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As children we were encouraged to learn something new every day.  We did experiments at school, took part in extra-curricular activities, and joined cultural and activist groups during our college years.

Then something happened:

Adulthood.  (Or really, adulting.)

We went from being curious children to adults dedicated to a 9-5 job (which the majority of us find unrewarding), adopting routines that rarely ever change.

Benedict Carey, author of the book How We Learn, says that routine limits our brain’s ability to learn new skills and knowledge.  This is worrisome because learning new things is important for our happiness.

 

Why Learning New Things Is Crucial for Happiness

You may have heard that the “brain is like a muscle.”  Just like other muscles, you have to exercise the brain by learning new things.  Yes, there is ample research which shows that learning helps build neuron connections and can stave off diseases like Parkinson’s. But there is a lot more to learning new things than just making the brain stronger.  The act of learning actually makes us happier.

As Belle Beth Cooper writes about in her post on “Why New Things Make Us Feel So Good”, there is a section in the brain known as the SN/VTA.

The SN/VTA part of the brain is linked to the learning and memory parts, but it is best known as the “novelty center” because it lights up when exposed to new stimuli.  You experience a rush of dopamine, which is one of the chemicals that motivates us towards rewards.

Here is what happens:

• You experience something new.
• The “novelty center” of your brain is activated.
• You get a rush of dopamine.
• Dopamine motivates you to follow through with the new thing.
• You get another rush of dopamine when you finish the activity.

It is no surprise then that research has found dopamine is closely linked to the learning process. In short, learning new things stimulates happiness chemicals brain.

Learning is fundamentally positive for your mental health.

 

Other Benefits of Learning Something New

• Learning Makes You More Interesting to Others: You’ll always have something to talk about at parties.
• Can Relate to More People: The more you know, the more likely you are to find something in common with others.  Empathy also helps bridge gaps in communication.
• Builds Self-Esteem: Practice makes perfect, and when we see ourselves mastering new knowledge and skills, we build self-efficacy.   Self efficacy is our own faith that we can succeed at a given task, which closely overlaps with self-esteem and confidence.
• You’ll Make More Friends: Because of the benefits of learning listed above, you’ll find it easier to meet people and make friends. Social interactions are essential for our happiness, so learning really does pay off in the long run!
• Sets a Good Example: If you want your kids and loved ones to reap the same benefits of learning, lead by example!
• Earn More Money: Depending on what you learn, you might build both technical or soft skills to advance your career.

• Find a More Rewarding Career: It isn’t money which motivates us –having a sense of purpose motivates. Learning new skills makes you better-rounded so you can more easily find what you love to do.
• Empowering: Learning gives you the information you need to make better informed decisions in life.
• You’ll Learn Easier and Faster: The more you practice learning, the denser the myelin white matter of your brain becomes and the stronger your neural pathways become.
• Learning Fuels Creativity: As Positive Psychology champion Vanessa King says, ideas come from seemingly unrelated things. Learning new things can trigger ideas in other areas.

How to Learn Something New Right Now

Learning can be broken down into short-term and long-term learning.  If you don’t necessarily want to embark on a big endeavor (such as learning to play an instrument), your brain can still benefit from learning smaller bits of information on a daily basis.  Here are some ways to do that.

1. Watch Ted ED

Ted Talks are famous for bringing a huge amount of topics by innovative thinkers.  Ted Ed takes learning a step further with engaging video lessons.  Topics range from “the scientific way to cut a cake” to “how money laundering works.”

2. Play GeoGuessr

Americans are notoriously bad at geography, but the rest of the world probably isn’t too much better.  The game GeoGuessr takes a unique approach to learning geography.   You are shown a Google Maps photo and have to guess where it is.  You might just find yourself saying things like, “Huh, I didn’t know that Afghanistan has such green forests!”  It’s free to play.

3. Train Your Brain at Lumosity

Brought to you by scientists and game developers, Lumosity has a great collection of cognitive games you can play. You might not learn a concrete fact, but your brain will be challenged and grow!

4. Follow Curiosity

Curiosity is a website which inspires people to get smarter.  They do it by finding the most interesting news on a variety of topics.  Just click what topic you are interested in learning about and you’ll find fascinating articles and videos.

5. Build Your Vocabulary

A large vocabulary is not only impressive, but it allows you to express yourself better.  Remember the book 1984 and how they started cutting words from the language as a form of mind control?  Well, that’s the power of vocab!  The website Vocabulary.com has come up with an adaptive learning game to help you learn more words easily.

 

6. Follow Daily Infographic

No brainer right? Humans process visuals quickly: It takes less than 1/10 of a second for your brain to get a sense of a visual.  Absorbing new information using infographics is a quick and easy way to learn.  Visual learning not only decreases comprehension time, but sticks around longer in our memories.   On Daily Infographic you can spend 15 minutes per day perusing an infographic on a topic of your choice.

7. Encourage Yourself With Good Job, Brain! Trivia Podcast

Start your day off with an intelligent jolt of positively fascinating facts, offbeat trivia, and creative challenges designed to stimulate the mind. From identifying songs in reverse to the world’s weirdest history, Good Job, Brain! is the perfect podcast to enliven and inspire stimulated individuals.

8. Listen to 7 Good Minutes to Learn Yourself Better

Get yourself inspired and closer to your goals by listening to Clyde Lee Dennis’s self-improvement podcast. Each day of the week, he delivers practical life-skills discussions, wellness talks, and mindset shaping discourses into everything from stopping ruminating thoughts to goal-setting, the ego, and more.

9. Get Smart, Instantly With Instanerd

Subscribe to Instanerd or visit the site for an endless supply of useful facts and information. Start the feed and flick left or right through short how-tos and factoids on everything from taking advantage of travel opportunities to origin stories for society and social icons, fascinating general knowledge and even more obscure topics. Ever wondered what it’s called when you turn yellow from eating too many carrots? Instanerd has your answer.

10. Stay Informed With 60 Second Science

Scientific American’s 60 Second Science is the fastest way to stay informed regarding science, activism, and global interest issues. The refreshing, short format grips big topics, dissecting them during each podcast into condensed, relevant facts that fit great into any day regardless of how busy you may be. 

