<ul><li>We've been taught to be expert procrastinators, and it's finally catching up with us</li><li>As adults, we're taking procrastination into our businesses and our relationships, and rather than spending time completing the tasks that actually matter, we are pushing everything off</li><li>The "It can wait" mindset has made people think that everything can wait when in reality, some things can't.</li></ul>

It's not your fault

Just because the sky won't fall doesn't mean you should wait to complete the tasks that are important to you todayCreating a list of three key things to complete each day is the number one tip to produce long-term, sustainable growth within both yourself and your business. If you can't trust yourself to complete tasks set before you, then who can?

Complete the task

While it's true that your cycle of procrastination isn't entirely your fault, it's also true that it will be your fault if you don't decide you want things to be different.

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Productivity

problemsolving

Problem Solving

It's Not Your Fault: We've Been Taught to Be Expert Procrastinators

The Regency refers to the years between 1811–1820 in British history, when George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland, was incapacitated by illness. His son, also called George, assumed the throne in a regency. George III was still the king in name, his son ruled as Prince Regent, and after George III’s death in 1820, the prince assumed the throne as George IV.More broadly, the Regency period refers to a subsection of the Georgian era (1714–c1830/37) and is often extended to the death of George IV in 1830, when the crown passed to William IV (the third son of George III, and younger brothe<warningtag>r to George IV).</warningtag>

When was the Regency era?

The Ton comes from the French phrase le bon ton, which roughly translates as “good manners” or “good taste”. It was the name given to elite society in the Regency period. During the early 19th-century, these were the values expected to be observed by members of the beau monde, or “beautiful world”, of fashionable society.As shown in Bridgerton, etiquette was rigorously observed in this world, and strict etiquette governed the social season: from which daughters were ‘out’ in society, to how many dances one person could allot to another, to the secret language of the fan.

What is the Ton?

The king and queen at the time Bridgerton is set are King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. However, George III is not the ruling monarch; his son is ruling Great Britain and Ireland as Prince Regent.Prince Regent is not shown on-screen; Bridgerton instead chooses to place his mother, Queen Charlotte (played by Golda Rosheuvel), at the centre of the drama. At Queen Charlotte’s court, protocol was everything. This sense of protocol is crucial in Bridgerton, as we see the queen dictate many of the rules of this society.

Who are the king and queen in Bridgerton?

In Bridgerton, it is the job of Queen Charlotte to name a debutante as the pick of the social season, a so-called ‘diamond of the first water’. While the phrase ‘diamond of the first water’ was never used to single out any one young woman who would top the season, it is true that certain women were marked by the press of the day as great beauties. Their names would appear in newspapers, they would be written about and publicly celebrated, becoming celebrities of the season; on occasion, they were ranked, with scoresheets.

What is the ‘diamond of the first water’?

Lady Whistledown’s scandal sheet underpins almost all the action in Bridgerton.
A key difference is that in the real scandal sheets and magazines of the day, the subjects of gossip would not have been named. Their identities might have been very loosely disguised; someone might have just printed their initials, like the Duke of H instead of the Duke of Hastings. But it was so obvious who they were talking about. It was a way to get around libel laws. There would have been no point in having these columns if we didn’t know who they were talking about.

Were there gossip sheets like Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers?

Is your knowledge of Regency history up to snuff? As we prepare to return to the opulent world of the Ton, we present a guide to the snippets of Georgian detail that you might spot on screen in Bridgerton…

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History

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Movies & Shows

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Society, Arts & Culture

Bridgerton Real History & Historical Accuracy Explained

Many of the time-management techniques that have been used for decades are not going to work in this setting. We need a way to prioritize and triage, not to categorize and identify every to-do.
Instead of worrying about each item on your to-do lists, ask yourself this simple question: *“What three activities must I complete today to make this day feel successful?” These items are very different from your to-do lists. A standard to-do listing is a comprehensive list of all activities we should complete. It is impossible to finish 30-50 tasks in one workday.

Time Marches On

66% of people check email daily, but only 34% plan their day. It is common to reach for your phone at night and check messages. People are more productive if they don’t check their messages but instead make a plan for the day and grab a cup of coffee. This research shows that checking your email first thing in the morning increases your chances of wasting over half of your work time.
This simple technique is so effective because it forces you to create a plan for your day. As a result, you are taking charge of your priorities and exercising proactive control over your day.

