Carrier Bags

At the moment I'm helping to clear out a house that has been vacated due to the person passing away. I have come across quite a large quantity of drugs that are mostly unopened and would like to dispose of them safely. Now I understand that the Pharmacy will take any unused/used medications and dispose of them adequately, however, I am a little concerned with taking such a huge amount and having to explain why or how this is the case. My neighbour (the person who has passed) doesn't really have any family in the country and so I cannot ask them to do this and I don't want to disclose any information about who the medication belongs to as I wish to respect her privacy. (I live in quite a small village). Any suggestions would be great, or information on what the Pharmacy's procedure consists of and if I have to give any information when disposing of them, with it being such a large amount and all. (They fill a large carrier bag.) Thanks for any advice given!

Print Park manufactures packaging products for many different industries, including cosmetics. In 2008, 47% of our total turnover came from the cosmetic sector. We manufacture folding carton boxes for make-up products (color cosmetics), perfumes and personal home-care products. We can apply many add-ons to boxes; hot-foil stamping, embossing, engraving, partial varnish, special coatings and UV printing on to special film laminated paper. Our prices are very competitive and we prefer to accept orders starting from 3.000pcs. We can construct different box models according to customer products an...

I love RSS and I hate RSS.

It’s both one of the most useful tools I’ve ever used; it allows me to catch up with my favourite blogs, keep up with seldom-blogging friends and find inspiration for my own posts.

It’s also the bane of my life; I turn away for a day or two and Google Reader sits there, laughing at me with its smug “1000+” in the toolbar, reminding me just how far behind I’ve fallen on my reading.

Either way, it’s a way of consuming media that seems to have become routine so this morning, when I came to the realisation that I had just unsubscribed from my last summary-only RSS feed, I wondered if I was the only one to take such drastic action against those frustrating feeds, and wanted to understand why anyone would choose to publish them.

I wrote about this topic 2 years ago with little conclusion so I thought I’d investigate informally whether things have changed by asking my Twitter followers.

So what are their issues with the short summaries?

The results were enlightening but roughly reflected what I expected; Out of 15 responses, 12 people expressed a strong preference for full feeds, to the extent where summary feeds were either not subscribed to or unsubscribed from.

• Don’t want to click
• Don’t want to be forced through to a site to read something
• Full feeds get more readers and engagement
• When using Google Reader on iPhone, RSS summaries are annoying. Clicking through is a waste of time
• I never subscribe to anyone with summary-only feeds, why encourage them?
• “Publications” opt for summaries to drive traffic and ad revenue
• Summary on mobile sucks, don’t subscribe and probably forget to visit again
• Would rather see a full feed with ads, than a summary feed

One person seemed to stand up for the summary feed, saying that short post feeds are fine when reading basic news story while travelling. So that’s one for the summary feeds, but with the caveat that the summary must really summarise the story rather than simply be the first run-on sentence of a post where the author might not get to the point immediately.

The publishers’ point of view

Two publishers were kind enough to explain their side of the story; in both cases, it was a question of protecting their content against sploggers who previously stole their feeds on a regular basis. While summaries don’t fully solve the problem, it makes it more difficult for a spammer to copy their content.

No one piped up with regards to summary feeds as a method to gain more traffic to the site, and more ad impressions as a result. Either that isn’t the motivation of most summary-feed publishers, or they’re aware that it isn’t a popular view and avoided responding to my question.

Finding a solution

Finding a solution to these publishers’ problem is tricky; it’s difficult to identify who is subscribed to your RSS feed and what they’re using it for. Feedburner makes a good effort of reporting “uncommon uses” of your feed, but in my experience it has picked up the legitimate uses of my feed (where I’ve used it on another site I own) but missed most instances of splogs “borrowing” my content.

So if the flow can’t be stemmed, we need to make the flow smarter:

• Add an automatic footer to a post in the RSS feed linking back to your site: Joost de Valk created a WordPress RSS footer plugin which takes care of the hard work for you.
• Cross-link generously when writing your posts: Don’t go overboard and write purely for the purpose of linking back to your older content, as it’ll show in the quality of your posts. But when you do post, think of the relevant and useful content you could refer to, so that if your post is on someone else’s blog, there is still a reference to yours. This can be done within the content or as “related items” at the end of your post. Yes, some services or plugins can create related items automatically, but I don’t endorse those as I find the relevance to often be too poor. Take 5 minutes and do it manually!

These benefit you from an SEO point of view as well, so why not put them into action? Remember, however, that creating value on your site and building your personal brand so that people recognise you as YOU rather than a generic blog-post churner is the best way to create a loyal readership and make the sploggers’ efforts (almost) pointless.

Most carriers allow a ski bag as a part of your free luggage, do they consider a snowboard bag the same thing? Thanks.

Earlier this week, I announced that the planning for the second SocialMediaCamp London was beginning to take shape.

In October 2008, 100 geeks, creatives and social media’ites gathered for the first SMCLondon, which was both a success and a hell of a lot of fun. So we’re doing it again in April, and we need you!

