1. Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night).2. On the fence about a purchase? Wait 72 hours before you buy it.3. Tip: the quickest supermarket queue is always behind the fullest trolley (greeting, paying and packing take longer than you think).4. Bring fruit to work. Bring fruit to bed!5. Consider going down to four days a week. It’s likely a disproportionate amount of your fifth day’s work is taxed anyway, so you’ll lose way less than a fifth of your take-home pay.6. Everyone has an emotional blind spot when they fight. Work out what yours is, and remember it.

Ideas 1 - 6

7. Plant spring bulbs, even if they’re just in a pot. 8. Send a voice note instead of a text; they sound like personal mini podcasts. 9. Keep a bird feeder by a window, ideally the kitchen. It’ll pass the time when you’re washing up. 10. Always bring ice to house parties (there’s never enough). 11. Get the lighting right: turn off the overhead one, turn on lots of lamps (but turn off when you leave the room). 12. Sharpen your knives. 13. Feeling sluggish at work? Try the Pomodoro technique: 25 minutes on, five-minute break, and repeat.

Ideas 7 - 13

14. Buy a cheap blender and use it to finely chop onions (it saves on time and tears). 15. Keep your children’s drawings and paintings. Put the best ones in frames. 16. Set aside 10 minutes a day to do something you really enjoy – be it reading a book or playing Halo. 17. Don’t be weird about how to stack the dishwasher. 18. Reuse all plastic bags – even bread bags. Much of the packaging you can’t reuse can be taken to larger branches of supermarkets for recycling. 19. Take a photo of the tag you are given when leaving your coat in a cloakroom.

Ideas 14 - 19

20. Can’t sleep? Try a relaxing soak with lavender bath oil before bed. 21. Add the milk at least one minute after the tea has brewed. 22. Laugh shamelessly at your own jokes. 23. It might sound obvious, but a pint of water before bed after a big night avoids a clanger of a hanger. 24. Start a Saturday morning with some classical music – it sets the tone for a calm weekend. 25. Look closely. 26. Set time limits for your apps. Just go to the settings on your smartphone and add a limit – for example, if you have an iPhone, turn on Screen Time.

Ideas 20 - 26

27. If possible, take the stairs. 28. Always be willing to miss the next train. 29. Eat meat once a week, max. Ideally less. 30. Be polite to rude strangers – it’s oddly thrilling. 31. Ask questions, and listen to the answers. 32. Connect with nature: stand outside barefoot for a few minutes – even when it’s cold. 33. Join your local library – and use it. Find yours here. 34. Go for a walk without your phone. 35. Eat salted butter (life’s too short for unsalted). 36. Stretch in the morning. And maybe in the evening.

Ideas 27 - 36

37. If you’re going less than a mile, walk or cycle. About half of car journeys are under two miles, yet these create more pollution than longer journeys as the engine isn’t warmed up yet. 38. Sleep with your phone in a different room (and buy an alarm clock). 39. Send postcards from your holidays. Send them even if you’re not on holiday. 40. Instead of buying new shoes, get old ones resoled and buy new laces. 41. Buy a plant. Think you’ll kill it? Buy a fake one. 42. Don’t have Twitter on your phone. 43. If you find an item of clothing you love and are certain you will wear for ever, buy three.

Ideas 37 - 43

44. Try taking a cold shower (30 seconds to two minutes) before your hot one. It’s good for your health – both physical and mental. 45. Text to say thank you! 46. Read a poem every day. Keep a compendium, such as A Poem for Every Day of the Year, by your bed. 47. Take out your headphones when walking – listen to the world. 48. Buy secondhand. 49. Buy in person! 50. Learn how to floss properly. 51. If something in the world is making you angry, write (politely) to your MP – they will read it. 52. Say hello to your neighbours. 53. Learn the basics of repairing your clothes.

Ideas 44 - 53

54. Always bring something – wine, flowers – to a dinner/birthday party, even if they say not to. 55. Learn the names of 10 trees. 56. Call an old friend out of the blue. 57. Every so often, search your email for the word “unsubscribe” and then use it on as many as you can. 58. Buy a newspaper. 59. Always have dessert. 60. Drop your shoulders. 61. Make something from scratch. Works best if it’s something you’d normally buy, such as a dress or a bag. 62. Go to bed earlier – but don’t take your phone with you. 63. Volunteer. ​​Go to gov.uk/government/get-involved for ideas.

