“Setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on January 1 can help you reach whatever it is you strive for.”
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Making your New Year’s resolution stick | APA.org
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I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time. I’ll also be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and introducing you to new guest authors, like today’s blogger, Jane Simpson. She has advice on how you can improve gas mileage just by being a bit more organized.
Organization and efficiency will go a long way toward making each tank of gas stretch as far as possible. Many consumers think that buying a new car is the only way to achieve better gas mileage, but this is completely untrue. Several simple tricks can improve gas mileage significantly and reduce the amount of money that must be spent on fuel.
Plan Travel Wisely. Planning all travel, whether daily errands or a huge vacation, can result in greater fuel efficiency. The following ideas are a great place to start:
• Combine errands along the same route so that several may be accomplished in one trip.
• Use a GPS unit to find the shortest route and help with traffic problems along the way, or carefully mark out a longer trip with an atlas.
• Consider public transportation, car pooling, walking, or biking as options for each trip.
• Pack as lightly as possible and ditch the excess baggage, as any additional weight in a car can reduce gas mileage.
• Make trips during the times of least traffic congestion to prevent wasting gasoline while idling.
Maintain the Vehicle Properly. No matter what type of vehicle you drive, it will get better gas mileage if you keep it in excellent working order. The following actions are especially important to help the engine get the best fuel efficiency:
• Air up those tires according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Clean filters on a regular schedule.
• Stick with the recommended oil grade.
• Have regular tune-ups to keep spark plugs and sensors working effectively.
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Improve Driving Habits. Even with organization, wise planning and proper vehicle maintenance, drivers may not get the top mileage from their automobile if they have developed poor driving patterns. The following aspects of driving will make a great difference in how far that tank of gas will actually go:
• Keep the vehicle moving at a constant speed as much as possible; this may mean keeping a greater distance between your car and the next vehicle and closely watching the road ahead.
• Keep speed under sixty miles an hour, even when driving on the open road.
• If the vehicle has overdrive, use it.
• Turn the air conditioning off whenever feasible.
• Turn the engine off when waiting in lines or stuck in traffic jams.
• Skip the fill-ups; instead, lighten the vehicle’s weight by keeping less gas in the tank.
In addition to these bits of advice, using cruise control can sometimes increase fuel efficiency, and using it frequently almost always teaches the driver to maintain a constant speed. Drivers should also work on coasting as they approach a traffic light or stop sign.
Making these practices habitual will keep gas in your tank longer and put extra money back into your pocket.
About the Author
Jane Simpson enjoys the challenge of getting more miles out of each gallon of gas. She writes for an auto loan calculator website and loves learning new habits to save money.
What post holiday cleaning tips and suggestions do you have?
I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time. I’ll also be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and introducing you to new guest authors as well as other interesting info while I’m away. Enjoy today’s 5 minute organizing challenge!
It’s time for a new 5 Minute Organizing Challenge! What can you do in 5 minutes to gain a little order in your life? You can put a few things back in place or gather your important items. Here’s a new set of five things for you to consider adding to your routine this month. Try try them on for size and feel free to suggest a few of your own.
1. If you celebrate Christmas (or any holiday that you have to put stuff up), you should start thinking about when you’ll be taking down your holiday decor. Pick a date and write it on your calendar.
2. You might also want to start enlisting some help, especially if you have lots of ornaments and holiday thingies to put away. Write those names on the calendar as well.
3. Too much stuff? Grab a box and write “DONATE” on it. Then, put in the decorations AND gifts that you really don’t want. You’ll be glad you did (plus it saves a trip to the store to return them, right?). Helping someone else (or several someone elses) is a good thing — no matter what time of year it is.
4. You know what’s next, right? Yep, those holiday cards. Are you keeping all of them? Even the ones that just have a signature…with no touching words? Recycle the ones you don’t want and store the rest in a greeting card organizer.
5. And, finally, go pack your lunch for work! You can’t let all those left overs go to waste, can you? =) You could also string a few 5 minutes sessions together and even work on cleaning out the fridge.
Check out the November 2011 Organizing Challenge
It’s a pretty big holiday here in the States and you know what that means, right? No work and lots of nothing to do! As it should be, yes?
Whether you celebrate Christmas or if it’s just another day, we hope you’re doing absolutely nothing! Unless, of course, you’re at work. Then, you have to do something, at least while your boss is around. ;)
“Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way.” ~Douglas Pagels
Read More:
Holiday Stress Quotes: The 11 Best Thoughts To De-Stress Your Holiday Season (PHOTOS) | HuffingtonPost.com | 12.5.10
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I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time. I’ll also be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and introducing you to new guest authors, like today’s blogger, Frank Anderson. He shares some tips on taming the clutter while in school.
Of the many things the collegiate experience is known for, organization and clutter free living don’t rank high on (or even make) the list. Considering that the dorm room normally serves as a young adults first “home away from home,” and that they often share this tiny space with a complete stranger – keeping it organized can be a challenge right from the beginning.
