it is, you could find that the people who are at
fault in situations that have had a detrimental impact on your life are held accountable for their actions.
You may also receive compensation, which can help you to move on from traumatic events and start
living your life as you want to again.

Practice Effective Communication

Some problems that have a detrimental impact on your well-being are more personal. Perhaps you
have had a falling out with a friend, family member, or other loved one. This can cause you to feel
down and perhaps even lonely, as though you don’t have anyone to reach out to. If you feel that the
situation can be rectified and that you want this person to play an active role in your social life again,
you need to start practicing effective communication. Sure, it may seem easy to sweep problems
under the carpet, or simply avoid the person in order to avoid conflict, but these coping mechanisms
aren’t going to prove very useful in the long run. Instead, sit down and talk to the person about problems
between the two of you in a calm and neutral manner. This will help to air out any differences and patch
up your relationship.

These are just two different steps that you can take to put wrongs to rights and consequently improve
your overall quality of life. They’re more than worth pursuing, as they will help to put a smile on your
face, even after times of hardship or difficulty!

Everything You Need To Know To Get Through A Hospital Stay

For most of us, needing to spend a few nights in hospital is something that we never want to do. Even
if it is for a minor ailment that can be easily remedied, the thought of spending time in a hospital is still
enough to scare and worry people. And that is usually all because people have many negative
associations with hospitals and illness. They might start to fear the worse when they are told they will
need to be admitted to hospital. That’s not all, though, as there are many stories of people disliking
their time in hospital because of it being uncomfortable or because they have had a bad experience
with their doctors and nurses.

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However, staying in a hospital for more than one night doesn’t have to be such a daunting experience.
As long as you prepare well and are aware of what to expect, then you should find that staying in hospital
isn’t half as bad as what you might think.

To help you prepare for your time there and to ensure that you look after yourself as well as can be
while you are in hospital, I thought it would be wise writing up this ultimate guide to staying in hospital.
It’s full of some really useful tips that will help you recover as quickly as possible and stay comfortable
while on the ward.

If You Don’t Like Your Doctor, Ask For A Different One

One of the main people who you will be dealing with while in the hospital will be your doctor. He or she
will be your main point of call for all things health related, and they will help you throughout each stage
of your recovery. Unfortunately, though, not everyone always gets on with their doctor as well as they
should. For some people, this can be one reason why they don’t enjoy their hospital stay. In some
extreme cases, it can even cause friction, and might result in the patient wanting to check themselves
out of hospital before they are 100% ready to leave. Thankfully, though, you don’t need to put up with
a doctor who you don’t like or get on with. If you would rather change and see someone else, it’s
perfectly acceptable for you to ask about it. This actually happens a lot more than what you might think.
At the end of the day, though, it’s in the hospital’s best interest to change doctors if a patient requests
it as it will prevent them from getting bad reviews online.

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Always Eat Something

When you are in hospital, you will need to eat as much as you can so that your body has enough
energy for the recovery process. Unfortunately, though, hospitals have got quite a bad reputation for
their food over the past few decades. That’s no excuse not to eat something, though. It’s really important
that you keep your strength up with plenty of food. Thankfully, most hospitals are aware of the problem
with their food and are currently trying hard to improve the quality and portion sizes. So, you might
actually be very impressed by the standard of food on your ward.

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Boys, morning after ‘18

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Don’t Take In Your Own Food

Some people prefer to take their own food into hospital with them as they think that it will be tastier than
what they are given as part of their hospital meals. However, this actually isn’t a very good idea. That’s
because all of the meals that you are served in hospital will have been carefully planned out to ensure
that your body is provided with all the necessary nutrients it needs to heal and recover in full. Not only
that, though, but hospital meals are usually carefully controlled so that the portions aren’t too calorific.
If you take in your own food to eat, you might not get all the right nutrients to aid your illness, and you
might also end up consuming too many calories and putting on weight.

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Get To Know Your Nurses

As well as your doctor, you will come into contact with a lot of nurses during your time in hospital. In
some cases, you might even end up spending more time with nurses than your doctor. So, it’s always
important to be polite and friendly with them. That way, you will all get along a lot better, and that will
make your hospital stay a little bit easier. After all, it’s always best to be friendly with your nurse and
have a laugh with them rather than being stone-faced.

Bring Your Own Pillow

Even though I’ve already mentioned that you shouldn’t take your own food with you into hospital, there
is actually one thing that you should consider taking with you - and that is your pillow! You will need to
get as much sleep as you can every night you are in hospital, as this will help you recover and regain
your strength. If you don’t feel particularly comfortable on the pillow on your hospital bed, then you could
have real trouble trying to drop off every night. So, it’s always worth taking a pillow in with you that you
are familiar with and that can help you sleep peacefully every night.