Ideas 54 - 63

64. Dry your cutlery with a cloth (it keeps it shiny). 65. Instead of buying a morning coffee, set up a daily transfer of £2 (or your local currency) from a current into a savings account and forget about it. Use it to treat yourself to something different later. 66. Don’t save things for “best”. Wear them – enjoy them. 67. Sing! 68. Think about your posture: don’t slouch, and don’t cross your legs. 69. Hang your clothes up. Ideally on non-wire hangers (it’s better for them). 70. Skinny-dip with friends. 71. Switch your phone off on holiday (or at least delete your work email app).

Ideas 64 - 71

72. Always use freshly ground pepper. 73. Thank a teacher who changed your life. 74. Respect your youngers. 75. Keep your keys in the same place. 76. Ditch the plastic cartons and find a milkman – The Modern Milkman has a comprehensive list. 77. Rent rather than buy a suit/dress for that forthcoming wedding (even if it’s your own). 78. Always book an extra day off after a holiday. 79. Ignore the algorithm – listen to music outside your usual taste. 80. Mute or leave a WhatsApp group chat. 81. Learn a TikTok dance (but don’t post it on TikTok). 82. Cook something you’ve never attempted before.

Ideas 72 - 82

83. Join a local litter-picking group. 84. Handwash that thing you’ve never cleaned. 85. Don’t get a pet/do get a pet. 86. Nap. 87. Learn how to breathe deeply: in through the nose, out through the mouth, making the exhale longer than the inhale. 88. Buy a bike and use it. Learn how to fix it, too. 89. Politely decline invitations if you don’t want to go. 90. If you do go, have an exit strategy (can we recommend a French exit, where you slip out unseen). 91. If in doubt, add cheese. 92. Don’t look at your phone at dinner. 93. Do that one thing you’ve been putting off.

Ideas 83 - 93

94. Give compliments widely and freely. 95. Set up an affordable standing order to a charity. 96. Keep a book in your bag to avoid the temptation to doomscroll. 97. Listen to the albums you loved as a teenager. 98. Make a friend from a different generation. 99. Staying over at a friend’s place? Strip the bed in the morning. 100. For instant cheer, wear yellow.

Ideas 94 - 100

Ideas you may think wouldn't improve your life every day. You would be surprised!

Whether it’s taking fruit to work (and to the bedroom!), being polite to rude strangers or taking up skinny-dipping, here’s a century of ways to make life better, with little effort involved …

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

health

Health

habits

Habits

100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying | Life and style

Do you need to end a friendship?Sometimes we have to break up with certain people.See why fakeness can be so damaging and how to protect yourself.﻿

Fake Friend Syndrome

The biggest difference between a frenemy and a fake friend is that you know there’s bad blood between the two of you… whereas a fake friendship can feel like a real one, but it can be more damaging than good for you.Fake friends are the people you hang around with that drain your energy. You don’t feel comfortable, genuine, or emotionally secure around fake friends. You also wouldn’t trust your fake friend with the keys to your home.

Signs Of A Fake Friend

Here’s the big idea:We absolutely can grow out of friends, just like we grow out of clothes. Our taste and preferences change over time.…And this is not a bad thing. Its ok to let eachother go.

Dont Waste Time

True friends are people who are there for you during life’s up and down moments. They are genuinely happy for you when you succeed, and will be there for you when you ask them for help that is within their boundaries.Real friendship is a two way process, making you feel loved, happy, and supported, unlike fake friends.

A True Friend

These are some signs that you have a genuine friendship, and not a fake one:<ul><li>Real friends give us their attention and are present to our needs.</li><li>They support us when we are feeling down.</li><li>True friends are genuine and keep their promises.</li><li>They are there for you even if they can’t get something from you.</li><li>They accept your flaws.</li><li>They actively listen rather than focus on themselves.</li><li>True friends make us want to become better.</li></ul>

Need A Breakup? 

