As we get older, maintaining perfect vision is next to impossible. We can try to avoid complete loss of vision or at the very least avoid it from deteriorating really early.

My Grandmother, who is 94 at the time this article is written, was a teacher and still is an avid reader, knows her vision is one of the things she needs to take care of. I’ve been observing her and taking some pointers.

Healthy diet. She was never always a pescatarian. Even before she retired from teaching, she has always been careful with her diet. She has since been eating the exact same food for lunch and dinner. She only eats fish soup, not fried or steamed, and then red rice. She always eats fruits and for her vegetables, her soup always has Malunggay (considered a superfood) in them.

Healthy lifestyle. She takes naps in the afternoon and a healthy amount of sleep every night. She allows enough rest for her body and, in turn, her eyes. My Grandmother does not smoke or go to places where there’s a ton of irritants on her health especially her eyes.

Healthy habits. My Grandmother reads the newspaper every day after lunch. She reads where there is ample reading light. When she watches the TV, she maintains a healthy distance. She also does not rub her eyes furiously when it’s itching.

While all of my Grandmother’s lifestyle and habits are still important to emulate, this era of ours is so much more different. While processed foods have always been bad for our health in general, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and habits are just not enough.

Wear protective glasses. The environment is no longer safe. UV-A and UV-B radiation have always been bad but now we have to think about LED radiation. Wear sunglasses when you are out in the daytime. Wear eyeglasses with protective coating when you are inside working in front of the computer. Wear protective glasses if the workplace can cause eye injuries.

Get regular eye check-up. Getting that annual check-up and twice a year visit to the dentist is a must. But, let’s not forget a yearly visit to an optometrist. Don’t just go when you know your eyesight is getting worse or because you frequently have bad headaches and think it is your eyes that’s giving you headaches. If you have to wear eyeglasses, get your eyes checked and get the right prescription.

Fortunately, I can still see clearly. But, digital eye strain is real. I’ve recently visited an optical store and bought an eyeglass with a blue coating in it. How are you protecting your eyesight?

An email list is a great sales funnel if you know how to do it right and maintain it. There are a number of creative ways to build an email list. Here are 5 common ways:

1. The most common way is to put up a giveaway.
2. If you have a website, put out a sign-up form. You can put the form in the sidebar, after every blog post or as a pop-up when your audience leaves the website.
3. Create a free course and ask for sign-ups.
4. Include an invite in your email signature.
5. Use social media to build your email list. Make it visible in your bio or tweet and share the sign-up form link.

Have you ever experienced signing up to someone else’s email list because you find them compelling? Then, when you receive and read their newsletter you don’t feel that same magic you first felt on their blog? So you end up unsubscribing to the newsletter? Don’t let that happen to your readers.

Writing in a distinct and unique brand voice makes a successful author platform. How do you differentiate yourself from the many authors and professional business writers that are out there? Inject your unique personality to your writing and your social shares.

Newsletters written in your authentic voice and personality makes readers want to read more. You will be seen as someone who is real and relatable. Your work will be seen as carefully thought out, with value and not something as a published work for vanity sake.

After you have done all the writing, editing, layout and pricing, putting yourself and your work out there is next. It can be scary but planning and organizing ahead of time can make the experience easy.

Painters stare at the canvas while waiting for inspiration. Writers stare at the computer screen or writing pad. This happens quite often for writers. Running out of ideas to write about? Tired of staring at the computer for too long? Athletes practice their sport while writers flex their writing muscles by practicing writing various topics.

Writing prompts provide simple guide and inspiration to get writers started. Writing prompts are great for beginner writers, who ask themselves “Where to begin?” and “What to write?” Personally, writing prompts are also great for experienced writers. It keeps their mind active, imaginative and words free flowing.

Here are a few writing prompts if you want to write children’s books:

Family Life:

• Dig into your family tradition for story ideas. Compare them with other family tradition, specifically family from a different culture. 
• Write about how kids differ in celebrating their different traditions. 

Games and Toys:

• Write about outdoor games kids play and indoor games kids play. 
• Write about kids playing outdoor traditional games versus kids who play electronic games.

Diversity:

• Write about a school that supports diversity. Describe your ideal diverse children’s school. 
• Write about kids differences in their physical attributes, their gender, social background and kids having special abilities or disabilities. 

Food:

• Write about kids who are specific in their food choices. For example, a kid who chose to be a vegetarian at an early age 
• Write about a kid who eats specific foods because of health condition.

