Having a hobby is important. They help structure your time, promote flow against passive leisure, foster new social connections, and help you cope with stress. The benefits of having a hobby on your happiness can spill over into other aspects of your life.

If you find yourself perusing photographer instagram accounts, gleaning the latest tips and browsing through tools of the trade, it may be time for you to expand your photography hobby.

We see videos and articles every week about the person who quit their corporate job (or was laid off) and decided to pursue their hobby as a full-time career. You may not be at that point, but who's to say you might not one day?

​This post will walk you through 10 tips to expand your photography hobby.

Whether it's your job or a new hobby we all want to be successful in the things we try. Whether you want to impress your boss at work, be a more attentive partner, or be more organized around the house, sometimes we reflect and decide we want to do things better.
This post has some tips on how you can set yourself up for success in whatever endeavor you're embarking upon.

You may be thinking "things are going fine, why risk upsetting the status quo?"

Personal development involves reflection, goal setting, and stretching our limits. It helps us realize our potential and fulfil a purpose in life that we ourselves set. You learn new things, take on new responsibilities and grow in your abilities allowing you to adapt to change, overcome challenges, and reach goals. 

The effort you put into personal development is always worth it, because whether you succeed in whatever you set out to do or not, you develop resiliency and acquire new capabilities and knowledge not just about what you were trying to do but also about yourself. These improvements help us become better people - in all of our relationships.

Making small changes in your life can lead to a larger impact, both by their cumulative effects but also because the process of implementing those changes helps you develop the traits and skills to implement bigger changes down the line.

Whether you are looking to connect with new customers or improve your ecommerce sales numbers, visibility is a key to success in business. Today's post has 4 tips for your business development plans, focusing on visibility.

Sometimes we feel resentful of the monotonous routine of our workdays and even our weekends. You may feel like you don't have time to do the things you want. There are changes you can make not only to reorganizing your day but altering how you perceive your day.

Most graduate schools have specific formatting rules for your final dissertation document. You should be able to find these rules on the website. Schools differ in the amount of support and resources they provide to help you achieve these formatting specifics, however.

The last thing you want to be doing when you've just finished your dissertation is wrangling MS Word to put your page numbers horizontal on a landscape page and get your list of figures to update correctly. 

Read on for tips and a summary of my experience

Being an entrepreneur is challenging - but most entrepreneurs wouldn't want to do anything else. The flexibility, creativity, and the challenges make it a career path that attracts a certain type of personality.

However, what makes someone a successful entrepreneur is often the work they put in. Incorporating lifelong learning into your year-long plans and goals is a sure-fire way to stay abreast of what is happening next in your industry while staying competitive with new skills.

In this post I'll talk about 3 benefits of lifelong learning specific to entrepreneurs.

Self-confidence not only affects how you feel about yourself day-to-day, but also impacts your work life and relationships with others. Whether your confidence is at an all-time-low due to comparing yourself to others, a relationship breakup, being passed over for a promotion or job, or feeling isolated from others in an increasingly virtual world, there are steps you can take to boost your confidence. 

Today's post goes over 4 of these tips. I encourage you to think about what has got you feeling low about yourself lately, and try to customize at least one of these tips to work for your situation.

The past few years has been a whirlwind of world-changing news - and COVID-19 was certainly one of the headlines that affected every one of us, whether directly, through a loved one, or by affecting how we manage our ongoing health concerns.

A bright spot in the darkness was the amazing collaboration that fast-tracked the development of COVID-19 vaccines. While all of us have been affected by the events of the past few years, many of us have learned more about ourselves and how we respond to change and struggle. In this post, I'll highlight a few lessons that I've been reflecting on.

In this digital age, every business needs a website. While having a well-designed landing page providing potential customers with the information they need is all you need, there are some extra steps to take if you want to optimize your website for success.

If you have an eCommerce store, then you know it's a great way to make sales with less ongoing effort. You can generate sales around the clock and around the world without extra expense or retail staff. 

However, if you don't put in the time upfront then you may face some issues that cause lost revenue.

