In November 2001, I was officially diagnosed with severe clinical depression and bipolar disorder. It got so bad that I came close to harming myself. Twice.

While I was going through the motions on a day-to-day basis, one thing that stood out starkly from that entire otherwise foggy period was a meeting I had with my spiritual Guru.

I was broken, shaken and in no fit condition to speak. He looked at me with infinite kindness in his eyes and said:

“You have disappointments because you have expectations.”

Such a simple statement but what an utterly profound one.

This is…

Hi, I am Shailaja V from Bangalore, India. I am a blog and social media coach who helps content creators grow an organic and engaged audience for their work, while tapping into the passion that drives their business.

I’ve been blogging and writing since 2007 and it’s been quite the journey.

Some of my core areas of writing include:

• Mindful Productivity
• Authentic social media growth
• Practical time management tips for women business owners
• Cultivating deep connections with an audience
• Useful Blogging Tips

Let’s connect/chat via:

• Instagram
• My Free Friday newsletter
• My Booking Page

Would you like to catch the movie tomorrow afternoon? It’s the first day, first show! Will be amazing.

I looked up at my friend as she asked me this question. It was 1998 and I was in my third year of college. Until then I had never actually caught a ‘first day, first show’. I didn’t even know it was a thing.

Wait, you could stand in line, get the first set of tickets as the box office opened, and be there to cheer for your favourite movie star as they appeared on screen in the new movie? Who knew!

…

It’s funny. When I went looking for images to share with this post, I found pictures of serene landscapes, snowy white mountains and endless beaches as far as the eye could see.

But it was this particular picture that caught my eye because it captures exactly what stillness means to me these days.

Sitting on my couch, reading a book and sipping on my lemon tea (although the beverage in question can change, of course).

I’ve had a rather whirlwind presence as a blogger which began as a very tiny flutter in the wind in late August, 2007. …

How many writing coaches have you had? How many of them tell you that niche matters, especially if you want to make it as a writer?

They aren’t wrong; but they aren’t completely right either.

The truth is, the more you worry about getting your niche right, the harder it is for you to just start writing. Instead, here are 3 things I want you to try the next time you sit down to write something.

Show up consistently and write on a variety of topics

Writer’s block is a myth. I’ve mentioned this before, several times. Motivation? it’s an even bigger myth.

Most writers don’t wait for motivation to…

In November 2020, it dawned on me that I was working a whole lot more than I’d signed up for, especially considering that I was working for myself.

Yes, as a solo entrepreneur, one of the chief reasons for even diving into this business was to be more answerable to myself. At the same time, I began to feel that I was a more terrible taskmaster than any boss I’d had in the past. Ever!

Breaks from work? I rarely took them.

Weekends? Always working.

Quick sneak checks on client e-mails/ social media tags on every coffee break through the…

This is brilliant, Natasha! Thank you for such a detailed break down of how ads can be used to improve both visibility and conversions. Loved this post :)

I’ve been a fan of productivity for as long as I can remember, probably even before the idea of productivity became a hot buzzword.

Thanks to the varied number of distractions online though, it was becoming effectively difficult to get into what I called deep work mode, without going down a rabbit hole of distraction.

I think productivity fans are already aware of attention residue and how distraction impacts them so I won’t go into those things here.

The first thing I did was try and list out what my chief challenges were when it came to finding more time…