The best workplace perks for wellbeing in pandemic times

In 2020, most people’s working days go something like this: kitchen-desk-sofa-bed, on a seemingly continuous and confining loop. In this new remote work culture, the blurry lines of work and home can make us feel - well, not very well rested at all. 

Those perks we used to enjoy at work - the fancy coffee machine, that discount at the cinema - can seem like a distant memory for your employees.

It’s fair to say a decent benefits package has attracted many an applicant in the past, but with many of us now working from home, that xbox games room or ‘free beers friday’ isn’t quite applicable to our quarantine-esque way of working.

So as we look towards the rest of 2020 and beyond, what perks might work better for your staff as part of a workplace benefits package?

1. Time off for wellbeing

COVID-19 fatigue is a real thing, you may have guessed.

And I don’t mean physical symptoms from the virus - more so the general sense of weariness or sadness we’ve probably all felt from time to time during 2020.

The endless downward negative spiral of the news, and ongoing changes to our daily routine can make life feel really disruptive. Sleeping could be an issue, or the lack of routine could make your teams unfocused and unproductive.

Employees might need to pop and get some shopping for their self-isolating mum, or want to meet some mates in a park to clear their head one afternoon.

Time off at the drop of a hat will be really appreciated by your staff. You could set parameters so that you’re not understaffed, like only two staff are allowed off work on any given day.

With a huge 42% of workers expressing that their mental health has understandably declined since March, offering a mental health day could also be a good shout.

Cisco gave all of its workers a mental health day at the same time at the height of the first wave in May.

1. Entertainment package

Winding down after a long day can be hard when you just feel like you’re moving from screen to screen, at a distance of about 15 feet.

An Audible subscription could be just the thing your staff need to escape, albeit in their imagination alone. Listening to an Alan Partridge podcast or the latest Louis Theroux interview might just give them that much needed burst of creativity or inspiration.

Go Fish Digital pay for their staff’s Spotify and Netflix accounts, stating that it supports creativity and culture:

“I don’t expect a candidate to be blown away by having their $11.99/mo. Netflix bill paid for. But, I do think that candidates will get a tiny bit of extra insight into the types of things our company thinks about and values by seeing these added benefits.” - Brian Patrick

By offering what’s meaningful to that employee right now, it builds a sense of loyalty and trust. After all,  it shows you get them. You understand their need for a Netflix binge or a four-hour blast on Call of Duty to escape the madness of the modern world.

3. Food Delivery Services

After a long day at work, there’s nothing quite like putting your feet up and being cooked for. In these COVID-19 times, you don’t always fancy popping down the pub to mingle with lots of others. 

So one particularly handy workplace benefit could be a subscription to a luxury food delivery service. Ideally, your staff probably don’t just want the same old stuff they could cook themselves. 

With lengthy supermarket queuing times and delivery slots often busy, offering delicious and hygienic food can be a real time-saver, especially for those with families.

Deliveroo for Business saw a 25% increase in companies buying gift cards for their employees, driven unsurprisingly by the tech companies:

“Friday lunches were the most popular time for Deliveroo for Business orders during the pandemic, with pizzas, burgers, Vietnamese and Poke Bowls the most popular choices among remote workers” - Financial Times

Finishing up eight hours on a screen is made more bearable when you know that a steaming bowl of delicious noodle Pho will soon be at your door, piping hot and ready to be devoured.

4. Private Healthcare

As we continue to navigate a global health crisis, having access to top of the range healthcare would be appealing to any employee.

Sure, it comes as standard for many benefits packages, but there are additional add-ons you could think of including - like free health checks, eye tests or well woman checks.

And if they’ve already got those? 

Why not consider an extension option for family members at a discounted rate. Peace of mind when it comes to healthcare is priceless.

5. Nature Park Membership

Enjoying nature has been one of life’s pleasures and a helpful respite for many during the pandemic. If you can offer them rolling hills and the soothing calm of a forest as a workplace perk, then why not?

A YouGov Poll commissioned by the National Trust has shown that 38% of adults said that spending time in nature is what they ‘most looked forward to in lockdown’.

Places like public parks and natural beauty spots have been notoriously busy during lockdown, so anything that allows employees to get their nature-fix more easily will  be a welcome addition to a  benefits package. 

6. Leave it up to them

How can you really decide what your staff want?

Is it gift cards? Investment in an online course? Childcare vouchers for nursery? A plant subscription?

The truth is, there’s not really a one-size fits all approach when it comes to workplace benefits.

One of the kindest things you could do amidst the pandemic is to create a bespoke ‘package of perks’, which allows employees to choose, like a pick ‘n’ mix of treats and offers.

Once you know your budget, you could perhaps tailor three or four benefits options to suit different lifestyle choices - such as entertainment, wellbeing, or nature packages.

A new horizon for workplace benefits

The most popular workplace benefits of 2021 and beyond will more than likely be focused on health and relaxation.

Glassdoor, the employer review site, found that more than half of UK employees working from home said office-based perks such as free food were less important to them. Instead, they wanted wellbeing benefits like mindfulness apps, private healthcare and access to online therapy. 

Whatever you decide, giving your employees some flexibility and choice to nourish themselves in the way they want will make it a win-win all round.

Originally written for the Timetastic blog

7 habits to cultivate the flow state

You know that moment when everything just flows? There’s nothing else but you and the experience.

You become the writing. You become the dance. For that brief moment in time, you are yoga. It’s like you and the experience become one, if only for a fleeting instance.

You call it ‘being in the zone’, academics call it ‘accessing the flow state’. It’s something we can slip in and out of.

We know we usually feel good when we’re in this state of being, but how can we access it more frequently?

1. Take a walk or exercise

‘You can walk yourself into a low-grade flow state…it’s a great reset. If you’re doing something creative and you didn’t get into flow and it was frustrating, this is a way to reset and start over” — Steven Kotler

By moving, it seems to help the flow of ideas and our ability to focus.

Studies have shown that exercise switches off the pre-frontal cortex, and essentially allows for our conscious, chattering mind to quieten down.

Nicolas Cole has tried this with writing, documenting an extremely insightful 7 minute home workout routine.

He says of the routine:

“When we did our first 7-minute sprint, one of the first things I noticed was how clear my head was as soon as I sat down to write. It felt like my inner voice was directly connected to my fingers, and as soon as I “thought” the words in my head, they appeared on the page in front of me. 33 minutes passed in an instant — and then we were right back to doing crunches and air squats and push-ups”.

