When I reveal to people that I am a comper, a question I often get asked is 'How do you have the time for it?'. Well, balancing university and this time-consuming hobby can be difficult but I have built up some techniques which I find useful and that you can read about <here>. However, I thought I would break it down more specifically into what I do on a day-to-day basis, which will hopefully give a few of you ideas on how to organise your day. This is just my routine, and all compers vary on how much time they put in. This is one of the best things about comping - the amount of effort you put in is totally up to you, and can change depending on life commitments! Let me know your tips in the comments!
Morning:
First thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone. Now, although this may be normal for most people my age, I instantly start checking my comping apps. I start with Facebook, then Twitter and Instagram, checking my tags and direct messages in hope of a win.
Next up comes the emails. Recently I missed out on a big win of a £200 Red Letter Days voucher because I hadn't organised my inbox properly. I had some filters for the words 'congratulations' and 'competition' however this came up with so many results that I just couldn't face sifting through it every day.
Since then, I have made more specific filters such as 'Congratulations Laurie' and 'You're a Winner' and I make sure to check each of these as part of my daily routine.
Over breakfast, I either do some studying if its exam time, or squeeze in some more comping over my porridge. I use this time to do something that doesn't take too much concentration - I go through my instant win list <find it here>. I open all the tabs and then go through one tab at a time, entering each instant win once, and then go back to the start of the tabs and do it again. This means that you can spread out entries of instant wins that give you multiple entries per day (usually 3). This may increase your chance of winning as, if you have just played and it wasn't a winning moment, it's unlikely to be one 30 seconds later. You can increase this chance more by spreading it out throughout the day, but I just don't have time for this, so this is my most time-efficient way of doing it.
Mid-morning:
I tend to have uni for the rest of the morning, but always use the walk to uni for comping. I either do a few RT to win Twitter competitions, take photos for creative comps (my uni is too pretty not to) or scroll through my Facebook feed to see if a comp jumps out at me.
 |
| A competition worthy university |
When I get back from uni for my lunch break, all I want to do is give the academic part of my brain a wee break. It also so happens that many of the free lotteries choose a new winner at around lunch time, so I use this time to click through and see if I'm a winner (no luck yet, but I won't give up). You can find a list of these lotteries <here>
Afternoon:
Back to the studying I'm afraid, with a wee break to RT every now and then. When I get home or just need a break from looking at maps (stereotypical geography student, I know), I start to work through my current wish list. Right now, a wee break away somewhere and a bike are top of my list. I use sites such as PrizeFinder or Loquax to type in the prize I'm looking for and order by closing soonest (on Loquax). I love entering ones that are closing soon, as it's nice to know that if you do win, you'll find out in the near future.
Evening:
I usually have a working dinner to get through mounting uni deadlines (trying not to think about it to be honest) and then need the evening off, as I just amen't as productive in the evening when it comes to studies. Instead I will go out and do some sport, usually squash, and then sit in with my flatmates and watch a film or binge a show on Netflix (currently Call the Midwife). While this is on, I always enter Click-to-Win competitions. I have these organised so that it doesn't take much thought at all, and I can concentrate on the drama on screen.
The way I organise my Click-to-Wins is that I will look out for prizes I really want, go onto the 'Official Rules' and copy all the sites that it is featured on (normally only choosing ones with under 20 sites). I then paste this into an email to myself and star this email. This means that I can easily access the competitions and not just click randomly on things I don't even want to win. For more tips on Click-to-Wins read my post <here>.
Bed Time:
By this point I am shattered (I am no night owl) and head to bed. However, if there are competitions such as the Pepsi Max PS4 comp that are beneficial to enter late at night, I will enter these before crashing to increase my chances (I have even done this after coming in from a night out at about 3am - comping commitment). Perhaps a few last minute Twitter or Instagram comps and I'm asleep, ready for another day of comping and university.
This is my general comping schedule, but can vary from day to day depending on university and other life commitments. What's your rough routine? Let me know in the comments below and we can hopefully all learn a little something from one another.
For more time-saving comping tips, check out my post <here>
Luck and love,
Laurie
