What Qualities Make a Good Networker

What Qualities Make a Good Networker © Shutterstock.com | mayrumIn this article, we describe and discuss 1) the definition of networking; 2) the common traits of a good networker; 3) networking tips for entrepreneur; 4) importance of networking for entrepreneurs; and 5) examples of entrepreneurial networking.THE DEFINITION OF NETWORKINGNetworking is defined as, “Developing and using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact.” Business Networking is referred to as a low-cost technique of marketing used to develop new contacts in the business world through associating with other individuals who share similar ideas. Business Networking usually involves a face to face meetings at any time and any place. Mostly, it is done during community or business events. These kinds of events are organized by business organizations or groups, held at a national or local level. The events generally are planned along with a business activity such as business conferences. Participants take the op portunity to interact with each other and share business ideas and express their intent to develop business associations with due attention to the benefits of each member to be involved. Most of these meetings are held once in a month, sometimes these might take place more frequently.With the advent of the Internet, business relations are developed over the virtual platforms by utilizing the services of online sites that are free and incur a bare minimum cost. A Virtual Business Networking site provides the benefits of connecting with members all around the world.The various kinds of business network include:Casual Contact Networking: The goal of this kind of networking is to establish connections with like-minded individuals in a non-business and casual atmosphere.Strong Contact Networking: This kind of networking involves people who want to promote their busing among other participants. Examples include Business Networking International (BNI), Chamber Lead, and PowerCore groups to name a few. The goal is to establish trusting relationships that will enhance the business prospects.Community Service: Participation in the local community activities increases the visibility of a business entrepreneur.Professional Associations: The objective is to establish strategic alliances with the participants from your industry. Participating in l associations that are specifically developed for your target market is an excellent to connect with the potential prospects.Social Groups: This network establishes the healthy exchange of information related to performance, compliance and risk. It helps unravel the opportunities for increasing your business.Vertical Focused Consortium: The objective of this kind of networking is to encourage retailers, suppliers and vendors participate from a specific industry.THE COMMON TRAITS OF A GOOD NETWORKEREnthusiasm: As a better Networker, you should enter a room confidently and repeat to yourself that you have similar rights to be present there as others. Help clients with a sense of passion and enthusiasm when explaining the product or service and be proud of the company you represent. You should be ready to accept challenges and help others develop an interest in the workplace.Ask interesting questions: You should be aware of the present situation and ask the right questions in an appropriate manner. This gesture will attract the best responses and people will be interested in investing in your business.In an attempt to develop good Networking skills, you must learn the art of asking intelligent and interesting questions. You must not follow the stereotype. The innovative way of asking questions, maybe: Who will be attending the event? Could you please tell me about the event’s format? Why have you invited me and what am I expected to do at the event?Express generosity: A good Networker should be generous and practice the art of giving. A business leader should not think about the rewards only. The thoughts such as ‘What’s in it for me’ should be replaced with the thought of ‘What’s in it for you?’. Networking refers to the establishment of relationships with other individuals. It is not possible if people dislike you. So, it is necessary to build a cordial relationship with other members of the network.Reliability and trustworthiness: A good Networker should be able to build a sense of reliability and trust among others. This involves the timely delivery of assignments as well as abiding by what you say. For Instance, if you have booked an appointment for a particular time, ensure that you reach the venue on time. In case of an emergency, if you need to cancel the appointment inform the person accordingly.As a good Networker, you must persist in case you happen to observe an opportunity. You must face every situation with a positive attitude and grab any opportunity that comes your way.Good networking requires a business leader to acquire the skill of active listening. You mus t pay full attention and listen carefully to what is being said. This might enhance your business. Expressing genuine interest in other’s opinions attracts more investors.A good Networker should maintain a balance and get the timing right. You should know when to talk about an issue; right time to listen to a topic; when to enter or exit a group; right time to implement a follow-up action or create intervals among all these tasks judiciously.NETWORKING TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURSAs it was defined by Carl Schurz: “Ideals are like stars: You will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny.” Here are 20 tips for entreprneurs on how you can develop and improve your networking skills:Focus on how you can help others. The first step of networking is considered to have a friendly and helpful attitude. You should attempt to establish a business relationship with an individual, that means you should think how your association can benefit the other person, not just thinking how he can help you. Talk to someone with a perception of how the other person will benefit from sharing an association with you.Follow-up is a crucial technique to develop a good network. After the first meeting, you must send a small note or an email to the concerned person. This gesture develops confidence in the other individual that you want to continue the desired relationship. To have a fruitful follow-up process, you must mention the details of the previous interaction and try to create a reference point in relation to something you found interesting in that particular conversation. In case you do not find any reference point, you can recommend a book you feel the person may enjoy or share your views about an interesting mobile application that you have used. The main objective is to strike a healthy conversation and build a sense of mutual confidence.Maintain and cultivate your current contact. Networking begins with the list of people you are currently in contact. It does not mean that you need to associate yourself with new people always. Develop strong rapport with ones whom you know and invest your potential to strengthen those relationships.Even if you feel that you don’t require a network, you must understand that establishing a network is essential in the current business world. You do not know how the association might help you at some time. It is an unpopular practice of asking help from someone with whom you have not maintained any form of contact for several years. This action will only exhibit your selfish attitude. So, it is better to maintain a healthy relationship.The art of networking should be viewed in the form of a puzzle. You must approach the puzzle with a thought process such as what are the needs of the other members of the network