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No vacation for you!
2008-05-22 23:32:00
Europe’s got it right, man. All that work just isn’t worth it. A Yahoo HotJobs survey says half of Americans are cancelling their vacations this summer because of concerns about the poor economy. Gas prices lead to more expensive everything, adjustable mortgage rates lead to a need to work more hours and save money while companies start laying off workers like there’s no tomorrow–which also means remaining workers have to pick up the slack of those laid off. It totally sucks. When you can barely afford to live, you sure can’t afford to take a break or spend money to go somewhere. Give a big thanks to big oil, investment banks, and a gov’t that not only looks the other way while its citizens are gouged, but bails out the bigwigs while stepping on the middle class. If anybody gets within reach of Bush’s damn veto pen, grab it from him. Cheers.
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Blogging and Journalism, Like Art and Porn
2008-05-16 23:39:00
People often ask me what I do and when I tell them, they say “oh, you’re a blogger.” Ahem. Let me say that again. I write for a company that publishes several ebusiness publications, but mainly for just the flagship. But don’t confuse me with what is typically thought of as a blogger. I use the shift key and punctuation. Generally, I write with complete sentences unless I can justify it artistically. My grammar–on the first go ’round–is often impeccable, as is my spelling. I have standards, a background, degrees, certifications. I am a writer, and I am stuck-up about it. And sometimes I blog, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Yes, I did begin a sentence with a conjunction. Want to make something of it? But I don’t consider myself, not full time anyway, a blogger. Anyone can blog; not everybody has something to say. What’s the difference between being a writer and a blogger? That’s a tough question. Seem...
More About: Journalism , Blogging

Share Quotes on Blogging
2008-04-25 15:56:00
Here are a couple written by me: 1 A blog maintained with integrity and consistency can open up doors that you might have never thought existed. These doors might never have appeared as something accessible, but a blog can be your key to open up and explore what’s beyond. 2 The best things in life come as a surprise. Do not fall for the quick money that blogging has been known to earn, instead focus on building a network and establishing yourself in a community, and get ready for the surprise. 3 The start of a blog should’nt be based upon making money. The true essence of blogging lies within it’s ability to provide you an outlet to network, a means to build credibility, a platform to interact and share views and expertise, a key to the door that open up opportunities. Blogging in it’s true form is your home where you welcome, interact, serve and build loyalty while opening doors within your own home that you never knew existed. 4 Blogging gives you a hand th...
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4 Ways to Make Quick Money Online
2008-04-17 16:48:00
You have heard it time after time that there is money to be made online, yet it seems like you just can’t find an outlet to attach yourself and get that cash flowing. Today, the web has without a doubt emerged as one of the most viable platform to earn a living for the skillful. But, it is not without opportunities for one’s that lack skills either ( designing, coding and so on ). Internet has given a new meaning and new life to many, be it financially or in terms of peace and sense of satisfaction. Most of us knowingly ignore some of the outlets on the web that allow us to make money. By no means this is an extensive list but hopefully this post will introduce you to atleast one new platform. Go For a Walk on the Bay - Ebay I am still surprised by the number of people that don’t get into this massive market where you can sell anything. It’s like a department store where you can buy a ten thousand dollar gold key chain or a twenty dollar fake diamond ring. The ebay market to...
More About: Money , Online , Quick , Make

