julieoneill - Tumblr blog

[julieoneill]

Top 10 best productivity apps for students

As a student, time management is not only an essential skill to find success in your academics, but it also allows you to make time for other passions, and to take care of yourself and your mental health.

Thankfully, there are some great apps out there to help you maximize your productivity! I’ve divided these student productivity apps into three categories: focus, time management, and note taking. Also, did I mention that these apps are all free (or almost free)?

If you’re looking to amp up your productivity, here are my top 10 best productivity apps.

Stay focused

Do you often find yourself with the intention of studying but end up scrolling through Instagram a few minutes later? These apps will help you follow through on what you intend to do, or even shut out the distractions entirely.

Forest

iOS, Android, Chrome extension || Free for Android or available for purchase on iOS

This app takes on a creative approach to help you stay focused. Whenever you want to start a study session, you plant a tree in your in-app “forest”. As you work, the tree will begin to grow, but if you pick up your phone and leave the app, your tree dies! You can collect and add more trees to your forest the more you focus. The company even plants real trees in dozens of countries! It’s a win-win situation for you and the Earth.

Tide

iOS, Android, Chrome extension || Free

My personal favourite focus app, Tide, is the perfect fusion of productivity, wellness, and beautiful design. The app allows you to set up personalized Pomodoro-focus sessions, with a wide variety of nature sounds, white noise, and calm music. If you leave the app, you’ll “fail” the focus session! The app also features sleep, nap, meditation, and beautiful daily quotes to keep you motivated.

Motion

Chrome extension || Free for Personal Plan

As a university student, you’ll be using laptops A LOT, and if you’re using the internet to work and take notes, well, I hate to break it to you, but distractions are aplenty in your browser as well.

Motion’s free plan will block distracting sites like Facebook and YouTube. You’ll also receive a report on how much of your time online is productive or distracted.

Cold Turkey

MacOS, Windows (Works on all web browsers) || Free for Basic Plan

If you still find yourself getting distracted, this one’s for you. I’ve used this app in my browser and let me tell you — it works. Cold Turkey will allow you to start a timer, during which distracting websites will be blocked entirely.

Until the timer stops, there’s no way to unblock the sites and no turning back. You can even block the entire internet if you need to. Other apps have a way around website blocks, but not this one. Talk about tough love.

Manage your time

You’ll be in charge of your own time in university, so it’s important to stay on top of your schedule and things you need to do. If you never liked carrying a physical agenda around, give these apps a try.

Google Calendar

Web application, iOS, Android || Free

Google Calendar is classic, simple, practical, and by far the most used app by all my peers. It allows you to organize all your classes, events, extracurriculars, and assignment deadlines across your phone and computer.

With its clean interface, you can easily see commitments throughout your day, week, and month. Set up reminders before events or for to-dos so you’ll never forget anything. Say goodbye to missed deadlines and forgotten meetings, and hello to an organized student life!

“Google Calendar is the way to go! Out of all the task management strategies and apps I’ve tried, it’s easily the best!” — Kiko (she/her), third-year Biomedical Sciences student

Microsoft To Do

Web application, iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows || Free

As a Waterloo student, you have access to all the Microsoft 365 apps at your fingertips, for free. Using Microsoft To Do, you can start each day with a clean outlook on the tasks you need to do, across all your devices.

Being a student involves balancing assignments, clubs, errands, and everyday tasks, so this app can help you get each task finished. If a task requires multiple steps, you can add subtasks under each one! When you’re done, enjoy the satisfaction of checking it off.

“Love it and talk about it often when asked about how to improve time management.” — Joyce (she/her), Master of Accounting student

Todoist

iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, multiple browser extensions || Free for Starter Plan

Todoist is for those who want that cherry on top in their time management. This app combines efficiency with simplicity, using its various task-keeping features. Set up different to-do lists under different projects, create reminders, and set different priorities on your tasks. Todoist’s language recognition will even automatically set a single or recurring time for your task. Type in “do laundry on Mondays at 8” and it’ll remind you to “do laundry” every Monday at 8 a.m. Now that’s power.

Notion

Web application, iOS, Android || Free

Notion is a software that helps with scheduling tasks, managing files, setting reminders, and creating agendas to organize your life.

As a student, you’ll have many things to remember, from paying bills to assignment deadlines. You can declutter all your deadlines and worries into the app and become organized with Notion.