and how will you channelize your resources in order to help him/her?You should mainta in a proper record of the business cards that you collect in the course of practicing business. You should give your business card after completing a professional conversation before asking the other person to give his business card.Networking helps you associate with the contacts of other members too. If are a member of a good networking group, the other members will introduce you to their friends. As a result the prospects for your business will increase. Keep this thing in mind with an intention to help others as they can also help you at some point in time.You should tell people in your network about your goals and expectations of the business world. This will give others an opportunity to realize how they may help you achieve your business goals.You should ask questions apart from the basic ones such as, “What do you do?” When you get an opportunity to interact with a member of the business network, you can begin the conversation by knowing him/her on the personal front, ra ther than the professional one. You can explore the common interests you share or the other person’s hobbies and many other such facts.You should prepare a calendar on a monthly basis. The calendar should include the meetings with the list of people on your network on a rotational basis. In this way, you can classify the contacts list and associate with the people accordingly.You should make it a habit of congratulating people on special occasions such as birthday or anniversary. It will be more meaningful to him/her that you remembered to wish the concerned person for a special moment in his/her life.You should specify each point of your business target with absolute clarity. Detailed information should be given related to leads, deadlines, sales leads. Specific people should be aware of the concerned specific objectives.Behave with proper manners and etiquettes. You don’t wish to embarrass or insult people by elbowing while rushing to complete your targets. Once you are amidst a conversation with another individual, listen carefully and express interest in what they are saying. You must keep yourself engaged and participate in the conversation as and when it is required.Share your knowledge with others without any expectations of what you may get.Professional networking websites such as LinkedIn are a good resource for practicing and developing a healthy network. Through these sites, you can develop new connections and even ask the people to recommend your work to other business professionals in the specific industry.You must participate in social events or networking events like charity run, CSR initiatives, and many others. These events serve as a good place to meet new people who share similar thoughts and ideas. It is obvious everyone has some apprehension. You must take the first step and initiate a new beginning.As a business leader, you must think that why should other people express interest in your business. You must learn to highlight the impor tant aspects of your business to other business leaders and communicate effectively about how associating with them can help you enhance your business.When you attend a networking event, prepare yourself with the general information. Conduct a little background check on the participants, who are also attending the event.People like to talk about their achievements. You should listen rather than talk as while talking you are not able to learn any feature of the other individual’s profile or business.Identify a mentor for yourself among the crowd gathered at a corporate event.IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING FOR ENTREPRENEURSShared valuable business advice knowledgeNetworking is an excellent platform for sharing your knowledge and ideas. Whether it refers to taking feedback or discuss your viewpoint, it will help increase your knowledge and make you capable of viewing things from a different perspective. It is possible that those members who have already reached your success level are pres ent in the group. This provides a platform for you to learn and take preventive measures for the common drawbacks or pitfalls they have experienced.Discover business opportunitiesA good network offers ample opportunities to a business leader. It is natural you don’t know everything in business. The things that you are less knowledgeable about can be learned using the material from other business leaders. Referrals, business partnerships, or client request for your services might be the result of a good network.Grow your businessIt is essential to a business leader to maintain his visibility in the market. Networking helps in creating and maintaining a stable visibility. By participating in the networking events on a regular basis, you are recognized by many people. This helps in establishing the reputation of an intelligent, supportive and reliable person. People will start giving tips that can prove beneficial for your business. You will be in a position to attract more referrals and leads in the industry.Getting introductions to investorsYou should always remember that you not only gain exposure to various people present in the event, but you are establishing connections with their group of networks too. If someone finds a person in their network, who can benefit from your business and if you have impressed the person, then you win yourself an investor. It is not a one-way traffic. If someone helps you find an investor, you should also try to help him at some other given opportunity. You should not hesitate to give your details to the concerned person.EXAMPLES OF ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORKINGReid Hoffman, the co-founder of the widely popular social networking site LinkedIn, states, Relatively few people should start companies, According to one of his interviews he mentions, Its everyone approaching their lives with questions like: How do I invest in myself? How do I become more capable at what Im doing? A crucial asset according to Hoffman is the professional network. He believes I think the really key thing is to realize that relationships are like alliances.” Hoffman says that networkers who are effective in the present times behave in a different manner compared to their contemporaries 20 to 30 years back. According to him, people nowadays ask,” How do you see the industry changing? What do you think is happening? How do you do your job effectively? Is there anything I should learn from that in terms of how do I do my job effectively?Heidi Roizen, popular as a legendary networker in Silicon Valley, is one of the few people sharing good friendship with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. According to her, “It is important to remember that everyone is a person first of all â€" they have families, hobbies, they are psyched when someone knows about their accomplishments. So I stay up on the personal accomplishment news (in my industry, for example, by reading venture wire so I know who has done what deals, who has gotten funded, who has joi ned what board, who has gotten some recognition from some industry group etc.) and also always ask people about their kids, almost no one doesn’t like to talk about their kids! Those are good icebreakers to get them comfortable and conversational. This said, you can use these as icebreakers, but then quickly move into the ‘hey, I don’t want to take much of your time, but there is someone I think you should meet,” or “I’m working on a deal and I’d love to have you look at their website and tell me what you think’ â€" i.e. a short and to the point, direct request, which I usually try to qualify with something that explains why I think it is useful to that person to do as well.”