It can be difficult to motivate students and maintain productivity in the classroom. Whether you're going over material to help students review for a test or helping them learn something new, there are several things you can do to encourage engagement. It's not just about what you say or how you say it - the classroom environment can affect student productivity, too. In this post, I'll discuss 4 ways to improve the classroom environment to optimize student engagement.

Are you struggling with low levels of productivity? Whether you run your own business, work for a boss, or work as a freelancer, check out these 4 common causes of low productivity to see if you can get a boost.

If you're interested in a career path where you can be your own boss and set your own hours, then self-employment may be right for you. You may have other reasons for starting your own business - perhaps you're passionate about filling a gap in your market and doing it yourself is the only way you see it happening. Or maybe your life is better when you have a flexible work schedule, and being your own boss is the easiest path to get there. 

Whatever your reason for thinking about self-employment, it's not for everyone. Just like with most big changes in our world, there are both good and bad consequences that result. To make an informed decision, you've got to know them all. This post will discuss some of the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of self-employment to help you start your research on whether it's a good choice for you.

One of the essential things for a successful company is developing a solid relationship with its clients. However,  buyers are looking for more when it comes to their relationship with a company; more engagement, listening, and more partnership.

​In fact, only a few business-to-business (B2B) customers feel engaged, and a more significant percentage of others feel actively disengaged or indifferent.

Establishing a strong B2B relationship calls for planning, dedication, and hard work. Fortunately, you can utilize key marketing strategies as an ideal way for building and strengthening B2B relationships. The following 8 tips are some of the tried and tested ways to build better B2B relationships.

Whether you're looking for your first job or your tenth, there are several techniques you can use to get your foot in the door for an interview and ultimately land the position you want.

Whether you are starting a business or are looking for a job, one of the primary keys to your success will be the first impression you make when meeting new potential partners, clients, bosses, and colleagues.

Making a good first impression involves your appearance, your body language, your attitude, as well as both what you say and how you say it.

Exams can be stressful for any student, no matter their level. Taking a big picture view of test preparation by organizing your study approach throughout the year (not just during exam week) can make a big difference. This article provides tips for parents, teachers, and students to help make school go a bit smoother. I've written the tips as if talking directly to the student, but know that you can adapt these to help your kids or pupils.

If you've started your own business, then you're used to learning on the fly. But if you're ready to keep growing your business, then you should consider taking at least one of these courses.

I'm at the precipice of rebranding my side business, and as I research how to rebrand successfully I thought I'd share my research here with you.

The tips I share can be applied to coming up with a brand (brand identity) or rebranding. Additionally, you can think of these tips in terms of branding a business or yourself. The key concepts of intent, consistency, and experience apply to individual branding and business branding. 

While many argue that a job or career shouldn't define you, you do spend a significant chunk of your week at that job. Do you want to enjoy it, or just get that 9 to 5 over with?

Would you prefer to do something you are passionate about or is it all about money? A career can start out as a means to an end, but you may learn to love what you do. On the other hand, you may choose to take a lower-paying job because it's something you're passionate about. Lastly, keep in mind that sometimes you need to work in various entry-level positions to gain the experience needed for some more senior roles.

Stress comes from all directions in life, but sometimes you just need someone to tell you to sit down and take stock of where you are. This post will talk about some different types of stressors and provide a little push to get you back on track to taking care of yourself.

Many of us have been working from home for almost a year now due to the COVID-19 productivity. 

In this post I'll share 3 tips to boost your productivity while working from home.

How does virtual learning compare to going to school at a brick-and-mortar location? Advantages and disadvantages certainly differ depending on level. In 2020, schools of all levels closed, and for the first time, large portions of our younger population were schooling at home, from preschoolers to college students.

While many parents have chosen to homeschool, with school closures many parents now working full-time from home were faced with the challenges of teaching their kids at home (with no prior experience in education), or managing their online learning schedule. The lack of socialization for young students meant a key part of their behavioral learning was lost. Middle and high school students likely adapted better to the switch to virtual learning than younger students, but they no longer had club or sport activities. 

Whether pursuing a Master's or doctoral degree, making ends meet during your graduate education can seem daunting. In addition to reaching out to your department and school student service staff to find out about fellowships, tuition reductions, and other ways to reduce education expenses, check out these tips.