“Reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds. Listening to music reduced the levels by 61 per cent, have [sic] a cup of tea of coffee lowered them by 54 per cent and taking a walk by 42 per cent. Reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent.
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Reading ‘can help reduce stress’ | Telegraph.co.uk | 3.30.09
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Do you use Elf on the Shelf during the holidays?
The holidays are here! We already have a lot to manage and in comes extra. Enlist the elves for extra help!
- Bring your family in on the fun. Ask your family what their favorite activities are and sign everyone up for one extra responsibility. Or, host a family evening to get a task done. Our family decorates the tree together with holiday music.
- Look around you for resources. Bakeries, grocery stores, and cafeterias offer extra goodies to take home at this time of year, so be sure to take advantage of these special treats. A handyman (or woman) can also hang your exterior lights and stagers can decorate your tree. Ask for recommendations and referrals. And, Facebook friends will probably know who can make a darling holiday cake ball.
- Delegate and collaborate. Can one of your kids make cookies for the cookie swap? You can also host a gift wrap party where everyone can share a cup of hot cocoa and get their gifts wrapped. Why not ask those attending to bring a goodie to share? You might also want to gather a few friends and address holiday cards together.
Where do you find holiday help and your personal elves?
Image credit: Deposit Photos
“People who go into business for themselves may be healthier than other workers, according to a new report from Gallup. The report shows that entrepreneurs are less likely to have chronic diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and high blood pressure compared to other workers. Entrepreneurs are also more likely to lead healthy lifestyles than other workers, such as eating produce at least four times a week and exercising on a regular basis, according to the findings.”
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When you write your to do list, are you rushing? Are you furiously writing things down on the day that you need to get them done? Try doing things a little differently and write your to do list every night instead.
Give yourself a few minutes to:
1. Pat yourself on the back for all you accomplished
2. Write down the items you didn’t get to
3. Add new items (not too many) that you need to focus on
4. Estimate how long you will need to work on each task (write it down, too)
5. Think about who you can delegate to or get help from
Doing these steps the evening before gives you time to think and plan in a calm, focused way. It gives you control of your time and how you spend it. You’ll start your day already prepared and will be able to get begin working on your list without having to figure out what you need to do.
One of the tricky things about organizing your home or office is that you may not be sure how to let go of specific items, like eyeglasses. You might be tempted to through them in drawer or box even though you can no longer use them. The good news is that they can be useful to someone else.
You can donate your gently used glasses to:
- OneSight.org and their volunteers will distribute them during one of their Global Clinics around the world.
- New Eyes for the Needy will distribute the following items to international charitable organizations:
- plastic eyeglasses
- reading glasses
- sun glasses
- metal eyeglasses in any condition (proceeds from sale are used to support voucher programs in the U.S.)
“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” – Pooh’s Little Instruction Book
Read More:
Stress Relief Quotes: 16 Calming Phrases To Reduce Anxiety | HuffingtonPost.com | 8.28.12
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Thanksgiving Day in the United States is a major holiday and the OTR authors have the day off today. Whether you’re celebrating, working, or planning on doing absolutely nothing, we hope you’ll have an enjoyable day.
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 them on for size and feel free to suggest a few of your own.
Image Credit: Good Housekeeping
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States and many of people will be spending a bit of time in their kitchens preparing holiday meals and welcoming guests. To help you get down to the business of cooking and getting your home ready (instead feeling overwhelmed), here are five things you can to make sure your holiday plans go off without a hitch. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do them all at once (although you probably have five minutes to do at least one of them right now).
1. Write down the top five meals you will be making…
2. …and check your recipes. Do you have all the ingredients that you need?
3. Do you have enough seating? Check that you have enough chairs and place settings.
4. If you have special linens (table cloth, cloth napkins) that you want to use, get them ready (need washing? ironing?)
5. This one is easy and takes less than five minutes. All you have to do is say yes! …when someone offers to help (by bringing desert, helping to clean up, etc.)
…and check out Easy Organizing: Your Thanksgiving Table Settings for more ideas on how you can have an organized (and fun) holiday meal.
Do you back up? How often? What do you back up to? Do you back up everything on your computer or just certain files? What a pain!
A necessary pain, though.
If your computer crashes taking all of its contents with it, you will be crushed. All of those photos, videos, work documents or what have you, could be gone in an instant. Too bad there isn’t some sort of digital insurance that will cushion you if this happens.
Oh wait, there is!!!! BACK UP. Backing up is metaphorical digital insurance that will save you if the unthinkable happens. Then, if your computer crashes you don’t have to break one bead of sweat.
Now that we’ve established backing up is a necessity, let’s talk about the backing up process. You can streamline the whole thing, so that it’s not something that you have to worry about on a regular basis. This is where CrashPlan comes in.
CrashPlan is the service I use to back up all of the computers in my home and business, and it is fantastic! I did the initial set up and haven’t had to think about backing up since.
Check out these amazing features…
Options. They are offer different plans including a free one. On their website is a plan comparison chart, so it makes it easy to figure out what you need.
Affordable. I chose the most expensive personal plan, and it’s only $10 per month! I found that to be definitely worth it; I back up my business computer, my old laptop, my husband’s laptop and my external hard drive.
Multiple Destinations. With CrashPlan you can back up to their secure online site, to someone else’s computer, to an external hard drive or to all of them! This really streamlines the process of backing up both online and locally.
Automatic. You can choose how often this service automatically backs up your devices, so there is no thinking on your part once it’s set up. PLUS, if one of your devices hasn’t been backed up (let’s say your internet connection goes down), you’ll get an email from them saying so.
Secure. CrashPlan has a security model that is multi-layered. This includes transmission security, account security, password security encryption security and secure messaging. Wow! Check out their website for a very detailed explanation of all the encrypting and securing they do. It’s impressive.
Mobile. Of course there’s an app! Love it. Let’s say I’m out somewhere, and I need a document that’s on my computer. Well since I’m a backing up queen with CrashPlan, I can access this document from my online back up as if I was browsing through my computer files.
That’s not all! There are more fantastic features that make this software a must in my book. Check out CrashPlan.com for more details and become a backing up queen like me!
“A short afternoon catnap of 20 minutes… enhances alertness and concentration, elevates mood, and sharpens motor skills. To boost alertness on waking, you can drink a cup of coffee before you nap. Caffeine requires 20 or 30 minutes to take effect, so it will kick in just as you’re waking.”
Read More:
Secrets of the Productive Nap | Inc.com | 9.6.12
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