How To Have An 'intentional' Summer In 7 Simple Steps

How To Have An 'intentional' Summer In 7 Simple Steps

Tara Ziegmont's kids were about 6 and 10 when she realized how time seemed to be quickly slipping away.

"I've always worked from home, and I found that they did their thing and I did mine. We had a routine, but it felt separate," Ziegmont told "Good Morning America."

For parents and kids alike, the summers feel especially poignant. And it's common that what feels like "all the time in the world" in June seems like it went by in a flash come September.

MORE: How to create the ultimate summer bucket list in 3 easy steps

Ziegmont, creator of the blog Feels Like Home, decided to make summers more "intentional." She told "GMA" she felt that without a plan, she wasn't creating memories. "I wanted to do things by choice, not by inertia."

Related Video: How to Keep Kids Busy and Entertained This Summer

Her kids, now 9 and 13, feel more confidence in themselves and their abilities, and show an improved performance in school as a result.

She shared with "GMA" her top tips for creating an "intentional summer":

You have to choose

"You have to figure out what it is you want to do," she said, adding that she comes up with ideas as well as the kids. "Do you want to bake or do crafts? Go swim in the creek or the lake?"

MORE: 22 online camps approved by Common Sense Media

Know that some of the best memories are the small things

"One that my kids were blown away by was a picnic -- it wasn't even a decent picnic," Ziegmont said. "We went to McDonald's and took it to the state park. They loved it."

And sometimes the best memories happen in your own backyard: "My kids loved the time they put a sheet on the lawn and ate a pizza."

Keep your mental health in mind

Ziegmont said being intentional is just as important for her mental health as it is for her kids'.

"I feel good about how we're spending our days, weeks and months," she told "GMA." "I know that my kids are building skills and being exposed to a wide range of experiences. I can feel really good about my parenting as a result. So even when things go off the rails, and we decide to scrap whatever I've planned, I know that at least some of their summer was spent on enriching, life-giving activities and planned boredom, rather than on Youtube or Netflix, which they still see plenty of.

Build in boredom

"Planned boredom can be a really good, really positive thing, even in an intentional summer," she said. "I sometimes take away my kids' screens and I let them be bored for a couple of days. They hate it of course and complain, but they eventually get tired of hearing me say 'boredom is good for your brain' and they leave me alone and go find something creative to do. They play outside, they build with Legos, they draw and paint. They get messy and use their imaginations which I love to see and hear."

Set limits

It's OK for the kids to dream big, she said, and wish for a trip to Disney. And parents can talk about how and when something like that might be able to happen. "Once you've done that, let them know that for the list you're making for this summer, it has to be an hour or less from home and under $20," she said.

Know what you can manage

For Ziegmont, she plans approximately three outings per week with her kids. But, she said, that number is different for everyone. She suggested knowing the memories you want to make and going from there.

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Don't always default to the favorite activities

"We have been doing a lot of swimming this year," Ziegmont continued, "and whereas that used to be something I scheduled intentionally, it's now our default evening activity. I need to remember to schedule other things, too, so that swimming doesn't take up our whole summer and we do nothing else. Sometimes, it's good and productive to spend the evening at home, playing board games or baking brownies, or cooking s'mores over a campfire in the backyard."

How to have an 'intentional' summer in 7 simple steps originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.Com



7 Tips To Instantly Improve Your Social Media Marketing



When you open your phone and scroll through Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, it seems like there are hundreds of accounts who all have some secret to social media marketing that you don’t – how do they seem to get it right when you find it a struggle?

I get it; just because social media is so pervasive doesn’t actually mean it’s easy to reach your audience and market on the platform.

At least not yet – the 7 tips listed below will help you give your social media marketing strategy an instant boost. Provided you take action and implement them! Ready? Let’s dive in.

Tip #1: Take Another Look at Your Ideal Customer

If your social media marketing efforts aren’t landing then you probably have a problem with how you’re going about using the platform.

The problem with social media marketing is that it can be a completely different beast to other forms – if you have content marketing on your blog down, you won’t necessarily have the same success on your social media pages. (Not yet, at least – more on that in a moment.)

Instead, sit down and do a deep analysis of who your current customers are (ideally the best ones, not the crummy ones you don’t really want) and then look at the profiles of who follows you.

Do you see a correlation?

If not, you likely aren’t producing the type of content your ideal customer is interested in. Before you make any changes, sit down and redefine exactly who you’re talking to.

You can do this by creating a Buyer Persona. If you don’t know what that is, here’s How to Find the Buyer Persona for Your Blog.

It will make every other tip in this list exponentially more effective.

Tip #2: Follow Your Success



I know I just said you won’t necessarily see success across the board, you can replicate it.

