I am self employed running a business and a family. That can sometimes be a recipe for disaster. You think work projects combined with school and after [...]]]> I am a planner, a list maker, an organiser and I know I am not the only one, right? I know you lot are actually nodding right now.

I am self employed running a business and a family. That can sometimes be a recipe for disaster. You think work projects combined with school and after school activities, renewal of fees, things to bring and others to buy and if you don’t plan properly here comes the high blood pressure.

This morning I decided to design a weekly planner that fits my lifestyle and that allows me to instantly get a real picture of the Home and Work aspect and how they fit with one another. And then I thought I would share it with you because if I need it then some of you might need it too.

Here is the thought behind it:

Each week you print it ideally before the week starts, Friday could be a good day.

On it you add all the meetings, appointments and deadlines that you have that week for both your Home/Personal and Work environment. Next to it you will find a place to list your top ongoing projects, then move on further and you write down the 3 top priority goals you have to achieve this week, followed by a To Do list of general things that pop into your mind as you go along.

Does it make sense? What I like about it is that it forces you to look ahead of what’s coming and make sure you are prepared.

To download you just need to pop your details in the form below and after confirmation you will receive the link to download the document.

The reason I am doing it this way is that I intend to create more printable designed to help you achieve your goals and feel and be in control of everything. By giving me your details you agree to receive other printables via email that you might find useful and along with that any news that I feel you would want to hear from me. You will be able to opt out at anytime if you wish to and I promise to never share your details with anyone.

The printables you will keep on receiving will be designed to help you focus on the important stuff and to free up some time for you and without guilt!

Verdict? Well I haven’t missed my iPhone, not even a bit.

Shall we start with the not so cool bit and get it out of the way? Ok well it is a big phone, a very [...]]]> Today marks the end of the second week I have been using my new Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

Verdict?
Well I haven’t missed my iPhone, not even a bit.

Shall we start with the not so cool bit and get it out of the way?
Ok well it is a big phone, a very big phone. If you have small hands then it might not be a good choice. I had a couple of occasions when I nearly dropped it trying to answer or dragging it out of my pocket. Talking of pockets, its ergonomic shape makes it a little awkward to keep inside the pockets. It easily finds a way out so having a case is not just pretty accessory but also a necessary one (and so is an insurance).

This aside… IT’S AMAZING! Really amazing!

So here’s why:

1- My favourite thing of all: I am writing this post on it, as in handwriting this post. I am using the stylus that comes with the handset. You pull it out and you have the option to use the writing pad for everything (texts, emails, blog posts, lists, using the notepad…)
But wait, not only it writes very well (I’d say that it is 90% accurate, the other 10% it doesn’t translate the text perfectly but no different than when using the keyboard). Aside of that I can also doodle! heaven.

2- Reading on it is a delight whether you read a book on the kindle app, emails or a webpage the screen is crisp and wide enough to make the experience very pleasant.

3- It takes amazing photos: the shutter is quick enough for fast action and the resolution is very good. You can take burst shots and decide to use the best face for everyone in a group. I haven’t tried the latter yet but imagine what that means: no more hours of frustration just to get everyone looking good at the same time.
And Snapseed is available on Android!

4- The battery life is very good. Basically I give it a charge overnight and use it all day. I consider myself a heavy user when it comes to the use of social apps, reading and emailing, but a ridiculously low usage of the actual phone whether for calls or texts. To say it shortly I am constantly browsing, reading, writing or list

ening to music giving it little rest and my thoughts on the battery life are based on this.

5- The apps available on Google Play so far have been just what I want or need. The G+ app is much better but then I wouldn’t expect any less. There are some differences between the IPhone apps and the Android ones generally but nothing major and sometime too hard to notice anyway. I do enjoy the Google Reader app but probably because of the bigger screen.
If you read a lot of your blogs or news on Flipboard, again the larger screen makes it an even better experience.

6- Last but not least, the choice of alarm ringtones is way better and nicer than the ones on the iPhone. Trust me you come to appreciate it when your husband wakes up with a gentle melody that slowly gets louder as opposed to a blaring siren. Just saying…

So the final score is obvious I guess… So far I haven’t regretted my choice one bit!

Google+ is a territory I haven’t yet explored fully and this was the occasion to meet up with Rosie their newly appointed Community Manager to discuss the countless possibilities G+ has to offer not only on [...]]]> Last Tuesday morning, I was heading to a meeting at the Google offices in London or Disneyland for Geeks!

Google+ is a territory I haven’t yet explored fully and this was the occasion to meet up with Rosie their newly appointed Community Manager to discuss the countless possibilities G+ has to offer not only on a personal but also professional level.

The whole experience from the moment you enter their building near Tottenham court Road is quite mesmerising. The view is fascinating, they have a gym, a fabulous library, nice comfy sofas and chairs in various rooms and cafeterias at every level.

So after a visit of the offices (an experience in itself already) the work began!

Rosie treated us to a presentation and let us fire questions at her (and by the way handled it very well!).

l personally arrived there overwhelmed and feeling like I wasn’t sure I wante to commit more time and energy on yet another Social Media platform and leaving feeling very excited by the amount of possibilities G+ has to offer!

I have yet to make it my own experience so wouldn’t dare offering to much advice apart from the one to make sure that you circle Rosie on G+ and read the following articles to get you started … and of course make sure you circle the EasyTechClub page too!

Here are some of Rosie’s suggestions:
A good places for beginners to look is: http://www.google.com/+/learnmorem/
There’s info for businesses here: http://www.google.com/+/business/
Some great examples of businesses using hangouts here: http://www.youtube.com/user/googleplusstories

One last thing before I go… Are you on G+? Please let me know where to find you! 