“It is my favourite! I use the web application and the app on a daily basis to organize my week.” — Aksaya (she/her), second-year Science and Business student

Up your note-taking game

University lectures can be overwhelming, but with a good note-taking system, learning, studying, and reviewing will be a breeze. Unreadable handwriting? Never heard of it.

Microsoft OneNote

Web application, iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows || Free

OneNote is an essential digital notebook that you’ll find many Waterloo students using. Create separate notebooks for different subjects, which can be organized into sections, and further into pages. Highlight important ideas, record voice notes, make handwritten notes and doodles, and type out your lecture notes. OneNote’s flexibility, power, and paper-like look makes it perfect for any student.

Evernote

iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, multiple browser extensions || Free for Basic Plan

Evernote is another powerful note-taking app that boasts a wide array of features that will allow you to make the most of your university learning. Along with the basic features of a digital notebook, Evernote allows you to also retrieve text from images, make to-do lists, scan physical documents, and save web articles and PDFs to annotate inside your notes. On your phone, you can even search, edit, and create notes straight in Siri or Ok Google

[julieoneill]

10 Essential WordPress Plugins to Improve Your Blog

There are so many WordPress plugins to choose from that it’s hard to know where to start. The good news is you don’t need anything fancy to drastically improve your blog in every way. We’ve put together a list of 10 must have WordPress plugins that will improve everything from your security to your search engine rankings.

WordPress, it’s awesome. But that doesn’t mean it can’t get better.

There’s a plugin for everything, even one that flips the screen whenever someone types in “barrel roll” (yes, that’s a real thing).

But there’s really just a core group of the 10 best WordPress plugins that you need. How do we know? We actually use most of them ourselves (and we’re pretty awesome, if you ask us).

Install these ones NOW:

AMP for WP — Accelerated Mobile Pages

Today’s web surfers are spoiled. They want everything and they want it now. Pay that bill, see that vacation review, read that “top 10 cat memes” article — they want it now or they’re going somewhere else.

AMP for WP speeds up your blog for mobile users. Now they’ll be able to open up your site instantly. Considering how obsessed we all are with our phones, WordPress plugins that help us feed the addiction are a no-brainer!

Yoast SEO Plugin

Yoast is the #1 search engine optimization plugin for WordPress and it’s easy to see why.

It lets you seamlessly optimize your technical SEO (sitemaps, titles, etc.), and also helps you take control of your major SEO factors (social, content, etc.) from one handy little dashboard. Without it, you’ll be banished to the depths of Google. So basically Page 2.

It’s partly responsible for why this blog is so awesome!

Ultimate Social Media PLUS 

Social share icons are a major help for any blog. We are social animals and when we see how popular content is on our favorite social networks, it drives us to read and share. Ultimate Social Media PLUS makes it easy to add share icons to your blog so readers can click and show their friends what they’ve read.

Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights

Google Analytics is a godsend for blogs and easily one of the top 10 WordPress plugins.

Knowledge is power when it comes to blogging, and GA lets you see how users find and interact with your website so you can keep them coming back. You can keep track of everything from Traffic Source to Time on Page. To the trained eye, this information is invaluable.

Of all the Google Analytics plugins available, MonsterInsights is the best hands down. Trust us.

Welcome Mat

Welcome Mat lets you turn any page into a high converting page instantly. It’s one of the most effective ways to build your audience and build an email list.

You create a custom “welcome mat” that entices your users to sign up for more information, and it appears when users click onto a page. If they like what they’re reading, then they’ll want more!

PushEngage 

One great way to build your readership and connect with your following is to notify them whenever you publish new content….but that’s a real pain.

PushEngage solves that nagging issue by instantly notifying your users whenever something new goes live. Past performance issues have been patched up and it runs like a champ for us. Now, whenever one of our awesome blog posts goes live, everyone knows instantly (and rushes to read it…we hope).

Everest Forms 

No matter what kind of blog you’re running, a contact page is an absolute must. Everest Forms lets you “drag and drop” a custom contact form so you give your readers a chance to get in touch with the real you.

You can add in an email section, first name/last name, text, or a number of advanced fields like date of birth or check boxes. Instead of just the basic WordPress contact field, you can give your blog a snazzy, jazzy, custom feel!

OptinMonster 

What if you could turn abandoning readers into email subscribers? What if you could pick up a ton more conversions without changing a single thing in your sales funnel?