Let me explain; if you have a wildly successful blog for your B2C (business to customer) business selling hiking backpacks, but you’re making a huge push on LinkedIn, you may not be able to replicate the same results.

Why?

Because while your ideal customer and readers may be on LinkedIn, they’re there to make business connections, not think about purchasing a new backpack.

But, if you have a huge following on your website’s blog and you use lots of beautiful hiking imagery and include great tips, that will likely transfer over to Instagram, where your ideal customers go to look for new hiking locations and challenges.

If you share your beautiful images and portions of your content over there, you’ll likely see traction.

If you’re having success in one area ask your audience where they’d like to see more from you. Go where your customers are and you’ll see an instant boost in your marketing efforts.

Tip #3: Analyze



Are you taking full advantage of any analytics tools you have access to on your social media profiles?

If not, it’s time to start looking at them.

Sometimes, you’ll see that you got the most responses to X type of post, or by posting at a certain time of day, and it’s well worth trying to replicate that exact post with a new similar one to see if you have the same success.

If you find it, do it again.

Repeat successful strategies until they stop working. Too many people marketing on social media have one post that does well and think that it is the sign of an upward trend, not a specific trend for that type of post or timing.

Start analyzing your actions and test out new – or the same – strategies.

Tip #4: Up Your Interaction

When you get a comment on a post, are you responding to it?

If not, why not?

Replying or even just reacting to your audience’s comments and interactions on your posts will make them feel noticed and special (which – in case you hadn’t noticed, is the reason most of us are on social media at all) and will want to come back and comment again.

Even if all they wrote was “love it!” react with a heart emoji or simply like their comment. Start conversations with your audience and answer every question you get.

Even the biggest social media accounts have managers replying to comments, so follow their lead.

Tip #5: Share Share Share



Are you sharing your blog posts, videos, or podcasts with your audience? Do you share something of value regularly? Do you ever share a customer’s post with your audience?

It’s time to remember that loyal customers are worth their weight in gold, so make them feel special and try to help them out, too.

Share your content that offers them something of value (yes, tips and information count), share any posts they make about you with your audience, and don’t be afraid to pair up with other brands and businesses you have a crossover audience with.

Even if you don’t do any other content marketing, the odd “as a thank you for following us, here’s a 10% discount code you can use for 48hrs” will make them feel seen, special, and up your sales in the process.

Tip #6: Post Often

How often are you posting? I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but many social media experts are seeing results with social media accounts that post 2+ times a day.

Yes, that’s a lot to manage, but the more you post the more opportunity you have to get in front of your audience.

The only caveat to this rule is on what you’re posting. If it’s basically just spam, and of no interest to your ideal customer, it won’t help them or you.

This is where a great scheduling tool will come in handy.

And this also goes for blogging. You want to be consistent and post often. In fact, we’ve written a guide on How Often You Should Post.

Tip #7: Embrace Video

If there’s one major trend in social media marketing for 2020, it’s that you need to embrace video.

Throughout 2019, we saw social media platforms push video to their userbase and organically push video posts (whether a post or a story – it doesn’t matter) to audiences.

While it’s getting harder to be seen with traditional posts, if you can jump in front of your phone camera a couple of times a day to share what you’re doing or to share a helpful tip, you’ll get a boost from the platform itself, which is pretty much unheard of in our current pay-to-play social media world.

Your videos don’t need to be high quality and you don’t need to be camera-ready – in fact, some brands saw that engagement go down when they got “too professional” and so returned to using their phones for their video content to maintain a better connection with customers.

Here are 7 Elements of a Perfect Social Media Video if you don’t know how to create one.

Ready to implement these tips?

Once you’ve put these tips into practice, you’ll see an instant boost in your social media marketing efforts.

Regardless of your industry, always make sure to analyze, follow your customers, and listen to what they tell you.

Once you’ve got even a handful of loyal customers they will lead you where you need to go.

Related



9 Productivity Tips When Remote Working

With more looming restrictions, there are ways you can continue to be productive working from home.

Source: Allie/Unsplash

During COVID-19 renewed restrictions, many companies are requiring that employees continue to work from home. Remote working can be a lonely enterprise in this era of social distancing, but it doesn't have to be. For those who thought working from home was temporary, who didn't set clear boundaries, and who didn't establish an organized work station, distractions can disrupt productivity. After all, you’re in your personal space, not your usual professional environment. Laundry needs to be done, dishes washed and the house cleaned. Plus, maybe you want to see The View since you’re always at the office when it’s on, or there’s a good movie on Netflix you’ve been longing to watch. Your pooch needs to go for a walk or you want to snuggle with him. And the kids and spouse keep yelling questions from another room, causing you to keep losing your train of thought. Or on the flip side, maybe since being at home 24/7, you find yourself toiling overtime on the job long after you usually would have called it quits at the office. On top of it all, cabin fever could be sneaking up on you.