Obligatory Friend: Someone you don’t enjoy spending time with, but end up spending time with because you feel guilty. It’s a habit you do not know how to stop.It all starts with the Spheres of Interest. When you first meet someone, you are not sure how many of your interests and their interests overlap. You both have spheres of interest, and you wonder how much overlaps..

Fake Friendship Trap

Sometimes interests can be points of relevance such as:<ul><li>Working at the same company</li><li>Living in the same building</li><li>Going to the same school</li><li>Playing on the same team</li><li>Being a part of the same organization</li><li>Having gone on the same trip</li></ul>The more you have in common, the more relevant someone is to you.In great relationships, the Spheres of Interest move closer together. Its natural when the circles move apart. Its how you handle it that counts.. be logical. Not emotional.

Do you actually like spending time with them?

When you force yourself to spend time with someone or pretend to have a good time, you either are lying to yourself, or lying to them. This is not truthful living. You are not serving anyone by maintaining this ruse.Having history with someone is not enough fuel for a real friendship lasting forever.

Be Real About It

There comes a point in some unhealthy, unfulfilling relationships where the friendship bubble needs bursting. The lies. The faking it. The pretending everything is fine. It needs to stop. Friendship break-ups should be treated EXACTLY like romantic break-ups. The same way we don't tolerate toxic behaviour from a potential partner, we shouldn't tolerate toxic energy from a friendship of any time span.

The Burst

Are there people who you are close with for the wrong reasons? Are there people who you are lying to yourself about? Are there people you dread hanging out with?Letting them go helps you both.When we say no to relationships that don’t serve us, we make room for relationships that do. There is no need to lie and make up BS to prolong the inevitable. Just be honest and mature about it.

Good Bye.

Guilt is not fuel.History is not enough.Feigned closeness is deception.Be honest.Have more time for real relationships.Live in truth and with real friends.

Relationship Rule.

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Communication

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Why Fakeness is Ruining You and How to End Toxic Energy 

When you’re under stress, in a social situation, for example, positive affirmations are invaluable. They’ll help you fight through the stress and find a way around issues.A good affirmation for stress is more than just useful. It can change your day, and if you invite it into your life, it can change everything.

What is an effective affirmation for stress relief?

I can’t guarantee this will be the direct outcome of using positive affirmations, but some research has shown that people who are optimistic will live longer. <ul><li>Your cardiovascular health will improve, and this means you’ll be more robust, healthy, and it could indeed enhance your life expectancy.</li><li>These benefits can be realized as long as you make the use of affirmations a habit. If they're not done regularly they won’t take hold and change your life.</li></ul>Make it important to yourself to build in affirmations to your everyday life.

People who are optimistic will live longer

If we strip them of any philosophical meaning (like the Law of Attraction stuff) they are simply examples of positive self-talk.So that means you can use affirmations without feeling like you’re auditioning for a role in the next ‘The Secret’ movie. Positive self talk is a good thing and it isn’t weird.

Affirmations are easy to use

The main thing you have to get your head around is the value affirmations have.<ul><li>They are used to rid yourself of limiting beliefs. If you take on the challenge and use affirmations regularly and with full conviction, you’ll also find that they change the way you think and that’s the real value.</li><li>By changing the way you think over time, you arm yourself. You become resistant to negativity or unhelpful thinking.</li><li>The more positive affirmations you have, the better your life will be.</li></ul>

Why should we use affirmations?

A good affirmation for stress is more than just useful. It can change your day, and if you invite it into your life, it can change everything.

By saying to yourself, I'm funny and charming, or Everyone here wants to know my story, you’re coaching yourself. The more you do it, the more confident you’ll be. And this leads to incredibly positive social experiences.The best affirmation for stress relief?<ul><li>Feeling stuck is a feeling, not a fact. </li></ul>

Coaching yourself

If you're using affirmations and using them regularly, you’re thinking about thinking. You’re taking charge of your thoughts and becoming more self-aware.This pushes you towards a situation where you are more in control of your mind, as well as more aware of your own needs and desires.A good affirmation for mental clarity is:<ul><li>Today I am attracting clarity of mind and purity of heart. </li></ul>

What is an affirmation for mental clarity?