2. Clear all distractions

“Ninety percent of the most important experiences in life are right in front of you. And instead of distracting yourself from them, as you have been, the Attention Diet will finally free you to face them” — Mark Manson

It’s been documented that you just can’t experience flow if distractions disrupt the experience (Nakamura et al., 2009). That’s why setting digital boundaries is so crucial if we want to experience the flow state more often.

When I went on a 10 day Silent Meditation retreat, not having any distractions for ten days gave me some of the most beautiful moments of my life. Of course, it’s not always easy to digitally detox. Mark Manson gives great tips for cultivating an ‘attention diet’, meaning we only limit ourselves to that which is nutritious for us mentally.

Gretchen Rubin says “I find that I’m much happier if I can achieve this flow state for part of each day. But this requires shutting off my email and my web browser, not an easy task”.

In a world that demands our attention, giving yourself the gift of flow may mean setting strict boundaries, and saying no to a lot of other things.

3. Quiet your mind

‘Most of us live our lives like heads on sticks’ — Steven Kotler

If your mind is spinning faster than a hamster wheel, it’s going to be difficult to get into flow. Having one too many tabs in your brain open actually blocks the flow state. When you meditate or do yoga, you quiet your mind, allowing flow in.

‘Deep embodiment’ is one of the triggers that Kotler mentions, and it’s essentially about feeling with your entire body — not just your mind.

When we become mindful, we not only attune to the present moment with our mental focus, but with our bodily awareness.

4. Try something new

Kotler says we need an element of ‘risk’ to get in the flow state.

Of course, mountain climbers and kayakers are deeply in flow due to the physical risks involved, but you don’t have to jeapordise your life if you’re not a fan of extreme sports.

Social and even emotional risks can get you in this flow state.

In short — put yourself out of your comfort zone. Travel somewhere new. Do an activity you’ve never done before. Read something novel.

5. Do what lights you up

“When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it” says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.

The flow state is a state of absorption; so it makes sense to do something that you’re likely to get lost in. It can only show up in the now, and when we can pay attention and focus in the present moment.

6. Be in nature

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order” — John Burroughs

If we’re sat at a computer for 10 hours a day, it’s likely we are stuck in our heads.

Being in nature allows us to become more attuned to the environment around us, a pre-requisite for flow.

Nature is the great reset button for human health, and there is nowhere more calming for the mind. Not only can it make you up to 47% more creative, but it is scientifically proven to boost your immunity and lower stress levels.

7. Trust yourself

Ultimately, getting into a flow state requires two things — surrender and self-trust to the present moment.

No one ever got in flow by over-analysing, just like no one ever swam by deliberating whether it was safe to jump off the diving board or not.

So with writing, dance, painting, speaking to that cute person — whatever it is, just trust yourself, don’t think, and dive in.

As the mighty Chemical Brothers say — don’t think — just let it flow.

Location independent working: 15 reasons to go remote

First published on Medium.com

‘With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?’ said Oscar Wilde.

And as a modern city worker, these things may feel far from your grasp. You want some more time back for yourself. Time to read, time to be in nature, time to just stand still, take a deep breath, and fully appreciate where you are.

Right?

You might have visions of travelling around the world. Or spending more time at home with your dog. Or fitting more training sessions in for your upcoming marathon. Or simply just having the satisfaction of hitting that snooze button in the morning a few more times.

Whatever your motivation is for remote working, there may be some other added benefits you haven’t considered.

So if you’re considering making the leap towards remote work, here’s 15 thoughts to ponder.

1. Improved mental health

Are remote workers really happier? The research is mixed, often looking at either ends of the spectrum — those remote workers who are employed, and work at coworking spaces, or those self-employed freelancers who work on their own, travelling between Airbnbs or work spaces. As with all things, it appears to be a balance — between having the time to do your own things (more time to exercise, cook/eat better etc) and connecting with others socially. Human connection is vitally important for happiness; it’s important we don’t lose sight of that when we’re finally free of the 9–5. But remote work offers us the opportunity to be more in control of our wellbeing.

2. Less traffic congestion

How much time do you spend sitting in your car in a given week? A month, or a year? By working remotely, not only will you benefit from not having to sit in a traffic jam for hours on end, the environment benefits too. America’s remote workforce currently saves carbon emissions offset to the equivalent of 91 million trees.

Of course, if those same workers are catching lots of planes and travelling around the world it’s not beneficial, so if you’d still like to protect the planet you can search for ways to offset your emissions from air travel.

3. Increased creativity

This all depends on how you make the most of the opportunities remote work brings. Harvard’s E. Glenn Dutcher says: ‘There are times when the home — or the coffee shop or the library — is a much better place to work than the office. For certain types of creative work, you have to be in your favorite room, or listening to your favorite music, or sitting in your favorite chair with your cat on your lap. No other environment will do.’

Personally, I don’t do much creative work at home. My best work came after a 2 month stint in Las Palmas, where I met some innovative and inspiring people. Just being around other likeminded digital nomads seemed to evoke my creative potential. You have to find what works for you.

3. Better physical health

Want to take a 2 hour break to go running in your local park? Well you can, if you’re a remote worker. . A CoSo survey found that 35% of remote workers were getting more exercise than before. Of course, if you’re sitting working in bed all day in your pyjamas, your physical health may decline! With more time on your hands, you can spend that wisely by focusing more on exercise if you so choose.

4. More time to learn/read/research

Even though you always look busy at your office job, there are times when you’re planning your weekend/reading the news/watching the odd cat video and more, isn’t there?

When you’re working remotely, you naturally have time to do more research and learning in a designated area.

Want to research coworking spots? Now you have the extra hour free, that one that you used to spend commuting. Want to learn a new language? Go ahead, because you can choose your hours if you’re a remote freelancer.

5. Productivity hacks

In this section, I was going to mention that remote work could make you more productive, but that’s not always the case. What it most definitely can do is make you lucidly aware of your own motivation and productivity. If you aren’t motivated in the office, chances are you won’t be when you’re working on your own either. Unless there’s certain things you need in order to be productive.