However, it is possible – and even necessary to be organized. After all, living among environmental chaos makes it doubly more difficult to focus on academic studies.
The biggest challenge to dorm room organization is the fact that so many belongings are packed into such a tight space. This is just one reason it is essential that students prepare to get creative and utilize every inch of the dorm room.
1. Options for Small Spaces
Consider using bed risers to maximize storage space underneath the beds. Then, you can use brightly colored or themed totes and boxes to store clothing, memorabilia, or even music collections and photo albums. Bunk beds are another way to increase floor space.
Over the door shoe organizers hung on the backs of doors and on the walls of the dorm (using adhesives) can be used for holding anything from shoes and art supplies to personal hygiene items and clothing. You can also get creative and place photos in the spaces to display your dorm room savvy and design sense.
2. Organize Your Work Area
The desk/study area is another multi-functional space that can easily be cluttered. Using decorative boxes to hold every day items like paper and pens, and placing all paperwork in clearly labeled binders for future use ensures you wont ever lose a study guide! Plus, when the course is over, you can store the completed work and information for easy access should you need it for other classes down the road.
Also, come up with a filing system that utilizes tote boxes with lids, so you won’t be leaving important papers and books lying around when not in use. It is vitally important that you also keep a calendar handy, and in quick view so you will always be prepared. While most phones come with calendar programs, research has shown that highly visible calendars serve as better visual reminders.
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3. Sharing Space With Your Roommate
Since you are sharing your space with a roommate, think about color-coding in the dorm room so the two of you won’t be constantly figuring out what belongs to whom. For instance, having a small plastic tote box, big enough to fit flip-flops and all of your other showering necessities can take the chaos out of dorm shower times.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of staying organized, is making sure that you don’t over estimate the space you have. Consult with your roommate before college begins to avoid bringing duplicate items that take up excess space, such as microwaves.
And, when you pack for college – rather than bring everything in your closet and drawers, pack for the season. Chances are you will be coming home during the year, and can trade out seasonal wardrobes then, making it much easier to keep your dorm organized. When it comes to dorm room clutter, bringing less equates to much, much more space.
4. Create a Routine
Last but not least, commit to a weekly sprucing up routine. Messes and clutter are easier to deal with in small doses. If you allow the dorm room clutter to get out of hand, it can be even harder to organize.
About The Author
Frank Anderson is a blogger and writer for college and university topics. He also helps schools with their email exchange hosting systems.
I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time. I’ll also be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and introducing you to new guest authors as well as other interesting info while I’m away. Here are a couple of time management tips from Paul Burton of Quiet Spacing that anyone can follow.
“Time itself cannot be managed. It ticks inexorably forward. However, we can manage our behavior to make the most of the time we have.”
#1 Turn Off New Message Alerts.
Consider this math: a four-second distraction to look at the new e-mail preview multiplied over 100 e-mails per day totals 400 seconds. That’s six and one-half minutes of activity with no corresponding productivity. Aggregating these seconds over a 220-day work year results in over 24 hours of lost productivity!
#3 Schedule Time Between Appointments.
Try placing five minutes between appointments so you can jot down any thoughts you have about the meeting/call you just finished before you start up on the next. You will capture the maximum amount of information about each appointment and sharpen your focus on the next event.
See All 4 Tips at QuietSpacing.com
So, you know I’m all for passwords, but I recently learned that changing them frequently is a bit of a waste. You actually need a group of tools to keep your e-stuff safe. You can read more about that here.
…and, you can watch this cool video by Lorie Marrero of Clutter Diet about how to better organize the passwords you do have.
Get the Internet Password Organizer
I’m taking a sabbatical and have lined up a few posts ahead of time. I’ll also be re-sharing some of my fave OTR articles and introducing you to new guest authors as well as other interesting info while I’m away. Have a gander at this post from a year ago on why resolutions don’t work.
“Research has shown that, after six months, fewer than half the people who make New Year’s resolutions have stuck with them, and, after a year, that number declines to around ten percent.”
[San Francisco Chronicle |1.4.10]
With stats like that, what’s the point of making resolutions? It’s the time of year that everyone makes the decision to be better at one thing or another. It’s also an uphill battle because of one little thing – YOU…and me, too. All of us.
While we may WANT to change, it’s the required HABITS and new routines that’s tough for us to wrap our arms around. Change involves planning and long-term commitment to a reasonable, new way of doing things.
BUT…you can choose the direction your life is going in AND you can choose which goals you will focus on first. You can be REALISTIC about how to incrementally and systematically make changes. There are specific things you can do to stay inside the 10% of people who keep their goals alive throughout the year.
Patience, Patience, and More Patience! Remember to pace yourself and to give enough time to achieve your goals. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? Slow and steady wins the race. If I come with any other clichés, I’ll let you know…but I think you get the picture.
People. The right people with their own positive vibes also help with those bumps in the road. They can be sources of strength and motivation. Keep them close by.
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