Active Sitting

If you are someone that spends 8 hours at your desk doing website development or secretary for someone, listen up. Sitting for long periods of time has been shown to completely damage your body. It has been linked to heart disease and diabetes. When we sit for long periods of time, our bodies start to degrade and the muscles shorten and weaken. Not only should you move around during breaks but also throughout the day. Take a couple breaks during your day and roll each foot on massage ball or small frozen water bottle. Shoe off, press down on the ball or bottle and roll it back and forth over the arch of your foot allowing the pressure to loosen up the tissues and increase circulation. Constant sitting shortens the hip flexors, so you need to stretch the anterior capsule and surrounding musculature of the hips as well as the quads with some lunges.

Characteristics of Successful People

Success is what you define it to be. There are some common roads to get there though. One of which is that successful people will not let anyone define it for them. You do not have to always compare themselves to others so that your self worth comes from within, and most certainly not a mobile application. People who are successful will always live to fight another another day even after a failure. This means that you should not live in the past and dwell on that failure which will prevent you from moving forward toward that success. Along the same thought, something that is not perfect is not failure. It is never a good idea to make it your goal to aim for perfection. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

Time vs Money

Let us get it out there: time is money and money is time. A lot of people tend not to see it that way and not treat time as if it is as valuable as money. The authors of a recent business book argue that because you spend time in order to earn money, you're also spending time whenever you buy something. If you're a web developer earning $50 per hour, a new iPad doesn't cost you $500; it actually costs you 10 hours of work. And if you make $25 per hour, that iPad is twice as expensive. The key to be able to delegate tasks that you are not good at and focus on the ones that you are. For example, if you run a software development company, you would not be raising pigs and chickens for your bacon and eggs in the morning. The easiest way to figure out its worth is to take your total income from all sources and divide it by 2,000, the number of hours in a standard work year (based on a 40-hour week). If this hourly wage is greater than the cost to pay somebody else to handle a particular task for you, pay somebody else. If not, do it yourself.

Traits for Success

Do you know that one person that seems to have good things happen no matter where they go? Take the time to observe them and maybe you can learn several things. Success does not mean being at the right place in the right time or having all those connection. Even successful people have setbacks but the difference is that they do not let them slow them down. Even if that software development project does not garner as much attention as you hoped, it is the perfect time to go back to the drawing board and do what we like to call an update. Other traits include meeting every single person with respect and no judgement. On that note, you should try being inclusive and always have room for more. After all that listening, being a willing and patient teacher can be a serious plus. Sharing knowledge benefits more than just the other person that is listening. Another great trait to have to be able to live by the idea that no job is too big or too small and never to ask someone something that you would not do yourself. Lastly, take the world by the horns because otherwise the horn will take you by the throat.

Get Going in the Morning

It is important to be productive during the day no matter what you do. If you are a scientist or work in software development, you need to think of your brain as a muscle that needs to get ready for the day of work by stretching and prepping. On average, people spend about a half hour commuting to work. This is the perfect time to think about what you have to do as soon as you get to work as well as major problems. You could also use the time to listen to stimulating music or a great podcast. Another way to get into the mood to work is to easy into it. You could do some tasks that require less brain power such as making quick calls and answering non-critical emails. Somewhere about midday, your focus and enthusiasm is starting to wan. The perfect solution to that is to take a power nap, even if your commute back home is on public transit. You will be able to come home refreshed and in a better mood no matter how stressful the workday was.

Myths About Technology

The terrors of technology...we have all heard that one before. The constant communication services are making us isolated and so on and so on. There are always two sides to any story and of course here as well. Some would like to claim that smartphones have increased mindless stimulation. In some cases that may very well be true but it does not describe the whole of the population. Secondly, are social networks destroying real friendships and communication? In a study conducted in 2007, Drs. Peter and Valkenburg looked at 1210 students between the ages of 10 and 17, and found that those students who used online communication to talk with their friends had closer friendships and felt more personal and social satisfaction than students who did not. In 2011, Mariek Abeele and Keith Row found that texting, instant messaging, and emailing more frequently with friends was associated with a higher sense of belonging and a stronger overall social network. In 2012, Dr. Adriana Manago found that students who had more Facebook friends experienced higher levels of life satisfaction, perceived social support, and overall well-being. Any thoughts?

Rise and Shine

There is nothing quite as bad as waking up to a jarring ringtone that makes you want to throw your phone across the room. This is just a bad way to start the day. Alright, maybe the next worst thing is being woken up by some communication service such as a text, or email, or internet phone message, or any other apps that you might find very useful for the first wee that your are using them. Enter Waky. Instead of assaulting you with obnoxious sounds, Waky uses sultry human voices to gently nudge you awake. But this human-voiced morning alarm app is as fun and wacky as its name suggests. You can select from the voices of 11 guys or 11 girls. Or even Santa. If you have trouble finding your happy place in the morning, try Calm, a serene, natural landscape enriched meditation app. All you have to do is launch the app, choose a how long you’ll exercise for (five to 60 minutes), choose a workout (upper or lower body, core strength, cardio or stretching), and get your weary heart pumping. When you’re winded, exhale and wind down with some yoga poses. No equipment required.