25 Tips to Becoming Successful
2008-04-10 22:49:00
Here are some simple and basic tips that we can apply to become successful, Let go off the Past, Act and Apply in the Present and Shape up the Future Utilize your failures as a guidance towards success Do not try. Trying is quitting when you are almost there. Just do it. Make a list of your dreams. No matter how hard it might be to achieve just sit down and write all your dreams down. Make a list of your goals and think how you can achieve them Use negative feedbacks and criticism to your advantage and better yourself If you want to be successful in someone else’s game ( if you have a boss ), play by their rules Make a list of your value. What do you value most and build your success upon them Keep personal time separate from business time Your success depends on your achievements. If you are in doubt let someone else do it. Doubtfulness is saying I almost believe it. If you don’t fully believe it leave it for someone else who does Avoid interruptions durin...
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Boost Sales With Personalized Marketing
2008-04-03 18:10:00
Let’s talk about marketing a little today. This post is directed towards product and service marketing but if you tweak the information here a little, I am sure it can be applied in blogging as well. Without a marketing strategy it is hard to gain the exposure you deserve. Whether it’s a blog or a billion dollar company, a marketing strategy is critical to tap into your target market and create the anticipation and desire among the readers and buyers. Without an effective strategy your business is like a cake without icing, it’s got the substance but no flavor to it. That being said, I just wanted to focus on one most important aspect of marketing - Personalized marketing and it’s benefits. Let’s explore how personalized marketing can gain momentum for your business or firm. Why Personalized Marketing ? If you were to get a pamphlet from walmart, what would you like to see? If you are a guy most probably hardware and gadgets and all that good stuff. And...
More About: Sales , Boost

What Can You Learn From New Bloggers?
2008-03-26 20:43:00
As we venture out in the world of blogging, we tend to follow the footsteps of one’s that have already made it big in the blogosphere. We try and copy their strategy, their techniques and pretty much everything they do in order to succeed and become the next A list blogger. What we fail to realize is there is a lot to be learned from bloggers that are just starting out as well. In this post I will point out some of the things that we might have forgotten as we try to climb the ladder of success when it comes to blogging. So what exactly can we learn from new bloggers? The desire to succeed. You might say that this is a never ending desire, think about it for a minute. Do you view blogging the same way as you did when you started out? At first it might have seemed easy but later it just got tougher and tougher day by day. While growing as a blogger we grow pain along with it. For a minute, forget everything and start blogging like a new blogger. With all the hopes intact and ...
More About: Bloggers , Learn

Differentiating Your Blog From The Rest
2008-03-19 15:50:00
With all the blogs on the web, it has increasingly become a challenge to stand out from the crowd. As many blogs as it is out there, it seems like no matter what topic you write about, or what niche you choose, it is most probably already explored by someone else. So how exactly do you stand out from the crowd? What are some of the ways you can differentiate yourself and your blog from the blogosphere? I am pretty sure you have heard of quite a few of them. I will list a couple here but in this post I will share the one most and critical way to differentiate yourself from other bloggers and blog. Some of the ways to differentiate yourself are: Attractiveness How appealing is your blog to the readers eyes? Although most of us visit a blog for information and such, we are visual beings. Attractiveness grabs attention. Content Of course content is of utmost importance. Without something valuable to offer your blog is like a dead fish in an ocean. But the topic of the content might alre...
More About: Blog , Rest

3 Least Approached Blog Marketing Techniques
2008-03-13 19:10:00
With thousands of blogs emerging on the web each day, marketing your blog has become a necessity. Gone are the days when you could update your blog frequently and get noticed, simply cause you write often. In today’s ever growing web, there are certain marketing practices that we need to embrace in order to gain visibility and exposure to what we have to say. In this post I will share three basic blog marketing tips that seems to be ignored by most bloggers, 1.Email still seems to be the most unutilized form of blog marketing. You have all heard of email marketing ( not spam ). When you are starting out new, your blog sits in between rocks that are so big that you can barely be seen and noticed. Take that extra step and start using email as a marketing tool. Email other bloggers and let them know what you have got going. Give them a fresh perspective through your blog on things that they might already know, but might have not realized the other side of it. 2.Blog ging conference...
More About: Marketing , Blog Marketing

Gamer Nerds Would Rather Be Girls
2008-03-07 21:57:00
Just kidding. Don’t want anybody throwing their waxy earbuds at me. I was referring to a new study published in the journal Cyberpsychology and Behaviour – did you know such an academic journal existed? — that says a majority of MMORPG players swap genders when they play. Well, they don’t, like, you know “swap” out parts or anything, they just create characters of the opposite sex, for apparent strategic reasons. (That’s what they say anyway, but you know there’s more than one of the 119 respondents with something frilly and secret in his closet.) From the wording in the Guardian, you might assume all 54% of the men who said they cross-avatared were closet-cases: “Fifty four percent of men said that they had portrayed a female character online; a move they said allowed them to flirt with other players and explore a different side of their personality.” Hmmm. I don’t think they meant it that way. Other reports say it might also be a s...
More About: Girls , Gamer