For me, the right productive environment equation looks something like this:

room full of creative entrepreneurs + nice office with comfortable chairs + unlimited tea and biscuits + some good techno to listen to on my headphones (or Mozart if I need to really concentrate) = productive Kerry. For you it might be peace and quiet and an ocean view. For someone else it might be late night on the sofa, when the kids are asleep. Find out when and how you are most productive, and then structure your remote work options around that.

6. Fewer business overheads

Years ago, remote work was called ‘hot desking’. You usually ‘hot desked’ at random offices, and basically had the same experience as an office worker, except for maybe increasing your monthly step counts as you hopped from from desk to desk. American Express noted savings of $10–15 million once it explored its remote work options. If saving money is a priority, location independence could be an option for you.

7. Less sick days

Got the sniffles and fancy a duvet day? Well, hauling yourself out of bed and into an office where you’re likely to spread your germs around has always been the road more travelled when it comes to work. One of the greatest pleasures about remote work in my opinion is that you can take it easy when you have a cold. There’s so much subtle pressure to come into the office when you’re under the weather (‘it’s only a cold’), but now you’re location independent you can snuggle up, make yourself a vitamin c drink, and stay indoors until it has passed. Research by Stanford University shows you’re less likely to have sick days though as a remote worker, so even better!

8. Less reliance on ‘the system’

The way we do things is changing. We no longer have to do things in the way society dictates. Globalisation and technology have freed us from being fixed to our location, and even our loyalties to employers or to brands. We are in control of our working lives now more than ever — of how we work, of when we work, and that means we can start to become self sufficient in more areas than just work, too.

9. More time to travel

You know the feeling. You’ve finally wound down after a week (maybe even two weeks) lounging on the sunbeds in some foreign sunny location, and now it’s time to head back to work. With remote work, you can travel more — not just to grab some more sunshine, but to meet new people, explore new cultures, and get inspiration. Every time I travel, I always get inspired. You don’t even have to go far from home (I’m writing this from a fantastic little cafe in my spiritual home of Chorlton, Manchester, and am staying in an Airbnb whilst visiting friends).

10. Time with loved ones

This reason alone is worth it to me. I haven’t got any fancy statistics here, but needless to say the value of spending more of your life with people that matter to you is inherently soul gratifying. Last week my sister had a baby, and we got the message at the drop of a hat that we could go and see her in hospital. I could rearrange my workload to meet my new niece Rosie along with my two nephews, a truly special moment in my life that I will always remember. You can’t put a price on that.

11. Cost savings for our healthcare system

Professor Cary Cooper notes that a lot of stress-related illnesses are caused by long working hours, and calls for shorter or more flexible working hours as a way to improve wellbeing. It’s difficult to quantify, but imagine the cost savings for the NHS if we all felt a bit happier and less stressed with our lives, as we had a good work-life balance.

12. More time to innovate and problem solve

This is a HUGE one for me, and a real driver as to why I’m so passionate about promoting balance in our work life by working remotely. When we are overloaded or busy, our brains are predominantly in a detrimental state of consciousness. It’s well documented that we get our best ideas when we are in the bath or shower, as Headspace notes. The reason for this is because we are in an alpha state of consciousness, a slower brain wave state which allows for increased creativity. If your brain is always on ‘go’ (i.e. a stressful mode), you’re actually in a state of self-sabotage, because you won’t be able to take in any other information or reflect mindfully on what you are doing.

13. More opportunity to be mindful

Remote work allows you to be with yourself more. It allows you to be more mindful, if you let it. You get to choose. It’s all about your work boundaries and how you choose to look after yourself.

If you’re a remote worker, do you fill yourself with guilt if you’re away for more than 5 minutes on Slack?

In my first remote employed job, I had a manager who would jump on me if I didn’t respond to our client’s email within 5 minutes. He was stressed (despite sometimes working from his villa in Spain), and it made me stressed. I was like an eager tennis player, always ready to pounce on an email or an action, and it was then I decided I had to wave goodbye to the project management life. It just didn’t suit me. Companies such as Intel and Google are into mindfulness as a leadership practice, and for good reason.

14. Time for errands and ‘life admin’

What’s a girl to do if she wants her hair done, nails painted, has a dental appointment and wants to post her friend’s birthday card? Remote work, that’s what. After visiting Bali and unfortunately contracting what doctors thought may be Guillean Barre Syndrome, I was in a bad way, having just got out of a wheelchair. I had a shit ton of appointments. Doctors. Tropical Disease Clinic. Neurologists. Physiotherapy. And because I wanted to help myself as much as I could, I did Acupuncture. Yoga. Flotation Therapy.

Plus of course, when you’ve been through the ringer, you just want to pamper yourself; to look and feel good. Remote work allowed me to do all of these things — work could take a back seat whilst I focused on my wellbeing. Yes, I was just keeping myself afloat financially, but I wasn’t additionally stressed about focusing on work when I needed to look after myself. I’m so incredibly grateful for that.

15. A greater sense of personal autonomy

Most of all, remote work can give you your life back. I can spend my lunch going to the local fruit and veg market, rather than a hurried supermarket run after work. I have more energy, because I work less (about 25–30 hours a week). I can focus on personal goals and creative pursuits. I have time to go in the garden and water the plants and vegetables. I can drive to see a friend on a Tuesday afternoon when the roads are quiet. I don’t get an anxious dread on a Sunday or exhilaration on a Friday afternoon. I have made friends in different countries.

Most of all, I am happier. Of course, there are downsides that crop up — loneliness, lack of motivation and financial instability being the main three as a remote freelancer- but all of these are wholly under my control. I can decide to meet a friend for coffee, go somewhere to invigorate my energy, and work that bit harder to overcome these obstacles.

I am free to make mistakes, but I am also free to create the life I want.

Convinced you yet?

How to Boost Your Creativity To Be Your Most Productive Self

First published on Skillshare.com

In today’s digitally-focused world, creativity is not just something that’s nice to have, it’s an absolute must if you want to stand out from the crowd and be more productive. As more and more jobs are being lost to automation, staying as creative as possible is important to your long-term career — no matter what you do for a living.

Opening the door to new ways of thinking isn’t as hard as it might seem.

Ready to boost your potential for inspired thought and greater productivity? We’ve gathered some tried-and-tested ways to spark your creativity and allow your inner genius to shine through.

Define what creativity means to you

If you don’t know what your ‘best work’ is, then you’ll find it hard to tap into the person you need to be in order to produce it. In his Ted Talk on the subject, creativity expert Giovanni Corozza says that thinking creativity is about not just about thinking outside the box; it’s going beyond the box, exploring the “boundary within our minds- the boundary between what we know, and what we haven’t yet thought about.”  