Affirmations are easy to use. If we strip them of any philosophical meaning (like the Law of Attraction stuff) they are simply examples of positive self-talk.

Affirmations are easy to use. And if we strip them of any philosophical meaning (like the Law of Attraction stuff) they are simply examples of positive self-talk. So that means you can use…

mentalhealth

Mental Health

What are the Benefits of Positive Affirmations?

<ul>
<li>First, to work smarter, use all the available time in your schedule, identify your top priority tasks, pare your task list down and maintain your focus. To work better, change your work habits, even if your existing habits brought you success. </li>
<li>Second, to think bigger, believe in yourself and what you can accomplish. Spend time with supportive people, expand your social network and eliminate distractions.</li>
<li>Third, to make more – more money, time, opportunities, memories or anything else – create a continuous cycle of improvement.</li>
</ul>

The Three Driving Points

Imagine your ideal day. What time would you get up in the morning? What would you do first? What would you accomplish? Who would you be with? Visualizing your ideal day and committing that vision to paper will help you “work smarter, think bigger and make more.”

Your Best Day

A day consists of 96 blocks of time that are 15 minutes long, so each 15-minute block is about 1% of your day. You can dramatically increase your efficiency by managing the time on your calendar in blocks of a quarter of an hour. When you suddenly have an extra 15 minutes, such as when a meeting ends early or when someone you’re expecting is late, be prepared to use the time to your advantage. Carry the tools you need to complete some of the small tasks on your to-do list, like making hotel reservations, listening to your voicemail, writing thank-you notes or outlining a writing project.

Working Smarter

<ul>
<li>“Identify a very specific area” – Decide what in your life or work you want to fix.</li>
<li>“Develop strategies” – Determine what steps to take and what methods to use to achieve your targeted improvements.</li>
<li>“Experiment” – Try different approaches to “generate bursts of momentum.”</li>
<li>“Assess the value the effort has created” – What have you accomplished, and was it worthwhile?</li>
</ul>

The IDEA Elements

With so little time in the day, follow a three-step process to achieve your targets: “set a goal, be consistent” and “take action.” Identify your “Most Important Things” (MITs) – the top goals you want to address during a set time period. How will you break down these goals? Some people make to-do lists, using nouns, like “book launch.” Others prefer lists of verbs, like “find bookstores for book promotion.” Brainstorm a list of nouns that summarizes your goals. Then use verbs to identify “action steps” that you can address within the next four days.

The Days Are Too Short

Focus on a pared-down to-do list and commit to giving those tasks your complete attention. Start the day by setting the alarm for the time you actually get up; don’t build in time to press the snooze button and fall back asleep. Gather the tools you need to work more efficiently, but use as few tools as possible and learn to handle them expertly so you can be more productive. Most hardware and software offerings have lesser-known features that can save precious work minutes.

A Pared Down To-Do List

Like most people, you tend to keep doing what you have always done. What you have been doing thus far has taken you to where you are now, so your routines probably seem successful. But to achieve more, you must do more, and that means changing your routine.

Homeostasis: Change Your Routine

This is the environment in which you work. Do you waste time looking for what you need? Do your tools and devices work properly? Are better tools available? Does your workspace inspire you to do your best? If you gave a negative answer to any of these questions, change your context to help you work smarter.

Context: Change Your Environment

The people surrounding you greatly influence the choices you make, even if you don’t realize it. This includes people you physically interact with, as well as those in your social networks. To change your habits, change the people around you who influence you; add a person or two whose work style you admire.

Network: The People Around You

Your beliefs determine your success. Remember, “If you think you can, you can.” Thinking bigger involves building “self-efficacy” – the belief that your actions will succeed. Self-efficacy can be hard to maintain when you have more priorities on your to-do list than you have time to complete, so reduce your daily priorities. Boost your efficacy by attending conferences and seminars.