Drudge and “Link Journalism”
2008-02-29 22:48:00
This concept of “link journalism” is interesting, like a more succinct version of blogging or Twitter. Link journalism is basically what Drudge does at the Drudge Report, and it’s proving a popular and powerful medium. Basically, it’s just watching the news and reporting what’s important or interesting by linking. Sort of puts a new slant on that old “media doesn’t tell you what to think, just what to think about” tack. Of course, you’d have to trust the link source, not in the presumably mechanized, unbiased way Google collects links for Google News, but in an I-trust-his-bias type of way. Drudge has gotten so powerful that he’s being credited with blowing Prince Harry’s cover in Afghanistan, even though the original stories were published in Australia and Germany and nobody noticed. They noticed when Drudge pointed them out, though. So that’s a credit. In a way, Craigslist started as a kind of link journali...

Start of a New Chapter…
2008-01-31 06:39:00
Life takes sudden turns when we least expect - some for good and some for the worse. My intentions when I started blogging were clear, first to make money and second to explore the world of writing. The first motive was clearly wrong and the second, well, still stands second. The greatest joy of blogging as I have known and found has been knowing people and making contacts. My main goal while I started this blog should have been networking. I would have made a lot of friends and would have probably become an influential networker, although I consider myself quite successful when it comes to networking. As you already know I had planned on selling this blog. I hate to see it go but my life took a sudden turn and I know its for the best. I just wanted to quick let all you wonderful readers know that I have handed the key to the new owner. I am officially off the board here at Work N Play. I am passionate about writing and I would have never been that way without the help of this blog...
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Blogging and Networking - The Way I See It
2008-01-27 03:25:00
We all differ from each other in one way or the other and so does our opinion and views on certain things. Blogging is seen by some as a money making machine and by some as the perfect tool to network and open new opportunities, I fall under the second category. As bloggers we all write for readers, we try to write what we think the readers might enjoy or value. We try to provide information in the form of entertainment or knowledge so as to cater to our reader’s needs. But sometimes it becomes essential to share how we see things from our own eyes. While I was at my day job, I was constantly asking myself as to what blogging is and how we can climb the ladder of success. I came with a few answer and these answers reflects me as a blogger. Some might agree and some might not but again this post is about Blogging and Networking - The Way I See It . Here are a few questions I asked myself and as you can imagine answered it as well. Just thought I would share it with you and ge...

Blogging and Networking - The Way I See It
2008-01-27 03:25:00
We all differ from each other in one way or the other and so does our opinion and views on certain things. Blogging is seen by some as a money making machine and by some as the perfect tool to network and open new opportunities, I fall under the second category. As bloggers we all write for readers, we try to write what we think the readers might enjoy or value. We try to provide information in the form of entertainment or knowledge so as to cater to our reader’s needs. But sometimes it becomes essential to share how we see things from our own eyes. While I was at my day job, I was constantly asking myself as to what blogging is and how we can climb the ladder of success. I came with a few answer and these answers reflects me as a blogger. Some might agree and some might not but again this post is about Blogging and Networking - The Way I See It . Here are a few questions I asked myself and as you can imagine answered it as well. Just thought I would share it with you and ge...

Networking In a Nutshell
2008-01-26 02:29:00
This is probably one of the shortest post here on Work N Play. I just wanted to write one paragraph on how to effectively network as a blogger and what networking is. In my opinion, Before you start writing an email asking for something, you need to realize the person receiving it might not want to be at the giving end. You have as much to offer as the person you are emailing, you just need to dig in deep and see your own capabilities. The essence of networking lies in giving first and receiving second. So before you go asking, allow your resources to kick in so you can offer something first. Chances are you will receive something back without having to ask. The process of give and take without expectation, that’s networking! What’s your take? How do you see networking as a blogger?
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Networking In a Nutshell
2008-01-26 02:29:00
This is probably one of the shortest post here on Work N Play. I just wanted to write one paragraph on how to effectively network as a blogger and what networking is. In my opinion, Before you start writing an email asking for something, you need to realize the person receiving it might not want to be at the giving end. You have as much to offer as the person you are emailing, you just need to dig in deep and see your own capabilities. The essence of networking lies in giving first and receiving second. So before you go asking, allow your resources to kick in so you can offer something first. Chances are you will receive something back without having to ask. The process of give and take without expectation, that’s networking! What’s your take? How do you see networking as a blogger?
More About: Networking

