Beat the credit crunch making some extra money

1. Clearance Sale

Selling all your unwanted books, clothes, toys and videos is a great way of making a bit of extra cash, as well as clearing out your closets. Amazon, eBay and Gumtree are all reputable and secure websites to sell your stuff on, and after paying the initial listing fee, can earn you a tidy profit.

How much can you make?

Dedicated sellers can make £100s on the side, but it all really depends on what you’re selling.

ConsumerChoices.co.uk suggests

* Waiting for 10p listing days. When you open an eBay account, they’ll send you email updates with special promotions, such as 10p listing days. With this offer, even if some things don’t sell you won’t be out of pocket.
* Selling used books (especially student textbooks) is really easy with Amazon, as all you have to do is type in the ISBN number and Amazon will fill in the rest. Listings last for 60 days; and if they don’t sell first time round, re-listing is free.

2. Story time

If you’ve had a near-death experience, or a have a gripping or extraordinary tale to tell, why not get paid to have it published? Feature World is an online publishing agency, run by journalist Alison Smith-Squire. As a writer for women’s magazines and national newspapers, she’ll help you choose which publication to sell your story to, tell you how much money you might expect to get for it, and look after your interests. And as an added incentive, selling your story through Featureworld.co.uk is free.

(more…)

Presentation Skills

Collection of useful videos from around the virtual world of internet.

Publisher: YouTube

How to manage your time

Learning how to manage your time so that you can accomplish what you set out to accomplish is a skill that will help you throughout your life. It is particularly helpful when you are a college student as you have deadlines and many competing priorities that need your attention. It‘s natural to feel overwhelmed and anxious at times, but having a plan to help you get organized and set priorities will help ease the tension.

Everyone develops their own approach to better manage time, and here are a few tips to help you:
A. Anticipate and plan
B. Break tasks down
C. Cross things off
D. Don’t procrastinate

(more…)

Breaking a task into smaller pieces – WBS (Work Break Down)

Breaking Work into Task-Sized Chunks

When managing projects, it is important to build a WBS — a work breakdown structure. This article, the first in a three-part series, will explain why a WBS is important and show you how to build one. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual, written by Bonnie Biafore (O’Reilly, 2007; ISBN: 0596528361). Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O’Reilly Media.

When you organize a simple activity like seeing a movie with friends, you probably don’t bother writing out the steps. You just call your friends, pick a movie, get tickets, and buy popcorn without a formal plan. However, for more complex projects—like preparing your income tax return or launching a new product line—identifying the work involved is key to planning how and when to get it done. For example, missing the April 15 deadline can cost you hundreds of dollars in penalties. That new product may make a profit only if you keep costs below $100,000 and get it on the shelves before Thanksgiving. At such times, cost, delivery dates, and other objectives are important.

That’s where a WBS (work breakdown structure) comes in. Carving up the project’s work into a hierarchy of progressively smaller chunks until you get to bite-sized pieces is the first step to figuring out how and when everything will get done. If you’re new to managing projects, don’t panic—you’ve built a WBS before. The movie example in the previous paragraph is actually a simple WBS. The structure of a WBS is much like the system of blood vessels in your body, with the aorta representing the entire project and the smaller blood vessels as progressively smaller chunks of the overall work at each level (summary tasks). The hoards of tiny capillaries that deliver blood to every part of your body correspond to the individual tasks (called work packages) at the bottom of the WBS, which are the smallest chunks of work that you assign to people to complete the project.

(more…)

Anger Management

What Is Anger?

When something interferes with your achievement of a goal or desire, the developing frustration results in a feeling of tension and hostility. That feeling is referred to as anger.

Example 1, Lucille wanted to clean the kitchen but her husband insisted that she rest instead. Lucille felt she was being treated like a child, viewed her husband’s attitude as condescending, and became very angry.

Example 2, Susan just got a call from her doctor’s office cancelling her appointment for the next day. Susan had been anxiously awaiting the day of the appointment and became angry about the unexpected change.

Example 3, George watched from the sideline as his two roommates played tennis. George felt angry because his physical limitations prevented him from participating.

Example 4, John’s mother told him he would be more healthy if he took better care of himself. The comment made John angry.

What are three types of anger?

Anger In: This is feeling angry but directing it toward oneself, or inwardly directed anger. It is depression or suppressed hostility.

Anger Out: This is feeling angry and directing it toward other persons or things, or outwardly directed anger. It is the showing of repressed hostility and resentment.

(more…)