Productivity Tips for Working At Home

Remote working can take getting used to new challenges that you might not have at the office. It’s important to have a defined schedule and stick to it. Avoid sleeping in or lingering over breakfast, and get to work just as if you’re driving across town to your office, although you might be walking into the next room. You might think blasting Lady Gaga’s latest hit is the most productive way for you to work. Or loud noises could be the worst thing for you to stay focused and get work done. Everybody is different. Some people work better in clutter while others can’t concentrate unless their work space is tidy. Regardless of your personal style, here are some productivity tips to adjust to the new rollback of re-openings during the Coronavirus spike:

1. Confine your work space to a specific area in your home so your job doesn’t intrude into the lives of other household members and so you can concentrate. Have a space that you designate as your workstation instead of checking emails, voicemails, or texting in front of the TV or spreading work out on the kitchen table. Make your space a stress-free zone of quiet and solitude where you can focus. If you don’t have a separate room, find an area with minimum traffic flow or a corner of a room off from the main area.

2. Block the neighbor’s barking mutt, excess noise from household members, or ambient traffic with noise-canceling headphones or earbuds. A delicate blend of soft music combined with soothing nature sounds—such as waterfalls, raindrops, a rushing brook or ocean waves—activates the calming part of your brain, helps you concentrate and lowers heart rate and blood pressure

3. Go to the same designated place on a regular basis so your mind doesn’t wander, and you can focus and increase your productivity. Establish water-tight psychological boundaries so you’re not constantly reminded of temptations around you (there’s chocolate cake in the fridge) or unfinished personal tasks—such as doing laundry, vacuuming, or organizing your spice rack—that otherwise could compromise your productivity. And complete these personal activities outside of work hours as you normally would.

4. Set water-tight physical boundaries around your designated work space that is off-limits for housemates. Treat it as if it's five miles across town, and ask house members to consider it as such (e.G. No interruptions from another room when you’re engrossed in a project unless an emergency). If possible, only go to your designated space when you need to work. Stick to a regular schedule, and keep your work space at arm's length after hours. Try to maintain the same hours you log in at the office so you don’t get swallowed up by the workload.

5. After a reasonable day’s work, put away your electronic devices and work tools just as you would store carpentry tools after building shelves or baking ingredients after making a cake. Keeping work reminders out of sight keeps them out of mind and helps you relax and recharge your batteries.

6. Discourage personal intrusions. If you’re a teacher or doctor, friends don’t just stop by the office to chat, hang out, or interrupt your work. But sometimes well-intended friends, family members, and neighbors think working at home is different. Interruptions can cause you to lose your focus, procrastinate or get behind on a deadline. It’s important to prevent intrusions into your work space by informing others that although the location of your job has changed, it is no different from any other profession requiring privacy and concentration. Notify others that during at-home work hours you’re unavailable and cannot be interrupted. And let them know the after-hours when you’re available to connect.

7. Employ your video communications perhaps more than you normally would, now that you’re more isolated. Make sure you have your company’s telecommuting devices—such as Zoom—hooked up and ready to go so you can stay connected with team members or office mates and you’re available for video calls and teleconferencing. If you start to feel lonely, consider setting up a support group of friends and colleagues who are also working at home by satellite. Make plans to meet on a regular basis and share creative ways you’ve adjusted to the new situation.

8. Avoid cabin fever. Now that you’re spending a disproportionate amount of time at home, get outside as much as possible with gardening or walking around the block. Mounting research shows that spending time in nature lowers stress, helps you relax and clears your mind. After work hours, enjoy other areas of your home: watching a good movie, reading a book, or cooking a fun meal. And lead as much of a full social life as possible such as having non-symptomatic friends over for an outside dinner and keeping 6 feet apart. The new normal is not to limit social devices but to take advantage of them. Use Facetime, Facebook, or Skype with friends and family members so you feel connected to the people in your life that you care about.

9. Keep your attitude in check. Above all, be creative and don't let your confined circumstances dwarf your tranquility, happiness, or productivity. Your greatest power is your perspective. It can victimize or empower you. When you look for the upside in a downside situation and figure out what you can control and what you can't, it’s easier to accept whatever is beyond your control. Your best ally is to find the opportunity in the difficulty during an uncontrollable situation instead of the difficulty in the opportunity. Take advantage of this restrictive time to clear clutter out of your basement, pull weeds in the garden, or get caught up on fun hobbies you've neglected for a while.