When you get a new notebook put the date on the front and an indication of the contents such as 'Summer Holiday in Italy August 2000' or 'Marketing Conference in Shanghai 2005' or 'Homework for GCSE English' or 'My poems'. Write your name address and phone number on the inside cover. Write the numbers 1 3 5 and so on on the top right hand corner of the pages throughout the book.
Save the front two pages for contents writing the heading CONTENTS. Write down page numbers in a column.
Save the back two pages for an index. Mark a column to add page numbers later.
Rule margins if you don't already have margins. When possible buy a notebook which already has printed margins.
Store notebooks in a shoebox labelled with the year and the contents of the notebooks. Number the shoeboxes so you can keep them in order.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Improving Restaurant Cleanliness, Prices and Profits
A restaurant owner says that his customers seemed more concerned about price than cleanliness.
My view is that a customer will rarely tell staff about cleanliness.
My son who is in marketing said that when you see a dirty restaurant you refuse to pay high prices; you expect a high-price restaurant to be clean.
I think this is because you think the restaurant can afford cleaners, and because you will pay more to get cleanliness.
One restaurant manager told me that if you criticize your staff, they complain to head office that you are being bossy.
My son says if the owner is on the premises, he's in charge. He can tell the staff what to do.
One restaurant owner said it's hard to make money in his area because rents are high and there are lots of restaurants.
My son said then look at the other restaurants and see which ones are full (I think you have to know whether that full restaurant is making money - but if it's just being full that makes your profit, that's what you look at). See their prices, their cleanliness, their menu choice, and copy what they are doing.
My view is that a customer will rarely tell staff about cleanliness.
My son who is in marketing said that when you see a dirty restaurant you refuse to pay high prices; you expect a high-price restaurant to be clean.
I think this is because you think the restaurant can afford cleaners, and because you will pay more to get cleanliness.
One restaurant manager told me that if you criticize your staff, they complain to head office that you are being bossy.
My son says if the owner is on the premises, he's in charge. He can tell the staff what to do.
One restaurant owner said it's hard to make money in his area because rents are high and there are lots of restaurants.
My son said then look at the other restaurants and see which ones are full (I think you have to know whether that full restaurant is making money - but if it's just being full that makes your profit, that's what you look at). See their prices, their cleanliness, their menu choice, and copy what they are doing.
What can you do? Ask not what your country can do for you
Every day when I wake up I realize how indebted I am to my fellow human beings. Every item in my house has been deigned and build by somebody else. The bed. The kitchen table. The toaster. The microwave. The kettle. My clothes.
I can sew my own clothes, run up a caftan with two seams and cut a V-shape neck. But somebody else designed the sewing machine. A factory worked built it. A store sold it. The fabric was woven and printed by somebody else.
I can grow apples in my garden. An awful lot of work. Somebody planted the apple tree for me. My gardener mows the lawn. To stop the apples getting worms, I have to spray the tree with pesticide or washing up liquid (controversy here). Either way, somebody else packaged it.
My car, the train, bus or plane - I could walk. Using shoes that somebody else made. And somebody else made the pavement. First I must lock up - but somebody else made the keys, and the door.
Even the poorest person must realize that in great-great-grandfather's day we had outside toilets and no electric lights.
Yes, camping might be fun for a week. You can go out to enjoy nature, trekking or climbing Everest, using crampons made in a factory. Calling on the emergency services for help. Wearing goggles.
Native tribes live in jungles. Most native people have a life expectancy of 30 years.
Most of the world is complaining that the west isn't helping them enough. They can't seem to cope on their own. Why? Can't they grown their own food and make their own clothes and build their own homes?
Americans arrived in a land without cities and built cities. Americans had to cope with the economic Depression of the thirties and came out of it.
Singapore started with very little late in the last century. Lee Kwan Yew eliminated corruption and got the place organized. Now Singapore's ahead of most of Asia and much of the West. A garden city, free of crime and litter.
I think lots of the world's problems would be solved if children and citizens started with the point of view that they need to develop their skills until they can find something to offer the world.
Full employment. Some sensible parents say to their children: Don't just sit there - do something!
Whether you are tidying your bedroom, sweeping the street, making a cup of tea for somebody else, learning to sing in tune, designing a dress, or a computer system, or performing brain surgery, you can be playing your part to make the world a better place for yourself and everybody you know.
I can sew my own clothes, run up a caftan with two seams and cut a V-shape neck. But somebody else designed the sewing machine. A factory worked built it. A store sold it. The fabric was woven and printed by somebody else.
I can grow apples in my garden. An awful lot of work. Somebody planted the apple tree for me. My gardener mows the lawn. To stop the apples getting worms, I have to spray the tree with pesticide or washing up liquid (controversy here). Either way, somebody else packaged it.
My car, the train, bus or plane - I could walk. Using shoes that somebody else made. And somebody else made the pavement. First I must lock up - but somebody else made the keys, and the door.
Even the poorest person must realize that in great-great-grandfather's day we had outside toilets and no electric lights.