OptinMonster does just that.

Here’s a basic overview of how it works:

You craft a unique offer based on your user’s personal behavior and the plugin uses patented technology to show them the offer at the exact right time. Also, should they ever return, it shows them a personalized offer based on their past behavior (are you SURE you don’t want 10% more off that winter jacket?).

It’s one of the most powerful ways to generate more leads and build an email list.

JetPack

This Swiss Army Knife plugin is so amazing it helps your blog soar into the skies. Hence the name JetPack.

This one little plugin does just about everything — security, distribution, a little SEO, aesthetics.

JetPack really does everything your blog needs to become successful:

Protects you from attacks

Monitors your blog for downtime

Lets you display similar content to readers

Creates site maps

Distributes your content to 3rd-party services

Enables commenting

And pretty much everything else you could possibly imagine. There’s a reason it’s called JetPack!

Easy Custom Auto Excerpt

To round out our list, Easy Custom Auto Excerpt makes it easy to create…well…custom auto excerpts for your content on your home page, search, or archives.

It lets you create a quick excerpt about the content, create a custom “read more” button, preserve the image, and enable the excerpt on an RSS feed. It’s pretty neat and makes it a lot easier for your readers to access your blog posts and stay on your site longer (which is great for your SEO).

[julieoneill]

Top 5 Best Free WordPress Plugins for 2022

WordPress is a fantastic platform for building an e-commerce website or a blog. It provides one-of-a-kind tools for creating and monitoring a professional-looking website. Installing plugins and getting new functionality is the best way to use WordPress.

Some WordPress plugins are free and some premium plugins will cost you money. The WordPress Plugin Directory is a list of free plugins that you can find in your dashboard. Third-party plugins can be installed as well. In this blog we will list 5 of the best free WordPress plugins, that can help boost your site.

What is a WordPress plugin/extension? 

First, know that the terms plugin and WordPress extension define the same thing. They are just two different ways of naming them.

A plugin/extension is a piece of program that can be downloaded to improve or complete the functionalities offered by WordPress.They are generally coded in PHP language and integrate perfectly with the CMS.

Top 5 Best Free WordPress Plugins

1. Yoast SEO: The #1 WordPress SEO plugin

You must outperform the competition in order to rank well in search engines. You’ll need a website that’s better, quicker, and more powerful than those that sell or perform similar products.

Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that provides a real-time analysis of your page. It aids in the optimization of your page content in terms of keywords, meta descriptions, titles, photos, and content. Yoast SEO also allows you to manage Google indexing. Its premium edition comes with even more features. Above all, even the free edition of the Yoast SEO plugin contributes to the regulation of the website’s rating.

It is complete. So much so that it has been the subject of numerous analyses, guides and tutorials that demonstrate its full potential in SEO optimization.

With this plugin, you will have many options to optimize each text: modify the title that will appear in Google, its meta description, optimize the URL, design your text according to a keyword, etc.

It is the best seo plugin for WordPress.

2. WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips

This WooCommerce plugin adds a PDF invoice to your customers’ order confirmation emails. Includes a basic template (more templates are available from WP Overnight) as well as the ability to customize/create your own. In addition, via the WooCommerce order admin, you may download or print invoices and packing slips.

Main features

Attach the PDF invoice to the WooCommerce emails of your choice

Download the invoice in PDF or the Transport Document from the order administration page

Ability to generate PDF invoices and transport documents

Fully customizable HTML / CSS invoice templates

Download the invoices from the My Account page

Sequential invoice numbering — with customizable formatting

3. Advanced Custom Fields 

By providing you all the tools to do more with your data, Advanced Custom Fields converts WordPress sites into a full-fledged content management system. Take complete control of your WordPress edit screens and custom field data with the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Fields can be added as needed. Using the field builder, you can quickly and simply add fields to WP edit screens with only a few clicks!

With Advanced Custom Fields, you can gain full control of each screen by editing the data of the custom fields. In practice, the field generator allows you to add custom options, comments, and media to the screen with a simple click. All the values chosen in the theme model you have are loaded, and the management of the options is simple and very intuitive, even for those who are not a developer.

4. Sir Filiate WooCommerce plugin

Influencer marketing can help you increase your sales. The Sir Filiate WooCommerce plugin automates the tracking and management of affiliate and influencer activities. Only if the payment is successful, the influencer or affiliate will receive a commission. Is the payment canceled or refunded? Then the commission will be canceled as well.

