When I need to brainstorm, have to switch projects from one client to another, cease being productive… whatever, I stop working for a minute to hit what we call the Hill of Death in our neighborhood: a steep street that always gets my heart pumping.

My friend Erin and I frequently do it together, doing three or so passes around the block. We pass right by friend Pete’s house, and I joke that I’m a stalker.

Walking around the block and getting my blood pumping for a few minutes really helps me come back and focus. I just read about a study by David Blanchette from Rhode Island College who did a study that shows a little exercise helps creativity. Before working on a creative task, one group did no exercise. A second group did 30 minutes right before, and the third group did 30 minutes first then did the task 2 hours later.

The groups that exercised a few minutes did significantly better than the group that did nothing, Blanchette found.

Thus, even though sometimes I feel stressed that I don’t have enough hours in the day to get all my work done, I’m probably being more creative and productive by taking the break, which probably makes Erin’s dog, Harley, very happy.

Tags: brainstorming, creativity, exercise, productivity, Taking a break

Last night after a run with Erin I finished up an article on a dentist’s charity work. The first draft focused exclusively on the dentist, and my client came back with instructions to insert a lot of the info about his charity program into the article.

My first stop was the program’s website, which actually is run by my client’s organization. As a writer, I would hate to be known as a plagiarist, but I selected text to cut and paste into my article with abandon. Here’s why:

• I’m not writing hard-hitting exposes here. I’m working for public relations. If an organization wants to say it’s the “largest x” or the “most well-known y,” so be it.
• The copy on a website has usually been approved by all the people (and more) who will be approving my copy. Sometimes I can cut several days off a review process by using boilerplate copy from an approved source.
• Using copy from the main website or other publications assures my client that the tone of my piece will match up with their overall themes. If my prose fits in right away with the info I add from their other pieces, I’ve nailed it.

But cutting and pasting has its pitfalls:

• For one client, I used the structure of their web pages to develop several one-page flyers for each of their products. Turns out they HATE their website, and they wanted to go in a different direction. The good news is they have hired me to do both the flyer revisions and the new web copy.
• If I rely on their copy and their organization for all my ideas, we never come up with any fresh approach. Before I start a project, I usually sit down and think about the piece and the audience and the message. I try to connect the dots about what the piece should say and how before I head to the website to see how they’ve done it before. This way we don’t get trapped into changing a word here and there on what is essentially a tired approach that didn’t go anywhere the first time.

Tags: efficient writing, lessons for copywriters, public relations

One of my most requested educational articles is the Free and Low-Cost Technology Tools Your Organization Can’t Live Without. I don’t know why I haven’t offered it to my blog readers yet:

Download Away…

A Sample of Top New Tools (more than 60 total in the Spring 2008 version):
Identifont Ever been stuck with having to create a new document with the same look and feel as the one someone did in 2002? Identifont takes you through a series of questions to help you identify a mystery font, even if you have only a few letters.

Mozy.com Got backup? This online backup system updates during your computer’s idle moments or whenever you choose. Private (vs. business) subscriptions are about $4.95 a month.

SnagIt For the screenshot lovers in the office, this $40 program lets you capture and edit individual windows, preventing the “print screen and crop” cycle that slows productivity.

Picnik Edit photos online with no obligation, no registration. Works on your Flickr albums.

PBwiki Create your own organization wiki for free.

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Also, I’m doing a free webinar on the tools next week. It’s limited to 60 people, so I’ll take this link off once it’s filled. But you can sign up now:

Register for the webinar…

Like the tools? Bookmark Me, pretty please (see below).

Tags: free tech tools, free webinar, newsletters

My sister and I sometimes worked as housekeepers when we worked our way around the country for six months in 1996. We’d approach bed and breakfast managers to see if we could get spring-cleaning gigs to help the overworked staff.

While we were waiting for the manager, we’d look around the lobby or the office, hoping to spot signs of need: dust bunnies, drink rings, dead leaves on tired plants. We’d be so brave in our planning, deciding we’d pitch our services to the manager by boldly drawing a finger across a shelf, holding up the dusty finger and proclaiming, “See? You need us!”

Yeah. It never happened that way. The manager would come in, and we’d be cheery and polite. I inevitably held my dusty finger behind my back. Sometimes we got jobs. Sometimes we didn’t. But we rarely mustered the courage to be so brazen.

I’m still in the same boat, I think. Yesterday I got a flyer from a local gym. The slick, expensive door hanger advertised “Personal Trainging.” Yep. “Trainging.” I am looking for a gym, so I thought “Trade out?” I could help them with their copy (their website was very attractive and rife with typos), and I could get a gym membership for free.

So I called, and the saleslady immediately wanted me to come in, of course. She was looking for ways to give me discounts. Was I a teacher? A government employee?

“I’m a freelance copywriter,” I said. And then I took a breath. “And that was another thing I wanted to talk to you about…. No offense at all, but I just read your flyer….” I trailed off, and she jumped in.

“Oh, I JUST heard the owners talking about how they really had to step up their promotions and get them to a different level! I TOTALLY need your card,” said the saleslady, who obviously spent a few years on a pep squad.

The moral? I should always be brave enough to ask. If a business is not interested, all that will happen is that I’ll hear “no, thanks.” And that I can handle.

Tags: growing business, trade out

One of the challenges I had on the 20-mile run on Saturday was dehydration, and I can’t afford to make that mistake again with the marathon coming up. Thus, I’ve decided the best way to work from now on is to move my office to the bathtub.

I adore baths to the point of obsession — any of my (many) ex-boyfriends can attest to that. I can easily spend an hour, two hours in a delightfully warm bath, reading Maureen Dowd’s book “Are Men Necessary?” and pondering the same. And now that I need to stay ultra-hydrated to make it through 26.2 miles, I’ve determined that I should make more out of my bath time, so I need to work from the tub from now on.

I’ve been doing research on the tools I’ll need for the transition. It’ll actually be pretty easy and will cost less than $400, if I drop the waterproof printer case:

1. Get a waterproof keyboard. Some of them are actually washable in the dishwasher. $225
2. Buy a waterproof phone. I am unhappy with my current model anyway, so this upgrades my current phone and can be used in the new office. — $90
3. Buy The Droodle for just $15, a waterproof notepad for taking notes during calls (I usually use Steno pads). Says one user, “It`s a great way to leave love notes to your spouse if you share bathrooms as we do. Also great way to memorize scripture verses.” I’ll also need a waterproof pen for another $8.
4. I may need waterproof inkjet paper like the National Geographic Adventure Paper, but it makes more sense to use a waterproof case for my regular printer. Paper is $19 for 25 sheets. Good thing I don’t print much. The case says contact us for pricing, which is never a good sign.

Of course my electricity bill will go up with me having to add hot water all day, but I’ll scoop out the tepid water to flush the toilet to save water. I’ll also probably have to add some kind of natural sea salt because, as I discovered while researching a recent article, these additives can prevent the skin pruning.

On the flip side, I expect my phone bill will go down because I’ll prefer to communicate via email instead so clients don’t hear the sloshing.

Tags: bathtubs, waterproof everything, working from home