Find out more about what’s happening on the SocialMediaCamp blog, but if you want to get involved, here are some of the responsibilities to be assigned; Sponsor wrangler, Backchannel boss, Venue scout, T-Shirts & Stickers master, Food czar, Badges & signs design artist, Evening drinks & Saturday night happenings rockstar, Video streaming guru, Event cheerleader & promoter, etc…

If you want to help out, email me on vero@thatcanadiangirl.co.uk with a note on what you’d like to do, and remember that all help, whether beforehand or on the day, is welcome! I’ll be posting the sponsorship information soon, so if you think your boss (or you, if you’re the boss!) want to contribute a bit, get in touch and I’ll send you the sponsorship pack.

Last time, tickets went like hotcakes and all hundred were gone in under 3 hours, so if you want to attend, be sure to sign up to the newsletter (in the left sidebar) so you can be first to find out when the tickets will be released!

As the UK officially enters recession, retail sales figures today (Friday), confirm how tough December was for many retailers, said the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

will rising damp/black walls etc contribute to future ill health-as a direct result. please? i also have to wade through 2/3inches of frezing cold water-carrier bag on each bare foot-to top up gas/meter. utility persons/companies wont move it-state can`t! one of the 3 cellars-one ceiling has dropped-water logged and beams wet through.-is under my kitchen-a food preparation/eating area. water/sewerage re: people -god knows what else? i also need to know re: landlord `covering up` faults/problems-how do i stop him doing so metaphorically this has shortened my life i am a senior already-so does matter re: time? apparently long term prognosis is approx`y 4 yrs. many thanks. enjoy rest of your day/evening. i do apologise if i`d unintentionally misled re: my home-sorry! although on pensions i am fortunate that -head high-i can boast i owe not one man a penny! hasn`t been easy-but has allowed me to live to quite a good standard. i also eat very well-an old persons luxury-believe me1 the cellar/damp/diseases? problem is only `problem` but if i get no advice though i have my own ideas obv`y-anothers helps! citizens advice a washout where i live/other matters in past. he has to by law adhere to 48hrs notice given to me re: coming-at my convenience-illegal o/wise. i don`t have to let landlord/wife in.legally. if i don`t do something-he`ll find a way to `cover it up`-always does re: problems. real problem-reason for question is that i don`t wish to move home-been here 10yrs-sitting tenant status. sorry again-cheers. i do apologise if i`d unintentionally misled re: my home-sorry! although on pensions i am fortunate that -head high-i can boast i owe not one man a penny! hasn`t been easy-but has allowed me to live to quite a good standard. i also eat very well-an old persons luxury-believe me1 the cellar/damp/diseases? problem is only `problem` but if i get no advice though i have my own ideas obv`y-anothers helps! citizens advice a washout where i live/other matters in past. he has to by law adhere to 48hrs notice given to me re: coming-at my convenience-illegal o/wise. i don`t have to let landlord/wife in.legally. if i don`t do something-he`ll find a way to `cover it up`-always does re: problems. real problem-reason for question is that i don`t wish to move home-been here 10yrs-sitting tenant status. sorry again-cheers.

Ask anyone who is self-employed or regularly works from a home office, and you’ll get polarised answers; The home office is either the best or the worst thing that’s happened to them. Either a source of peace and focus, or a never ending stream of distractions and frustration.

In my case, I have to say, it’s been bliss. I’m a social being so I’m thrilled that I get the opportunity to work face to face with clients and colleagues fairly regularly, but I relish the few days a week where I can go a whole day without distractions. The productivity I get out of those days is amazing, so I thought I’d share how I took my space from being “the back room with a desk in it” to “My office” from which I can run a business.

1. Keep your goals visual and within sight

I recently wrote about having clear goals for your day, as a way to drive your productivity. Set your 3 most important tasks for the day and stick to them. It doesn’t mean you can’t do anything else, but each unscheduled task that comes in needs to be critically assessed. “Will this stop me from getting my 3 MITs done today? Is it worth sidetracking for right now?”

Stick them on the wall in an obvious place so that you don’t forget to refer to it.

2. Get a timer

Whether it’s a virtual one (I use Alarm Clock 2 for Mac) or a physical one, like a kitchen timer or a radio alarm clock, it’s a great way to motivate yourself when facing tasks you hate.

Set the alarm for a block of time (I tend to go for 20-30mins depending on how distracted I fear I might be) and cram as much as you can during that time. I’ll use it to get the draft of an article complete, then when the timer goes, I’ll take a break and get on with editing the ideas and polishing the article. This can make bad days seem a whole lot better after a few productive blocks!

If you belong to the other extreme, and can find yourself still working in the same position hours after you started, you may want to use it to remind you to take breaks. A friend of mine uses Time Out, which pops up a reminder to look away from the screen every 10 minutes and one to take a break every 50 minutes. Stand up, move around, have a sip of water… Simple but these small steps can help you avoid the discomforts of RSI at a later date.

3. Buy an inbox tray

Everyone says this, but not enough people do it. A pile of paperwork on the corner of your desk is not the way to go; it’ll distract and stress you every time you see a mountain of things you haven’t dealt with yet.

