February 2012 Beauty Blogger Headquarters Task
This month's Beauty Blogger Headquarters Task is definitely an interesting one. I'm to talk a little about a Blogger's Office and Organization. Let me start by saying... I am a very anal worker, while my desk may be cluttered, you can come into my office and ask me for a paper you gave me 2 years ago and I can find it in less than 1 minute. lol I wouldn't consider it cluttered because everything has it's own place. I just have so much going on in my real life and work life that there are many factors that contribute to my work space. I thought this would be a fun post to do and definitely wanted to take part in the task because it is always interesting to see how others keep organized. So, let's get started.
This month's Beauty Blogger Headquarters Task is definitely an interesting one. I'm to talk a little about a Blogger's Office and Organization. Let me start by saying... I am a very anal worker, while my desk may be cluttered, you can come into my office and ask me for a paper you gave me 2 years ago and I can find it in less than 1 minute. lol I wouldn't consider it cluttered because everything has it's own place. I just have so much going on in my real life and work life that there are many factors that contribute to my work space. I thought this would be a fun post to do and definitely wanted to take part in the task because it is always interesting to see how others keep organized. So, let's get started.
This image is not me but just a cute representation. lol This image is from: http://www.laptopbaglifeline.com/2010/12/get-organized-and-clean-up-your-office-you-can-do-it.html and in no way am I claiming ownership or copyright. All rights belong to the owner. I am just borrowing the image.
Where do you blog? Do you have a space dedicated to your blogging work? An office, a table, a corner of your room...
Honestly, I would be lying to all of you if I said I only blogged at my desk. lol - I blog when ever and where ever my children and time allow. If you have 3 children, 2 of which are twin 3 year olds - you would probably be just like me and blog when the opportunity presents myself. I don't technically have an office, but I do have a great size desk that is filled with lovely paperwork that I'm consistently working on. Thanks to my hubby that builds our Desktop PC's to run to it's optimum speed, so if at all possible - I do all of my best work there. Since I run several businesses, I do my best to make sure I can work at my desk. All of my paperwork, forms, USB's, External Hard drives, etc. are all there and since most of my jobs have to do with heavy photos, etc. - I need to have access to all of that majority of the time. I share my desk space with our living area so it also allows me to keep one eye on my sons and still manage to get work done at the same time. However - blogging is a little more complicated. I spend some of my day in the car and since I wait for my son to finish with school - I'm usually in need of something Mobile. That's where my phone, tablet and laptop play a role in my day. Those three items all share the same capabilities and apps that allow me to transfer data back and forth on a program I love to use called Evernote. I can type out my blog post via phone or other mobile device and save to Evernote, which allows me to copy and paste into my blog platform while I'm at my desktop. This allows me to write things down in drafts should something come to mind and I can use any device and run away to my room when the hubby is home to get some work done. :)
Honestly, I would be lying to all of you if I said I only blogged at my desk. lol - I blog when ever and where ever my children and time allow. If you have 3 children, 2 of which are twin 3 year olds - you would probably be just like me and blog when the opportunity presents myself. I don't technically have an office, but I do have a great size desk that is filled with lovely paperwork that I'm consistently working on. Thanks to my hubby that builds our Desktop PC's to run to it's optimum speed, so if at all possible - I do all of my best work there. Since I run several businesses, I do my best to make sure I can work at my desk. All of my paperwork, forms, USB's, External Hard drives, etc. are all there and since most of my jobs have to do with heavy photos, etc. - I need to have access to all of that majority of the time. I share my desk space with our living area so it also allows me to keep one eye on my sons and still manage to get work done at the same time. However - blogging is a little more complicated. I spend some of my day in the car and since I wait for my son to finish with school - I'm usually in need of something Mobile. That's where my phone, tablet and laptop play a role in my day. Those three items all share the same capabilities and apps that allow me to transfer data back and forth on a program I love to use called Evernote. I can type out my blog post via phone or other mobile device and save to Evernote, which allows me to copy and paste into my blog platform while I'm at my desktop. This allows me to write things down in drafts should something come to mind and I can use any device and run away to my room when the hubby is home to get some work done. :)
What do you blog on? Computer, laptop, tablet... what do you recommend?