Yes, camping might be fun for a week. You can go out to enjoy nature, trekking or climbing Everest, using crampons made in a factory. Calling on the emergency services for help. Wearing goggles.
Native tribes live in jungles. Most native people have a life expectancy of 30 years.
Most of the world is complaining that the west isn't helping them enough. They can't seem to cope on their own. Why? Can't they grown their own food and make their own clothes and build their own homes?
Americans arrived in a land without cities and built cities. Americans had to cope with the economic Depression of the thirties and came out of it.
Singapore started with very little late in the last century. Lee Kwan Yew eliminated corruption and got the place organized. Now Singapore's ahead of most of Asia and much of the West. A garden city, free of crime and litter.
I think lots of the world's problems would be solved if children and citizens started with the point of view that they need to develop their skills until they can find something to offer the world.
Full employment. Some sensible parents say to their children: Don't just sit there - do something!
Whether you are tidying your bedroom, sweeping the street, making a cup of tea for somebody else, learning to sing in tune, designing a dress, or a computer system, or performing brain surgery, you can be playing your part to make the world a better place for yourself and everybody you know.
Friday, August 10, 2007
How Much Do You Charge For Freelance Work?
You can see why builders charge by the hour but the house-holder wants a fixed fee.
But the same applies to any freelance creative person, whether it's a writer or artist. Unless you are churning out similar things every time and know exactly how long it will take.
Gathering information can take more time than the work itself. For example, typing up and re-wording a menu and doing the layout.
The gathering information is an elastic rope. The problem can be that the customer keeps adding information and spends thirty minutes a day chatting. If you have time, fine.
I now know why one person who quoted a fixed fee for creating a website said he would start when you had all the information and pictures and would allow only one update on it. That was his solution. Cost control. Control of time.
Yet another way of doing business is to get satisfied customers. You allow as many changes as are needed until it's right.
The other problem can be with you. The customer says, 'Yes, that's fine,' giving your work barely a glance. He just wanted something good enough, which was why it needed improving in the first place. But you keep re-reading it and seeing things you could have done better for days afterwards.
But the same applies to any freelance creative person, whether it's a writer or artist. Unless you are churning out similar things every time and know exactly how long it will take.
Gathering information can take more time than the work itself. For example, typing up and re-wording a menu and doing the layout.
The gathering information is an elastic rope. The problem can be that the customer keeps adding information and spends thirty minutes a day chatting. If you have time, fine.
I now know why one person who quoted a fixed fee for creating a website said he would start when you had all the information and pictures and would allow only one update on it. That was his solution. Cost control. Control of time.
Yet another way of doing business is to get satisfied customers. You allow as many changes as are needed until it's right.
The other problem can be with you. The customer says, 'Yes, that's fine,' giving your work barely a glance. He just wanted something good enough, which was why it needed improving in the first place. But you keep re-reading it and seeing things you could have done better for days afterwards.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Tip 8 First Profiles and Posts - Good First Impressions and Lasting Impressions
DAINTY PAINTY
Some people put colours and borders on blogs. They decorate their comments and emails with little smiley faces.
They add interesting fonts.
Like this. (Arial.)
Or this. (Courier.)
Or this. (Georgia.)
Or this. (Lucida Grande.)
Or this. (Times.)
Or this. (Trebuchet.)
Or this. (Verdana.)
Or webdings.
(I created this blog elsewhere. But when I copied it here, the codes for the smiley faces were not recognized. So I'll have to put more effort in if I wish to add smiley faces.)
SHRUGGER MUGGER
Other people cannot find time to press the shift key to create a capital letter. Nor can they be bothered to use the spell checker. The checker only requires a click on that little ABC icon.
Why is this?
MIKE THE PSYCH SAYS ...
Is it personality type?
One classification system divides people into judgers and perceivers. Judgers like everything just right.
E FOR EFFORT
If you've got it, flaunt it. I've got a 40DD - and grammar.
JUDGERS
I'm not a judger. But I do judge people by how much effort they put into their relationship with me on the internet.
Yes, I do like to write right. It's my one skill.
Most females have more creative and literature skills than mathematical skills. Not all, just most. Most men veer towards scientific skills. Not all, just most.
As I learned in my first lessons in Philosophy at university, to say that something IS the case is not to say that it should be the case.
But if you find you have a skill, you can improve it. If you find you have a weakness, or an area where you make errors, you can improve upon it.
My skill is English. I mostly get paid to help. I sometimes give out free advice.
Some people are pleased and return the compliment by sending thanks, compliments, blings. Or are so impressed and intrigued that they invite me out to lunch or dinner.
I can't do maths - actually I got through O level and did Pythagoras's theorem, but I never use it now.
(Please excuse a little aside. Who would call their kid Pythagoras? Such a pretentious name. Only parents who reckon their offspring will grow up to be a mathematical genius who will survive the centuries and needs a grand name.)
Where was I? Ah, yes. Listen up, kiddies. All you boys at the back, too.