11. Flex Your Mind For 5 Minutes Using Brain Training Podcast

Two games of three rounds each takes care of brain exercise for the day in under five minutes, thanks to the Brain Training Podcast. The show is described as an audio workout for your head that teaches you how to memorize things effectively while having fun. 

12. Discover Unknown History By Listening To The Way I Heard It

Get the low-down on some of the most significant pop culture topics, the world’s greatest inventions, influential politics, prominent people, exciting places, and other icons of modern society. Mike Rowe’s podcast is short, to the point, and perfect for anyone with an enquiring mind. 

13. Take A Tip From The Functioning Minimalist And Live Happier

The practical tips provided by the Functioning Minimalist will have you listening to each podcast over and over again. Integrate sustainability tips while training yourself to grow more content in the moment each day. It’s the exact bite-sized inspiration that every busy professional needs. 

14. Let Highbrow Teach You Via Email In 5-Minutes A Day

Select from hundreds of topics and then let Highbrow deliver a five-minute lesson to your email inbox every day. From the arts and philosophy to entrepreneurship, marketing, personal growth, productivity, and even life hacks for travel and productivity – you’re ensured a fascinating selection of courses subdivided into ten daily episodes each.

15. Grow Your Current Knowledge With Big Think

Shine a light on complex, scientific topics with a global impact. Big Think teaches you topics like forced empathy and how to negotiate better. There’s discussions, presentations, and lessons on subjects that matter across all fields, making this resource indispensable to lifelong learners. 

16. Get Hooked On Trivia Crack App

Ever discovered just how addictive a good session of trivia is? Trivia Crack will leave you hooked on questions from across six categories as you compete against other human players from around the world. A winner is found in 25 rounds or less, cramming a surprising amount of interesting info into a brief period. Now, that’s fun learning. 

17. Learn How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords

When solved regularly, cognitive word games like cryptic crosswords improve lexical memory. Improve your ability to remember words and languages by using the Learn How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords app until you’re adept at working through one of the world’s favorite puzzles effectively. 

18. Learn A Dance Move From Steezy Studio

Step out of the boundaries of conventional learning experiences and pick up a new dance move every day with Steezy Studio. A selection of the world’s best dance tools makes sure that everyone from complete beginners with just a few minutes a day to seasoned, high-energy dance professionals have something new and fun to learn every day. 

19. Break Down And Read A Book In 15 Minutes With Blinkist

Discover thought-provoking new fiction with Blinkist. Each book is condensed into a 15-minute summary that is ideal for finding new authors and subjects. Free users are provided a random summary every day with Blinkist’s Random Pick, and you are free to read summaries offline. There’s no faster way to explore the literary world and find things you’d like to read.

Ways to Learn Long Term Skills

Ready to take on a bigger challenge? Learning new skills that require a longer-term commitment can be even more rewarding and stimulating for the brain.  Every day, you build on what you learned the day before until you reach a level of mastery.  Here are just some ideas of things you can start learning and where to start.

Online courses have the benefit of being comprehensive, guided learning experiences set at your own pace.  One of the biggest hurdles of signing up for online courses is completion.  Instead of finding larger blocks of time to power through courses, try to set aside a minimum of 15 minutes a day to work through courses.  Steady wins the race!

20. Hone Creativity with Creative Live

Art, photography, creativity get a boost with classes on Creative Live.  Whether you’re a beginner or an established artist looking to refine your skills and even build a business with them, this platform provides courses in a simulated live format.

The approach focuses on learning via interaction, which means that the online classroom also features a studio audience that appears on camera. The in-studio students, usually ranging from three to 15 people, interact with the instructor the way a live classroom would, creating a rich virtual experience.

Browse Daily Free On-Air Classes!

21. Pick Up Career Skills With Skillshare

A January 2018 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that on average a person changes jobs 10-15 times, and that number is only increasing with increasing job mobility.  Better job mobility also comes from more opportunities to learn new skills.

Skillshare features personalized, on demand classes in categories like animation, graphic design, web development, business analytics, entrepreneurship, and marketing, to name a few.  Productivity and lifestyle classes help you to make those skills go even further.

22. Master New Skills at Udemy

On Udemy, you can find over 55,000 online courses on topics ranging from web development to music training.  Many basic level classes are free but there are paid courses as well.

23.  Learn Coding at Udacity

Udacity is one of the most popular places to learn coding for free.  They have videos, quizzes, and instructions so you can earn a “Nanodegree.”  The courses are made by expert programmers and big companies like Google so they are definitely relevant to today’s job market and tech trends.

24. Take Interactive Online Courses At BitDegree  

BitDegree differentiates itself through offering interactive & gamified courses, especially in the blockchain space.  Universities are already embracing blockchain courses on campuses, based on growing interest from students.  The cryptocurrency phenomenon is a global one, powered by bitcoin’s meteoric rise.   Courses offered cover skills ranging from programming, marketing, machine learning to blockchain and cryptocurrencies.  

25. Learn Digital Marketing with Primer

All small business owners and entrepreneurs need to know digital marketing techniques if they are going to stay relevant.  Created by Google, Primer teaches marketing skills and delivers them in digestible 5-minute segments.

26. Take Online Courses at Coursera

Coursera is one of the best places to find free online courses in higher education on just about any topic.  The courses are offered by top universities in the US, helping you to extend your education from the comforts of your own home.  Certificates are available for a fee.  As an alternative, Iversity.org provides development courses from experts all over Europe. usually on very specific topics.

27. Learn Leadership Skills at MindTools

Today’s top companies aren’t just looking for skills like coding.  They want people with soft skills like leadership, team management, creativity, and decision-making.  MindTools has a great collection of mini courses which teach you these skills.

28. View Instructables

Not sure what you want to learn today? Just visit Instructables and view any one of the great DIY tutorials to learn a new skill.

29. Learn First Aid from the Red Cross App

First aid is something that everyone should know and refresh regularly.  The American Red Cross has come up with a great app to help.  It isn’t a substitute for an in-person course, but it does have bite-size courses on basics accompanied by videos and instructions.