Time Or Timely

You can take control of your day by setting a plan and not responding to emails. This will dramatically increase your sense of well-being.
This technique will also force you to be more proactive in your mental state. Instead of waiting for others to set your priorities, this technique allows you to get in front of them and decide where you should spend your time. High achievers are distinguished by their proactivity. If you are passively waiting for direction, it is almost inevitable that you will feel more overwhelmed and frazzled.

Staying In Control

The Time/Work paradigm is broken. The Pandemic turned time management into a whole new ball game. Without insight and courage, time is a foe. Time marches on &#8212; do you?  ...

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Personal Development

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Habits

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Time Management

A Time Management Hack to Beat Pandemic Blues

Our bodies' immune system keeps a track record of every microbe that it has ever encountered and defeated in the memory cells (white blood cells - B- and T-lymphocytes).Once a microbe enters the body again, it can be easily recognized and defeated before it multiplies and make you feel sick.

The immune system and microbial infection

<ul><li>White blood cells - the key players of our immune system</li><li>Antibodies - these recognize the antigens on the surface of the microbe then mark them for destruction</li><li>Complement System - made up of proteins that complement the work done by antibodies</li><li>Lympathic System - is a network of delicate tubes that's made up of lymph node, lymph vessels, and white blood cells</li><li>Spleen - the largest organ in the lymphatic system that removes microbes and removes old or damanged red blood cells</li><li>Bone Marrow - the primary site for new blood cell production</li><li>Thymus - this filters and monitors our blood content</li></ul>

Parts of the immune system

<ul><li>Skin - our skin is the largest organ of the body what is waterproof and secretes oil that has bacteria-killing properties</li><li>Lungs - mucus in the lungs traps foreign bodies and the cilia waves the mucus upwards so that i can be coughed out by the body</li><li>Digestive Tract - our stomach has mucus linings that contains antibodies and the stomach acid can kill most microbes</li><li>The body's other defenses include body fluids (skin oil, saliva, and tears) these contain anti-bacterial enzymes that help reduce the risk of infection. Another one is the constant flushing of the urinary tract and bowel.</li></ul>

The body's other defenses

With some infections we may experience getting a fever or a rise in our body's temperature. This is actually an immune system response and by doing so can actually kill some microbes and trigger the body's repair process.

Fevers as an immune system response

Overactivity of the immune system can cause:<ul><li>Allergic diseases; and</li><li>Autoimmune diseases</li></ul>Underactivity of the immune system (immunodefiency):<ul><li>These can be inherited such as CVID and SCID</li><li>Sometimes arise as a result of medical treatment such as corticosteroids or chemotherapy</li><li>It can also be caused by another disease such as HIV/AIDS or certain types of cancer</li></ul>Having an underactive immune system simply means that it does not function correctly and this makes people who have them vulnerable to infections and in the most sever cases, could be life-threatening.

Common disorders of the immune system

Immunoglobulins, also known as antibodies, are used to treat people who are unable to make enough antibodies of their own or those whose antibodies don't work properly.This can be delivered through:<ul><li>a drip into the vein - IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin); or</li><li>it can be delivered into the fatty tissue under the skin - SCIg (subcutaneous immunoglobulin)</li></ul>

Immunoglobulin therapy

The immunization process works by copying the body's natural immune response. We are then injected with vaccines that contain the same germs that cause the diseases but they have been either killed or wekaned to the point that they don't make you severely sick; others contain only a part of the disease germ.However, the immunizations we may need are decided by our health, age, lifestyle and occupation. So it's best to consult with your doctor first, before anything else.

Immunization

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Food

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Health

Immune system explained - Better Health Channel

The hippocampus - a structure in the brain - controls the brain's ability to learn and form memories of day-to-day facts.
But research found that the activity in the hippocampus steadily declines with age. The memory of subjects in their 50s and 60s weakened as subjects recalled events that were up to 12 years old but reached a plateau during older remembrances.

Day-to-day memories depend on the hippocampus

Initially, your memories stay in the hippocampus and the areas connected to the neocortex, the outer part of the cerebral cortex.
As memories age, different brain areas start to manage your memories. The frontal, temporal and parietal lobes are in charge of the oldest memories.