I believe I answered the question in #1 - but to just lay it out there again - I blog on a PC, Laptop, Tablet and my phone. Since I have carpal tunnel, I think ideally a computer with a great keyboard is the best recommendation I can give. As I mentioned before - my hubby builds our computers for speed and performance, so that also allows me to use a lot of large file images without slowing down my computer. So you always have the ability to use your computer for whatever means possible when blogging. While it is not ideal for traveling, if you are a home body - I think it will work out great and suffice where needed. Of course - if you are like me and are always on the go - I truly think a great phone with a good keyboard, or even a travel keyboard will get the job done if you are looking for something to update posts or if you have thoughts you have to get down before your forget them. :)
I believe I answered the question in #1 - but to just lay it out there again - I blog on a PC, Laptop, Tablet and my phone. Since I have carpal tunnel, I think ideally a computer with a great keyboard is the best recommendation I can give. As I mentioned before - my hubby builds our computers for speed and performance, so that also allows me to use a lot of large file images without slowing down my computer. So you always have the ability to use your computer for whatever means possible when blogging. While it is not ideal for traveling, if you are a home body - I think it will work out great and suffice where needed. Of course - if you are like me and are always on the go - I truly think a great phone with a good keyboard, or even a travel keyboard will get the job done if you are looking for something to update posts or if you have thoughts you have to get down before your forget them. :)
Do you have any blogging rituals? Drinks, music, movie, candles...
Lol, Rituals... for me - every thing tends to be a little bit of spur of the moment and get it done. lol The boys are usually watching television behind me or playing games or with their toys, so I capitalize on that and get to work. There is one thing I truly enjoy when blogging and that is Pandora. I love that I can turn it on via my phone or computer and listen to my favorite jams. Songs from Motown, the 90's like TLC, Aaliyah, Jodeci, Queen Latifah and Ashanti and 80's music gets me going and my mind just can totally get in the groove. I also love Hall and Oates and Chicago. I turn up the tunes and just plug away at what ever is on my mind. The song I'm listening to right now is: Respect by Aretha Franklin.
I will always have one of my tumblers full with water because I drink water constantly during the day and of course, I will have a candle burning if my asthma is not acting up.
Lol, Rituals... for me - every thing tends to be a little bit of spur of the moment and get it done. lol The boys are usually watching television behind me or playing games or with their toys, so I capitalize on that and get to work. There is one thing I truly enjoy when blogging and that is Pandora. I love that I can turn it on via my phone or computer and listen to my favorite jams. Songs from Motown, the 90's like TLC, Aaliyah, Jodeci, Queen Latifah and Ashanti and 80's music gets me going and my mind just can totally get in the groove. I also love Hall and Oates and Chicago. I turn up the tunes and just plug away at what ever is on my mind. The song I'm listening to right now is: Respect by Aretha Franklin.
I will always have one of my tumblers full with water because I drink water constantly during the day and of course, I will have a candle burning if my asthma is not acting up.
How do you keep your blogging ideas organized? Notepad, planner, post-its...
Hmmm... I type most of them into my phone or I have a little notepad that I use. But - the notepad gets lost in the shuffle of things on my desk. lol Contrary to what it looks like, my desk is really not that messy... I just host a lot of things here that belong to me and the boys and paperwork is on one corner of the desk as well... so I try to make things as electronic as possible when it comes to ideas for my blog. :)
Hmmm... I type most of them into my phone or I have a little notepad that I use. But - the notepad gets lost in the shuffle of things on my desk. lol Contrary to what it looks like, my desk is really not that messy... I just host a lot of things here that belong to me and the boys and paperwork is on one corner of the desk as well... so I try to make things as electronic as possible when it comes to ideas for my blog. :)
Do you have a blogging schedule for the week? Or the month? If so, how do you stay on top of it all?
I used to do my best to blog each and every day. Even if I didn't publish it and saved my thoughts as a draft, at least it was there for me to go back to it. But my businesses keep me very busy - so now, I just plug and play where ever possible. My ideal would be to spend at least one hour on my blog each day - even if it is just to stop in and say hi - that's my goal this year and I think even if I haven't been keeping to that schedule, I'm still updating much more frequently than 2012 - that year was major FAIL. lol
If you review products, how do you keep track of what needs to be reviewed in your collection?
Normally - I will log the item in a 12 month planner you can get at Walmart or Office Max. I will log the date the company contacted me or vice versa as well as the day I received the products. I will also go ahead and jot down when I started using the products and mark the date in the calendar if the company requires me to have a review done by a certain time frame. However, this year (2013) I haven't been remembering to pick up my new Day Planner, so I have been kind of stuck using the calendar in Outlook. This is not my preferred method, because as you can see - I really cannot see what companies I've been dealing with at first glance. I literally have to open up the calendar task or date to see what it is. This does allow me to open up and get more detailed notes in there and of course I do type faster than I write, so that leaves a few positives. But, since I can get several shipments in one day - I can't simply type out all the companies who's products I received in that one day - it would never show the entire thing. For the time being - this will work until I have figured out a system in my Evernote (which I mentioned above) that will allow me to categorize everything a little better. :)
I used to do my best to blog each and every day. Even if I didn't publish it and saved my thoughts as a draft, at least it was there for me to go back to it. But my businesses keep me very busy - so now, I just plug and play where ever possible. My ideal would be to spend at least one hour on my blog each day - even if it is just to stop in and say hi - that's my goal this year and I think even if I haven't been keeping to that schedule, I'm still updating much more frequently than 2012 - that year was major FAIL. lol
If you review products, how do you keep track of what needs to be reviewed in your collection?