SHRUGGIES
One guy on a dating site, I read his profile somewhere yesterday, says that people write and criticize his spelling and grammar.
He complains, 'They are so picy'(sic). The word should be spelled picky. He is not picky. He is shruggy.
(Just in case anybody has wandered onto my blog from a Spanish, French or Indian site, sic is Latin for 'thus' or 'like this' and means the spelling error is in the original, which I'm quoting, and not, heaven forbid, my own mistake.)
Let me focus my mind and make things clear to you by bringing this post to a conclusion with a quick recap or summary.
SUMMARY
I look at posts and admire those who have put lots of effort into making their work look attractive, a showcase for the creator. I read emails and take it as a compliment if somebody has taken the time to get things right. It shows they respect themselves and me.
I reckon that they take trouble. They are likely to remember to phone and turn up to meet me.
They will enhance a first meeting, or a birthday, by bringing gifts in fancy coloured wrapping paper with pretty ribbons. They will generally be good to know.
They are likely to make the effort to create a birthday cake with a personalized message. They won't think it's a nuisance. They will feel that it is fun.
And they will be proud of what they've done. Just as I consider it enjoyable to decorate this post with little smiley faces to make people laugh.
That's what a beautiful blog or a perfect post says to me.
CONCLUSION
Yes, I am picky. I pick the best fruit and the best people. You may not be born with every skill, but you can work to make yourself the best and to attract the best.
I hope I have given you insights.
And entertained you.
If you have any comments, agree, disagree, add another thought, feel free to write in. Bye for now.
Some people put colours and borders on blogs. They decorate their comments and emails with little smiley faces.
They add interesting fonts.
Like this. (Arial.)
Or this. (Courier.)
Or this. (Georgia.)
Or this. (Lucida Grande.)
Or this. (Times.)
Or this. (Trebuchet.)
Or this. (Verdana.)
Or webdings.
(I created this blog elsewhere. But when I copied it here, the codes for the smiley faces were not recognized. So I'll have to put more effort in if I wish to add smiley faces.)
SHRUGGER MUGGER
Other people cannot find time to press the shift key to create a capital letter. Nor can they be bothered to use the spell checker. The checker only requires a click on that little ABC icon.
Why is this?
MIKE THE PSYCH SAYS ...
Is it personality type?
One classification system divides people into judgers and perceivers. Judgers like everything just right.
E FOR EFFORT
If you've got it, flaunt it. I've got a 40DD - and grammar.
JUDGERS
I'm not a judger. But I do judge people by how much effort they put into their relationship with me on the internet.
Yes, I do like to write right. It's my one skill.
Most females have more creative and literature skills than mathematical skills. Not all, just most. Most men veer towards scientific skills. Not all, just most.
As I learned in my first lessons in Philosophy at university, to say that something IS the case is not to say that it should be the case.
But if you find you have a skill, you can improve it. If you find you have a weakness, or an area where you make errors, you can improve upon it.
My skill is English. I mostly get paid to help. I sometimes give out free advice.
Some people are pleased and return the compliment by sending thanks, compliments, blings. Or are so impressed and intrigued that they invite me out to lunch or dinner.
I can't do maths - actually I got through O level and did Pythagoras's theorem, but I never use it now.
(Please excuse a little aside. Who would call their kid Pythagoras? Such a pretentious name. Only parents who reckon their offspring will grow up to be a mathematical genius who will survive the centuries and needs a grand name.)
Where was I? Ah, yes. Listen up, kiddies. All you boys at the back, too.
SHRUGGIES
One guy on a dating site, I read his profile somewhere yesterday, says that people write and criticize his spelling and grammar.
He complains, 'They are so picy'(sic). The word should be spelled picky. He is not picky. He is shruggy.
(Just in case anybody has wandered onto my blog from a Spanish, French or Indian site, sic is Latin for 'thus' or 'like this' and means the spelling error is in the original, which I'm quoting, and not, heaven forbid, my own mistake.)
Let me focus my mind and make things clear to you by bringing this post to a conclusion with a quick recap or summary.
SUMMARY
I look at posts and admire those who have put lots of effort into making their work look attractive, a showcase for the creator. I read emails and take it as a compliment if somebody has taken the time to get things right. It shows they respect themselves and me.
I reckon that they take trouble. They are likely to remember to phone and turn up to meet me.
They will enhance a first meeting, or a birthday, by bringing gifts in fancy coloured wrapping paper with pretty ribbons. They will generally be good to know.
They are likely to make the effort to create a birthday cake with a personalized message. They won't think it's a nuisance. They will feel that it is fun.
And they will be proud of what they've done. Just as I consider it enjoyable to decorate this post with little smiley faces to make people laugh.
That's what a beautiful blog or a perfect post says to me.
CONCLUSION
Yes, I am picky. I pick the best fruit and the best people. You may not be born with every skill, but you can work to make yourself the best and to attract the best.
I hope I have given you insights.
And entertained you.
If you have any comments, agree, disagree, add another thought, feel free to write in. Bye for now.
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