Dreams and Sleep Cycle Essay - 1545 Words

Every night approximately seven billion people lay their heads down to sleep. Many people hoping for an escape from their chaotic lives, wishing to slip away into a fantasy world that is not based in their own reality. There is a great deal of research on the topic of dreams being fantasy versus a subconscious reality. Do we only dream what we know we could never do with our conscious mind or is it all just outlandish fantasies that will never come to life? First, to fully understand where we are going when we are talking about dreams we first need to understand fully the meaning of consciousness and the varying levels that exists in the human brain. Consciousness is a concept explained by psychologists as the awareness of our environment†¦show more content†¦It can be related to the process of our law making system of a bill going through all the different stages of senate and congress thus making the conscious level of thinking a more drawn out process. Most humans turn to this level of thinking on most choices they make in a day, because it comes down to making correct choices and work, and making sure they scour through if they are making their decisions with the basis of what is right and wrong. The final level or thought process is fantasizing also known to most people as day dreaming. This level of thought process which everyone in the world does it helps to relieve stress, increases creativity and helps go through steps for future endeavors. Day- dreaming is something that most people do not even notice that slip into, and it can be considered a branch of dreaming. Throughout the night most people do not even notice all the different stages of sleep that they go into without even thinking about it. In an entire night of sleep a person goes through four different stages of sleep. When a person first lies down before their body even reaches the first level of sleep they lay there in a relaxed state slowing all of their natural body activities In the first actualShow MoreRelatedSleep Is Essential For Humans1050 Words   |  5 Pagesaverage human to sleep 9 hours per night. That means in 1 year 3,285 hours will be spent asleep. By the age of ninety, 12,240 days have been spent in bed, and 293,220 hours. This means at ninety years old, 34 years have been spent asleep (National Sleep Foundation, September 2015). Sleep is essential for humans, by knowing the purpose of sleep, how the brain and body are involved, improving sleep, and how dreaming functions will help further understand how to engage in a restful sleep. Not everyoneRead MoreEssay about Dreams: The Mental Pictures918 Words   |  4 Pages825 dreams (Wicklinski). By definition, dreams are mental images, thoughts, or emotions that are experienced while sleeping. In the beginning, dreams were thought to be messages sent from the gods or spirit world. Researchers now have many theories explaining why people dream. Many of these theories believe that dreams can resemble an individual’s sensory experiences or even secret wishes. All people dream, but only forty-two percent can recall their dreams from the night before (â€Å"Dreams†). Read MoreInception: Pure Science Fiction Essay857 Words   |  4 Pagesletting it grow (Inception, 2010). Other concepts in relation to inception are dream sharing and a dream within a dream. Dream sharing is a person manufacturing a dream and bringing a person or persons into that dream (Inception, 2010). As an individual dreams or dream shares, he or she can go deeper into a dream and further into the layers of the subconscious also known as a dreaming within a dream (Inception, 2010). As a dream is explored and one is pursing deeper into the subconscious time and spaceRead MoreDreams : The Awareness Of Dreams1030 Words   |  5 PagesDreams are stories our mind creates while we are asleep. Dreams can be witty, cheerful, passionate, disturbing, horrific, and downright confusing. All my life I have always wondered what goes on in our brains when we dream. I also have wondered why our brains create dreams. Are dreams something the brain creates to make sense of what it views so it organizes images into coherent stories. Dream content also varies depending on life experience. A child will dream of candy and toys but an adult willRead More Term Essay872 Words   |  4 Pages Dreams nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Every ninety minutes of every night we’re asleep, a dream unfolds. The short dreams at the beginning of the night are usually no more exciting that the idle thoughts that randomly pop into our heads when we’re awake. But as the night progresses, the length of each dream increases (the last dream can be up to twenty minutes long), the body responds more intensely (increased heartbeat, respiration, muscle twitching), and the dreams become deeper. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;DreamsRead MoreThings that Happen While We Sleep1088 Words   |  4 Pageswe are active when we sleep, but we still must get our rest. At night or whenever we allow ourselves to sleep and we allow our bodies to pass through the consecutive stages of sleep, our brain waves and muscle movements transforms in what seems very predictable ways. One interesting aspect I think that is pretty cool is that we when we sleep, our bodies go into a restoration period. Our nerves, muscles, bones, and immune system all seem to recover from stress while we sleep. Today, we will be discussingRead MoreWhat Happens During The Sleep Cycle?1463 Words   |  6 PagesExploratory Essay Final 11/16/15 What Happens During the Sleep Cycle? Have you ever wondered what is happening while a person is sleeping? â€Å"Sleep is the word we use to define both a biological state and a behavioral state in which we are quiet and relatively unresponsive to external stimuli† (Larson 1990). Measured when sleeping, brain waves have been identified into several distinct stages. Everyone experiences four stages of the sleep cycle, including REM (Larson 1990). This topic really interestedRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Experiencing Chronic Pain1303 Words   |  6 Pagesin between the sleep in the night this means that they will remember the dream once they wake up other then for those who do not wake up during the night they are going to most likely forget their dreams in the morning when they awake. Oscroft added, â€Å" few sleepless nights or nights with very little sleep would also result in a night full of vivid dreams† (Kaur). Therefore the very few hours the sleeper gets to sleep during the night they are mo st likely to have very vivid dreams. creates suctionRead MoreSpeech1062 Words   |  5 Pagesminutes after this dream about half of its content is forgotten and in 10 minutes 90% of it is gone. According to the New York time study done on October 20, 2013 by Gary Matter you spend about 6 years of your life dreaming. That’s more then 2100 days spent in a different realm. So today, lets look at how dreams really do occur, the part of your sleep cycle that dreams occur in and lastly different types of dreams. Transition: So where do dreams really start? Body I. REM Sleep A. RapidRead MoreSleep Journal Essay1745 Words   |  7 PagesJennifer Nguyen Professor Perry Daughtry Intro to Psychology 09-28-2012 Sleep Journal Essay College students like myself often put off sleep for other activities like studying, doing homework or even just staying up all night with a friend. 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DBQ Essay Causes Of The French Revolution - 1043 Words