Normally - I will log the item in a 12 month planner you can get at Walmart or Office Max. I will log the date the company contacted me or vice versa as well as the day I received the products. I will also go ahead and jot down when I started using the products and mark the date in the calendar if the company requires me to have a review done by a certain time frame. However, this year (2013) I haven't been remembering to pick up my new Day Planner, so I have been kind of stuck using the calendar in Outlook. This is not my preferred method, because as you can see - I really cannot see what companies I've been dealing with at first glance. I literally have to open up the calendar task or date to see what it is. This does allow me to open up and get more detailed notes in there and of course I do type faster than I write, so that leaves a few positives. But, since I can get several shipments in one day - I can't simply type out all the companies who's products I received in that one day - it would never show the entire thing. For the time being - this will work until I have figured out a system in my Evernote (which I mentioned above) that will allow me to categorize everything a little better. :)
What do you do with all your "old" data? Photos, videos, extra drives, online storage...
Well, as most of my readers and followers know, I am a Professional Wedding & Portrait Photographer. For that reason, by law - I am required to hold all of the images of my clients for a minimum of 7 years. So for this purpose, I have several places I hold old videos and photos. The first place, of course is my internal hard drive on my computer. I need to seriously get in the habit of transferring the items over to my external HD and dvd's a lot more often in case of computer mishaps - but I fail at that when it comes to blogging and stuff. I have 3 External Hardrives - 1 - 2 TB Hard drive, 1 - 1 TB Hard drive and 2 - 200 GB Hard drives, right now those are the ones that I'm currently saving to, the rest are in storage. A lot of my videos I try to burn to DVD to keep out of site, out of mind unless I need to re-upload again (and YouTube can always have issues so I do keep my videos handy for that reason). I also have several 4 GB and 8 GB SD cards but I normally do not store any information on those because they get swapped out of my cameras often. While I have other means for storage, those are the ones I tend to use the most. I have online storage for Photos from my Photog business, so I don't think that counts. lol
For fun, what beauty/non-beauty products do you need to have on hand near your blogging station? Hand lotion, lip balm, chewing gum...
Lol - this was a cute question. I always have one of my EOS lip balms on my desk. I am a lip balm fanatic, so you will always see it there. I need to always have my cup of water on my desk as well - I cannot work without my water cup filled or I feel incomplete. In my side drawer of my desk you will always find lotion and hand sanitizer. It's a habit I developed when I worked in the corporate world, I always applied lotion and hand sanitizer through out the day - so because of that, I took on those habits when I started working from home. And, last but not least, you will always see photos of my family around my desk, even if I see them every day. My hubby works long hours very far away and he is not always near me when I'm blogging. I find that if I have a brain fart or my mind draws a blank, I can take a second to look at his or my sons' photos and whatever I couldn't remember or blanked on will always come to me. They are my muse and no matter where my office will be some day or in the future, that is one thing that will never ever change. <3
Well, as most of my readers and followers know, I am a Professional Wedding & Portrait Photographer. For that reason, by law - I am required to hold all of the images of my clients for a minimum of 7 years. So for this purpose, I have several places I hold old videos and photos. The first place, of course is my internal hard drive on my computer. I need to seriously get in the habit of transferring the items over to my external HD and dvd's a lot more often in case of computer mishaps - but I fail at that when it comes to blogging and stuff. I have 3 External Hardrives - 1 - 2 TB Hard drive, 1 - 1 TB Hard drive and 2 - 200 GB Hard drives, right now those are the ones that I'm currently saving to, the rest are in storage. A lot of my videos I try to burn to DVD to keep out of site, out of mind unless I need to re-upload again (and YouTube can always have issues so I do keep my videos handy for that reason). I also have several 4 GB and 8 GB SD cards but I normally do not store any information on those because they get swapped out of my cameras often. While I have other means for storage, those are the ones I tend to use the most. I have online storage for Photos from my Photog business, so I don't think that counts. lol
For fun, what beauty/non-beauty products do you need to have on hand near your blogging station? Hand lotion, lip balm, chewing gum...
Lol - this was a cute question. I always have one of my EOS lip balms on my desk. I am a lip balm fanatic, so you will always see it there. I need to always have my cup of water on my desk as well - I cannot work without my water cup filled or I feel incomplete. In my side drawer of my desk you will always find lotion and hand sanitizer. It's a habit I developed when I worked in the corporate world, I always applied lotion and hand sanitizer through out the day - so because of that, I took on those habits when I started working from home. And, last but not least, you will always see photos of my family around my desk, even if I see them every day. My hubby works long hours very far away and he is not always near me when I'm blogging. I find that if I have a brain fart or my mind draws a blank, I can take a second to look at his or my sons' photos and whatever I couldn't remember or blanked on will always come to me. They are my muse and no matter where my office will be some day or in the future, that is one thing that will never ever change. <3
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