Take some time to think about what creativity means to you, and what success might look like.

What’s your best piece of creative work so far? What about it pushes that boundary between what you know and what you haven’t thought about yet? What did it feel like to work on that project? Identifying previous bouts of creativity and the conditions that helped you achieve them will give you a better sense of how best to tap into your  creative insights in the future.

Erase self doubt

If you’re feeling uninspired and need to kickstart your creativity, your first task should be letting go of creative doubts. Sylvia Plath once said “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt” and research bears her out; a 2012 Harvard study suggests that the battle with creativity is  about resisting the urge to judge ourselves our creative impulses, and ideas. To build confidence, they say, do your best to capture every creative thought you have. Use a physical or digital notebook to jot down ideas as they come to you and make a record of creative urges you can reference when you need new inspiration.

Listen to music

Research into creative thinking techniques has shown that listening to uplifting or happy music in particular causes people to think divergently, in other words, to come up with original ideas.

Need some new tunes? Tech has got you covered: Spotify has curated a playlist of ‘Beats To Think To’ that can  help you focus and improve your innovative thinking.  

Listening to music can boost your brain power — and your ability to innovate.

Engage your senses

Burn some frangipani incense. Hang a pleasing visual on the wall. Buy a snuggle-worthy pair of slippers. Listen to some David Bowie. Eat an orange.

Engaging all five of your senses regularly stimulates your mind, boosts your mood, and has been shown to help inspire new creative thoughts. Wake up your senses once and awhile and you’ll create an inviting opportunity for more creativity to flow more easily.

Walk

There’s a reason that people pace when they are trying to figure something out. According to one Stanford study, the simple act of walking can increase your  creativity by up to a whopping 60%. Want to come up with your next great idea? Grab those sneakers and head outside. Your creativity might be right around the corner -- literally!

Going for a walk can do wonders for your cognition (image source)

Relax

If you’re not just walking, but running in circles because your work schedule is overloaded, then it makes sense that you might have a hard time being creative and producing your best work. Experts believe, in fact, being stressed actually shrinks your brain, which means a lot less space to dedicate to creativity. In order to let creativity in, you need to be ruthless about minimizing distractions and find times to switch off. What’s the the best way to refresh your  brain power, according to scientists? Meditate, they say. .

Travel

It’s an old saying that ‘travel broadens the mind,’ but why is journeying so helpful when you need creative fuel?

Traveling somewhere out of your comfort zone is a great way to jumpstart your creativity (image source)

Not only are you outside your comfort zone when you travel, you’re also constantly learning, making new connections, gathering new insights and developing new thought patterns. Travelling forces your brain into new activity, which means it’s the perfect way to tap into the  creativity that may be dormant within you.

...or just move. Even to a coffee shop next door.

Can’t afford a weekend out of town? Try moving down the street.

Changing work environments has been proven to boost creativity, so try a different coworking space, working from a home office, or switching around your furniture for an instant way to kickstart your creativity into a new stratosphere.

Seek out nature

Getting out into nature is essential for creativity. In Japan, they call it ‘forest-bathing’ - people go out into the wilderness for a few days, completely unplug from the modern world, reduce their stress and improve their wellbeing. A recent study  found that subjects who hiked and camped in the wilderness performed 50% better on creative problem-solving tasks than those who did not.

If you don’t have that kind of time, just working alongside a few houseplants can help you with boosting creativity. Biophilic design is on the increase, and for good reason: science shows that the more green your workspace  the more likely you’ll be inspired, productive and creative within it.

Just being around plants can help inspire new ways of thinking (image source)

Play!

Steve Jobs used to doodle to boost his creativity. Google goes to great lengths to provide employees with playful perks like sides and beach volleyball while they are at work. Why? Far from being disruptive, play, in all of its forms, actively encourages creativity.

Even if you’re at a company that doesn’t have a slide in its headquarters, you can still incorporate play into your work day.

Try the “30 circles” creative thinking technique, one that  encourages participants to draw 30 circles on a sheet of paper and then adapt each one into a unique object or illustration. The exercise (and others like it)  will give you the time and space you need to think more innovatively, offering an opportunity for ideas to flow through.

Be courageous

When it comes to producing your best creative work, remember the words of the famous painter Henri Matisse, “creativity takes courage.” Tapping into your creativity  isn’t always easy, and that’s okay. It’s about putting yourself out there, despite the fear you might be feeling.

Being brave is the first step toward finding your inner creative spark

If you’re ready to be creative but aren’t sure where to start, ask yourself where you could trust yourself more? How could you push yourself, and get a little brave? Being willing to try something new, whatever it is, may be the first step toward finding your inner creativity. So get brave and get out there! Your genius may be hiding just beyond the limits of your current horizon.

The power of gratitude-based marketing for your brand

Two tiny words mean the world to customers:

thank you.

When it comes to building customer loyalty, gratitude is the holy grail.

Have you ever received a personalised thank you from a business? If so, how did it make you feel?

Offering that personal touch to our customers after a purchase may seem like a small gesture, but it can go a long way in boosting our relationship with our customers, making them feel appreciated and valued.

In today’s digital age, customers are overwhelmed. Their brains process, on average, a staggering 34gb of online information a day. Our human relationships have become online and digitised- chatbots and ai have overtaken real-time, face to face interactions.

Out of all the ways you can say thank you, offline approaches are becoming increasingly more powerful as a way to surprise and delight your customer - after all it’s easy to insert <name> into a thank you email on Mailchimp, isn’t it?

“Thank you notes are effective because they’re a bit of a lost art. Think about the last time you actually sent a handwritten letter, instead of quickly firing off an email or a Facebook message. Those mediums allow for incredible efficiency, but a handwritten card goes beyond the ephemeral nature of our digital inboxes and creates something tangible and meaningful” - Shopify

Why are thank you letters so effective at building customer relationships?

They’re different:

By doing something that most of your competitors wouldn’t have the inclination or the time for, you’re standing out from your competition. To take a step that to some may seem old-fashioned, you’re adding a thoughtful touch to any customer that purchases from you.