Mine is a silver mesh 3-level inbox tray, with the top one labelled “Inbox”, the second “Accounts” and the third “Scrap Paper”.

The top one takes in all business-related (and personal, let’s admit it) paperwork which gets filed into a filing cabinet behind me or sorted into projects to action twice a week. The second one contains any receipts, bills or accountant-related material that needs more attention than simply going in the Inbox. The bottom basket contains scrap paper, old print outs where the back of the page can be used for notes, etc. It’s easily within reach so that when the phone rings or inspiration catches, I don’t need to spend time looking for a scrap of paper to write on.

4. Get a whiteboard (or two)

If you have any wall space available, I’d recommend a whiteboard. It’s a great way to sketch out an idea or leave yourself big obvious reminders of progress. I tend to put high-level targets/goals for the month on the board and tick them off to get a sense of progress throughout the month.

For example…

January Projects

- Client A: Complete Phase 1 of project
- Client B: Provide 3 days of support for Phase 2
- Write n posts from topics list
- Close £n in new business
- Book attendance to Event

Every time I complete an action that wraps up the project, it feels great to tick it on the board.

For those who get inspired in the shower, I’ve seen great bathtime whiteboards for kids before, so stick one in the shower and scribble that superb idea before it disappears.

5. Shape your energy with scents and sounds

Every so often, treat your senses to revive your energy. You may be surprised of the effect it has on your mood.

Need to focus and energise? Put lemon & orange or satsuma & spice scented oils in your oil burner.

Stress of the day getting to you? Put some lavender in, close your eyes, take 10 deep breaths. Pause for a moment and get back to work.

Want to pretend it’s Christmas? My favourite mix is: 4 drops of satsuma & orange and cranberry oils each and 2 drops of vanilla extract and cinammon each. Yum!

In my personal opinion, I would avoid the use of incense. It can get smoky and the smell of old incense lingers for a long time which can trigger headaches if you’re prone to them.

Music can also have an impact on your energy levels; create playlists to energise, relax and focus. Personally, I opt for classical piano for focus, Soma FM’s Groove Salad for general writing and pop music when I need to motivate myself to get filing and clearing up done!

If you can, get some headphones. Sometimes tuning the world out (whether it’s the kids or the construction outside) is the only way to get full focus onto the task at hand. I live in a quiet neighbourhood and am childfree so open cup wireless headphones are ideal; I can still hear the doorbell ring if I’m expecting a delivery. You may want some radical noise-cancelling headphones if you’re surrounded by more noise.

6. Give yourself breathing space

Your home office should be your haven of productivity, not a messy backroom where you sit on the edge of the bed to write (unless that’s really how you get into creative mode!)

Think wisely when buying new furniture or storage for the office: Will it improve your productivity or just be something cute that sits on a shelf and adds to the clutter? I received a humongous red bean bag from Sumo Lounge a few months ago, and kept it in the office for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but last week, I relocated it and am much happier to have regained the walking space in the office.

7. Keep creative tools nearby

If your job requires creativity, sometimes a bit of madness can kickstart the process.

Creativity cue cards: I’ve pasted them to index cards and added to the pack with some ideas of my own. I’ll just grab something randomly from the pack and start sketching until I find a thread I can run with.

Whiteboard: Draw a process chart, brainstorm keywords or draw pictures, whatever helps you find an angle to approach the issue

Lego, silly putty and arts & crafts materials: Yup, I’m a grownup (well, that’s debatable…) and I own a big box of Lego bricks. Sometimes letting your subconscious work while you distract yourself can be just the trigger you need.

8. Keep emergency snacks nearby

If you’re focused, don’t let the urge to make a sandwich distract you. Keep dried fruits, nuts and water at hand. However, remember to take midday breaks to feed yourself properly!

Shop smartly so that you have a good balance of healthy snacks and nutritious meals to avoid having to break up your day to go to the supermarket.

9. Declutter

Create a folder for each project to make tidying easy at the end of the day. Put each project away and make a list for the following morning instead of leaving every file out as a reminder. It’ll make tomorrow morning feel a lot less daunting when you walk in.

At the end of the week or when you have dead time (eg. when you’re on hold with customer service, waiting for a conference call to start…) pick a single shelf and remove anything that’s accumulated. Put the receipts into your expenses file, put the Christmas cards you received 2 months ago from a client in the recycling bin (they don’t need to know!) and you’ll feel it’s much easier to keep your office clutter-free.

10. Accept that some days won’t work your way

I’m still no good with unexpected derailing of my day, but sometimes, there will be unavoidable distractions; building works, deliveries, errands that must be run or, for parents, kids who are sick and staying home for the day. On those days, accept that you may need to switch your focus to the jobs that can be done quickly and between distractions as opposed to writing your most in-depth research paper.

What are your tips for a more productive and zen-like home office?

Other resources:

• Advice for Setting up a Home Office - Group Interview at Productivity 501
• Pragmatic Thinking & Learning on understanding your brain’s natural architecture
• Be Realistic About Time on Chris Brogan’s blog

I need to find some desginer laptop bags/carriers... like babyphat rocawear dereon coogi coach etc...please help!