30. Learn a New Language with Duolingo

Duolingo is an app which makes it easy to learn a new language thanks to its interactive method and how it breaks down lessons into small chunks. There are dozens of languages to choose from and the app is free to use!

 

31. Become a Better Writer with 750 Words

Writing is fundamental cornerstone of communication and remains one of the most in-demand skills that employers look for. The app 750 Words helps you become a better writer by having you write a minimum of 750 words of stream of conscious writing per day – a practice which is said to improve writing fluency and also help you learn about yourself in the process.

32. Further Career Goals With LinkedIn Learning

Formerly Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning focuses on career oriented subjects with like business, design, and technology.  These expert taught classes are meant to add skills to help you in your job.

33.  Learn Gratitude with Mojo

Gratitude is key for happiness in life.  What a lot of people don’t realize is that gratitude actually has to be learned and worked on.  The app Mojo helps you rewire your brain to be more grateful by encouraging you to write at least five good things per day, rate the day, and add photos.

34. Pick A Mental Workout From Brain Metrix

The next time you find your mind wandering and are in need of a diversion, head to Brain Metrix. Pick from a range of extensive cognitive tests designed to boost mental flexibility and fitness. Improve concentration, reflection speed, memory and mental reflexes through strangely addictive mental exercises.

 

35. Steer Your Mood and Mind With Moodfit App

Make the changes that you need to your mood, mind, lifestyle and habits to improve your mental health and improve every area of your life. Moodfit may not be free, but it offers 30 days to try the world’s top-rated mental health app’s full functionality. You’ll have everything from tools to help you manage immediate stress to tracking for sleep, therapy, gratitude and goals. There’s no better way to take control and understand your emotions.

 

36. Let Peak Brain Training Make Cognitive Exercise Fun

Peak Braining Training is an app that’ll push your cognition, training you through a series of stimulating, challenging mental workouts. Fun, fast and personalized for you – the Peak app can help you improve your focus, memory and overall mental agility. Developed in tandem with scientists from Cambridge, Yale, UCL and King’s College London, it keeps you motivated while offering training programmes reaching advanced levels of memory and attention.

 

37. Speak A New Language Conversationally With Babbel

Introduce yourself to a new language and learn just how simple becoming fluent can be with Babbel. Both a web and mobile app are available. Exercises are to the point, teaching you phrases that you’ll use in practical day-to-day situations. Babbel isn’t free, but it’s highly affordable and has some of the best lessons, prompts, and podcasts around.

 

38. Learn Any Language With Rosetta Stone

The world’s most famous language learning tool is an award-winning language learning solution. From giving you a focused interface to learn practical words and phrases to fine-tuning pronunciation with the help of Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent Speech recognition, few apps can compare. Try it out for three days for free and see how Rosetta Stone will help you pick up a new language more intuitively than ever.

 

39. Use Drops To Try A New Language In Only 5 Minutes A Day

Drops is a learning app brought to us by Kahoot! that lets you learn practical aspects of a range of different languages in just five minutes a day. Pick from one of 41 various languages, and visual character learning immerses you in vocabulary that you’d commonly use when traveling. Lessons are spread across 11 topics, and each session builds to a lasting understanding of a new language.

 

40. Communicate Better With The Help Of Elevate App

The once-winner of Apple’s App of the Year presents an impressive range of fun exercises to train your brain and work on social skills. Elevate helps you speak better while honing focus and cognition. The whole experience is customized according to the way you interact with Elevate, with the 35+ games learning how to help you better each time you play. 

 

41. Learn Faster With Kahoot! Interactive Quizzes

Kahoot! Has over 50 million interactive quizzes and games on-demand that make learning fascinating at any age. Whether you’re discovering a new topic, exploring a complex concept, or putting skill into practice, Kahoot! makes sure your full attention is on training while having more fun than you ever thought possible. 

 

42. Use BrainScape’s Smart Flashcards to Condense Learning

BrainScape may be designed for students, but the smart flashcards sure do make it easy to compress a vast amount of knowledge into an exciting learning experience for adults. The science of spaced repetition keeps your mind alert, processing and retaining knowledge effectively. It’s an app that offers a great way to be introduced to new subjects.

 

43. Set a Score In Curious And Grow Your Knowledge

Curious video lessons and a personal Curious Quotient (CQ) score ensure that you’re learning something new every day in 5, 15, or 30-minutes. Pick the subject that you want to learn from a growing collection of over 25,000 lessons. New CQ workouts are suggested daily to sharpen your creative, practical, and academic skills. 

44. Learn More About Your Tendencies With Queendom Tests

Queendom is a platform filled with scientifically developed and validated quizzes that help you learn more about yourself and your hidden tendencies. From testing your affinity for childcare to determining coachability, and even more fun tests like determining devotion, kinkiness or your level of personal hygiene – Queendom offers a fascinating way to spend 15 minutes a day learning something new.

 

Tools to Further Your Career

Staying competitive in today’s ever-evolving world calls for self-growth and constantly learning new skills. With these tools, you’re sure to be armed with everything that you need to get your job done better than ever while opening yourself to a far broader range of business options. Keep working hard at yourself as a professional in your field, and you’re sure to further your career quickly. 

 

45. Prepare To Pass Your PMP Using Brain Sensei

Pass your Project Management Exam (PMP) with flying colors, with a little help from Brain Sensei. Serving up an innovative selection of test prep courses using animated stories, this online video PMP training course makes preparation fun and easy. Storytelling puts across bite-sized components of information that condenses the PMBOK into something that anyone can grasp given devoted attention.

 

46. Raise Your Student Score With Some Help From Kranse Institute 

If you’re looking for a surefire way to up your SAT, ACT, or GMAT score, the Kranse Institute should be a prime consideration. Bite-sized video lectures take you through digital test preparation using a syllabus proven to increase your average test scores. The Kranse Institute’s program was developed and is taught by perfect score student, Shaan Patel who won Shark Tank and joined forces with billionaire investor, Mark Cuban.