Everybody likes feeling appreciated:

Handwritten notes are the ultimate way to build customer loyalty, and even brand champions.  Your customer is spending valuable time and money interacting with your brand, so by showing your appreciation you’re far more likely to boost their loyalty to you, and continue shopping with you.

Can help boost engagement:

Writing handwritten notes to customers can only serve to strengthen the relationship you have with them. You need to ‘surprise and delight’ in order to boost engagement, and that’s why taking the time out to write a personal thank you note will impress your customer. You’re not just a number to them; you’re a human who you’re interested in building a relationship with.

Aim for hearts, not wallets:

In a recent Forbes article, they note that:

The emotional response that is most likely to drive loyal behavior, according to Boncheck, is gratitude.

It’s really a no-brainer that gratitude increases loyalty.

When your partner thanks you for taking the bins out, it feels good, doesn’t it? That’s the power of appreciation, and it’s no different when building a relationship with our customers.

Thank you notes are likely to be re-shared online:

A handwritten note, if done well, looks cute, and is a true rarity in today’s age. That kind of personal touch will not only get talked about, it’s more likely to get shared on social media - further leading to more valuable and positive exposure for your business.

Rectifies poor experience:

Writing a thank you note to your customers strengthens the emotional bond you have with them. At present, they’re probably just indifferent to your brand, and those lukewarm to disengaged customers will be easily won back just through showing you care.

Drives profits

This kind of ‘gratitude-based marketing’ is not just a passing fad. According to the Pareto principle, 20% of your customers drive 80% of your profits, so it makes sense to focus on cultivating that relationship with them will drive profits. Why? Generosity pays off. Not only will it make those important 20% more likely to buy from you, it will increase sales of referrals from these people, too.

Gives a memorable finish to an interaction:

Hex, a fashion tech accessory brand, made it’s name on Instagram after sending 13,000 personalised handwritten notes to customers thanking them for the purchase. Your customer has been with you along the sales funnel - from seeing an ad about your product, right through to purchase, so this approach really sweetens their overall shopping experience with you.

More human, and thoughtful:

Above all, in today’s digitised world, writing thank you notes to your audience shows that you’re making the effort. In an age where it’s so easy to fire off an automated thank you email, a written note is a gesture that feels human, authentic, and real.

Driving customer loyalty by writing handwritten thank you notes (or these cool letters from Pensaki) could be one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies in today’s digital world.

After all, you can’t buy loyalty - you have to earn it.

Developing A New Relationship to Time

We don’t need the 9–5 to be productive; we just need more energy

What time is it?

I look at the clock. It’s 3:05pm.

Even though I only looked at it about twenty minutes ago, it feels like an hour.

I sigh and rearrange my desk. What can I do now?

I’m pretty tired, I’ve been in the office since 8:30,(but up since 6:30am) and already had a couple of meetings, spent two hours in deep work on a project, and had my lunch, as well as sending off lots of emails, and going on a call.

Pretty successful and productive day, so far, I think.

But I still have two hours left on the clock. I’m not allowed to go home until 5pm, when my ‘official’ work period is over, and we’re all allowed to go.

So what do I do? Start that big task I was going to do tomorrow? But I don’t feel like it, and I don’t have enough energy. Can’t I go home and chill now?

I know, I’ll go and make a drink. That will kill 15 minutes.

Sound familiar?

This was literally my internal monologue for most days when I was working in a 9–5 employed office job. It went on for YEARS.

My day always dragged around that time, and time went slowly.

Finally, I decided to work for myself. I didn’t want anyone else deciding how I spent my time, it was stressing me out.

I needed to reclaim it.

Time can make us a slave

In the Western world, time rules our minds. It changes how we perceive things.

Matt Haig wrote a brilliant book, How to Stop Time. In a nutshell, the book tells us to ‘live in the present moment’.

“The longer you live, the harder it becomes. To grab them. Each little moment as it arrives. To be living in something other than the past or the future. To be actually here.
Forever, Emily Dickinson said, is composed of nows. But how do you inhabit the now you are in? How do you stop the ghosts of all the other nows from getting in? How, in short, do you live?” 
― Matt Haig, How to Stop Time

Last month, I watched a brilliant discussion between the guys between the Ascend Podcast, and my guilty crush, the lovely Bruce Parry.

Bruce has visited and lived with many remote tribes around the world, and he talks about an Amazonian tribe that lives in the present moment so much that they have no real words to describe abstract time.

Bruce says of these remote tribes:

‘they feel much more empathically in tune with the environment… they have a much deeper sense of being in the space…they’re connected to themselves, they’re much more in their bodies, they’re not caught up in their heads like we are’

So we need to get out of our heads, and into our bodies.

It’s already begun to happen.

Mindfulness: the growing trend to slow down time

Why has mindfulness become the buzzword of the last few years?

Is it because we all know we should be living in the moment, but it’s just so difficult sometimes?

All the big corporates have embraced this trendy concept over the past few years. Apple and Nike have embraced mindfulness principles, and there’s countless TED talks on living in the moment.

Google have even taken it a step further, launching a whole ‘Search Inside Yourself’ Mindfulness Academy.

Even Thich Nat Hahn led a Google Workshop on mindfulness.

But is a mindfulness meditation practice effective if you’re thinking about your 100 emails in your inbox?

Or if you’re feeling the pressure to buy a house by a certain time?

Perhaps it’s not just about slowing down our minds. Perhaps it’s about slowing down our actions, too.

The eternal now

Eckhart Tolle’s bestselling book, The Power of Now, gives a firsthand account of a man that decided to have a different relationship with time:

“When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power. The realm of Being, which had been obscured by the mind, then opens up. Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you, an unfathomable sense of peace.”

I had read this book, but I didn’t pay any attention to it, until I spent 10 days in silence, on a meditation course. It was only when I experienced this that it began to make sense to me.

Free from the shackles of having to do anything by a certain ‘time’, I experienced a totally different sense of reality, which I documented in a video, ‘Keeping your peace in a busy world’.

Unshackling ourselves from time

A couple of weeks ago I watched a beautiful video of a well known world traveller on Youtube that was hiking in Northern California, and didn’t have a timepiece for a few days, just taking in the lush surroundings instead.

‘It’s really cool how you come more into the moment, and forget about this mental linear concept of time, and ‘I gotta do this, and I gotta do that, and I gotta make sure I have time to get to the office…’ Gabriel, Living Without Time

The way we are approaching time is changing.