Sometimes You Just Have To Let It Go…
2008-01-24 01:44:00
Never thought I would do this. I had plans, big plans, when it comes to this blog. I have never been as passionate about writing before I started Work N Play and I will always be. I have found a way to express myself and the way I think because of this one blog. So What’s Up? Well, you guys must be wondering what the heck am I talking about. I have decided to put this blog up for sale. Yeah, its as much of a surprise to me as it is to you because I had never thought of doing this. But due to some family emergency and financial problem I am going to have to let it go. I will be putting it for sale on sitepoint in about 2-3 days. I just wanted to quick give you guys a heads up on what’s going on and to see if anybody here is interested. I have nobody or nothing to blame when it comes to my decision on selling Work N Play. I have been able to manage time and have effectively ran this blog ( I would like to think ) but as the title says it all , sometimes you just got to le...

Sometimes You Just Have To Let It Go…
2008-01-24 01:44:00
Never thought I would do this. I had plans, big plans, when it comes to this blog. I have never been as passionate about writing before I started Work N Play and I will always be. I have found a way to express myself and the way I think because of this one blog. So What’s Up? Well, you guys must be wondering what the heck am I talking about. I have decided to put this blog up for sale. Yeah, its as much of a surprise to me as it is to you because I had never thought of doing this. But due to some family emergency and financial problem I am going to have to let it go. I will be putting it for sale on sitepoint in about 2-3 days. I just wanted to quick give you guys a heads up on what’s going on and to see if anybody here is interested. I have nobody or nothing to blame when it comes to my decision on selling Work N Play. I have been able to manage time and have effectively ran this blog ( I would like to think ) but as the title says it all , sometimes you just got to let it ...

Time For a Break
2008-01-22 06:06:00
I just wanted to quick drop a note that I won’t be able to update this blog for a couple days. I should be back by Wednesday, if not Friday at the latest. I have been accepted as a contributing writer for Lifehack and had my first post published last week. Also, I have been writing regularly for Freelance Folder as well and couple guest posts on other blogs including Anywired, one of the fastest growing blogs. Here are some links that will direct you to my posts on some other blogs besides Work N Play Lifehack 50 Simple Ways To Stay Productive Freelance Folder 5 Simple Ways To Get Repeat Business How Do You Put Ideas Into Action? How To Unleash The Productivity Beast Online Marketing Is Great - But What About Traditional Marketing? 7 Ways To Give Your Freelancing Career a Boost Anywired Failure - The Beginning of Success! I hope you enjoyed these posts! Feel free to leave comments on what you think of the posts I have been writing elsewhere. P.S. I am currently working on get...
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Time For a Break
2008-01-22 06:06:00
I just wanted to quick drop a note that I won’t be able to update this blog for a couple days. I should be back by Wednesday, if not Friday at the latest. I have been accepted as a contributing writer for Lifehack and had my first post published last week. Also, I have been writing regularly for Freelance Folder as well and couple guest posts on other blogs including Anywired, one of the fastest growing blogs. Here are some links that will direct you to my posts on some other blogs besides Work N Play Lifehack 50 Simple Ways To Stay Productive Freelance Folder 5 Simple Ways To Get Repeat Business How Do You Put Ideas Into Action? How To Unleash The Productivity Beast Online Marketing Is Great - But What About Traditional Marketing? 7 Ways To Give Your Freelancing Career a Boost Anywired Failure - The Beginning of Success! I hope you enjoyed these posts! Feel free to leave comments on what you think of the posts I have been writing elsewhere. P.S. I am currently working on get...
More About: Time , Break