The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France mad many French people discontented. Most disaffected were merchants, artisans, workers, and peasants. The ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers brought new views of government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of The French Revolution. Therefore, The French Revolution of 1789 had several causes not only due to political, but also due to social and economic issues and problems as well that made France ripe for revolution. The most important long-range causes of this revolution, however, were the ideas of the Enlightenment, the unfair taxes, the gap between the rich and poor, and the American Revolution†¦show more content†¦There are very few members in the first and second estates, yet they owned the most land, while the third estate made up most of the population, yet owned very little land. â€Å"First: Clergy - 1% of the people owned 10% of the land. Second Estate: Nobles - 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. Third Estate - Middle class, peasants, city workers 97% of the people owned 55% of the land.† (Document 2) There were high prices, high taxes, and people were listening to enlightenment ideas. Louis XVI decided to tax the Second Estate. They called a meeting of the Estates-General - an assembly of representatives from all three estates. (ROI) In addition, as a political cause, the third estate had no privileges or say in the government,while both the clergy and nobles did. As mentioned before, the inequality of taxes proved another gap in the social classes. â€Å"The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact.... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.à ¢â‚¬  (Document 4) Estates- General was the first such meeting in 175 years. Met on May 5th,1789 in Versailles. In the Estate- General each estate had one vote. (ROI) Finally, the influence of the American Revolution andShow MoreRelatedAp Exam Essays1660 Words   |  7 PagesAP Exam Essays 2001-2010 2010 AP Exam Essays 1. In what ways did ideas and values held by Puritans influence the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s? 2. Analyze the political, diplomatic, and military reasons for the United States victory in the Revolutionary War. Confine your answer to the period 1775–1783. 3. Analyze the ways in which controversy over the extension of slavery into western territories contributed to the comingRead MoreBoyer Dbq Teacher Guide10764 Words   |  44 PagesUsing the DBQ Practice Questions from The Enduring Vision, Sixth Edition A Teachers’ Guide Ray Soderholm Minnetonka High School Minnetonka, Minnesota Using the DBQ Practice Questions from The Enduring Vision, 6th Edition A Teachers’ Guide This guide is intended to suggest some possible ways that students may organize essays related to the document-based questions in the Advanced Placement version of The Enduring Vision, 6th Edition, and to provide teachers with some information on each included

Need Extra Income Free Essays

Uch a significant effect of the book on people’s mental health, however, Is of much older ancestry. It is said, that already in ancient Greece amongst others Aristotle regarded literature as drugs for the soul. During the 1200s, it was read even from the Quran to patients In the hospital In Cairo A1-Mansur, as part of the treatment. We will write a custom essay sample on Need Extra Income or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first doctoral dissertation in bibliotherapy was written in 1949 by the American Caroline Shrodes. There are clear links from psychotherapy to bibliotherapy, but ibliotherapy bottoms in other theories. Shrodes also expresses the same three phases in the bibliotherapeutic process: identification, catharsis, and insight. Readers Identify, recognize themselves in the text, and live Into It so they can look at their own life from a different perspective. The reading may thus have positive and liberating emotional impact on the individual concerned. The clinical bibliotherapy focuses on therapeutic and healing effect on reading and onversation. Here collaborating librarian with a doctor who monitors and controls his work. Today bibliotherapy is used in a hospital, where the long-term patients can borrow books in a hospital library. The patients can be In groups or alone for discussing with a librarian or therapist the works they read, and the feelings and thoughts that the reading evoked. Even counselors, doctors, and social workers can utilize literature as herapy or aids together with their patients. Bibliographic therapeutic methods can be used both in the social and health services as well as Integrated In occupational health and tutorials, but also among various leisure activities. College students eager to write a successful research proposal on the topic may want to use free sample research paper on bibliotherapy, which are able to help you understand the set of rules of scientific article writing. How to cite Need Extra Income, Papers

There Is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, P97) Essay Example

There Is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, P97) Essay Syed Hussamuddin Ahmed Course name: Instructor: Date: 04 / 11 / 2010 There is no hope of doing perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, p97) Research implies ‘searching again’. It is a careful study of a subject, especially in order to discover new facts or information about it (http://www. oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary. com/dictionary/research). Research can be Qualitative or Quantitative (Research, wikipedia) It is a methodical investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered (Research, Microsoft Encarta Dictionary, 2009). Data is collected on a particular subject from various sources. Psychology differs from person to person, because of this the synthasised information results in inaccuracy. Results derived from a research never change in a perfect research. But this is rare. Thompson laid down his atomic model resembling a water melon, and electrons embedded in an atom, as seeds in a water melon. Later, Bohr proved the electrons to be in motion, and hence Thompson’s model to be inappropriate. Dobernier discovered that the elements present during his period, when arranged in the order of their increasing atomic masses, the mass of the middle element equals the average mass of the immediate preceding and succeeding elements. Modern Periodic Table proved this theory inapplicable for all the 117 elements known presently. Inventions and discoveries seem to be perfect momentarily. But later its imperfections would be proved. Quest for knowledge, improvisation of the present inventions and discoveries, or dissatisfied nature of the human beings compels them into researching. Human minds tend to be illogical at times. We will write a custom essay sample on There Is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, P97) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on There Is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, P97) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on There Is No Hope of Doing Perfect Research (Griffiths, 