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LauraEarnest.com
Deliberate Living Made Simpler.
Changing Jobs With Little Change
At the beginning of July I made the transfer from being a consultant to being an employee of the company that I had been working at for 8 years. I've been a consultant for most of my career, and this is the first client that has ever hired me away from my company.
It's a good change for me, and one that comes with little change. I have the same desk, same management, same team, same work tasks. The only change is that I have a lot less paperwork: no timesheets for billing, no status reports, and only having to put in time away requests in one system.
I find it ironic that after a career that consisted of me effectively changing jobs every 3 months or so, what I hope to be my final change has so little change in it.
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Tool Spotlight: Photomyne
When my mother died three years ago I inherited all of her photo albums. This includes the oldest albums from both sides of the family - pictures of my great-grandparents and more. I have several second cousins that are doing genealogy and had asked for copies of the photos. So I promised to digitize them and make them available.
My mother had moved all of the photos from the kind with photo corners into those (blasted) sticky albums. So I was not able to get photos free of the pages in order to scan. I decided instead to use a phone mount and my phone to take pictures, with the intent to crop them and fix them up on the computer. It was not a task for the faint of heart.
I stumbled across Photomyne after having managed to do two pages of one album in three weeks. With the free trial, I snapped those two pages with my phone and watched as it cropped the photos off the page, sharpened them and cleaned them up. I tried it on a photo that was so dark I couldn't make out who was in it, and it cleaned it up for me to recognize my great-great-aunt. I was sold. I am now using the app to scan all the albums.
Best used for: Scanning photo albums for digitizing and archiving
Pricing: Free version is usable; $59.99 per year for the paid version that unlocks more features to add notes and set up online albums.
Explore Photomyne here
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Quick Productivity Tips
- Organize Your Wires: Everything seems to have a charging cord these days. Desktops become a mass of wires that snarl and restrict movement. Take a moment today and organize your wires. The goal is to be able to quickly separate any cable or cord quickly and easily from its companions. Need ideas on how to do this? Google cord organization.
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Buy or Make A Stand: We can get more use out of a phone if it is not lying flat. We can see who is calling, use timers, even extend the screen. Today, make or buy a phone stand. There are DIY options on the web made out of paper, paper clips or binder clips; you can also use business card holders or specially-made devices
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Establish A Morning Routine: One of the easiest ways to boost your productivity all day is to have a morning routine. Not only does it launch your day right, but it minimizes decision fatigue. Write up a morning routine that will take less than 30 minutes.
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Blog Reminders
There have been quite a few changes going on with LauraEarnest.com over the past few months:
- There is now a Discounts page at the blog. This lists all of the products that I am an affiliate for - products that I use in my daily life. When you use the link on the discount page, you will usually get a discount on the product, and I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
- I now have a creator profile at Kit (my email list software). I’ve started putting up the same articles as on Patreon, and you can find the past issues of the newsletter there. If you are interested in being able to read the exclusive articles, use this link: Exclusive Articles at Kit
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Other Articles This Month:
AI: The Good, The Bad, The Scary
In this article, I examine AI's impact on our daily lives, sharing how I selectively use it for tasks like softening email tone while avoiding it for creative writing. I explore both its practical applications and concerning limitations, particularly regarding bias and educational impacts.
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DigitalZen: Flexible Blocking and Focus
I struggle with internet distractions but found DigitalZen to be a game-changer. Unlike other blockers I've tried, it's flexible and intuitive, monitoring both websites and apps with customizable blocking options. It's helped me stay focused and save time.
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Keep Flow Motivation Going
I've mastered the art of sustaining creative flow despite life's interruptions. By documenting my progress and next steps, I can easily pick up where I left off, transforming what was once a frustrating limitation into a sustainable creative practice.
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Recognizing Burnout
I experienced burnout when stress, fear, and uncertainty took over my life. Through prioritizing exercise, nutrition, sleep, fresh air, and social connections, I recovered. The most important lesson? Self-care isn't selfish. It's essential for long-term wellbeing and effectiveness.
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What Patrons Saw
Boundaries: What and How
This guide explores what boundaries truly are: flexible personal limits, not rigid rules for others, illustrated with practical examples.
Lazy Proof Your Day
I've learned to outsmart my laziness by understanding my energy patterns, preparing for low periods, and creating systems that make good choices easier.
Supporting the blog on Patreon gets you exclusive benefits reserved for patrons. Check out the list of benefits and levels here.
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Coming Next Month:
What would you do if one of your most-used and favorite apps went away? We'll talk about the dangers of storing your information in other people's system.
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