Goodbye Entrecard and 756 Credits
2008-01-20 01:53:00
If you noticed I used to have the entrecard widget on the sidebar which is no longer there. It’s been quite annoying using entrecard because of the constant messages I received on my entrecard account for exchanging points and all that stuff. Also, it seemed like the entrecard widget wasn’t doing much for anybody in terms of quality visitors. So I have decided to take the widget off and also give away 756 credits. However, I realize that there were certain blogs that were still waiting to be shown on the widget. I would really like to apologize for taking off the widget and not being able to show your 125×125 banners. As an apology, I have listed your blog links and the description from your Entrecard profile, Steve’s Tech Blog : Computer Gadgets, Internet, Technology, Make Money Online plus a little bit of my personal life. Affiliate Confession : Information on affiliate marketing from someone who doesn’t make scads of cash, ony $2,500 per month, b...
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Goodbye Entrecard and 756 Credits
2008-01-20 01:53:00
If you noticed I used to have the entrecard widget on the sidebar which is no longer there. It’s been quite annoying using entrecard because of the constant messages I received on my entrecard account for exchanging points and all that stuff. Also, it seemed like the entrecard widget wasn’t doing much for anybody in terms of quality visitors. So I have decided to take the widget off and also give away 756 credits. However, I realize that there were certain blogs that were still waiting to be shown on the widget. I would really like to apologize for taking off the widget and not being able to show your 125×125 banners. As an apology, I have listed your blog links and the description from your Entrecard profile, Steve’s Tech Blog : Computer Gadgets, Internet, Technology, Make Money Online plus a little bit of my personal life. Affiliate Confession : Information on affiliate marketing from someone who doesn’t make scads of cash, ony $2,500 per month, b...
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Work, Play and Sleep - Finding The Balance
2008-01-18 23:02:00
Guest post by Daniel from Blinkdagger We all strive to find the right balance. Sometimes we work too much. Sometimes we play too much. Sometimes we sleep too much. In order to be truly productive, you need to find the perfect mixture among the three, which is not as easy as it sounds as it is constantly changing day by day. Work ing 24 hours won’t necessarily make you more productive. In fact, it causes you to burnout and unable to function. This is when you look for resources in how to work smarter and how to get things done, which will ultimately lead you to be more productive. But isn’t it true that even after reading Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen, visiting Lifehacker and Zenhabits, you still struggle in completing your to do list? Finding applicable GTD tips and following up with good execution is what is going to get things done. Nothing is more discouraging than trying a tip and failing to live by it. You revert back to your old habits. You are back to ...
More About: Play , Sleep , Balance

Work, Play and Sleep - Finding The Balance
2008-01-18 23:02:00
Guest post by Daniel from Blinkdagger We all strive to find the right balance. Sometimes we work too much. Sometimes we play too much. Sometimes we sleep too much. In order to be truly productive, you need to find the perfect mixture among the three, which is not as easy as it sounds as it is constantly changing day by day. Work ing 24 hours won’t necessarily make you more productive. In fact, it causes you to burnout and unable to function. This is when you look for resources in how to work smarter and how to get things done, which will ultimately lead you to be more productive. But isn’t it true that even after reading Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen, visiting Lifehacker and Zenhabits, you still struggle in completing your to do list? Finding applicable GTD tips and following up with good execution is what is going to get things done. Nothing is more discouraging than trying a tip and failing to live by it. You revert back to your old habits. You are back to where you ...
More About: Play , Sleep , Balance

Networking - The True Essence Of Blogging
2008-01-16 23:49:00
Although most of us jump into the blogging world with the hopes of making money, I personally find the true essence of it lies within networking. Honestly, my main objective when I started this blog was to make money as well. In the month of November I made about 300 U.S. dollars and since then it’s been a dead cash crop. But I have learned much more about blogging and what else I can achieve besides monetary benefits from this wonderful medium. Since my perspective has changed I don’t look at blogging simply as a means to generate income. Ofcourse, a little supplmental income is nice but what about in the long run? In the long run I want people I know, people that are influential within a certain community, people I can learn from. This is what it all comes down to now when it comes to blogging and all this is possible through - Networking ! I have been able to build pretty good relations with some very influential bloggers and wonderful people. I just thought I would s...
More About: Blogging , True