1998, P97) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Experiments fail at times leading towards no hope of doing perfect research. Research, according to Umardaud of www. expertcolumn. com, will always have imperfections, but quality and quantity will improve in the direction of perfection. (Umardaud, p. 1) â€Å"Home assignments- a boon or a curse†, was the topic in my grade 9, in 1980. Mixed responses proved the efforts futile. Conclusion was that, studious children liked it, but the playful did not. Results of the survey stated that 80 percent did not like to be assigned any work, as only 100 colleagues exhausted with overwork were interviewed. Now, this was a biased survey. â€Å"Corporal punishments at schools†, was the topic to be researched in 1985,in my Engineering first year. Students without spankings showed marked improvement compared to the students who were not. A father of three children has noticed that his second son does wonders only when parents are firm. Youngest son just needs to be instructed. So, no research is perfect All above findings clearly prove that there is no hope of doing a perfect research. Research on a subject continues†¦ _____________________________________ Bibilography Oxford’s Advanced Learners’ Dictionary 2010 Oxford University Press www. oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary. com http://www. oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary. com/dictionary/research November 2, 2010. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 3 November 2010 at 08:47. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , en. wikipedia. org http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Quantitative_research

How To Be More Productive With Your Spare Time

How To Be More Productive With Your Spare Time If there’s one thing most bloggers know about writing its that its very time consuming. And when time is money, you certainly can’t afford to waste it. My theory is, if you can be more productive even in 5 minutes, you will find that you end up writing more throughout the week with less time on your hands. I want to share a few secret habits of mine that have stuck around since I started content writing, and I’m sure have saved me hundreds of precious minutes and more than a few dollars. How To Be More Productive With Your Spare 5, 30, And 60 Minutes You are not alone in the struggle of writing. Most successful bloggers would not manage their over-stretched workload without amazing tools to help them save time and write more. The most efficient tools are ones you can use on the move in short periods of time, and if you’re anything like me, then you will understand how every moment can be used for something productive toward your writing. So here it is, how  to maximize your time, actually get more stuff done, and be more productive. Oh, and a quote to help you on your content writing way: Do. Or do not. There is no try. - Yoda How To Use  Your Spare 5 Minutes To Be More Productive You may wonder, "How can I achieve anything in 5 minutes?" The answer is simple: Do your micro tasks to free up time later on. This method to help you write more is super handy  when you’re on the go. Whether you are on the bus, train, or in between projects, 5 minutes can mean a lot.  You probably spend 5 minutes listening to a song and a half on your way to work. Here is what you can do instead: 1. Network. If you are in the blogging or content writing sphere, it is important to make and keep connections. You can spend 5 minutes either calling or sending a message to your blogger friend- make it a useful 5 minutes by asking them a question. Twitter chats are a really useful way of networking and a great place to ask questions that people actually reply to! 2. Be creative. Start that infographic/visual idea you always wanted to do. OK, it will inevitably take longer than 5 minutes, but forming the idea won't; it will give you the push to finally do it. Remember that innovation is a painstaking process, and every minute you have spare to process it is essential. Spend spare minutes on innovative ideas to increase your productivity.3. Create a quote. Ever wonder how people come up with all those lovely quotes in their writing? They spend 5 minutes coming up with them. By writing or searching for  two  quotes a day, you will find your blog writing becoming deeper and much more personal, and we all know readers love personal content, right? 4.  Share your content. Send a tweet to someone in your niche. In my opinion, this is one of the most useful things you can do with your 5 minutes. You can find people to connect with by searching for hashtags in your industry and find discussions to get involved in or influencers to ask questions. Oh, and always respond to someone who tweets you. Respond  immediately  or as soon as  possible. This will allow you to create a  relationship with your community. The larger community you build, the more  loyal your followers will be.   Another option is to go back over your old posts and share them. My secret habit: I like using Twitter for accessing events, even if I can’t attend them. By tweeting relevant posts with the event’s hashtag, you can revive traffic to old content and bring more people to your blog. You will meet influencers in your industry and your content will live a bit longer because people search for the event hashtag even days/weeks after it ended. Even better, this really does take only 5 minutes. 5. Use your surroundings  for visual inspiration in your content. EyeEm (Andoid, iOS) is a funky app you should download now. When you are traveling in your daily life, you can use this app to capture amazing shots that you can later add to your content, or even sell them to make money. Now if that isn’t being efficient, I don’t know what is. EyeEm helps you manage your pictures to capture visual inspiration for your content when you're on the go. My secret habit: I like to get unusual shots with my phone, even if it's of a cup of coffee or an empty bench. I keep these pictures for later and it sometimes gives me my most creative ideas. I've activated the automatic Google Drive backup, so every picture I take is saved in MyDrive. Take pictures as your content ideas. It helps you avoid stock photography, gives your content a personal story, and helps you use your spare time to be more productive. 6. Explore  catchy new hooks for your content. Portent's Title Maker  is probably one of my favorite tools for content creation. Basically, enter a keyword and it produces countless options of headlines. You don’t always have to take these headlines and literally use them in your post, you can also use them as a basis for exploring ideas. With 5 minutes, I’ve estimated you can come up with about  250 titles to work with. While the  Title Maker is quick and easy, it's still a robot.  