• Blogging

    My Favorite Blogging Tools (Part 2)

    The Recovering Pessimist: My Favorite Blogging Tools Part 2 -- Later and Canva are included in this edition of my favorite blogging tools. | www.therecoveringpessimist.me #amwriting #recoveringpessimist #optimisticpessimistOne of my favorite things as a blogger is that I’m constantly learning something. These websites, apps, tools, etc. manage to make blogging a bit easier as time goes on. With this edition (click here for Part 1), I wanted to share things that save me time and frustration. Enjoy!

     

    Later

    I kid you not, this is one of the BEST websites/apps I’ve discovered so far this year. I got frustrated with having to manually share my blog posts to Instagram. It might not sound that annoying, but when you have a lot going on during the day, it’s very easy to forget to do it.

    After several hours and Google searches, I ran across Later. It’s an app (available for Android and iOS) and a website that provides a free option for you to use. It’s really easy to use Later. I upload the photo I want to share, write a caption for it, then schedule a day/time for it to post to Instagram.

    [pjc_slideshow slide_type=”later-com”]

    But there’s a slight catch.

    Later won’t physically share the post to Instagram for you. What Later will do is send you a reminder notification via the app to your phone. From the notification, Later automatically directs you to the Instagram app to post it. It saves me a lot of time because I can pre-write the captions/hashtags and all I need to do from there is upload it.

    Even with the slight catch, Later is definitely worth checking out. If you decide to test Later out, let me know what you think. I’d love to hear about your experience.

    Canva

    I don’t remember how I learned about Canva, but I’m forever grateful to be in the know. Canva allows you to create graphics for all kinds of uses (e.g., social media, ebooks, business cards, etc.). Many of Canva’s elements are free (others cost $1). Canva does have an app, however, it’s only available for iPad. Bummer for my fellow Android lovers.

    Posts are automatically saved (with the option to undo) & can be downloaded as images or PDFs. Pretty awesome.

    [pjc_slideshow slide_type=”canva”]

    I use Canva to create all the Wisdom Wednesday posts from 2014-present. I recently discovered that many use Canva to create printables. I’m determined to learn how to do this. If you use Canva to create printables, how was your experience?

    Pinterest

    I briefly mentioned Pinterest during Part 1, but I didn’t give it the attention it deserves. Joining Pinterest has saved me a lot of time and energy from researching blogging/writing issues.

    Bravo Pinterest, bravo.

    Some of my favorite Pinterest accounts include byRegina, Spruce Rd., Think Creative Collective, Melyssa Griffin, Erika Madden, and XO Sarah. I frequent these six Pinterest pages the most when I’m looking for information about business/blogging/writing.

    I hope you enjoyed reading Part 2 of the My Favorite Blogging Tools series. If you have favorites that you want to share, tell me about them in the comments. I love learning about new tools that can make a little less stressful.

    Until next time,

    MsWalton

  • Back to Center

    Back to Center: Update 4

    The Recovering Pessimist: Back to Center Update 4 -- Mental health is just as important as physical health. | www.therecoveringpessimist.me #amwriting #recoveringpessimist #optimisticpessimistBeen gone for a minute, but I’m back with another Back to Center post (see here, here, here, and here for earlier posts). For this update, I wanted to discuss the other end of my lifestyle journey: improving my mental well-being.

    Mental health is just as important as your physical health. Actually, for me, mental health is a little more important. Negativity takes a toll on me physically and that’s the absolute last thing I need.

    So I wanted to share two things that are key components in improving my mental well-being: mindset and relaxation. These have worked wonders for me and I hope it does the same for you. With all the chaos that life entails, we need all the optimism we can get.

    Okay, enough of me blabbing, let’s get started, shall we?

    Mindset

    I want to have a more positive outlook and have a better way of approaching life’s curveballs. Initially, I cut the toxic people out of my life because if you don’t contribute to my awesomeness, you can go.

    Once I got rid of the toxicity, I realized that I needed to remind myself how awesome life really is. That’s where Instagram comes in. I started following Purple Buddha Project & Think Grow Prosper.  I love how their accounts are inspirational without being a bunch of bull.

    Then I ran across Self Love Mantras, Mind Body Green, & ckelso on Instagram’s Explore page. I’ve never been a big fan of affirmations. The ones I saw were totally unrelatable to me. They were too soft and sort of overly positive. I relate better to tough love and I find these three Instagram accounts much more my style as far as affirmations are concerned.

    Relaxation

    I still work a 9-5, so I work on this blog after work. Many evenings I’ve come home too wound up from work to decompress properly. After many sleepless nights started messing with my after-work productivity, I realized that I needed a relaxation plan so I can work on my side projects and sleep well.

    Here are a few things that contribute to my relaxation plan:

    Decompression Period

    After spending 8-10 hours at work, I HAVE to decompress from the day. I usually begin this during the drive home. When I get home, I shower, catch up on my YouTube feed, drink an alcoholic beverage, and sit on the couch. That 45 minutes to an hour really does wonders for my spirit.

    Have a “Do Nothing” Day

    My energy tends to wane as the week progresses. I like to have a day where I don’t do anything writing-related. This is usually Friday evening into late Saturday afternoon. During this period, I catch up on TV shows, read, hang out on social media, etc. If I decide to do a little work, I use my Clear Focus app to make sure that I only spend 25 minutes on the task.

    Tell me, what tips do you have for changing your mindset and/or relaxing? You can leave a comment, or hit me up on social media. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, be good to yourself, okay?

     

     

  • Public Service Announcement,  The Complexities of Life

    Public Service Announcement: Living a Life of Public Access

    People are doing way too much on social media. Any given day, I can log into my social media accounts and read status updates about cheating, divorce, last night’s date, random itching, etc.

    Yes, random itching.

    What’s even worse is that they’re over sharing with no consideration of the possible backlash. There’s absolutely no way that they’re considering any sort of backlash because they’re just out. Social media is the new public access TV. Millions of people have access to it and status updates can go viral in seconds.

    People are watching and taking notes. Don’t allow yourself to become blinded by the share button. Once you post that information out there for the world to see, it’s a wrap. You can delete it, but that doesn’t mean that someone hasn’t already captured it in a screenshot or some other method.

    Is that post about last night’s date that left you randomly itching really worth it?

    Me thinks not.