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Don’t Forget Your Own Toiletries

It’s also wise to take in your own toiletries with you. Sure, staying in a hospital is just like staying in a
hotel as you will be given some free toiletries, such as toothbrush and shampoo. But it’s always best to
try in your own. In fact, hospital toiletries often get complained about quite a bit. Lotions and moisturizers
can often seem watery and tissues and the toilet paper are never the softest. So, be sure to take any
bathroom necessities with you so that you don’t have to worry about them during your stay.

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Keep A Record Of Every Conversation

There are often a lot of compensation cases filed with regard to staying in hospitals.
Unique wrongful death cases and malpractice cases are some of the most common ones.
Hopefully, you will never need to claim for any of this kind of compensation, but it’s still wise
to keep good records of your time in hospital just in case. At the very least, you should make
a note of each conversation that you have with a nurse or doctor as these can be then used as
evidence if you ever do need to go to court over your stay in hospital.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Anything You Need

You never know what you might need while you are in hospital. No matter what it is, though, you
shouldn’t feel bad about asking to see if your doctors or nurses will be able to get you it. One thing
that some people regularly ask for is a rollaway bed so that a family member can stay with them
overnight. More often than not, practical requests like this one will be granted. Keep in mind that
you won’t get something if you don’t ask about it, so it’s always worth asking to see what you can
get. After all, the worst that can happen is that someone will say no.

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Get Out Of Bed As Often As You Can

Even though you might not feel like it, it’s important to get out of bed as often as you can and move
about as much as possible. This is important as it will help your muscles keep working and strengthen
up appropriately. If you do just stay in bed all the time, then you might find that your muscles actually
weaken, and this could even slow down your overall recovery period. So, be sure to get out of bed as
often as you can. Even if you just go for a short walk around your ward or to the hospital cafe, it is
better than not using your legs at all!

Ask To Sleep Undisturbed

Depending on your illness or ailment, the nurses might need to wake you up a few times
through the night to check your vital signs are all OK. As you can probably tell, this will be really
disruptive to your sleep and can leave you very tired during the day. However, if you feel fine
then you might be able to request to sleep undisturbed through the nights. Your doctors will have
to check you out first before they allow this to make sure that you aren’t in any danger when left
though the night.

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Ask To See A Therapy Animal

Did you know that most hospitals now use therapy animals to cheer up their patients? Lots of research
and studies have shown that using animals in hospitals can help patients de-stress and deal better with
their anxieties. You might be amazed by just how much you can relax while you are petting a cute dog!

Hopefully, all of these tips can help you survive your hospital stay as comfortably as you possibly can.
And that should help you recover as quickly as possible!

Handling a Moody, Sassy and Uncooperative Teen Without Causing a Rift

Every parent dreads the day that their sweet, innocent, little angel turns into a grumpy teenager. We
were all teenagers once but nowadays it seems like there are a lot more avenues of trouble they can
get themselves into. The stress of parenting can sometimes get you down and there is an added
stress when your teen is going off the rails a little bit. No matter what your style of parenting is, there
will always be a calm and rational way to deal with those lovable rogues you call your teenagers. As
long as you give them space, allow them to be independent and show them how to learn from their
mistakes, they will soon be on your side again. Take these ideas on board and see how they work for
your little one when the time comes.

Don’t Be Afraid to Educate Them

If you think there is a chance that your teenager is going off the rails and making bad decisions, then you
shouldn’t be afraid to teach them right from wrong. Crossroads Recovery's Underage Drinking Counseling Services,
might help you if your child has been caught up in alcohol related incidents. This will give them the ideal opportunity
to reevaluate their decisions and make better choices when it comes to alcohol in the future.

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Give Them Space and Put Your Trust in Them

Your instinct will always be to protect your child and stick to their side as often as possible. This can
often have the opposite effect, because they will feel like you are smothering them and being too
overbearing. Give them enough space to be independent without allowing them to cross too many
boundaries. Once they realize you can trust them, they will feel more inclined to stay true to their
word, so they don’t disappoint you.

Assess Any Serious Warning Signs

When your child is behaving strangely or isolating themselves on a regular basis; perhaps they aren’t
eating or you see they spend too much time on social media. You need to assess they serious warning
signs and have a serious conversation with them. This could just save their lives.

Reason With Them and Draw on Your Past Experiences

Handling difficult teenagers is enough to make any parent lose control now and again, but try to remain
calm. They are mini adults and able to understand most things. Explain what mistakes you may have
made in the past and it may encourage them to steer clear from the same type of trouble.

When your child reaches their teen years it is important to remember that we all went through this at
one stage in our lives. You made mistakes, you were sassy to your parents and you wanted to earn
your independence. You have to make sure you talk to your child and understand what their issues
are; most of the time they are going through totally normal teenage stuff. Be aware of the more serious
signs and you will soon be able to nip any problems in the bud instantly, giving you a happy, healthy
and pleasant relationship with your teenager.