So there are times where the headlines comes out a little like gibberish or not grammatically correct. This is why Portent is an excellent idea finder, and  once you find your idea, you can then use 's  headline analyzer  to check your SEO score and make sure your headlines will get clicks. My secret habit: If I’m having a bad writing day, I like to put the names of famous people as the subject. Some of the results have really brightened up my day and motivated me in the rest of my writing. Start with Justin Bieber. How To Use Your Spare 30 Minutes To Be More Productive OK, so in 30 minutes you might be able to achieve something more meaningful when it comes to actual content writing. The amount of time it takes to watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother is the same amount of time you could use to create new content ideas. Now I am all for sitcom TV and downtime Facebook stalking, but when statistics show that we spend 1.77 hours a day on social media, it's time to make a change. Here are 3 things you could do instead: 1. Refresh those old blog posts with more up to date research. Your readers will appreciate the attention you give to all of your content. 2. Reply to all your blog comments. This is a crucial way of engaging your audience and create discussion around your topics. 3. Add a to your posts. Encouraging sharing is one of the best ways of getting more exposure for your work. 3 ways to improve your #content  instead of binge watching Netflix.Save awesome content to read later when you have spare time. Pocket is my new favorite tool. It  will help you bookmark information you want to read for later. This idea will save you time for when you come to sit down and write. Instead of spending 1–2 hours researching, you will already have a list of great articles to refer to. And the best part about this tool is that it works within other apps you might be using like Flipboard or Twitter. My secret habit: My favorite place to Pocket articles from is Feedly. This way, I can browse multiple articles and bookmark the ones I want to read for later. It's almost a daily habit now, and this way I have a constant stream of articles to read when I have more time. Brainstorm new ideas. bubbl.us is a fantastic brain mapping tool to get your ideas flowing. Start by inputting a core idea and see your idea grow. You can use it either as a desktop version or download the app on your iPhone or Android device. My secret habit: 30 minutes is really quite a long time to brainstorm one topic. I sometimes like to go over two topics,  15 minutes each, leaving more time for writing when I get to the latter topic. Take a break. I know that this one sticks out like a sore thumb, but it’s supposed to! Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to do everything in one day. Having a 30-minute break from your writing is just as important as being productive with the time you have. The more relaxed you are, the more creative you will be, so put your computer/phone/tablet on hibernate and take a walk outside. Really: A study by the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology found that participants who took 20-minute breaks for progressive relaxation (like meditation) came back to work more productive than when they left. Even better if you are at home:  Have a power nap.  They're proven to improve concentration and performance, which is essential to any writer. How To Use 1 Hour  To  Be More Productive With one hour to spare, you might not feel there is enough time to really sit and get into that blog post you’ve been meaning to write. There are other things you could be doing to get more writing done in this short amount of time: Reinvent your content with LinkedIn Publisher. Most people these days have LinkedIn for connection building reasons, but not every blogger is using it as a tool for content distribution. With one hour, you can repurpose (rewrite) an older blog post and start building a presence on this platform. You will be doubling your writing output without even realizing it. LinkedIn is more effective with articles that offer real solutions for problems or insights that have been backed by research. So try to take the core elements from previously published posts and put a new angle on them. Once you rewrite your post, share it in many different LinkedIn groups for maximum exposure. My secret habit: I like to connect with people who  comment on my posts on LinkedIn. They are often from the same niche that I come from, and I find that this technique has led to valuable leads such as guest posting. Repurpose your content with SlideShare. I love using this tool when I don’t have time to write a full post. 1 hour is enough to get together a good SlideShare. For example, if you wrote a few posts on a specific topic, you can turn them into an informative SlideShare that will attract different readers to your site. Whether it’s to repurpose content or to get some more content out on a different medium, this is a great tool to help you write more in less time. Oh, did I mention it's free? My secret habit: If you've ever  presented anywhere, upload your slides to SlideShare.  With the right tags, you can reach thousands of interested readers which will bring them back to your site. This means you are maximizing your writing through several channels. Learn how to do what you do  even better with Coursera. There are so many online learning courses available, it’s quite amazing. Coursera is one of the best platforms that offers a variety of different lectures. In an hour, you can improve your writing skills, learn how to code your WordPress blog, or even get to grips with your Google Analytics. These courses may not be directly related to writing, though developing these skills will save you time in other aspects of your day that will eventually give you more time for writing. The Extras That Will Save You Time These are tools I recommend if you are looking for that extra something to get you writing more in less time: 1.  E.gg  Timer:  A typical problem  for content writers is actually sitting and writing for a block period of time without doing something else. If you recognize this behavior, start restricting your  time  with E.gg Timer. All you need to do is write how much time you want to focus for, and you will get a notification reminding you it's tea time. Try and stick with it and you will find your workflow increases and improves. 2.  TrenDemon:  I’ve been wanting to use a popup subscriber for a while (sorry, I know we hate to love them) and I found that TrenDemon has great A/B testing methods. They have a free plan for publishers, so I recommend this as a starting point for optimizing your blog subscribing process. By worrying less about picking up subscribers, you will be giving yourself much more time for actual writing. 3.  GetResponse:  If you’re looking for a way to save time for writing, you should stop using that Excel sheet for your subscriber email database. Firstly, it’s not secure, and secondly, it's so time consuming having to send all of the email newsletters yourself. GetResponse is a great option for blogs with more than  1,000 subscribers who want to have easy access to newsletter designs that can be sent automatically. They have a 30-day free trial that is worth checking out, with many cool features like inbox preview that lets you see what your newsletter will look like across different platforms. I hope these tips have helped you get ahead of the time game to help you write more in your busy schedules. My overall general habit is to try and find productive creative outputs in everything that I do. I know it’s not always possible, but this dedication to your writing will become easier over time, and you will find yourself writing more as you get used to this new way of being productive with your time. Just get your free copy of the productivity template to  try out some of these tips the next time you have a few spare minutes.

