Tools, Tips, and Treats for Living the VA Life [December 2018]

The end of the year is almost here! If you’re trying to finish strong, or planning out some New Year’s resolutions, we’re dropping some more helpful links in hopes of encouraging an even more fruitful 2019 for all the freelancers and VAs out there:

Productivity Pick-Me-Ups

Start the year off with a new frame of mind and a suggestion to help avoid distraction!

Let’s Forget About Morning Routines for a Second and Talk About Finishing Strong (Entrepreneur)

Many people tout morning routines as the holy grail of productivity and mornings are when many do their best work. However, particularly when you work from home, your day can go wonky before 11 am. Keeping the Finish Strong mindset may be just what you need to break out of a funk when things haven’t gone the way you planned.

Hide Your Phone When You’re Trying to Work. Seriously. (NYTimes)

It seems so simple, but it’s so, so hard. But trust us, removing the temptation really works.

Remote Work Revolution

Remote work is terrific, but there can be some distractions and drawbacks. Stay on top of them with these insights.

Managing Expectations: Working Through Your Holiday Travels (Remote.co)

Here at DPM, our clients know we’re closed from December 22nd through January 1st, and VAs hustle extra hard to complete their retainers before the break. However, if you are working over the holidays, keep these tips in mind.

Maintaining Sanity and Social Skills When Working Remotely (Medium)

It’s nice to work and socialize on your own terms, but you don’t want to get to isolated. The author offers 10 good social activities. (We’ll add that for remote teams, collaboration tools like Slack offer a water cooler-like experience)

Marketing Mischief

In today’s marketing world, visuals are as important as words. Make sure they stand out.

The Pantone Color of the Year for 2019 is Warm, Glorious, and Connects Us to The World

Pantone named their color of the year for 2019 – Living Coral. Adobe breaks down how it fits in today’s marketing and branding landscape for all you graphic design freelancers.

Promo Image Resizer

Converting one image into various sizes for each social media platform was a tedious job for social media managers. Not anymore! This tool makes it simple to get it right for every post.