Friday: My guide to being more productive in the new year + some of my V-Day gift guides are now live!

Also: Want to see your questions answered in a future email? Please send them now!

Good morning!

We did it, friends! We made it to the first weekend of the new year…one week down…only 51 to go.

I have a bunch of new assignments I’m working on for a handful of outlets — and you can find them by scrolling ahead if you don’t have time (or inclination!) to read all this now.

Also: I have two Valentine’s Day gift guides that are now live! You can scroll down to find those links as well.

But as we’re still in new year mode, I wanted to take some time to share some tips for making the most of our productivity time in the new year.

How do you start the new year off on the right foot?

Well, lift your left leg shortly before midnight...

(I can't take credit for that one, it's from a meme I saw on Instagram recently…)

I want to be honest with all of you. One of my goals here in this Substack is to create a sense of community and good will, and be as helpful as I can at all times.

I’m not just here for me, but for all of you — so if there’s ever anything you need from this space, please don’t be shy about sharing.

There’s WAY too much negative energy out there, people who prop themselves up by putting others down. Lets be a vehicle for the positivity - and our own success in the new year.

And lets start that by making the most of our time and working smarter, not harder.

1. Re-evaluate your projects and commitments

I think new years is the time we reassess a lot about our lives, from relationships to various commitments.

This could be time commitments, what we are spending our energy and time on, who we are spending our energy and time on. But it's also a great time to reassess our projects and the tasks they involve.

My friends and I have discussed this often, taking stock of what is and what isn't working, and it's something I think all of us should try to do as we start a new year.  Whether you are reading this newsletter right now as a member of the media, a publicist, or the owner of a small business (or a little from column a, b, and c!), you'll discover that if you take the time to take inventory of your tasks, responsibilities, and obligations some will be helping you move TOWARD your goals, and some will be holding you BACK from your goals. This will help you decide which tasks to concentrate your energies on in the coming year, and which to scale back on.

2. About boundaries...

It's OK to acknowledge your own limits and be clear about them.

For every person what that entails may appear a little different, but by being open and honest about them, it helps to manage expectations and keep everyone on the same page.

For example: I'm always very clear that I seldom am able to do daytime events because of all the same-day stories I do. But this also works as far as clients and projects. Don't even try to be everything to everyone all the time (this is something I’ve struggled with A LOT over the years, personally.)

More isn't always better. That’s even true with cheese. It's much more beneficial to everyone if you focus on your strengths and goals and priorities and that way you'll be making progress moving toward where you want to be.

3. Don't leave loose ends

I dealt with this a lot over the holiday break, but it's something that is still top of mind going into a fresh year.

Sometimes the best way to conquer new projects is to finish off all those final tasks related to the ones we were already working on. 

Our energy just gets depleted if we're trying to keep our hands in too many places at once. But if we close those loops, and tie up those loose ends, then all our energy can be focused on moving forward.

4. Disable your smartphone notifications.

I'm not saying to delete your social media accounts (but I do think you should try to avoid them during the workday).

But delete those nonstop popup notifications. All the buzzing and beeping and ringing and dinging is endlessly distracting and you'll get a lot more work done and have a lot more focus if you aren't dealing with hearing and seeing those alerts all day when you have things you need to be doing. It's about avoiding distractions but also staying in that groove. Trust me, try it. You'll thank me.

5. Wake up a half hour earlier

Whatever time you wake up normally -- be it 8 am, 7 am, 6 am, try to wake up a half hour earlier. Make that half hour a gift of quiet time to yourself to enjoy your morning coffee, read the morning's headlines, go for a walk, or go over your calendar or day's agenda and get yourself centered. That half hour will help you start the day from a place of a lot more focus.

6. Track your accomplishments

I'l let you in on a little secret: I have struggled with self esteem issues my entire life and I suffer from major imposter syndrome.

No one could ever make me feel bad about myself as well as I make myself feel bad about myself.

BUT: I finally discovered taking the time to recognize and take stock in my accomplishments has made me feel confident enough to reach for bigger goals. Whether this is journaling or vision boarding or just making a list in your notes app, taking note of your accomplishments -- literally writing them out and acknowledging them -- is the best way to move toward your next goal.

 7. Do one thing at a time

Yes, even if you have 6 things due that day. You will get a lot more done and make a lot more progress toward your goals if you start something, give it all your focus, and then move onto the next thing.

Even if it feels to you like having three things you are working on at the same time makes you more efficient, it actually makes all the things take longer and makes you have less focus on each one. And, splitting our brains between various tasks at the same time is a great way to miss things, make mistakes, and have things fall through the cracks.

Do you have any productivity tips that work for you? I’d love if you could share them in the chat!

Some news!

Every year, Muck Rack releases an annual list of the 10 most-viewed journalists of the year.

I’m so excited to share for the fourth year in a row, I made the list!