 

47. Enroll In Video Coding Courses Treehouse

Treehouse video courses on in-demand topics make learning advanced subjects like coding, design, technical and soft skills easy. The unmistakable Treehouse learning system condenses education into interactive videos, workspaces and quizzes that are as informative as they are intuitive and addictive. Instead of relying on standardized tests and exams, code and projects are peer-reviewed, making sure that you know how to apply the things you learn. 

 

48. Use 360training To Cruise Through Workforce Exams

If you’re looking for an app to help you prepare for any workforce training exam, look no further 360training. Giving access to over 6000 courses with new, relevant certifications added by the day, 360training is comprehensive and easy to use. It acts as a single resource for multiple-tests, ensuring that driven employees are empowered with current regulations and 24/7 access to learning material across all devices.

 

49. Learn IT Skills From QuickStart

QuickStart should be your go-to learning resource for all online IT certification courses and programs. Being partnered with institutions like Microsoft Gold, Cisco and Citrix makes QuickStart one of the world’s only IT training and work readiness vendors supported by all the latest emerging technologies. There are courses to help teams reach their goals better, professional aptitude assessments, personnel insight courses, and all types of personalized learning modalities available.

50. Do Better Business And Listen To The 15-Minute Strategy Podcast

Ever wished you had a thought leader at your side to help you decipher the next, best course of action for your career or business? Tune in to the 15-Minute Strategy Podcast brought to you by Hubspot’s Sprocket Talk, and look forward to actionable advice and practical next steps from top professionals across all fields. 

 

51. Trade Virtual Stocks With Wall Street Survivor

Visit Wall Street Survivor to enjoy what’s considered by many to be the world’s best stock trading simulator. Join the practice league and spend as much or as little time as you can on playing a virtual stock market. Wall Street Survivor teaches you how to invest in stocks through a selection of easy-to-understand prompts and pointers. 

 

52. Teach Yourself Coding For Free With SoloLearn

From around the clock peer support from a dedicated, busy community to a selection spanning thirteen languages – SoloLearn has everything you need to make learning coding easier. There’s no faster way to cement all those core concepts into memory than through this intuitive app’s multiple-choice learning prompts. 

53. Learn to Code Anywhere With Mimo

Mimo is an app designed to make on-the-go coding accessible to anyone learning a language. Bite-sized exercises make grasping advanced concepts easy, while goals and streaks keep you on track and growing your programming know-how steadily.

 

Why 15 Minutes a Day?

It doesn’t have to be 15 minutes a day that you dedicate to learning something new.  It could be 30 minutes, one hour, or even as little as 5 minutes per day.  What matters is that you:

1. Dedicate a specific amount of time daily for learning new things.
2. Hold yourself accountable.

The reason the time-frame unit is so important is because people are more likely to stay motivated and succeed if they break goals into smaller units.

Use Effective Learning Strategies

To reinforce skills, utilizing specific techniques can help you learn faster.  These include testing yourself regularly, finding ways to gain practical experience, rewarding yourself, and teaching others.  Here are a few other common strategies:

• Dual Coding – This method most often represents using images next to text.  Or learning sign language as you’re learning a verbal language.  Having 2 different codes for the message further reinforces learning.
• Association – Grouping concepts together helps the memory keep related information together.  Sorting and categorization are the building blocks of cognition.
• Spacing – Cramming is the mortal enemy of this technique.  If you plan ahead, chunking material into pieces and learning something over time offers more consistent results.  Then you have the chance to forget some information and actually relearn it.
• Retrieval – After learning something new, whether it’s from a textbook or online, put the material away and try to recall it.  Interacting with the material without actually having it in front of you is a form of testing yourself.

Learning is most effective when it enters long term memory.  The path to get there is best with a few twists and turns.  Trial and error often works well – just find what works best for you!

Implement What You’ve Learned!

Using these tools to learn something new every day is a great start.  But the reality is that we are already bombarded with information on a daily basis.

How much?

According to Niklas Goeke, we consume 74.92 gigabytes of data every day. That’s enough to fill 9 DVDs with data – or 74 pickup trucks filled with paper!

All of the information we consume isn’t helping us achieve happiness or wellbeing in life.  Instead, excessive info consumption drains us and fries our brains.

Of course, most of this info consumption is done during our (brain-killing) routines.  Simply by breaking routine and making a point to learn new things is going to help you retain and utilize the info better.

But, to really reap the life-changing benefits of learning new things, follow this one important tip:

Share what you’ve learned with others.

It can be on a daily learning blog.  Or on social media. Or just make a point to tell your spouse what you’ve learned that day while you eat dinner together.

It may be difficult to find all that time.  But the simple act of sharing your new knowledge and insight will help it stick and make the benefits of learning even more life changing.

 

Image credits:
“Grow” (CC BY 2.0) by crdotx
“Blue Denim and Pink Brain Anatomy Mini H” (CC BY 2.0) by Hey Paul Studios

Smartphones have become an integral part of our everyday life. Of course, they have a lot of benefits that make our life better. However, the excessive use of phones may result in huge problems with health.

The first thing to do is to have more free time spent without a smartphone. If you lack free time, you can try to write my paper with the help PaperWriter service. Furthermore, look through the list of working techniques to get rid of phone addiction and change your life for the better.

Why is Phone Addiction a Serious Problem?

Smartphone addiction is a serious problem because it has a lot of negative effects on both physical and mental health:

• Aggravating short-time memory;
• Less emotional recovery;
• Increased feeling of loneliness and depression;
• Poor quality of conversation;
• Adverse impact on the quality of sleep;
• Increasing obesity;
• Relationships problems;
• Increased anxiety;
• Problems with studying;
• Poor academic performance;
• Problems with eyes;
• Frequent headaches.

This list of the most frequent outcomes of phone addiction shows that the problem affects health and quality of life. That’s why it is crucial to find the best solutions to overcome phone addiction and improve your wellness.

Simple Tips For Getting Rid of Phone Addiction

Getting rid of phone addiction is a chance to change your life for the better. After trying these simple tips, you will see that you get a lot of free time, improve the learning process, and have a good mood.

Customize the Notifications

The first step to solve the problem of phone addiction is to customize the notifications. Thus, the surveys show that people cannot ignore notifications that result in the excessive use of smartphones.

