How Do You Eat Your Words?

Food For Writers 

How Do You Eat Your Words?

Consumables For Writers on a Budget  

I’ve discovered over time that writers are into food. We’re into cooking, restaurants, and grocery store lists. Henry Miller, Roald Dahl, and Anthony Bourdain come to mind. Sometimes we can’t afford to go out to restaurants as much as we’d like, but we still want food that tastes good and doesn’t take an entire afternoon to prepare, eating up precious time that could have been spent writing.

Here are some essential low-cost items with pretty long shelf lives to have in your kitchen while working on a project:

• Eggs 

If you shop at Aldi, you can get a dozen for around $1. Add toast and butter to the mix and you have a meal that can fill you up for less than a couple dollars.

• Cheese

Yes I’m talking about the process stuff, and many of you wouldn’t even call it cheese. It can make or break a sandwich, soup, omelette, plate of nachos, or potato casserole, so always have plenty on hand. If you get it on sale, you can stock up in the freezer!!

• Frozen Pizza 

It’s about the quickest and easiest hot meal that can be prepared. If you know how to shop, you shouldn’t end up paying any more than $3 per pie. Try adding some veggies and experimenting with different spices like turmeric and garlic.

• Lasagna 

Aldi makes a great frozen lasagna that rivals Stouffers for less than $3. At first you don’t think it will fill you up, but once you take that last bite, you know you’re good.

• Pot Pies 

They’re hot, delicious, and very inexpensive especially when you buy them on sale. Try mixing it up with beef and turkey when buying them in bulk.

• Bologna 

There I said it. But when you don’t feel like spending time in the kitchen making lunch or dinner, two of these sandwiches can be thrown together with cheese, mayo, and mustard pretty quickly. It’s harder to find, but salami is sometimes priced about the same and offers a bit more in terms of flavor and texture.

• Chili 

It’s a soup, meal, and condiment all in one. One of my personal favorites and a dish that I love to experiment with. Next time try adding a cup of kidney beans to thicken it up or pour it over a plate of tortilla chips. 

• Chicken Patties 

It’s so quick and easy to take a couple out of the freezer and make a great chicken sandwich. I like mine with mayo, mustard, pickles, and cheese, but one could just as easily add bacon to make it a club sandwich, or provolone and marinara sauce to go the chicken-parm route.

• Ice Cream

Particularly Ice Cream Sandwiches or Sundae Cones for speed and easy access. Never ever buy candy bars at the grocery store. Have you compared the price per ounce on a carton of ice cream? The cost difference is staggering. If you have a sweet tooth, the desert bill can really start to add up, so again, grab the good stuff when it goes on sale!

7 Activities That Sometimes Seem Like A Waste of Time But Rarely Are

7 Activities That Sometimes Seem Like A Waste of Time But Rarely Are

• Sleep

“No time to sleep,” we tell ourselves. “I’ve GOT to get this done before bed.” Even Jeff Bezos says he has to get a good seven hours to get the most out of the day. Don’t do yourself a disservice by not getting enough rest. Take the time to recharge your battery. Seven hours every twenty-four hours. No excuses.

• Reading

Read the Bible. Read some news articles. Read a novel. Just read. You’ve heard it a million times before, but it bears repeating. I know this can be tough to do if it’s a sunny day, or if you just bought a new 4k TV, but the world is becoming more and more technology based by the minute, and staying informed while educating yourself is almost always time well spent.

• Journaling

This is how great books are written or how great business ideas start. Learn to love the blank screen before you at some point during the day and commit to this mental exercise of improving your vocabulary and conversational skills. You don’t have to share it with anyone, but sometimes having a conversation with yourself on paper helps your day to day decision making process. It’s also a critical component of fleshing out goals.

• Organizing/Cleaning

I just sleep better in a clean room. Sometimes this is as simple as making your bed in the morning, or folding and putting your shirts in the dresser instead of just throwing your clean clothes in the corner. It should never be beneath anyone to sweep the kitchen or iron one's pants.

• Praying/Meditating

I’m a Christian, so personally I need to spend time with other believers and alone in prayer. There is also such a thing as Christian meditation, and it’s something that is talked about extensively in the Old Testament. However, if you adhere to a different faith or maybe have no faith in a higher-power of any kind, I still highly advise carving time out every day to have quiet. No TV or music in the background. Don’t confuse this with sleeping, because it’s far from it. You don’t always have to be doing something. Personally, this is one of the toughest things for me to do because it is the discipline of doing nothing, and doing nothing can seem counterproductive. Take the time to just be.

• Exercising

A half hour of intense cardio (sprinting) is better than an hour of moderate cardio (jogging/walking). If you’re not into the whole treadmill thing, take up a new sport.

• Socializing

This is something that comes naturally to some people, but not me. I’m a millennial, and I think we are a lonely generation. It’s the downside to advancements in communication technology. If you don’t have to block out time to do this on a daily basis, my hat goes off to you. If you’re a bit of a loner but don’t consume alcohol, spend some time at a local coffee shop to enrich your social life.

Using Google Calendar as a CRM

Using Google Calendar as a CRM 

Many people use Google Calendar to keep track of the day’s events, but did you know you can use it as a customer relationship-manager as well?

The best part is: IT'S FREE!!

If you’re not using it already, go to calendar.google.com

On the far left of the screen you will see “Other calendars.” Click it, and you will be able to name a new calendar by your organization. This is a great way to differentiate between your personal and employer tasks. You can see all events simultaneously if you desire, but be sure to use a different color to avoid confusion or if you plan on sharing with co-workers.

Since there isn’t a text box to input a phone number, I suggest using the first line of the “description box.” If you enter the phone number using hyphens, (xxx-xxx-xxxx) it will recognize it as a phone number, and when a user simply clicks it, it will populate in their dialer.

Here’s a potential scenario: If you are setting an appointment for May 15th and want to be able to reach out to the customer in one year, be sure to click the day first, and then click the “more options” button next to “save.” Click “does not repeat,” and select the day and time you want to be reminded to call them back for a follow-up.

Google Calendar is also integrated into Google Maps. This is a great way to mitigate (if not completely eliminate) any clerical errors by not inputting the correct address of the customer. Once you start to enter the street number and the first few letters of the street name, the customer’s address should populate to simply select.

Last but certainly not least, use the “add guest” feature on the right to share the database with your co-workers.

Google Calendar isn’t by any means the best CRM available, but it is a no-cost option that will help businesses organize their prospects and customers.

Happy Selling!!🍊