Thinking Big: Your Beliefs 

<ul><li>“I did it before” – Recall a recent success and think through how you achieved it, step by step, “from start to finish.”</li><li>“They were able to do it” – Notice successful people around you and in the media. Draw inspiration from those who have achieved great goals.  </li><li>“They think I can do it” – To gain confidence, think of the belief other people have in your abilities.  </li><li>“I know I can do it” – Remind yourself of your successes. Build your confidence based on the knowledge that “you’ve worked, prepared, rehearsed and anticipated success as you move toward your goals.”</li></ul>

How To Emphasize Your Ability to Succeed: Mantras

Tap the power of your social network – the web of people with whom you are connected. Your social network existed long before the advent of Facebook or Twitter. List the people you admire, those you want to spend more time with and those you’d like to be around less. This categorization will show you the people who are most important to you. For a given project, construct a “mind map” of “Team You” – the people you can rely on to give you ideas, feedback and support.

Connet With Your People

Changing the way you work requires gathering data, something that most business professionals understand. To reduce interruptions and to make sure you do your work when you are at your best, monitor your work habits and record any changes. For example, if you want to increase the number of outgoing calls you make to your contacts, first log your current calls and calculate your call volume. Then, track the changes you want to make.

Your Work Habits

Making more – money, time, opportunities, memories or anything else – requires creating a continuous cycle of improvement. One powerful way to continue improving is to ask for feedback.When you redirect your focus, your perspective changes, and when that happens, you have a significant option: You can begin to make things better.

Making More

<ul><li>“Results” – At the end of a set period of time, consider how the matters you want to change are going now.</li><li>“Experience” – This is how you feel your life is transpiring. </li><li>“Contribution” – “Who said thanks?” View others’ appreciation of your contributions as an assessment of your effectiveness.</li><li>“Measurement” – This is objective data, like the amount of money you saved or the number of clients you landed during a particular period.</li><li>“Service” – Consider whom you helped lately and who helped you. </li><li>“Habits” – Building good habits helps you reach your goals. </li></ul>

Tracking Your Actions: The Six Kinds Of Feedback

To make more, you have to focus to finish. Two techniques can help you maintain your focus, though they have varying degrees of effectiveness:<ul><li>Use the “stop and do” tactic when a task should take so little time that it makes sense to just go ahead and do it. This approach can lead to a busy day in which you make progress toward your MITs.</li><li>Employ the “stop, think and bunch and then do” method when you feel you need to accumulate all your necessary tasks and group them into categories of activities that you can dispatch all at once.</li></ul>

Focus To Finish

Arrange your workspace with care: What visual and auditory distractions break your focus? Visual distractions might include piles of papers on your desk, a blinking phone light or any stimulus that draws your attention from work. Auditory distractions are prevalent in open plan offices.Focusing to finish your tasks requires removing or blocking out distractions, paying tight attention to what you can accomplish right now to further your goals and letting other tasks go

Clarify Your Workspace

A well-constructed collection of sound, practical, life-improving advice to anyone seeking increased efficiency and productivity.

A forefront productivity expert argues that longer working hours do not compensate for flawed approaches to performance, outlining strategic techniques for establishing positive habits, mindset-based strategies and proactive processes for enabling more effective working hours.

productivity

Productivity

books

Books

Imagine if your best just got better every single day In Your Best Just Got Better, productivity expert Jason Womack teaches readers that working longer hours doesn't make up for a flawed approach to productivity and performance. Workers need to clarify their habits, build mindset-based strategies, and be proactive. Womack's signature "workplace performance" techniques offer specific strategies to consistently and incrementally improve performance. Readers will: <ul> <li>Understand the fundamentals of workflow and the principles of human performance</li> <li>Arm themselves with the tools and the processes to get more of their work done, on time, with fewer resources, and with less stress</li> </ul> Making your best better won't happen overnight, but learning how to effectively manage just a few critical success factors lead to an effective workday and an overall successful professional career.

Jason W. Womack is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Jason W. Womack has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Jason W. Womack's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Jason W. Womack

Your Best Just Got Better

Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

We all know exercise is good for us. It offers documented <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/breathing-and-exercise-2704426">health benefits</a> and is probably one of the best tools we have to fight <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/best-workouts-if-youre-overweight-3495993">obesity</a>, some types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. At the same time, it can be hard to put that knowledge into practice. There are so many different suggestions on the types of activities and the ideal frequency, it can lead to information overload and overwhelm.The most important thing to know is some exercise—any type of exercise—is better than no exercise.