You need to limit the notifications, especially when you are at college or busy. This way, you won’t have an additional reason to turn on your smartphone and look through the messages. After some time, you will feel less stressed because nothing will disturb you from important things.

Delete All Unnecessary Apps

The next important thing is to delete all unnecessary apps. For example, if you need to study a lot, social media apps will be the main reason to be distracted. Thus, try to delete them for some time, and you will see how much free time you get.

Also, look through all the apps installed on your smartphone. Maybe, you will find a lot of unnecessary apps you will never use. Delete them, as they can send notifications that are too disturbing.

Create a Plan to Use a Smartphone

One more good idea is to create a plan for your smartphone usage. If you feel that you are too addicted to smartphones, you need to write down how many apps you use during the day and for what purpose. It will help understand why smartphone addiction is a great problem.

With the new plan, you will start to control the usage of smartphones. Also, you will have a detailed schedule for the day. Undoubtedly, it will make your college life easier and well-organized.

Take a Holiday

Specialists recommend taking holidays without any gadgets. It is a nice way to detox your mind from social media and tons of information. For example, you can go on a trip or camping for the weekend. Spending time close to nature has a lot of benefits, such as a good mood. Furthermore, such a holiday will also be useful for both mental and physical health.

If you think your relatives and friends will worry about your long absence online, notify them about your short holiday.

Do Not Use Smartphone Before Going to Bed

The next working suggestion is not to use smartphones before going to bed. Thus, the specialists have already found out that the blue light of the display negatively affects the quality of sleep.

Furthermore, people often do not control how much time they spend with smartphones in bed. It starts with several minutes and ends with almost half of the night scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. So, if you want to sleep well and feel good in the morning, get rid of your phone for 3-4 hours before bed.

 

Use Apps to Limit Phone Usage

 

We talked about the negative effects of unnecessary apps at the beginning of the article. But there are also useful apps that help limit phone usage during the day. If you want to stay healthy and have a lot of free time, try this effective way to get rid of smartphone addiction.

Such apps as Rescue Time or AppDetox will become your best friends during the day. The main advantage of these programs is in controlling the time period you spend on a phone.

Try to Use a Feature Phone for Some Time

In case of serious phone addiction, it is recommended to use a feature phone for some time. The main benefit of this phone is the absence of social media apps. Thus, you will use it only for its direct purpose—to call someone if necessary.

After several weeks of this experiment, you can get back to your smartphone. If you see that you can control the time spent on social media, you will overcome your addiction.

Replace the Bad Habit

Experts recommend trying to replace the bad habit with the good one. In case of phone addiction, you can search for a new hobby to overcome this problem. Try to read books before going to sleep instead of surfing the Internet. This way, you will spend time with pleasure and get new knowledge.

Change Thinking

Finally, you need to change your thinking to overcome the addiction. Try to analyze your life to find out the main reason for excessive use of the smartphone. Maybe, the main cause for it is feelings of loneliness, depression, or some life problems. After you realize it, you will solve this issue faster.

Key Takeaway

To conclude, it is vital to find working solutions to overcome the problem of phone addiction. If you feel that you spend too much time on the phone, it is the right time to try at least one of the tips from this list. Always remember that a smartphone is a tool but not the thing that can control your life.

If you keep a daily journal,  you can benefit from it a lot by just adding a few new pages on a regular basis. This routine helps you to understand yourself better and watch your personal evolution. You might notice how you change and grow. It’s actually a very therapeutic habit that helps to connect with your true self.

By the way, have you ever thought that writing makes your thinking better? In order to write, you must first have an idea of what you want to say. Hence, you need to order your thoughts and put them into a logical chain. While producing ideas and arranging them into a well-ordered sequence, your thinking clarity improves. What’s more, writing requires you to do proper research on the topic. By reading different sources, you become smarter.

As you can see, writing is very beneficial. However, we usually avoid writing activities if they are not related to our work or studies. Typically, writing is a kind of professional or learning obligation. And it requires mastery. But what to do if you are not really good at it? Let’s find it out!

1. Use a Professional Web Editor

You might have noticed that most text editors have a built-in proofing tool that corrects basic spelling and grammar. But the problem is that such free tools miss a lot of errors and don’t teach you about the mistakes you’ve made. Hence, you should focus on professional online editors like Grammarly and Hemingway instead. These tools do not only help you identify your errors but also explain how to correct them.

2. Read Classic Literature

It’s not a secret that the best writers are keen readers. In fact, regular reading is a great way to enhance your writing skills. But if it’s not about blog posts on the web. To become a better writer, you should choose more challenging material. Additionally, you need to pay special attention to sentence structure, word choice, and how the content flows.

3. Practice every single day

When it comes to refining any type of skills, you must be disciplined. Practice writing on a daily basis and make it a habit. There is no need to create something complicated, easy-to-read blog posts and short articles would be enough. You can also commit to Morning Pages, writing down a stream of your consciousness by hand.

4. Start Writing Essays to Improve Your Writing

Another great way to boost your writing skills is essay writing. If you don’t know what to begin with, then choose a topic you are interested in and create a series of essays about it. Most importantly, pick a subject you are really passionate about, so you will enjoy this activity. By the way, in case you want to get feedback on your work, you can go to https://gradesfixer.com/fix-my-essay/ and ask experts to fix your essay. This way, you will see your mistakes and learn about your areas of improvement.

5. Read Your Texts Out Loud

A good final test for your content is reading it out loud. Even though you have written everything absolutely grammatically correct, your text might sound unnatural. If any part of your writing is difficult to say out loud, you should improve it for better clarity.

6. Visit a Workshop

Joining a writing workshop can be very exciting. But apart from having fun, you will definitely learn new things there. To attend such events, you don’t need to have an unfinished novel. There are a lot of content marketing meet-ups nowadays, so you can benefit from them as well.

7. Imitate your favorite writers

Imitation doesn’t mean that you should plagiarize someone. It can have bad consequences for you, so never rip off anyone’s work. But you can identify what you enjoy about others’ work and use it in your own writing.