Remote work companies such as Buffer focus on outputs, not time spent at a desk.

The 4 day working week trial in New Zealand was a success, as was one UK’s company’s introduction of a midweek day off.

The world is starting to wake up to the fact that we don’t need a certain amount of time to produce something valuable — we just need the right amount of energy.

That’s why Deep Work is becoming so valued — because it takes a lot of energy. You can’t do a piece of deep work in 20 minutes, and you certainly can’t do it with a hurried mind.

Joel Gasgoine, the CEO of Buffer, has ‘Deep Work Wednesdays’ where he has little to no meetings and ‘ uses lengths of unscheduled time to read and reflect on high-level vision and strategy.’

Why does he do this?

Because the state of consciousness you are in is important in order to produce a certain result. A relaxed mind and body means increased creativity and ideas.

He frees himself from the constraints of time so his mind can become more free.

You can do the same.

Don’t trap yourself with time

We can’t just throw away our watches, diaries and calendars. That’s not how it works.

But we can free ourselves from the mental burden of time.

• We can free ourselves by ignoring what you think you should do by a certain time- not having to meet a certain life goal at a particular age, whether that’s getting married, having babies, travelling or buying your first home.

• We can have days where we live without time, like Sundays, where perhaps we have a digital detox or a ‘Digital Sabbath’ and aim to be completely present in our bodies, perhaps doing some bodily focused activities like gardening or yoga.

• We can start by giving ourselves better boundaries in relation to time, especially when we feel hurried, stressed or pressured by someone else. We know we could get the job done in one hour, but we tell our boss two hours because then we will be able to do more thinking around it and do a better job. To see what I mean, check out the difference between spending 10 seconds on drawing a picture of Spiderman vs 10 minutes.

We know that mental health is in crisis for many of the Western world. We have too much on our minds, too many thoughts to juggle, and too many activities, and not enough ‘time’ to do them in.

Perhaps it’s the relationship to time itself that we need to consider, and start making space for ourselves.

Give yourself the gift of letting go of time for a bit today.

You deserve it.

18 tips to improve your income and wellbeing in 2019

We only need to look back for one reason.

To ask ourselves ‘What did I learn?’

All of our experiences, bad or good, have the seeds of wisdom within them. And even if you think they’re not there, they are. They’re just hidden, like seeds in a fruit.

Income and wellbeing are inextricably linked, because they both pertain to energy. With increased energy, not only are you healthier and happier, but you can also earn more.

Ready to charge your batteries for 2019? Here’s things I’ve learned.

1. Trust your gut instinct

I wrote about what mattered to me on Medium, and got featured by the editors. Not only did it generate 6.7k claps and a bit of income, it generated further paid work and people that resonated with what I shared.

2. Immerse yourself in nature as often as possible

There are ideas that can only come to you when you’re in nature. Being in nature is energising. The more beautiful your surroundings, the better. Biophilia is a trend that will grow in 2019. Don’t take my word for it. Check out the ethos of coworking space Second Home.

3. Be aware of what drains your energy

‘Where attention goes, energy flows” is not just a nice quote. It’s truth. If you are giving your attention to things that aren’t uplifting you, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Are you letting social media suck your attention, and thus your energy? The Shallows explores how the internet is literally rewiring our brains.

4. Practice the art of letting go

I broke ties with one of my oldest friends this year, and even though I love her immensely, I had to accept that we were just going in different directions. If you hold on to something that is moving away from you, you’ll lose a hell of a lot of energy. It will impact your health, happiness, and business. Let it drift if it needs to.

5. Set monthly finance goals, and track weekly for peace of mind

Relieve financial anxiety as a freelancer by setting monthly targets. Track them weekly, and if you’ve hit your target by week 3, you know you can relax or hustle a little harder to surpass it. Trust you will get there.

6. Forget the competition

If you’re too busy paying attention to what others are doing, that mental energy is being lost. Run your own race. I remember one boss who literally stood at his computer watching a video of his competitor and calling him names. Why? It’s wasted energy. Spend that time improving yourself instead.

7. Tell everyone what you are doing

For the most part, it helps to be open as possible. I spent quite a few Fridays this year working at Think NG’s Freelance Friday, where I met a lovely lady. I shared what I was doing, and she later recommended me to do a paid workshop in 2019.

8. Don’t make decisions in fear

When the work goes quiet, it’s very tempting to do that project you don’t really like but know will earn you money. Or, if you’ve not posted for a while, you could just reuse that piece of work you’re not altogether happy with, but don’t do it. Instead use the time to upskill and grow.

9. Find work that feels playful

Keep a track of your emotion logs, like my friend Sam Chillcott. Notice when you feel elevated, and when you internally shout ‘yeah!’ That’s an indication of where you need to go. Excitement is energy. You want to do things that fill you with genuine excitement, and even if you’re not making a living from them yet, try to move yourself in that direction.

10. Use music to boost your productivity

Music is a well known energiser. It also has physical health benefits, and The Sync Project are exploring it’s effects with a large research study. Skeptical? You don’t have to listen to music whilst you’re working if it distracts you. Just by blasting out a tune before you work can help (I love this).

11. Start your day with positivity

As Benjamin Hardy suggests, getting yourself into a ‘peak state’ is advised. It helps set the tone for the day. Whatever uplifts you, whatever you need to get you into a place of calmness, focus, and energy. I’m not religious, but I start my day with Joel — he gives me a pep talk every morning.

12. Skill swap with other entrepreneurs

Utilise your network — is there a way you can help each other to further your impact in the world? This year, I did some marketing in return for some life coaching. Build your tribe. Help your friends.

13. Change your environment for increased creativity

This year, I spent three months in sunny Las Palmas, where I got to meet a lot of inspiring people. The difference it made to my mood and productivity was enormous. I was about 100 x more productive when I got home.

14. Be intentional about solitude for new ideas and learnings

I’m in praise of solitude. Like being immersed with new people and new environments, solitude has its own merits for creativity, learning, and reflection. Ideally, think of connection like a tide, or breathing — sometimes you’re around others, the next, you’re alone. That way you stay in balance.

15. Be helpful, even if you’re not getting paid

When I was working at the Freelance Friday, helping my friend and fearless kayaker Sally Montgomery, I didn’t begrudge giving her pro bono advice even though I was supposed to be working. Doing that led me to start consulting sessions, and within an hour of posting it on Twitter I had my first client.