I am truly an Apple adept. iPod, iPad, iPhones, iMac… It feels like a huge step to move away from Apple.

But… There’s the Galaxy Note 2 with its beautiful crisp large [...]]]> I am currently debating on whether to swap my iPhone4 for a Galaxy Note2 or an iPhone5. I change my mind everyday.

I am truly an Apple adept. iPod, iPad, iPhones, iMac… It feels like a huge step to move away from Apple.

But… There’s the Galaxy Note 2 with its beautiful crisp large screen, its sleek camera, it’s stylus, it’s possibilities for my creative brain…

But theres Apps like Snapseed and Awesome Calendar that don’t exist in the Android store.

And there’s the fact that it’s a rather ginormous phone and I am wondering if it will fit in any pockets when I am dashing out without a handbag.

And what if it doesn’t fit in a lovely evening clutch bag? Well actually that doesn’t matter, I don’t own one anyway, it’s not my thing. I am the kind to carry a giant bag anywhere I go, so maybe a giant phone is ok after all?

This is a very hard decision to make because whenever I look for advice it seems that iPhone owners wouldn’t swap with any other for the world and Samsung owners feel the same way.

Actually, what I am looking for is to hear from people who went from one to the other and their thoughts about it.

I have found myself rather underwhelmed by the iPhone 5 and what it has to offer extra from the previous. I am not excited about it and that saddens me… Maybe it’s time for a break until Apple launches the next exciting phone…

So iPhone5? Galaxy Note? Galaxy Note? iPhone5?

I mentioned it during my Cybher session and I wanted to show you a very easy, free way to make beautiful collages to illustrate [...]]]> Photo collages are a great way to showcase beautiful photos, illustrate a story or see different angles of an object for example. Personally, I am a big fan of photo collages.

I mentioned it during my Cybher session and I wanted to show you a very easy, free way to make beautiful collages to illustrate your blog posts.

Step 1 – go to www.picmonkey.com

Step 2 – click on Create a collage

Step 3 – upload your photos

Step 4 – choose the layout from a set of templates or create your own

Step 5 – Drag and drop your photos and arrange them how you want them

Step 6 – Decide on the space between photos, rounded or square corners and the colour of the background either entering the colour HTML code or picking from the colour chart or whether to have it transparent.

Step 7 – Save the collage either jpg or png and decide on the size

Step 8 – Insert collage in your blog post!

1- Open an image in Gimp

2 – Add a layer (choose the colour of the layer that suits you)

3- Set the opacity of [...]]]> Following yesterday’s tutorials on adding a watermark with Gimp, I wanted to show you how to add a text overlay to your images like this one.

1- Open an image in Gimp

2 – Add a layer (choose the colour of the layer that suits you)

3- Set the opacity of the layer

4 – Add text over the layer and set its opacity too

Make sure the layer is where you want on the photo, save the image and you are done!

If you get stuck or have any question, just ask!

Typically when I wrote this post yesterday, the heavens were opening right above our heads. Today the sun is shinning making the text on the photo irrelevant but I won’t complain about it! Hope you are enjoying some sun too…

Here is how…

1- Open your photo in Gimp

2 – In Toolbox select the box with the “A” (if you can’t see your toolbox, look here for instructions on how to open it [...]]]> One question I was asked at Cybher conference was “How do I watermark my images with Gimp?”

Here is how…

1- Open your photo in Gimp

2 – In Toolbox select the box with the “A” (if you can’t see your toolbox, look here for instructions on how to open it again)

3 – Select the font, size and colour of your text

3- Click on the photo to open the text editor box

4 – Move the text where you want it to be

5- Change the opacity of the text

And here is the final result

To open them again, hover over “Windows” and you will find them in the drop down menu.

I am excited because Cybher is one of those conferences that makes me want to jump up and down with a squeal. Imagine the people waiting for Harrods to open its doors on the first day of sales. Imagine their bodies pressurised against the doors about [...]]]> I am feeling excitement with a touch of anxiety.

I am excited because Cybher is one of those conferences that makes me want to jump up and down with a squeal. Imagine the people waiting for Harrods to open its doors on the first day of sales. Imagine their bodies pressurised against the doors about to explode! Imagine their heart racing with excitement waiting to discover plenty new amazing things! That’s how I feel right NOW!!

I am also anxious because I am running a session on something I am totally passionate about. But what if no one turns up? What if they don’t like me? What if they throw their shoes at me (preferably size 6, no heels, oh and if possible both of them at the same time).

I simply cant wait as I know I am going to see amazing bloggers that I haven’t seen in ages but I will also meet new ones…

So for the ones who will decide to come to MY session “Revamp your blog for less than £50″, which is at 15.50 in the Annex, then I will be delighted to welcome you there!

What we will be covering are simple design tweaks and changes that will instantly make your blog look stunning and professional. We will talk about the use of colours, fonts and graphics to speak the same language you are in writing. We will talk about being creative and how to use FREE tools to translate all that.

This presentation is based on (almost) 4 years of blogging, where I went from knowing nothing at all to now talk codes and other geeky stuff. This is all self taught knowledge based on the desire to achieve a sleek look on a budget. I am experiencing and learning daily and I promise to share and update this blog with lots of tutorials that will help you do the same.

This presentation is based on WordPress blogs, however the major part of the session will be talking about general skills that you can apply whether you are a Blogger, Typepad or WordPress user.

I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow and I raise my coffee to our blogging success! (it’s way too early for gin…)

So here you go, I think it covers pretty much what it should be covering including height and hair colour…