8. Don’t Make Edits while Writing

Don’t even try to make your text perfect at once. Editing while writing is a huge mistake as being obsessed about spelling, word order and outcome can ruin your creativity. The only thing you should focus on is getting your thoughts out on paper. However, if you can’t stop correcting the mistakes, use some dictation software.

9. Create a Set of Templates

If you are writing for commercial purposes and your content always has a similar structure, create templates for it. They are not only timesavers but also very effective tools that can boost your productivity. Besides, your text will look perfectly organized.

10. Find a Writing Buddy

As human beings, we all need support in everything we do to achieve extraordinary results. Although writing is usually thought of as a solitary activity, it’s better done in a team. Find somebody who also wants to hone their skills and help each other. You can ask your partner to set interesting tasks for you and give comments on your work. This will provide you with a fresh view, which is a must for self-development.

An organized kitchen can be the most appealing and satisfying thing. Sales are around the corner and there is an extensive list to buy. If you are waiting for a long time to have all that you want then the right time is approaching. You’ll find this storage wishlist to be useful as you will find all that you need.

I find organized storage to be oddly satisfying. The beautiful arrangement of colors and best utilization of spaces to be calming. But to make my storage essential purchases budget-friendly I wait for this time at the year-end to restock all the necessary storage items from the best Homestore through Ashley Furniture Promo Code.

When it comes to home essentials I completely trust Ashley as they provide premium quality material at their best price.

When we step into the kitchen we feel like entering into a whole world of colors and objects. To arrange them you need a diverse as well as an extensive range of containers to store them.

Fridge Organizers

You will find a wide variety of fridge organizers to store different products. The most amazing one which I like the most is the beverage organizer as you can easily grab your drink without disturbing or dislocating items from your fridge.

• Storage Baskets
• Plastic boxes
• Eggs holder
• Vegetable and fruits baskets
• Milk container
• Silicon lid covers

By making an arrangement that is clean and appealing not only relaxes your mind while the advance of technology makes the food stay longer as the containers help to slow down the ripening process and you get greater utility in consuming them as food stays fresh for a longer period.

Currently because of technical advancement companies have also made improvements and made fridges that keep food fresh for longer and have built-in storage containers to give the customer complete ease. But if you don’t have such a fridge, you can also get the best containers in the black Friday sale!

Kitchen table with Storage

The most useful amazing thing that I have found on the internet in 2021 is this kitchen table that has storage along with it. I get stressed out while stocking drinks and beer bottles on the shelf as they easily get broken while taking them out. By having this table they can keep glasses, drinks, bottles, and any other thing I desire to have while having any meal. Easy, quick, and handy!

In my friend’s opinion, it’s the best thing while partying as anyone can make the drinks at ease. The crockery below it provides the comfort of not getting interrupted while having food with the family.

Wooden Storage box

Keeping the environment in concern and switching towards eco-friendly products is the need of the hour. If we want our future generation to get all the resources and facilities we have today, then we need to adopt eco-friendly products so that our generation can enjoy the life we are enjoying.

Wooden storage boxes look very attractive and are safe to use. According to a survey natural cedar, teak wood and redwood containers are safer to use in comparison with other container materials.

Storage Ottoman

Ottoman storage can be the most modern yet antique way of storing things as they can be utilized for seating purposes as well as storage purposes at the same time. They look so beautiful in the living lounge and easily fit in any part of the house. You can pick them in a plain solid color or beautiful abstracts or traditional ottoman prints. I usually keep kids’ toys and playing items in the ottoman so that they can easily play with them and wind it up once done.

Lockable storage box

There are many things that we desire to keep in the lock. It can be anything. Most of the time we try to save our shoes when we are traveling as being barefooted is the most troublesome. Coming summer I am planning to travel abroad and I badly need to have lockable storage boxes as they are multipurpose. I can keep shoes in these, I can keep my makeup in them so that my expensive makeup might not get ruined. Moreover, I can keep liquid bottles such as contact solutions, shampoo, oiling bottles, makeup remover, and toner, or any other thing that might be prone to leak. I have found it to be most useful for many aspects.

Mini Fridge storage cabinet

The most useful and amazing thing that I found at my mate place you a mini fridge storage cabinet. The feature that I liked the most is that I can keep my food stock just along with the fridge so that I can keep a check when my supplies are running out. I can have what I want whether a chilled beverage or at room temperature. You can keep a microwave oven or toaster at the top. You can even make it a cutting place where you can easily chop your veggies by standing up straight.

Other than that you can store cereals, snacks, munchies, crackers, and all that you want. I have short-listed some of the places from where I will surely get a mini fridge storage cabinet for myself.

 Spices Mason Jars

Women find spices to be the most interesting as well as difficult thing to differentiate. Spices have their unique texture and aroma that is needed to be preserved so that whenever needed we can get the spices fresh and ready to use to make the meal delicious. Storing them in mason jars is the new thing and labeling them can make your daily cooking quick and convenient.

These were some of the items that I am surely going to buy this Black Friday Sale. If you are planning to create your wish list you can also add these useful and handy items to help you carry-out you’re your daily routine activities.

Emailing your customers continues to be an important way to connect with them. Even though there are so many ways to get in touch, you’d be surprised at how many businesses still win using email. You can email updates, offers, and more to interest and keep your audience.

But to do that you’ll need a solid email marketing platform.

Let’s take a peek behind the curtain of one of the newer email platforms Flodesk.

 

What is Flodesk?

Flodesk launched as an email marketing platform built by creators, for creators. Its founders, Martha Bitars and Rebecca Shostak, designed Flodesk as an affordable alternative for small businesses and bloggers who prefer a “design-first” approach.

Readers will appreciate the eye-catching email templates and easy-to-use UI (user interface). Flodesk even offers automation sequences to keep your readers engaged, customizable form builder, and detailed analytics.

And best of all, you can get started in just minutes – no coding required!

 

Flodesk Review: Main Features 

As a newer platform, Flodesk is fairly light on features, instead focusing on the design elements of email marketing. That said, with upgrades rolling out every few months and a robust framework in place, it offers plenty of perks already.  