16. Work with nature’s rhythms

You can’t force a water tap to fill a cup quickly if there’s only a dribble coming out. Likewise, you can’t expect yourself to be on fire in your business if you’re feeling tired. Don’t push if there’s no energy there. I’ve learned that our bodies, especially women’s bodies, go through a subtle energetic process relating to our cycles — we naturally have more energy around ovulation. Schedule your thinking time for then, and your days off for the ‘winter’ of menstruation.

17. Try as many income streams as possible

The internet is your oyster! There’s nothing you can’t do, with enough knowledge and research. Test the waters, and so what if it doesn’t work out? You can freelance, get a remote job, write a book, create a product, become a youtuber, create a course, do matched betting, be a user tester, do dropshipping — the possibilities for location independence are endless. One will be a perfect fit for you.

18. Don’t underestimate REST

I don’t just mean sleep. I mean full, conscious REST. Apart from going to sleep, do you have moments when you consciously relax your body to the deepest state possible, not focusing on anything else? R.E.S.T therapy is an actual thing, coined by the researchers of sensory deprivation tanks. I’m a fan of those. But when I can’t get there, I utilise the wonderful Meditations by Rasa. When it comes to meditation, go deep. You’ll be energised.

In Praise Of Solitude

There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely

It was a Saturday Night. I’d been reading famous quotes on solitude, as I was writing an article on silence (I know, so rock n’ roll).

Solitude was praised by Mother Teresa, Nikola Tesla, Antony Burgess, Albert Einstein, Franz Kafka and many more interesting people.

Then I googled ‘solitude’. The very first result from Wikipedia, highlighted in a little black box, rather perturbed me.

“Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation.” — Wikipedia.

Wait a minute. This all seems… pretty bad.

I’ve just read that solitude was the answer from some of life’s most brilliant minds:

“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. Originality thrives in seclusion; free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone — that is the secret of invention: be alone, that is when ideas are born.” ~ Nikola Tesla

“People who do a job that claims to be creative have to be alone to recharge their batteries. You can’t live 24 hours a day in the spotlight and remain creative. For people like me, solitude is a victory.” 
― Karl Lagerfeld

Not to mention the recent research that solitude can make you more successful.

Maybe we’re confusing solitude with the feeling of loneliness. It is one thing to be on your own voluntarily, taking breaks away from family, friends and the world, and quite another to be isolated.

I’ve recently moved into a flat on my own. At first, I was gripped with thoughts such as ‘ugh, this is horrible! So lonely!’ but then after a time it was replaced by a feeling of beautiful serenity.

The shift that happened?

Well, for the first week I was distracted. I focused exclusively outside myself — the tasks I had to complete, work I had to do. I was on autopilot.

But after about a week, I mentally dropped the ball and just sat ‘with myself’. It’s an awareness of the present moment, a connection with it that you just don’t get when you’re lonely. It then became incredibly enjoyable.

Perhaps loneliness is sort of a disconnection from others and also from yourself — whereas with solitude, you’re actively staying present with your own company.

Maybe loneliness can come from being somehow estranged from your connection to your own thoughts and feelings, your dreams, your hopes, your desires.

Because even if you’re surrounded by people, you still can be lonely. In fact, if you’re surrounded by people all the time, it can be incredibly hard to hear what your inner voice is saying — it’s been drowned out all your life.

So I’m in praise of solitude. It’s a truly enriching experience for those who want to fully embrace it.

Solitude can be an intentional experience. The intention is not about removing yourself from people and positive relationships, but for giving yourself moments when it’s just you and the universe.

When embracing solitude, it can be like taking a bath in the waters of silence. You dissipate into the present moment. There is sometimes no sense of ‘I’, especially in nature when moments of solitude can be so serenely beautiful.

If I was a newbie wanting to explore solitude, I might have thought twice if I’d read about it on Wikipedia or Google.

Solitude shouldn’t be terrifying. And if it is, what does that say about ourselves?

This article was first published on Medium.com

The Importance of A Clearly Defined Funnel

Funnel? I hear you say. What’s that?

If you’re relatively new to marketing, you may not know about the concept of a marketing funnel.

Marketing funnels are how you get your client or customer to purchase your product or service.

Each piece of content you create should relate to where each customer is on their journey.

Assuming you already know who your customer personas are, you’ve done your research and know where they hang out. Now you should target them with your copy.

For example, let’s say a new customer has never heard of your business, and what you offer.

This means they are at the awareness stage, also called the attention stage. ❓

At this level, you want to introduce them to your product or service. You want to get them familiar with who you are and what you have to offer.

A great way to do this is with a video or with an organic social media post.

The content should speak directly to their pain point - what problem or issue are you solving for them?

For example, if you were setting up a premium glamping business for busy executives:

‘Here at Orchard View, we know it’s important to take that time out to recharge. So we offer six perfectly formed bell tents in the heart of the idyllic Derbyshire countryside, equipped with your every need. Take a look for yourself. <video> #unplug #taketimeout’

Now you’ve got your audience intrigued. Is this for them? You’ve whet their appetite with some pretty visuals and an explanation of why they might want your product or service, and now they’re at the interest stage. 💭

These are a smaller subset of people who have taken the next step in their mind. You’ve hooked them in with your first piece of content or communication, and now they want to know more.

Think of it like a second date with someone. You’re definitely interested, but there’s a few more things you need to know.

So this is where you delve into the details. You want to get your readers to click more, to get invested in who you are, and what you’re offering.

An interest piece of content may be a blog post which is a feature about your glamping site. It could be something like ‘This Is Why We Chose This Spot For Our Beautiful Glampers.’

Here you want to tell a story. Maybe you talk about taking your dog for a walk over the peaks and you noticed how that part was the perfect spot to watch the sunset. You want to get your audience emotionally invested in what you’re about, and get them picturing using your product or service.

Next, comes the consideration phase, which can also be called the desire part of your marketing funnel. 🤔

This group are an even smaller part of your funnel. Maybe they’ve clicked on your website, read your blog post, and have now signed up to your email list for news and discounts.

These people are clearly interested in what you have to offer - but haven’t yet took the action to purchase.

Content that can move them down the funnel can come in the form of social proof here, so think stats, case studies, and testimonials from those happy customers. These work especially well on your landing page.