Exercise: What We Know

The wonderful thing about exercise is that you don't need much to get the benefits. Even just a few minutes a day can improve your health and well-being. Here are just some things exercise can help you do:<ul><li>Boost your mood</li><li>Give you more energy</li><li>Help you sleep better</li><li>Increase bone density</li><li>Improve your confidence</li><li>Improve your quality of life</li><li>Lose weight</li><li>Reduce stress</li></ul>

Benefits of Exercise

Use the FITT acronym to remember the exercise variables you can change to avoid plateaus and to keep your body challenged:<ul><li>Frequency: How often you exercise</li><li>Intensity: How hard you exercise</li><li>Time: How long you exercise</li><li>Type: The type of exercise you're doing (e.g., running, walking, etc.)</li></ul>

The FITT Principle

When you work out at a sufficient intensity, time, and frequency, your body will improve (called the Training Effect) and you'll start to see changes in your weight, <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-use-body-fat-percentage-calculator-3858855">body fat percentage</a>, cardio endurance, and strength. When your body adjusts to your current FITT levels, it's time to manipulate one or more of them.

Body Development: The Training Effect

If you've been walking three times a week for 20 minutes and you've stopped seeing improvement, you could change your program in one or more of the following ways:<ul><li>Frequency: Add one more day of walking.</li><li>Intensity: Add short bursts of jogging, speed walking, or hill training.</li><li>Time: Add 10 to 15 minutes to your usual workout time.</li><li>Type: Do a different activity, such as cycling, swimming, or aerobics.</li></ul>Changing any of these variables every four to six weeks can help you keep that training effect going.

Optimizing Training Effect

In order to improve your strength, endurance, and fitness, you have to progressively increase the frequency, intensity, and time of your workouts. A simple way to stimulate your body is to try different activities. <ul><li>If you normally walk on the treadmill, try riding the bike which will use different muscles and allow you to burn more calories. </li><li>If you've been doing <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/strength-exercises-for-the-biceps-1231100">biceps</a> curls with dumbbells, change to a barbell.</li></ul>

The Overload Principle

This principle is just what it sounds like. It means your workouts should be specific to your goals. If you're trying to improve your racing times, you should focus on speed workouts. If your main goal is simply health, fitness, and weight loss, you should focus on total body strength, <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cardio-1229553">cardio</a>, and a healthy diet. Make sure your training matches your goals.

Specificity

Cardio exercise is any rhythmic activity performed continuously and can include activities like <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/walking-4157093">walking</a>, <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-start-running-the-absolute-beginners-guide-2911191">running</a>, aerobics, cycling, swimming, and dancing. Cardio strengthens the heart and lungs, increases endurance and burns calories, which helps you lose weight. While you should always stick with a cardio program that fits with your fitness level, there are general guidelines for cardio programs based on your goals.

Types Of Exercises: Cardio

Strength training works the body in a different way than cardio and is equally as important for good health and weight loss. With strength training, you lift weights (dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, machines, etc.) to strengthen the muscles, bones, and connective tissue.Strength training builds lean muscle tissue, which raises metabolism helping you to reduce body fat9 provided you're also keeping your calorie intake in line. If you are new to resistance exercise and intimidated by using weights, bodyweight exercises, like squats, pushups, and planks, are a great way to start.

Types Of Exercises: Strength Training

<ul><li>Choose eight to 12 exercises, targeting the major muscle groups (lower body, chest, back,shoulders, biceps, triceps, and abs).</li><li>For beginners, do one set of eight to 16 reps of each exercise to fatigue. More advanced exercisers can do two to three sets.</li><li>Train each muscle group two to three non-consecutive days a week.</li><li>Work each exercise through its full range of motion and use good form.</li></ul>