Built-in Email Templates 

Currently, Flodesk offers about 30 email templates for subscribers. While they’re simple and modern, they’re also sleek, relying on pictures and block formatting for a flow-down-the-page feel. 

Using the drag-and-drop editor, you can customize each template to focus on images or text as needed. Or you can layer both together to build something new and exciting using your own fonts and colors. 

But if Flodesk’s templates aren’t enough, the company frequently partners with content creators to design more. Plus, you can use their blank-slate editor to build your own from scratch!

Automated Workflows

In this fast-moving world, software that completes repetitive (but essential) tasks can save you tons of time. Using Flodesk’s drag-and-drop editor, you can design workflows in seconds and shave hours off your week. And with four customizable templates to choose from, you can advertise, welcome, nurture, and convert with ease!

 

Flodesk Form Builder 

Eye-catching landing pages are an integral part of email marketing. And while Flodesk doesn’t provide designated landing pages, you can use their attractive form builder to create:

• Website pop-ups
• Embeddable forms
• Forms packed with all manner of fonts, colors, pictures, and links
• Your own call-to-action buttons

And all of this occurs in Flodesk’s minimalist, user-friendly interface. 

 

Simple – Yet Robust – Analytics

Flodesk also offers an analytics dashboard to tie the whole platform together. From here, you can look at an email campaign’s deliverability, opens, click-throughs, and bounce rate. Additionally, you can organize information by user device, check link performance, and resend unopened emails at the click of a button. 

 

Flodesk Pros

An email marketing platform is only as useful as its tools. While Flodesk is new, it’s also optimized for its target demographic: design-first entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

 

Clean, Code-Free UI

You can use Flodesk with ease whether you’re a computer expert or an email marketing newbie. And you won’t have to learn HTML or CSS to get started, removing a crucial barrier for many non-tech-savvy users. 

But just because you don’t have to code doesn’t mean Flodesk can’t produce a clean product – for you or your readers. Whether you focus on email creation, form building, or workflow design, Flodesk provides a slick interface packed with automations.

 

Gorgeous Templates

Flodesk prides itself on sleek, modern, conversion-driving emails. While its template library is limited, each is fully customizable with the drag-and-drop editor. 

And thanks to their image-focused block-style format, Flodesk emails draw your readers’ attention right where you want it. Rather than crowding out your emails with details, you can nurture leads with messages that are simple and gorgeous. 

 

The Flodesk Community

Flodesk provides plenty of assistance to guide entrepreneurs to success. 

To start, the Flodesk Help Center is jam-packed with information on setting up your account, creating workflows, email and form design, and more. If you have a question on a topic that’s not covered, you can submit a help ticket or peruse the Flodesk Insiders Facebook Group. 

But Flodesk doesn’t just want you to succeed at making attractive emails; they want you to succeed, period. That’s why they created Flodesk University, a community for professionals to share insights in short, information-packed videos. 

Continual Feature Rollout

Because of its pared-down approach, some creators find that Flodesk doesn’t offer enough tools for their needs. And, as a newer platform, Flodesk is still missing some features that even minimalists find necessary for their email campaigns. 

That said, Bitars and Shostak roll out new features and upgrades frequently, meaning that Flodesk’s punch gets more powerful all the time. 

For example, Flodesk reports that landing page functionality is coming soon. Plus, their content partners regularly create new templates for their library. 

 

Unlimited Everything – Forever 

Flodesk only offers one pricing plan: $38 per month, or $418 per year. According to Flodesk, this price includes “Unlimited everything, forever.”  That means that you’ll never have to worry about price hikes due to new features or your growing email list. 

 

Flodesk Cons

New toys are shiny and fun – but in Flodesk’s case, some functions are still under development. And while Flodesk is rolling toward becoming a full-service email marketing service, some features remain sorely lacking.  

Steep Price Entry Point

We noted Flodesk’s one price for life policy above. While you won’t face sudden price hikes, $38 per month is steep for minimal features – especially for small email lists. 

Lack of Advanced Features 

Unfortunately, though Flodesk has some plans in the works, their newness means that they lack some advanced features. 

For instance, there’s no dedicated landing page builder; you have to use their generic form builder. And if you need more advanced workflows, increasingly segmented email lists, or in-depth analytics, you’re out of luck – at least for now.  

Design Constraints

Flodesk offers nearly three dozen templates and a blank slate to design your own emails. But you’ll still have to work within the limitations of their platform, including their limited color palette, a mere handful of fonts, and maximum image sizes.  

Not Built for Mobile Use

Flodesk doesn’t offer a mobile app, which can prove prohibitive if you work primarily from a tablet. And though you can view your analytics on mobile, all new content must originate from a desktop device. 

 

Few Integrations 

Lastly, Flodesk only integrates with a handful of platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, Google, Slack, Shopify, and WordPress. And while you can link with Zapier, buying another membership can substantially increase your costs. 

 

 

Flodesk: Is It Worth It?

Flodesk is an email marketing platform for those who value the look of their campaigns. Though it offers a minimal feature palate, the service’s robust automations, built-in templates and form builder, and regular feature upgrades and rollouts make it an attractive option for:

• Design-first entrepreneurs
• Small businesses with simple needs
• Bloggers with a large email base who don’t want to pay for unneeded features

Flodesk costs $38 per month, or $418 per year (with one month free). But if you’re not sure whether Flodesk will suit your needs, they offer a one-month free trial – no credit card required! 

And though $38 per month is steep for smaller email lists, the company states that you get “unlimited everything, forever.” That means that as you grow, the platform’s features (but not their price) will grow with you.

A digital marketer is a marketing specialist and professional that mostly uses digital channels to get to potential or current customers. They aid in building brand awareness as well as promoting products and services. Moreover, the job description of a digital marketer includes several skills. This, in layman’s language, means that digital marketers wear many hats.

One of their many responsibilities is to write and dispatch email marketing campaigns. A digital marketer also does the creation and uploading of the website of the company they work for. All marketing must also ensure that content is search engine optimized. Digital marketers also provide reports after accurate analysis when demonstrating the effective return of an investment. Read on to find out more about the 10 essential skills needed to become a successful digital marketer.