5. Shops United WooCommerce plugin

Negotiating with shipping companies can be tricky at times. Especially if you’re just getting started with WooCommerce or are still expanding. Shipping companies will only offer you a discount if you have a particular amount of volume, thus you must first have volume. Even if your volume is minimal, Shops United allows you to take advantage of discounted shipping costs.

FAQ about free WordPress plugins

How to get free WordPress plugins?

Log in to your page admin, go to the Plugins area -> Add new.

Find the plugin you want to install by typing in the keyword search engine.

Click Install Now.

Wait for the process to finish and click Activate.

How to install free plugins in WordPress?

Download the plugin: First, we must proceed to download the plugin we want to install. Important: do not unzip the plugin; we will use it compressed.

Access the dashboard: We will access the WordPress dashboard for the installation.

Add New plugin: to install a plugin; we will go to “Plugins > Add new”. Next, we will click the “Upload Plugin” button at the screen’s top.

Browse: Now, we will click on the «Browse…» button. We will search our computer for the compressed file of the plugin, and we will click on: “Open”.

Install: Next, we will click the “Install now” button, and the plugin installation process will begin.

Activate plugin: Once it is installed, we must activate it if we want to start it. To do this, we can click on the link: “Activate plugin” that appears after installation or go to: “Plugins > Installed plugins”, search for the plugin, and activate it.

Do plugins slow down WordPress?

Yes, some plugins slow down WordPress. Usually, they are heavy plugins that are not updated and not compatible with the latest WordPress version. They have files with CSS code that are not perfectly optimized or have many features. Therefore, we can say that a plugin’s quality can slow down your site performance.

What is best SEO plugin for WordPress?

We can affirm that the best SEO plugin FOR WordPress currently is Yoast. Its free version is much more complete than others, and that makes it, in our eyes, the best SEO plugin for WordPress.That said, if you’re willing to pay a subscription in order to get a decent SEO plugin, then know that Yoast and Rank Math are equal.

How many plugins should I use in WordPress?

It is not essential to the number of plugins installed; you should install as many plugins as necessary to run your website and grow your business. Instead, it is their quality that is decisive. A “bad” plugin can affect your site’s performance and security. Standard websites usually have between 20–30 plugins.

So what free plugin do I install?

Each project is different; maybe you need to use a plugin for tracking and management of affiliates or a Seo plugin, etc.

The good thing is that almost all WordPress plugins are free, and can be useful to you because they are common to many website strategies.

Recommendations: Always keep your plugins updated and ensure it is the latest version when you download them. Please do not leave the plugins disabled because some will consume memory. If you don’t like it, delete it.

Nothing else for now. This has been our list of best free WordPress plugins for 2022.

[julieoneill]

12 Great Websites to Make Money Online

In order to earn a profit, you don’t always have to spend your money. There are websites that can assist you in starting a side business to create regular part-time income or in earning some quick cash.

To a certain extent, it is determined by how you define “fast cash.” Even if you’re looking to make a quick buck, you may still have to put in some effort. Hence, the manner in which we’ve arranged our list of ways to make money online is based on how long it takes to make money. Because, as the saying goes, “time is money.”

Consider these top online money-making resources:

Listed below are a few websites where you can make some extra cash quickly or develop a long-term income stream, each with their own set of benefits (and drawbacks) to consider. To learn more about each site, continue reading.

Fiverr:

This is a well-known website that offers services that can be of use to independent contractors. Do you have any experience with digital animation? You can pick up some extra cash by working for someone who doesn’t have these talents and getting some job done. You may even go one step further and volunteer to assemble web research for somebody else.

Upwork:

The way it operates is that Upwork is simply an online meeting place where companies and independent contractors from all around the world can connect with one another and work together on certain projects. Freelancers are contracted by businesses to perform a wide range of tasks, including writing, web design, and pretty much any other work that can be accomplished using a computer.

Etsy:

Etsy is the place to sell your wares if you are creative and able to manufacture items such as bespoke jewelry or magnets for refrigerators. The website works as follows:

Features that stand out include an intuitive layout that makes it simple to navigate and set up a storefront.