Hobby:

• Write about a kid who loves sports versus a kid who loves to read, write and draw. 
• Write about a kid who loves to play dress up and play acting versus a kid who loves to be in the kitchen baking. 

Nature:

• Write about kids activities at the park and the adventures they can get into. 
• Write about kids activities while out camping and the exciting discovery they could make while outside.

Imagination:

• Write about fantasy or mythological characters and incorporate them into an everyday situation that kids love. For example, Unicorns and Mermaids. 
• Write about a made up problem that you faced as a kid and write about how you got out of it with magic.

A good writing exercise is to visit a location: go to a children’s playground, visit your relatives' children’s school or day care center. Eavesdropping and observing kids play and interact with other kids is a great source of inspiration to write stories about kids. The next time you visit your friends with children at their houses, don’t be annoyed by their children’s antics. Write it down.

Taking online courses is not easy. Sure, you can study at home with just your pajamas on and studying while eating. But, online instructors will demand that you put in the kind of quality work as you would in a face to face or traditional classroom instruction.

Here are some basic tips to succeed in an online study:

Technical requirement. Make sure your computer or laptop meets the technical requirement. There are schools who are offering courses that only runs on MS operating system. Have a reliable internet connection. This will help avoid delays in doing coursework.

Basic computer knowledge. You must be comfortable working with e-mails, online research and can cope with navigating around the online study platform.

Time management. Always allocate time to check your progress on a daily basis. This will allow you to know if you are behind, to study easy and quick course units if you want to be advanced or if there are updates from the course instructor that needs your immediate action.

Polish your organizational skills. Prepare a calendar and write down assignment deadlines and test dates. Have space where you can focus on doing coursework. Make sure you have all the resources you need to start the online course. If the school promises to send you books and manuals, follow-up in case of delays.

Independent and self-motivating attitude. Online study is different than traditional instruction in many ways. One of that is instructors won’t be there to guide you and motivate you all the time. You need to be committed to learning and finishing the course. You are more responsive to your own learning. Of course, in case of difficulty, you can always contact your instructor by e-mail. Participate in the class forum if available. You connect with classmates taking the course and learn from them.

Most importantly, know what to expect. Study the course guidelines, objectives, and schedule. This will let you know what is needed to pass the course. This will let you know what you are getting out of the course or if the course is what you are looking to study.

For a career changer, look for courses that will give you additional knowledge in the kind of industry you want to be in. There are MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) offerings that are for free. Studying courses will let you know if the industry you think you like is right for you. This will also prepare you for your future work.

Have you tried studying online? Leave us the tips that helped you succeed and course recommendations in the comments below.

Originally published on LinkedIn.

You must be in social media already. If not, it’s not too late. Afraid of getting it wrong? Ask someone to help you out. It is impossible to succeed if you are not on social media.

Traditional media, like print and TV interviews, can only do so much. Embrace traditional media, yes. It is a must to incorporate new media, too.

How do you build credibility on social media as an author? Share what you know, your passion, and personal story.

Share with authority and confidence in an idea. Share tips that worked for you. Share what makes you happy and excited. Share a personal story that your reader can learn from or amuse. But never overshare. Be active, engage, reach out and respond. Most importantly, share often and be consistent.

Your public persona should be a representation of a real person because you are real. Your social media should be alive because you are alive being. Social media is made on the idea that people can connect to one another even if they are far apart.

If you are a blogger, share your blogging journey. What makes you want to blog? What inspires you to blog? Share with your followers what you are up to, a line or two or a quote from your blog.

Credibility is based on your trustworthiness.

Are what you say and share on your website and social media true, authentic and reliable? Are what you share add value or provide a solution to a problem? Are you an expert of an idea that you are writing or sharing about? Can you back it up with stories or proof?

Whether you are blogging, writing a newsletter or sharing on social media, keep these questions in mind and always share good quality work.

Building credibility as an author includes publicizing what you do and your work. First, put up an author platform. It is your directory page, personal space and where your readers can find you on the internet.


A successful author platform includes are:

1. About You Page- include a short bio and your profile picture
2. Books Page - book cover images of your published books, description, and links where to buy them
3. Excerpt Page - a page containing a short excerpt of your latest book, include advance testimonials and a video teaser if there’s any
4. Blog Page - creating content to promote your work or what you are up to keeps your readers interested and in the loop
5. Contact Us Page - containing information or form where the media, the fans or publishing agents can reach you
6. Email List Sign Up Form - this can be found anywhere on your platform. It can be on the website's sidebar, on every page, or after every blog post.