Using Social Media To Get Social In Person

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Socializing

(Photo credit: zerok)

This new social media age has made friendships and dating more and more digital. With it being as simple as being able to post a photo for many people to see, to being able to send instagram messages on computer, staying in touch and interacting with followers may not be as tough as some may think. Social media may not be for everyone though.

The “social” aspect of being social is quickly diminishing. Don’t get me wrong I love my technology and apps as you know – but face-to-face communication shouldn’t go out of style. And this is coming from a person who loves alone time. Friendships are so important for your mind, body, and soul. Here are just a few benefits:

1. Great support system: Having friends at your side means you always have someone to lean on. In good times and bad you have someone there for you.

2. Happiness: Good friends equal good company. What is better than having a BFF to gossip with, watch chick flicks, or share a bottle of wine over some laughs? Friends can brighten your day and just make you happier.

3. Good for Your Health: Many studies have shown that having close friends or relationships can help your cardiovascular health and lower levels of cortisol (stress hormones). Check out more health benefits here

Now I’m not saying to throw away social media – in fact, I can give you the best of both worlds! Here are a few social media sites that actually get you to be social outside of online but before looking at them, let’s talk about how to build social platforms up, you can actually build them up using professionals such as a social media accounts manager. They will help you by growing your instagram for instance, and this will bring people to your site by using relevant hashtags, putting up snappy captions and taking amazing photographs, of course this is just the basics of social media marketing and they are there to help with all of the complicated stuff! There are so many interesting sites to look at…

Girlfriend Circles: This site connects like-minded local women with one another to create friendships. This is great for people who have just moved into an area, or are just looking for some girlfriends to get coffee and lunch with! You can search through member profiles and join “connecting circles.” They also post scheduled events to meet up with other women.

Tawify: Online dating can be more social too! This site is like Millionaire Matchmaker but without the “millions”. The new online dating site allows you to skip out on all the profile searching and has a “personal concierge” do all the work for you! Once you sign up, you fill out a short questionnaire and they will set you up with your dating agent who you meet in person. Make sure you fill out the questionnaire as truthfully as you can, it’s important you don’t try and change who you are. Your agent will then find your best matches and set up your dates for you. This is a cool spin on the typical dating site because the agent will be able to get to know you and find the perfect person for you.

Meetup: This is where I first started my “Lists and Libations” group. A group for list lovers who meet at bars in NYC and talk all things productivity. You really can find a group for any interest on this site. From cooking buffs to book lovers — you’ll find “your people” and be able to meetup off line.

How do you think you’d benefit from having more friends and actually meeting up in person more often?

Checklist For Trying New Things

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We all have our daily routines, it’s what keeps us productive and gives order to our busy lives. But without trying anything new, you can easily get stuck in a rut.

So here is a checklist to get you motivated for new exciting things!

1. Do Not Be Afraid: This is the very first thing you need to check off your list. You can’t start anything new if you don’t think you can do it. You have to get into the mind set and be confident in yourself! I mean, what is the worst that can happen?! You hate it, you stop doing it? So what. At least you tried it and did what you said you would. Here is a motivating speech from my girl Oprah to pump you up.

2. Find The Time: It’s easy to have the excuse “I don’t have any time,” but you can make it. Want to try a new workout regime? Wake up an hour earlier or wait to clean the house til tomorrow (a sink full of dishes isn’t the end of the world!) Want to learn Spanish – all you need is 15 minutes a day to pick up a few words. Write down a schedule and stick to it. Once you put it in your calendar it’s much easier to commit and make sure you do it at that time. There are some great scheduling apps that will remind you to sign up for that hot yoga class.
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Where Does Luck Come From?

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Is it luck that opens doors in our life or is it our hard work and determination that pushes us forward? I think that it’s a little bit of both! When I look back at the good things that have happened to me — sometimes I’m the one who creates my own luck! I think that Oprah puts it perfectly, “I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been ‘lucky.'”

It’s always good to be prepared for the time that opportunity comes knocking at your door, and to always keep an open mind.

So to get you inspired, and of course, in honor of St. Patrick’s day, here are 7 quotes to lead you to that lucky pot of gold 🙂

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Join National Unplugging Day

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It’s one of the hardest things to do — yet it can have such a huge benefit.  I’m talking about putting your phone down and unplugging.  Just giving yourself a few minutes to relax instead of compulsively checking your Facebook, emails, Twitter, text messages, apps, games, etc. is really scary actually.  I get that!  Just last week when I was forced to unplug because of a cable company snafu I thought I was going to lose my mind.  But there are many benefits to just taking a breath and unplugging like:

1.Relaxation For Your Mind All day long our heads are buzzing with a million different to-do’s. This mental clutter can cause a lot of stress. So giving your brain a break can allow you to unwind, and de-clutter your mind. I think our hectic brains deserve that every once in a while!

2. In-Person Socializing Is that still a thing?! Unplugging will allow some quality face-to-face time with friends and family (and FaceTime doesn’t count.) It’s so easy to text and email people, that I actually find myself sighing when my phone rings. Actually — I never answer my phone if you don’t have an appointment with me (really -I even have a YouTube video about it! ) But it’s nice to let go of the phone and talk in person!

3. Distractions Be Gone Ever find that it takes you three times as long to complete a task because those tweets lighting up your phone were just too funny not to read? I understand! Well, unplugging can help you to focus on tasks and not get distracted by that next level of Candy Crush.

4. Health Benefits Being connected 24/7 can actually have an affect on your health. Our smart phones pump out electromagnetic radiation, which is linked with cancer. This is why you should kick your phone out of bed, and try not to have it on you for extended amount of times. Your eyes could also use a break from staring at screens for so long.

5. Less FOMO (fear of missing out). Out of sight, out of mind, right?  Unplugging can help ease the anxiety of constantly wondering what emails you are getting , or what photos your friends are uploading to Facebook. It’s nice to take a break from what everyone else is doing and focus on yourself! And don’t worry too much, it will all be there when you decide to reconnect.

Even Randi Zuckerberg (former Facebook exec) who built her career around technology says it’s important to detox every once and a while to help you get reconnected with yourself and the ones you love.  She even wrote a book about it called Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives and a children’s book called Dot, which is about a little girl obsessed with electronic devices.

So how do you do it?  How do you officially unplug?  Here’s a kickstarter — tonight marks the start of the National Day of Unplugging.  From March 7th at sundown to March 8th at sundown get off your devices!

That means:

No cell phones
No iPads
No iPad Minis
No eReaders
No computers
No social media

You can join the National Day of Unplugging by signing the Unplug Pledge and disconnect.  The campaign encourages you to connect with people in your neighborhood and have interrupted meals with your family.

Happy Unplugging!

5 Ways To Think About Time

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It was my goal when I started this blog that I would be able to help others become more organized and productive. I hope that if you’re using the tips and tricks on this blog, you’ve started saving a lot of time!

It can be so easy to use that extra time to get a jump start on the next day, start a new project, or shorten your to-do list, but I’ve realized recently that that “extra” time isn’t really extra at all. I’m going through some pretty exciting changes (we just closed on an apartment – yay!) and as I prepare to leave some old things behind to make way for the new, I’ve noticed a few important things about time:

1. Time is ephemeral – once it’s gone, it’s gone for good and you can’t save a single second for later use. When you decide to put your goals, your dreams, or the things that make you happy on hold for later, unfortunately time won’t save up until you’re ready. Read more