Strength Training: Important Guidelines

While stretching is often the most overlooked exercise, it's important for keeping us agile as we get older. And, unlike the rigors of cardio and strength training, it's relaxing and it feels good.<ul><li> Stretching can be done anytime throughout the day, but it's also important to stretch after your workouts, especially if you have any chronically tight areas.</li><li>Yoga workouts are a great way to both stretch your body at the same time you build endurance and promote relaxation and stress-reduction. </li></ul>

Types Of Exercises: Flexibility

<ul><li>Do static stretches with a focus on tight areas, such as the hamstrings and lower back.</li><li>Hold each stretch for about 15 to 30 seconds and do two to four reps of each stretch.</li><li>Stretch a minimum of two to three days a week. Even better would be every day.</li><li>Stretch within your range of motion. Stretching shouldn't hurt.</li><li>Stretch your muscles when they're warm (after your warm-up or, even better, after your workout).</li></ul>

Stretching Guidelines

While we often focus on getting in as much exercise as possible, rest and recovery are also essential for reaching your <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-set-exercise-and-weight-loss-goals-for-beginners-1229580">weight loss and fitness goals</a>. While you can often do cardio every day (though you may want to rest after very <a href="https://www.verywellfit.com/ways-to-add-intensity-to-your-workouts-1231603">intense workouts</a>), you should have at least a day of rest between strength training workouts.Make sure you don't work the same muscles two days in a row to give your body the time it needs to rest and recover.

The Importance Of Resting

While it's important to know basic exercise guidelines and principles, the most important step in starting an exercise routine is exploring the idea of motivation. Without that, all the advice in the world won't do you any good.Motivation doesn't just happen. It's something you make happen each and every day. If you have multiple reasons to exercise, you'll always have something to get you moving, even when motivation is hard to come by. The hardest part of exercise is getting started. If you can get that far, you've won half the battle.

Finding Motivation

<ul><li>Consider how much energy you'll have to get more things done.</li><li>Imagine how relaxed you'll feel after a workout.</li><li>Promise yourself a reward for completing your workout.</li><li>Remind yourself how good you'll feel by following through.</li><li>Remind yourself of your weight-loss goals.</li><li>Remind yourself that this workout is necessary to reach your goal</li><li>Think of a future event to get ready for (a wedding, a vacation, etc.).</li><li>Think of all the diseases and illnesses your workout could protect you from.</li></ul>

Motivating Tips

The ABC of Exercise and how to find motivation.

Get a guide to getting in shape for beginners that explains what you need to know about cardio, flexibility, strength training, and more.

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

A Guide to Exercise for Beginners

Usually, when people say meditation, they are referring to sitting meditation. Where you sit with your legs crossed, focus on your breathing and empty your mind.The truth is that meditation is so much more than doing nothing.In our busy lives, between work or class, raising kids or maintaining a social life, how can we find time to stay mindful, aware and calm?

The Love-Hate Relationship With Meditation

The process is very straightforward.You can choose how long you want to do it. All you need to do is find a safe and comfortable space, sit with your feet grounded and flat and breathe slowly. Your eyes can be open or closed.<ul><li>Once you’re in position, bring your attention to all the sensations of your body. Does your head feel heavy?</li><li>Then bring your attention to the events that have brought you to this moment.</li><li>Throughout this process of observation. Don’t linger on any one sensation or thought, you are just making note of them and moving on.</li></ul>

Reset Your Mind

If stillness isn’t for you, you can meditate while eating, writing, gardening or drawing. The key, however, is concentration. When you give something the awareness and concentration to realise its causes and effects, that is meditation.

Meditation On Life

Meditation is hard work, but if the idea of sitting still is overwhelming, build in little short spurts of mindfulness into your day

mindfulness

Mindfulness

meditation

Meditation

Easy wins: ‘If stillness isn’t for you, you can meditate while eating’

The problem with “work-life balance” is that the forces of work and life don’t exist in equilibrium. 
At times, our careers will have an outsized influence on our decision-making. Other times, we’ll set work aside to enjoy life’s many pleasures or deal with its potential hardships. 
The two will never be in a state of equality. By seeking balance, we’ve propped ourselves up to fall.