Networking - The True Essence Of Blogging
2008-01-16 23:49:00
Although most of us jump into the blogging world with the hopes of making money, I personally find the true essence of it lies within networking. Honestly, my main objective when I started this blog was to make money as well. In the month of November I made about 300 U.S. dollars and since then it’s been a dead cash crop. But I have learned much more about blogging and what else I can achieve besides monetary benefits from this wonderful medium. Since my perspective has changed I don’t look at blogging simply as a means to generate income. Ofcourse, a little supplmental income is nice but what about in the long run? In the long run I want people I know, people that are influential within a certain community, people I can learn from. This is what it all comes down to now when it comes to blogging and all this is possible through - Networking ! I have been able to build pretty good relations with some very influential bloggers and wonderful people. I just thought I would s...
More About: Blogging , True , Workin

John Cow Is Our Daddy!
2008-01-16 02:48:00
Surprised? Well, before you make any assumptions please make sure to read the entire post. We all have ideas, some we put into action and some just disappear into the thin air. The title here is one of those ideas that got lost. Just as John Cow was started by copying John Chow, I had decided on starting a blog copying John Cow as well . Yeah, I know it’s a little crazy. The whole idea was to start a money making blog by copying John Cow. But like I said I had given up on this idea and have no desire or much knowledge when it comes to writing about the money making niche. This post ( keep reading ) would have been my first post on JohnKungpow.com ( the domain I had planned on buying ). Anyways, since the idea is now out of sight and out of mind I thought I would put the post here for you to take a look at and let me know what you think of it. I wanted to write a post ( the first post ) on that blog to create some attention, let me know if it would have been successful. Alt...
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John Cow Is Our Daddy!
2008-01-16 02:48:00
Surprised? Well, before you make any assumptions please make sure to read the entire post. We all have ideas, some we put into action and some just disappear into the thin air. The title here is one of those ideas that got lost. Just as John Cow was started by copying John Chow, I had decided on starting a blog copying John Cow as well . Yeah, I know it’s a little crazy. The whole idea was to start a money making blog by copying John Cow. But like I said I had given up on this idea and have no desire or much knowledge when it comes to writing about the money making niche. This post ( keep reading ) would have been my first post on JohnKungpow.com ( the domain I had planned on buying ). Anyways, since the idea is now out of sight and out of mind I thought I would put the post here for you to take a look at and let me know what you think of it. I wanted to write a post ( the first post ) on that blog to create some attention, let me know if it would have been successful. Alt...
More About: Daddy

My Secret To Maximum Productivity
2008-01-14 01:45:00
” How the hell am I going to get this done? I had planned on finishing this within a month and it’s already three months past? I never have time to do anything? Work, home, kids, family and this side project. I should have never started, after all where is the time to ensure maximum productivity?” Do you ever ask yourself these questions or sit in a corner and ponder? Well, that’s exactly where you are going wrong! Sometimes all it takes is a plunge towards reality to develope a strategy for staying productive. To be honest, the above statement relates very much to me as I used to think the same way. But I have made some changes in my life which has helped me stay on top of my productivity game. Quit Complaining I have found this to be the biggest obstacle when it comes to productivity. Complaining we don’t have time to do so and so only makes us miserable and we certainly won’t achieve anything. The best way to ensure maximum output from yoursel...
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My Secret To Maximum Productivity
2008-01-14 01:45:00
” How the hell am I going to get this done? I had planned on finishing this within a month and it’s already three months past? I never have time to do anything? Work, home, kids, family and this side project. I should have never started, after all where is the time to ensure maximum productivity?” Do you ever ask yourself these questions or sit in a corner and ponder? Well, that’s exactly where you are going wrong! Sometimes all it takes is a plunge towards reality to develope a strategy for staying productive. To be honest, the above statement relates very much to me as I used to think the same way. But I have made some changes in my life which has helped me stay on top of my productivity game. Quit Complaining I have found this to be the biggest obstacle when it comes to productivity. Complaining we don’t have time to do so and so only makes us miserable and we certainly won’t achieve anything. The best way to ensure maximum output from yoursel...
More About: Productivity , Secret