Prendre Conjugation in French, Translation, and Examples

Prendre Conjugation in French, Translation, and Examples The French verb prendre,  which commonly means to take,  is a frequently used and very flexible  irregular French -re verb. The good news is that  prendre can help you learn similar verbs. In this article you can find the different meanings and the most frequently used prendre conjugations: the present, present progressive, compound past, imperfect, simple future, near future indicative, the conditional, the present subjunctive, as well as the imperative and the gerund of prendre. There are other verb tenses for prendre, but they are not used as frequently. For example, the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive are formal and most often found in writing. Prendre Is the Model for an Irregular -re Verb Subgroup There are patterns for irregular French  -re verbs, and  prendre  is in one of those groups. In fact, all verbs ending in the root word  -prendre  are conjugated the same way. These verbs drop the d in all three plural forms and take a double n in the third person plural.   This means that after you learn the conjugations for  prendre, you can apply what you learned to conjugate these other verbs: Apprendre   to learnComprendre  Ã‚  to understandEntreprendre  Ã‚  to undertakeMà ©prendre  Ã‚  to mistakeReprendre  Ã‚  to retake, take againSurprendre  Ã‚  to surprise The Many Meanings of Prendre The verb  prendre  usually means to take, both literally and figuratively. Il ma pris par le bras.  Ã‚  He took me by the arm.Tu peux prendre le livre.  Ã‚  You can take the book.Je vais prendre une photo.  Ã‚  Im going to take a picture.Prenez votre temps. Take your time. Prendre  is such a flexible verb that it can change meanings based on the context. The following is a list of some of the uses of prendre, although there are many more. Prendre  can mean to come over or to strike: La colà ¨re ma pris.   I was overcome with anger.Quest-ce qui te prend  ?  (informal)   Whats come over you? Whats the matter with you? Prendre may also mean to catch in instances such as: Je lai pris tricher.   I caught him cheating. There are times when prendre  will take on the meaning of to take in, to dupe, or to fool: On ne my prendra plus !   They wont fool me again! You may also use prendre when you want to say to handle or to deal with: Il y a plusieurs moyens de prendre le problà ¨me.   There are several ways to deal with the problem. One of your options for saying to set is a form of  prendre: Le ciment na pas encore pris. The cement hasnt set yet.   When you want to say to do well, to catch on, or to be successful you can also turn to  prendre: Ce livre va prendre.   This book is going to be a great success. Sometimes, prendre  can even mean to catch or to start: Jespà ¨re que le bois va prendre.   I hope the wood catches on fire. Finally, prendre  can also mean to pick up or to fetch, especially when used with another verb: Passe me prendre midi.   Come pick me up at noon.Peux-tu me prendre demain  ? Can you pick me up tomorrow? Using Se Prendre The  pronominal  se prendre  has several meanings as well. To consider oneself:  Il se prend pour un expert.   He thinks hes an expert.To get caught, trapped:  Ma manche sest prise dans la porte.   My sleeve got caught in the door. You may also use  sen prendre , which means  to blame, to challenge, or to attack: Tu ne peux ten prendre qu toi-mà ªme.   You only have yourself to blame.Il sen est pris son chien.   He took it out on his dog. Similarly, the construction  sy prendre   means to do something about it: Il faut sy prendre.   We have to do something about it. We have to take care of it. Expressions With Prendre There are many  idiomatic expressions  using the French verb  prendre.  Among the most common are these which you can use to practice your  prendre  conjugations. Prendre sa retraite   to retirePrendre une dà ©cision   to make a decisionPrendre  un pot  (informal) to have a drinkQuest-ce qui ta pris  ?   Whats gotten into you?Être pris   to be tied up, busy Present Indicative Je prends Je prends le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I have breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu prends Tu prends le train pour aller travailler. You take the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On prend Elle prend un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She has a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous prenons Nous prenons beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We take many photos during the trip. Vous prenez Vous prenez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You take the book from the library. Ils/Elles prennent Ils prennent des notes en classe. They take notes in class. Present Progressive Indicative The present progressive in French is formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb à ªtre (to be) en train de the infinitive verb (prendre). Je suis en train de prendre Je suis en train de prendre le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I am having breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu es en train de prendre Tu es en train de prendre le train pour aller travailler. You are taking the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On est en train de prendre Elle est en train de prendre un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She is having a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous sommes en train de prendre Nous sommes en train de prendre beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We are taking many photos during the trip. Vous à ªtes en train de prendre Vous à ªtes en train de prendre le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You are taking the book from the library. Ils/Elles sont en train de prendre Ils sont en train de prendre des notes en classe. They are taking notes in class. Compound Past Indicative The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is translated to English as the simple past. It is formed using the auxiliary verb  avoir  and the past participle  pris.  