‘I absolutely love Orchard View, I’ve been three times now. From the moment you get there, you just feel this sense of serenity. Myself and my husband instantly relax as soon as we step foot inside, and we know that for the next two days, we don’t have to think about a thing’ - Claire, Cardiff.

Of course, your social proof has to be authentic. Get your customers to comment, like or share their views by engaging with them regularly. Get to know them. Understand them, and find out what really pleases them about your product or service - and vow to communicate that to your potential customers.

In your potential customers mind, all the evidence is now mounting to one thing - that making this purchase will improve their life in some way. It could make their life easier, more enjoyable, less stressful, give them knowledge, help them with a problem - but whatever it is, you’ve answered all of their potential objections along the way.

It’s now time to convert. 🛍️

Here, it’s all about those glittering CTA’s (Call To Action). You want them to take action.

Your call to actions should be subtle at first (maybe a ‘find out more’ at the awareness stage), but when it comes to your conversion content, you want them to ‘Book Now’ or ‘Shop Now’.

This could come in the form of a Facebook ad that you’re retargeting to customers that have already visited your site. Maybe they’ve filled in the booking form, but for one reason or another haven’t yet completed their purchase.

An enticing, beautiful ad with the strong call to action ‘Spaces filling up for April - Book now for 2019’ leads them directly back down your funnel, and into becoming your customer.

When you create content, make sure you have it all defined throughout each stage of the journey.

Attention ❓ - Interest - 💭 Consideration -🤔 Conversion 🛍️

also known as:

Awareness - Interest- Desire - Action

Map it out. Know not only who you’re speaking to, but what stage they’re at in their customer journey.

Want to discuss more about creating content that speaks to your audiences? Get in touch to have a chat.

Making My First $500 With Medium.com's Partner Program

I must admit, when I first heard about Medium, the online publishing platform many years ago, I thought it wouldn’t take off. An article site for people to share ideas?

How is this going to be more popular than people sharing content on their own blog or on social media, I thought?

But this year I have reconsidered that thought.

Good content on the web is hard to come by, and there are a lot of people churning out articles just for the sake of it. I find that on Medium you find ideas of a different nature - they’re just on the edge of the current zeitgeist to be relevant; yet not so far ‘out there’ to not appeal to a broad audience.

As of last year, Medium had 60 million monthly unique readers. That’s too big to ignore.

Medium established their Partner Program last year in order to encourage more writers. Essentially, your articles are behind a paywall ($5 a month for readers), and you can receive ‘claps’ (the equivalent of likes) in return for payment.

The more claps you get, the higher pay - simples!

Of course, starting to earn is about learning Medium’s platform inside and out - something I am still doing, but I have learned a lot so far, and would like to share what I have learned with you.

• Write about topics that you have experience in AND that would help others

  My article on the emotional side of freelancing got picked up by the Medium editors, and they put it on the homepage. It got me over 5.5k claps, and a fair amount of new followers. I just wrote about my own experience here, and I was surprised by how many people it helped.

• Learn how Medium likes to present content

Medium likes to make things look pretty. It pays to learn their editorial guidelines, and read a few of their most-read articles to see the style, tone, and formatting.

• Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable

Hiding will get you nowhere on Medium. The best articles are personal stories that are real, raw and authentic.

• Be a good writer

Obvious point maybe, but before Medium, I thought I was a decent writer. Now, I realise I have a lot of work to do. The quality of writers on there are incredible. The best writers can take an idea in their heads and articulate it in such a way that you are captivated, learn something, and can revisit the idea or thought again and again.

Use Medium as a way to hone your craft.

Study the best writers. Notice that how they write is like a stream of their consciousness, clear, and structured, and always returns to the central point.

• Don’t go for what you think the audience will like - write what you want to write

There are some articles I’ve written and then made unlisted, simply for the fact that I felt that they weren’t coming from a good place within me. By that I meant writing topics that I thought I should write about, rather than ones that I actually feel that are right for me to write about. Writing is all about feeling inspired. If you’re faking that inspiration or just trying to copy what’s ‘on trend’ to write about, it will come across. Medium is all about authenticity.

• Write regularly

I’m trying to write at least once a week, even if I’m not 100% happy with the articles (nothing’s perfect, right). I see it as a way to practise my writing, and also as a testbed to test the content with my audience - what kind of articles do they most resonate with? By writing regularly, you’ll come to learn not only the types of people that are on Medium, but also perfect your own writing style.

• Titles and images are VERY important

What is your piece saying? Sum it up in your title. Or give the audience a teaser; a lead in to an interesting idea. Make it something that you would click on if you saw it on there. Also, think about the visual element. You can be fun and use .gifs, but I like to use photos that are a metaphor for what I’m actually writing about. Don’t be afraid to change it if you’re finding that you’re not getting the engagement you expected.

• Realise their audience is vastly different to other platforms

People who read on Medium want to better themselves. In fact, they are people quite committed and dedicated to their own personal growth. When I first posted my freelancing article on other platforms, it got one or two likes from my social networks. I could have thought (as I used to think) that my writing wasn’t valuable or didn’t help anyone, but the truth is it just needed the right platform to be appreciated. The Medium platform may not be right for you or your business, but the partner program is a good way to test the waters.

• Link your social channels back to Medium

From that one featured article, I’ve had people contact me through Twitter, add me on Linkedin, and ask for my work to be published in their magazine. Medium is powerful! Don’t underestimate the power of connecting back with your Medium audience on other platforms. Build relationships with those people - these people get what you’re about!

• Submit your stories to online magazines that publish on Medium

This is something I haven’t really explored too much, but I have three publications on Medium whom I can submit my articles to, and it will go out to their followers, thus increasing my overall reach. I’m going to search for more online magazines that fit who I am and what I write about.

Summary

From Sept-Oct, I earned just over $514. Not a huge amount, but not bad for what I essentially see as a enjoyable pastime. The total hours I spent writing? Probably no more than 4. But that’s not the point. The point is I am writing about things I love and getting paid for it.

Here’s a copy of my most recent Medium report. It’s shortened slightly as I have a lot of articles on there now, but as you can see, the majority of income came from one article.

For now, I will continue to focus on growing Medium as one of my income streams by writing through their Partner Program. I believe it’s an exciting time for Medium, and it’s clean and simple platform and app means that it can only go from strength to strength.

Do you have questions about writing on Medium, or building a remote freelance career? Get in touch to see how I can help.