Sometimes blogger needs to take a break from writing. It is good to recharge your batteries. Sometimes blogger has vacations and also wants to take a rest from blogging.

Tomorrow I will go for a short trip and I won’t blog till next week. This is pretty short break but it inspired me to think a while how to handle such situations.

Do nothing about that

The easiest possibility which takes no time and effort. If you are not publishing posts everyday it is not so terrible, but it can cause serious anxiety in some of your readers. However, if you used to provide quality and valuable content and you will continue to do so after a break, your loyal readers won’t leave you.

Write a post that you take a break

A simple, short note and your readers know that lack of new posts at your blog don’t mean you are killed in action. Readers will understand you need to take break and will patiently expect more awesome fresh content when you return to blogging. As a bonus you can always invite your readers to browse your archives or top posts.

Write posts in advance

Of course it needs a lot of disciple and/or additional time to write posts over your typical posting frequency. For some blogs it is not a good option, especially for those where time sensitive news are published.

Invite other bloggers for guestposting

Definitely a great option. You get a free content on your blog written in different style. Guest blogger get an exposure and usually a backlink to his blog. A win-win situation. Of course it is highly recommended that you at least check quality of few posts written by your friend before publishing anything.

Write a post about handling a break from blogging

This is my way to go. See you next week.

photo credit: Maria Ruch

Chandler The Note-to-Self Organizer is a free GTD app running on Linux, Windows and Mac. The most important features are calendar, task and note management, multiple contexts; it allows collaborating and it can work both as desktop and web application.

I’ve started using Chandler few days ago. I didn’t expect to keep using it all the time as I don’t feel that I currently need such application. Simple ToDo lists that I keep on my Netvibes pages are pretty enough for me to stay well organized. However checking and testing such apps is always an interesting experience and can inspire or bring some fresh ideas on topics like planning and productivity.

First I went into short tour. It took less than 3 minutes and a woman voice introduced me into basics features. Right after the movie I felt I can start using it and so I did. But if you want to learn more, I suggest you go to Get Started section.

The very first thing I like about Chandler is its Quick Entry Bar. It allows entering notes, reminders, ideas and searching as well. Another feature I love is that notes can be easily starred, put on calendar as event or send via e-mail. Three basic statuses for all items are Now, Later and Done. I’m pretty sure it is enough and as simple as it should be.

More advanced features that took my attention are interesting possibilities to collaborate (via e-mail, on website, grant access to collection without sign-up, subscription with iCal or Google) and backup on Chandler Hub account.

It is worth at least trying Chandler for some time. I will give it one more week to help me stayed organized. Then I will decide if I really need it and it is useful enough for me. Chandler may fit your needs and expectations, and especially if you are a GTD ninja don’t hesitate and give it a shot.

Now I can set my task “Write a Chandler Review” as Done.

1. Investing is like gambling.

No, no and no. I wrote in post about investing that

Remember, that investing is not a gambling. You don’t risk your money to random output. There is always analysis, before you put money on market. You estimate expected profit, you set your acceptable loss. Of course, there is always risk, but it is not based on blind fate.

2. You need to be an expert to invest successfully.

Internet helps a lot today. You have the access to knowledge, news and tools. But you don’t need to spend 8h per day on charts and analysis. Everyone is able to invest successfully. Of course you need to have some knowledge and understanding what exactly you are doing with your money on the market.

3. You can’t beat the market

Of course most investors fail to do so, but there are some who can.

4. Always use stop-losses.

Honestly saying, despite I write there many times that you should always use it; sometimes I don’t follow this rule. When I watch the market everyday and I don’t have too many assets in my portfolio I simply don’t need it. A lot of investors using fundamental analysis don’t use stop-losses. They are pretty sure their picks will finally reach estimated price level and short/mid-term losses that could trigger stop-loss are not important in long-term range.

5. Always follow trend.

There is always a price level which is much higher than real value. On that level stocks are less and less attractive for buyers. It doesn’t matter that stocks are in uptrend. Finally, the trend would end and it’s better to leave the train near that point than buy stocks just before the fall only because there was strong uptrend.

6. Always diversify your portfolio.

Diversification is very important. But a lot of investors follow this rule in definitely bad way, buying a lot of different average stocks only to diversify their portfolio. This is not the way to go.

7. Buy and hold

Market is too dynamic for this strategy. When you hold, you miss a lot of brilliant possibilities to pick better performing stocks. And there is no guarantee you will succeed.

8. Investing in indexes is a very good way to go

I think recent results on index funds are enough as a comment to this point.

9. Invest at certain times

There are always interesting investing opportunities on the market. Just keep watching and you will find them.

10. High returns don’t have to mean high risk

If you don’t know what you are doing, it may be quite risky. The more experienced and conscious you are; the risk level is lower. Don’t limit yourself with assumptions that high returns are risky and better to avoid them.

11. Buy falling stock, they will eventually rise

Falling price is never a good signal to buy stocks. Wait until there are signals based on which you can expect rises.

photo credit: epicharmus

1. Identify your biggest electricity-consumers.
2. Turning off and later on doesn’t use more energy than keeping on. It concerns any device.
3. Switch off instead of stand by.
4. Get rid of TV.
5. Spend more time outdoor.
6. Use electric lawn mower instead of gasoline. Cheaper, safer, quieter, no problem with gasoline storage.
7. Use solar garden lights.
8. Use ceiling fan instead of air-conditioning.
9. Clean your air-conditioning filters regularly. Dirty filter makes AC uses more electricity.
10. If you have electric heat, heat only rooms that you are in.
11. Turn off the heat overnight.
12. Insulate your home. Take care especially for attic, garage, doors and windows.
13. Remember to turn off lights when you are not using them.
14. Use compact fluorescents bulbs instead of regular light. They use less energy and create less heat.
15. For all-night lights, use lowest wattage bulbs.
16. Computer uses less energy in sleep mode/standby/hibernate.
17. Replace CRT monitor with LCD.
18. Turn off (or sleep) computer when you stop working on it. It doesn’t hurt them, as it was in the past.
19. Boil only the amount of water you need.
20. Use smaller burner for smaller pan.
21. Remember to close your fridge door.
22. Consider buying newer, less energy consuming model of fridge.
23. Don’t put hot food into fridge.
24. Defrost food in fridge. It will help to keep it cool with less energy.
25. Put fridge in place out of sunlight and other heat sources. It’s also important that there is a space and circulation for heat generated by fridge. Fridge uses less energy in lower temperature.
26. Keep the fridge door insulation in good shape.
27. Keep fridge filled. Less warm air would go inside when you open door.
28. Do not put uncovered liquids in the fridge.
29. Remove all ingredients for one meal at one time.
30. Defrost freezer regularly. Iced freezer consumes more energy.
31. Vacuum clean fridge condenser coils. Dust can reduce efficiency.
32. Don’t use dryer for your laundry. Air-dry your clothes.
33. Wash clothes in warm or even cold water. Rinse can be done with cold water.
34. Wash only when dishwasher is full, but don’t overload.
35. Take shower instead of bath.
36. Fix the dripping tap.
37. Plug the drain when you are washing or shaving.

Have some more? Leave it in comments.

photo credit: mangpages