Etsy has a lot of users, thus there is a lot of rivalry on the platform. On the one hand, a significant number of individuals are familiar with Etsy. But after you put up your wares, as is the case with Upwork and Fiverr, you are joined on Etsy by dozens upon dozens of other people who are selling various items. It’s possible that you’ll feel completely overpowered by it.

TaskRabbit:

Whether or not you’re willing to get your hands dirty is the first question. Many people use this site to look for someone who are willing to perform a variety of activities, such as putting together a bookcase or cleaning out a garage. The more tasks you take on, the more time you’ll have to devote to this endeavor.

To get work, you may either apply for a task, or you can establish your own profile and let people know what you’re capable of doing.

TaskRabbit has certain drawbacks, such as the fact that many of the activities are physical, such as putting up furniture. If that’s your thing, all the better.

Neighbor:

To get started, you’ll need a place to store your belongings. Or perhaps a garage or storage shed that is unused? Neighbor.com, the self-storage industry’s version of Airbnb, allows you to rent out these spaces. Neighbor.com will collect a service fee from the renter of your space.

Highlights: You have the option of receiving your monthly salary via direct deposit or debit card. Neighbor.com charges you a little fee for using their service (a processing fee of 4.9 percent of the total reservation plus 30 cents per payout).

OfferUp:

If you don’t have the time or energy to conduct a yard sale, consider using OfferUp instead. Once you’ve taken a photo of your item and set a price for it, you may post it online in the hopes that someone nearby will see it, like it, and contact you so that you can meet up — as the OfferUp website suggests — and exchange money. You may also send products to purchasers via OfferUp’s mail service.

However, despite the comparisons made, some OfferUp users claim the app makes posting ads more convenient. This is likely due to the fact that buyers and sellers can communicate more easily via instant messages on the app and that each member has a profile, making it easier to get a better sense of your buyers. If a seller has gained badges on OfferUp, it means they are regarded as a reliable and trustworthy vendor on the platform.

Inconvenience:

As previously said, it’s best to exchange items with buyers in a public place. On OfferUp’s website, it reads: “Make sure you take reasonable measures when setting up a meetup because just because someone is purchasing or selling anything online doesn’t mean their safety is guaranteed. Call 911 or your local emergency number in case of an emergency.”

Wonder:

In order to make money on Wonder, you must undertake study. Wonder, on the other hand, does not hire just anyone. According to the website, the application process just takes a few minutes to complete. You’ll gain access to Wonder’s dashboard if Wonder determines that you possess the necessary research skills. You can then demonstrate your expertise and earn money by answering a question from a business leader or an author publishing a book.

ThredUp:

To put it another way, this e-commerce business targets frugal people who want to make some extra money by letting them sell their unwanted belongings for a profit. Clothing for both ladies and children is available for purchase at the online thrift shop. ThredUp provides a pre-paid shipping label for you to send your unwanted items, and ThredUp estimates the value based on famous brands and apparel that is in good shape. If your products aren’t accepted, you’ll have to pay a fee, so consider holding a yard sale. ThredUp, on the other hand, allows you to sell your gently worn clothes and pay you enough to go out and get some new ones.

Swap:

Swap, like ThredUp, is an online consignment shop. Swap will buy your worn clothing, toys, and games and resell them. In terms of how much money you can make, the website notes that if an item is priced at $8 or less, you will receive 15% cash back and 20% store credit. 70% of the cash, minus $4.95 in processing fees, and 20% in store credit will be yours for items that sell for more than $8.

In comparison to selling on Facebook Marketplace, where you typically have to meet a customer and hand them an item, selling on eBay is far more convenient. The only difficult part is gathering your belongings and placing them in a pre-paid box.

Gazelle:

Here, you can sell your old devices, such as a cell phone or tablet, if you have one. In exchange for your smartphone, the website will make you an offer in cash. If you agree, we’ll send you some supplies for packaging. There are no shipping fees for you to worry about, and Gazelle takes care of it for you. You wait for a cheque in the mail, an Amazon gift card or PayPal cash. In spite of the fact that you may not make much money, it’s better to sell an unwanted gadget rather than waste it away in landfills.

CardSell:

Selling gift cards is a popular business on this site. For unused gift cards, CardSell will offer you an exchange for cash or a new gift card.

CardSell will not charge you for mailing your gift cards, and the process is very simple.

Some drawbacks: You can never get all of your money back.

Time required: a few minutes. You should be able to access the funds in your PayPal account within the next 48 hours.