 

SEO and SEM

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are crucial in digital marketing. Having SEO skills as a digital marketer helps you learn about traffic, enabling you to bring more traffic to your website. Notably, this skill also helps in getting better conversions from that traffic. Learning about optimizing your website can only be possible with this skill in the bag. Also, the incorporation of paid search advertising is another form of digital marketing that is available today.

Having SEM skills helps a digital marketer in designing ads for better targeting. This aids in brand recognition getting sites like Platin Casino UK to the top of searches. It also aids in bringing in targeted traffic to your website. Merging these two skills can prove to be very instrumental in ensuring that you become a good digital marketer.

Data Analysis

Data analysis is very important to any digital marketing specialist. The importance of data in understanding the target audience can’t be ignored. Having good data analysis skills as a digital marketer is useful for understanding the concerns of your customers. Furthermore, you get to learn and understand consumer behavior and demographics. This information helps you to see trends allowing you to make data-driven predictions that aid you to make helpful and insightful decisions. For example, you are better placed for knowing when your product will be most in demand. It can also prove to be beneficial for getting higher returns. Thus, skills in analytics, as you can see, are very instrumental for a successful digital marketing career.

 

Writing and Editing

Writing and editing are by far the most important skills you should develop to become a successful digital marketer. If you want to generate influential content like blog posts, you must have good writing skills. This skill is quite important in learning how to source and create top-quality content. You also need the editing skill to turn a piece into content that will create an impact. Good content is essential for effective digital marketing. For this reason, you should sharpen your skills in writing and editing to aid in this. This helps in generating good content for the targeted audience. As you do this, you get better results, and it will also help you improve your marketing career.

 

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a direct form of marketing channel employed in digital marketing. It is the use of email to promote products and services. This tool is often used to make customers aware of your latest products and services. For example, if you have offers, you can utilize this tool to propagate automated marketing efforts. Furthermore, as a digital marketer, having good email marketing skills is quite important in improving customer relations. In this way, you get the chance to have direct contact with customers, which in turn helps you build a good rapport with them and learn more about the customers’ needs. All in all, this skill can help a lot in converting potential customers into actual customers because you have the chance of reaching them effectively.

Adaptability and Problem Solving

Adaptability is all about being able to handle change in an environment. As a digital marketer, you will know that your target market is constantly changing. What you might know now may not be relevant in the coming months because of changes in the target market. Thus, you have to adapt to remain relevant in this field. Possessing adaptability skills is, therefore, very important in digital marketing. In addition to adaptability, you should also strive to improve your problem-solving skills.

Reaching some target markets through digital marketing can be challenging, but good problem-solving skills enable you to work around any issues. When you develop these skills, you can be sure that you will remain relevant even with changing target audiences. So, these skills are essential in making sure that you can progress your digital marketing career effectively.

 

Social Media Skills

Moving forward, we live in a time where, most probably, almost everyone spends time on a social media platform daily. This is why every digital marketer targets social media marketing. Furthermore, there are a plethora of social media platforms available. Therefore, as a digital marketer, social media skills, such s creating relevant hashtags to generate leads, are both helpful and vital. These skills enable you to create a brand’s story, design effective adverts, and identify the right social media channel for your advertising. The most important outcome of these skills is that they enable you to increase brand awareness. Many people interacting with your posts make your brand recognizable. Hence, you get an opportunity to begin building your brand’s reputation.

Advertising Skills

Advertising is the backbone of product promotion and marketing according to experts. It is almost impossible to think of marketing without this aspect coming into the picture. Having advertising skills as a digital marketer can boost your digital marketing career greatly. In short, having good advertising skills will aid you in identifying the best placement for different adverts. You will also understand which is the best advertisement to use for a specific audience. Having good advertising skills will assist you to tailor the specifics so that you can design an effective advertisement for the particular audience that you are dealing with.

 

Creativity and Design Skills

People are always attracted to what is appealing to them. So, creativity helps in crafting better marketing strategies. The digital marketing field has many players. Due to this, you need to stand out from the crowd. By being creative, you will come up with better ideas for marketing. You can also tailor your marketing strategies to meet the needs of different groups. In addition to that, how you design your adverts and products can also play a big role in producing a successful marketing campaign. You should strive to acquire good design skills to help you deliver good content. Furthermore, in order to make your digital marketing campaign stand out, creativity and design skills are essential.

 

Communication Skills

Marketing is all about sending your message across to customers and making sure that customers receive and understand your message. This emphasizes the importance of communication in digital marketing. However, it is not just communication, but good communication that is required when it comes to digital marketing. For instance, a company that communicates effectively will benefit from building up a loyal customer base. In the same way, digital marketers benefit from good communication skills. In fact, good communication skills lead to higher conversion rates. To add to that, you will develop a good rapport with your customers. As a result, those customers become more loyal, thereby making you a successful digital marketer. The bottom line is that you should always strive to sharpen your communication skills as it is an essential skill in the digital marketing industry.

 

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning involves forward-thinking. This is what is needed to grow a business. Basically, this skill can help you plan when to take specific actions to achieve your set objectives. Some strategic planning skills are essential in digital marketing in order to be able to adapt to the constantly changing markets. Making use of this skill will help you find out what actions are needed and when with the purpose of achieving your marketing goals. In addition, you will get a clearer understanding of the business environment. This enables you to make informed marketing decisions, helping you improve your marketing outcomes. Every project needs a good strategic plan for it to succeed. The same is true for digital marketing campaigns. Hence, this skill is one of the most important skills for a digital marketer.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, digital marketers need various skills to make their careers successful. One of the main skills is the ability to communicate effectively, so good creativity especially in relation to writing, editing, and design skills, is essential. Understanding SEO and SEM also contributes to successful communication. Several of the skills mentioned above are interlinked. Thus, it is important to be able to analyze data and combine this with good advertising, social media, and email marketing skills to target the right market through the right medium.

While having an overall strategic plan is important, being adaptable and able to solve problems is also key in the ever-changing digital marketing world. There are many factors that will play a key role in your marketing career, but acquiring and improving on the 10 essential skills mentioned above will help you become a successful digital marketer.