The Key Issue With Work-Life Balance

<ul><li>There’s no such thing as achieving a perfect work-life balance. </li><li>If “balance” implies equilibrium, then “integration” implies combining various components or aspects into a unified whole.</li><li>Focus on being the same authentic person at work, at home, and in your community.</li><li>Avoid burnout by carving out time for all of the elements of your life.</li></ul>

Aim For Integration In Your Work-Life

<ul><li>It’s important to create space for family, friends, and fun. Put boundaries around your time.</li><li>Think consciously about where you want to focus your energy. Ask: Outside of work, what’s most important to me now? My community? My kids? Something else?</li><li>Remember: You can’t get back the time you sacrifice today.</li></ul>

Make Thoughtful Trade-Offs

career

Career

timemanagement

Time Management

Make a little time for yourself (in a 24/7 world)

In the 1950s, Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins, did a famous drowning rats psychology experiment. This experiment, though cruel, demonstrated the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations.

The Power Of Hope

I was writing for less than a month when a story I would classify now as downright mediocre (and I’ll save myself the embarrassment by not linking it) — took off. I still get the chills remembering the feeling I got seeing all that interest and, let’s be honest, the money pouring in.

Getting Money From A Hobby It's A Nice Feeling

In short, the experiment involved putting rats into water containers that forced them to swim to stay alive. First time in the water, the rats only resisted several minutes swimming before drowning. Then, just before giving up risking death, the rats were picked up by the researchers, warmed up, and after they recovered, they were placed back again into the containers. Amazingly, this time they lasted not 5, not 30, not 60 minutes, but days before exhaustion.

Resilience Fostered By Hope

Hope is everywhere on this platform. Everybody inspires you to keep going, write every day, be consistent, show up, engage, push, push, push, swim to survive. If you stop, you lose traction. Algorithms forget you. If Tim Denning takes a one month vacation, there are plenty waiting in a row to replace him. And he will be replaced. But Tim is smart enough to know that, too even though he’s a rat-like all of us. What differentiates Tim from the rest is that he’s a more luxurious pet, being picked up and cared for more frequently than others. However, that doesn’t mean he’s better.

Waiting For Your Viral Story

I was writing for less than a month when a story I would classify now as downright mediocre (and I’ll save myself the embarrassment by not linking it) — took off. I still get the chills remembering…

writing

Reading & Writing

How a Harvard Rat Experiment Explains Why New Writers Get Viral Stories

We think that we are not capable enough to achieve what we want in life, here two things are important to follow:<ol><li>That We make small goals at first and achieve them in order to move forward with a positive mindset.</li><li>Learn from failure instead of fixating on it.</li></ol>

Why We Think We Are Not Good Enough?

This is really important as we need to move forward in life and achieve our goals. This step is crucial but people fail to achieve this because they set really high goals in the beginning and then are not able to achieve and leave that ultimate goal.Here you need to plan a way to that ultimate goal and start your journey with smaller goals and milestone. For example if you need to loose weight you can't just workout for 24 hours x 7 days, you need to work 1 hour every day for a long time to achieve it.

How To Move Forward With Small Goals

Failure is what we are scared of and success comes to those you know what failure is.

Achieve your ultimate goal.

Find  Self Improvement Tips - Curated from popular Books like Atomic Habits, 48 Rules of Power, Deep Work, Rich Dad Poor Dad and way more!

100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying | Life and style

Why Fakeness is Ruining You and How to End Toxic Energy

What are the Benefits of Positive Affirmations?

Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

A Guide to Exercise for Beginners

Easy wins: ‘If stillness isn’t for you, you can meditate while eating’

Make a little time for yourself (in a 24/7 world)

How a Harvard Rat Experiment Explains Why New Writers Get Viral Stories

Achieve your ultimate goal.

The Mountain Is You

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying | Life and style

Why Fakeness is Ruining You and How to End Toxic Energy

What are the Benefits of Positive Affirmations?

Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

A Guide to Exercise for Beginners

Easy wins: ‘If stillness isn’t for you, you can meditate while eating’

Make a little time for yourself (in a 24/7 world)

How a Harvard Rat Experiment Explains Why New Writers Get Viral Stories

Achieve your ultimate goal.

The Mountain Is You

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.