For example, we took is  nous avons pris. Je ai pris J'ai pris le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I had breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu as pris Tu as pris le train pour aller travailler. You took the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On a pris Elle a pris un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She had a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous avons pris Nous avons pris beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We took many photos during the trip. Vous avez pris Vous avez pris le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You took the book from the library. Ils/Elles ont pris Ils ont pris des notes en classe. They took notes in class. Imperfect Indicative The imperfect tense is used to talk about ongoing events or repeated actions in the past. It can be translated to English as was taking or used to take. Je prenais Je prenais le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I used to eat breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu prenais Tu prenais le train pour aller travailler. You used to take the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On prenait Elle prenait un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She used to have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous prenions Nous prenions beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We used to take many photos during the trip. Vous preniez Vous preniez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You used to take the book from the library. Ils/Elles prenaient Ils prenaient des notes en classe. They used to take notes in class. Simple Future Indicative Je prendrai Je prendrai le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I will eat breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu prendras Tu prendras le train pour aller travailler. You will take the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On prendra Elle prendra un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She will have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous prendrons Nous prendrons beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We will take many photos during the trip. Vous prendrez Vous prendrez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You will take the book from the library. Ils/Elles prendront Ils prendront des notes en classe. They will take notes in class. Near Future Indicative The near future is translated to English as going to verb. In French it is formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb aller (to go) the infinitive (prendre). Je vais prendre Je vais prendre le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. I am going to eat breakfast at 7 in the morning. Tu vas prendre Tu vas prendre le train pour aller travailler. You are going to take the train to go to work. Il/Elle/On va prendre Elle va prendre un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. She is going to have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Nous allons prendre Nous allons prendre beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. We are going to take many photos during the trip. Vous allez prendre Vous allez prendre le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. You are going to take the book from the library. Ils/Elles vont prendre Ils vont prendre des notes en classe. They are going to take notes in class. Conditional The conditional is used to talk about hypothetical or possible events. It can be used to form if clauses or to express a polite request. Je prendrais Je prendrais le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin si j'avais le temps. I would eat breakfast at 7 in the morning if I had the time. Tu prendrais Tu prendrais le train pour aller travailler si c'à ©tait moins coà »teux. You would take the train to go to work if it were less expensive. Il/Elle/On prendrait Elle prendrait un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e si elle n'à ©tait trop fatiguà ©e. She would have a glass of wine at the end of the day if she were not too tired. Nous prendrions Nous prendrions beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage si nous avions une bonne camà ©ra. We would take many photos during the trip if we had a good camera. Vous prendriez Vous prendriez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que si vous le vouliez. You would take the book from the library if you wanted it. Ils/Elles prendraient Ils prendraient des notes en classe s'ils pouvaient. They would take notes in class if they could. Present Subjunctive You will use the subjunctive whenever the action of taking is uncertain. Que je prenne Marie propose que je prenne le petit dà ©jeuner 7 heures du matin. Marie proposes that I eat breakfast at 7 in the morning. Que tu prennes Jacques suggà ¨re que tu prennes le train pour aller travailler. Jacques suggests that you take the train to go to work. Qu'il/elle/on prenne Anne conseille qu'elle prenne un verre de vin la fin de la journà ©e. Anne advises that shehave a glass of wine at the end of the day. Que nous prenions Notre mà ¨re exige que nous prenions beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage. Our mother demands that we take many photos during the trip. Que vous preniez Laurent prà ©fà ¨re que vous preniez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que. Laurent prefers that you take the book from the library. Qu'ils/elles prennent Le professeur souhaite qu'ils prennent des notes en classe. The professor wishes that they take notes in class. Imperative When using  prendre  in the  imperative  to express a command, you do not need to state the subject pronoun. For instance, use  prends  rather than  tu prends. To form the negative commands, simply place ne...pas around the positive command. Positive commands Tu prends ! Prends le train pour aller travailler ! Take the train to go to work! Nous prenons! Prenons beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage ! Let's take many photos during the trip! Vous preniez! Preniez le livre de la bibliothà ¨que ! Take the book from the library! Negative commands Tu ne prends pas ! Ne prends pas le train pour aller travailler ! Don't take the train to go to work! Nous ne prenons pas! Ne prenons pas beaucoup de photos pendant le voyage ! Let's not take many photos during the trip! Vous ne preniez pas! Ne preniez pas le livre de la bibliothà ¨que ! Don't take the book from the library! Present Participle/Gerund The  present participle  in French has several different uses. One of them is to form the gerund (usually preceded by the preposition en), which is often used to talk about simultaneous actions. Present participle/gerund ofPrendre prenant Je t'ai vu en prenant mon petit dà ©jeuner. I saw you while I was eating my breakfast.