(Last year, I actually also topped their list of most popular food writers online, so I hope that happens again this year as well…crossing fingers!).

In other also exciting news, Agility rated me as one of the top 10 journalists in travel and tourism!

Thanks so, so much. In a world where being a freelancer can often be isolating and demoralizing, being recognized means all the world to me.

Back to work…

I have a bunch of pending assignments that I am sourcing for, including a handful of Valentine’s Day 2024 gift guides.

Reminder: Looking for best practices when pitching gift guides? Alice Dubin and I hosted a Valentine’s gift guide-centric AMA session recently and you can still catch the recording! Get all the deets here.

Job Leads

The Visit Cleveland team (who are a JOY to work with) is hiring.

Send me your questions!

I want to take some time in the coming weeks to answer some of your questions right in my daily newsletter — this can be anything related to pitching, followups, events, mailers, trips….you name it. I’ll share the answers to your questions in a future Industry Insights edition (so while ANYONE can send a question…you’ll need to upgrade your subscription to read the answers…)

Newly published or freshly updated

Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.

This list will live on my Substack URL and be updated as necessary. That way, you can see what I’m doing at any publication, at any time, from types of stories to general structure of stories to even volume and frequency of my content at that outlet.

This can also help you to target pitching a bit better. That makes your job easier, and mine too!

• Forbes.com: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Heart-Shaped Food Gifts

• Forbes.com: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Bougie Culinary Gifts

• Forbes.com: Caviar Is The Elegant Pizza Topping We Didn’t Know We Always Needed

• Clean Plates: 12 Weight Loss Strategies That Are Easy To Follow, Say Experts

• Clean Plates: 7 Mediterranean Diet Dinner Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This One Safety Device

• Forbes.com: Pantone’s 2024 Color Of The Year Is Resulting In Glorious Peach-Hued Cocktails

• RetailMeNot: 50+ Government Employee Discounts Worth Knowing in 2024

• Travel & Leisure: I'm a Longtime Solo Traveler, and These Are The 12 Best Personal Safety Devices on Sale at Amazon

• Travel & Leisure: Travelers Are Using This Flight Attendant-approved Gadget to Get More Space on Planes — and It Only Costs $13

• Travel & Leisure: The Flight Attendant-approved Hack I Swear by for Getting Through the Airport Stress-free Is Just $10 Right Now

• Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by This $9 Trick for Keeping My Feet Comfortable While Sightseeing

• Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $35

If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.

Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.

Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.

Southern Living

Can You Freeze Brussels Sprouts? Would love chefs, RDs, food safety experts to weigh in as far as info on how long can they be stored frozen, best way to freeze them, why to freeze them, benefits/drawbacks, etc.  I am looking for commentary as far as the preparation, blanching, storage, and usage of frozen Brussels sprouts (but don’t send answers or commentary without reaching out to me first as I do have specific questions I want answered for this one.)

Can You Eat Leftover Salmon? Would love chefs, RDs, food safety experts to weigh in as far as the safety considerations, shelf life, reheating methods, and ways to enjoy leftover salmon.

Forbes

I have a handful of 2024 Valentine's Day Gift Guide assignments! For these below, please pitch me in the following format: Item name, description, where available online, price, and LINK to high res image. Items can only be considered if all these deliverables are touched on so please double check before emailing!

Best romantic kitchenware - Think stuff like a heart-shaped plate, ink or red pots/pans, perhaps rose or heart shaped glassware, cutesy things for the romantic that loves date night in the kitchen - and truly what says date night more than a heart shaped casserole dish and pretty pink cocktail glasses? Let those images guide you in your pitching!

RetailMeNot

For RetailMeNot, I’m updating my annual guide to affordable Valentine’s Day gifts. As I realize affordable means different things to different people, I think it’s important to define it in this context (I’m going to try to stick with under $100), and for this story, I am going to try to stick to major retailers: Think Amazon, Nordstrom, Walmart, Target, Macy's, Ulta. As it’s SUPER important to me to have a good range of unique, interesting items I also will be including a couple options from emerging, startup, and smaller retailers.

I’m also starting to give some guidance going into the new year by working on a story on The Best Meal-Stretching Ingredients + Recipes and I’m looking for chefs and RDs to weigh in for this one. This one's for everyone who wants to save money on food and also cook more in the new year. (So, ALL OF US!) I’m looking to feature a handful of superstar ingredients (and where to buy them + for how much) that help you either make a cheap bulk meal or stretch other meals, and for those sending commentary - I’m also eager to share a recipe that features said ingredient, so please send along a link if you are referencing one.

Looking to up your affiliate marketing game?

Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)

Virtual (and now in-person!) consulting sessions...

Looking for a consult as you plan your next event or trip? Or just want someone to take a look at the pitches you’ve been sending and give some feedback? I’m available for PR team virtual meetings to answer questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective.  Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts.

Have a great day!

<3