The hippocampus does not hold all the memories

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Science & Nature

How Memories are Maintained Over Time

A favourite of most people across the world, french fries come in many shapes and sizes and are loaded with additives to add that irresistible taste. A regular serving of fries has 500 calories, while the same serving of regular potatoes has about 150.
The average American consumes 29 pounds of french fries in a year, and is home to the famous fast-food query: You want fries with that?

The French Fry

<ul>
<li>Though the name is French Fries, the dish originated in Belgium, according to one story.</li>
<li>When the frozen lakes of winter deprived its inhabitants of their favourite dish: fried fish, the villagers started frying peeled potatoes instead. During World War I, American soldiers tasted this new dish and named it ‘french fries’ as the main language in the southern Belgium area was French in those times.</li>
<li>Today, Belgians have the most vendors of French fries, consuming it as a mainstream food, and even considering making it an official icon of their cultural heritage.</li>
</ul>

The Origin Of The French Fry

Alternative stories of the origin of the famous fry:
<ol>
<li>First sold in France, by street vendors on Paris’s Pont Neuf in 1780.</li>
<li>Invented by the Spanish, as Spaniards were the first Europeans to encounter the famous South American Potato, and were famous for frying food in oil.</li>
<li>Bought to American by Thomas Jefferson, who went to France during the 1780s and had his slave collect recipes for vanilla ice cream, cheese and macaroni, apart from fried potatoes.</li>
</ol>

French Fries: Alternative Stories Of Origin

For a few years, French fries were renamed as Freedom Fries in the United States, as a way to protest against France’s refusal to give them political support in the Gulf crisis. 
This was later restored in 2006, and Freedom Fries became French again.

Freedom Fries

<ul>
<li>While French fries are consumed globally, different cultures consume them with different toppings or condiments.</li>
<li>Americans have them with ketchup, while the French with mustard. Japanese have their fries with green curry or soy sauce, while Malaysians eat them with chilli sauce.</li>
<li>The Belgians, who consider themselves as the place where french fries originated, eat them with mayonnaise.</li>
</ul>

Global Food

Stefan Bohnenberger is famed for having made a cross of gold from a pair of French fries. Titled “Pommes …

Are French Fries Truly French?

Getting the right nutrients in your body first thing in the morning is hugely beneficial when it comes to maintaining focus throughout the day.Eating a wide variety of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes throughout the day ensures that blood sugar levels are stable and provides the brain with healthy fats, carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. These all work synergistically to promote brain health, focus, memory, concentration, and health in general.

A healthy breakfast to keep your concentration levels high

Add an easy-to-achieve goal to your to-do list. The satisfaction of ticking off a small task is linked with a flood of dopamine. Each time your brain gets a whiff of this rewarding neurotransmitter, it will want you to repeat the associated behaviour.

Manage your dopamine levels by setting small goals

Crosswords and other puzzles are a handy way to pass the time, but they’re also incredibly useful in improving memory and brain function.Your brain loves these kind of small victories, and it can help make life’s larger problems somehow seem easier to tackle. What’s more, those little bursts of joy at finishing a puzzle can help calm your mind, in much the same way that physical exercise can mentally relax you too.

Use puzzles and crosswords to train your improve

By gaining awareness and not slipping into ‘autopilot’ in your morning routine, you are better able to take care of your needs throughout the day.This will help you with lowering stress levels. If you’re unsure where to begin, use apps that have a large library of guided meditation practices.

Incorporate simple mindfulness  techniques into your routine

Comprehensive and dedicated science exists on the positive mental effects of venturing outdoors and spending time in nature.Heading out into nature in the morning, then, could benefit your concentration.

Spending time in nature to improve your concentration

Anxiety and stress will sabotage your ability to stay focused. But keeping a record of your thoughts on paper is a wonderful way to to combat stress and anxiety.There is something about getting your thoughts out of your head and on to paper that provides a window of opportunity and gives you a bit of space to start looking at things from a different view.

Write down your thoughts

Beat anxiety and fuel your mind with these tips on how to kickstart a productive day

mindfulness

Mindfulness

meditation

Meditation

Morning rituals to improve your focus

<ul>
<li>Melancholic depression, as described by Hippocrates, was considered a unique condition that struck people out of the blue. </li>
<li>It is now known as "endogenous depression" (coming from within) and different from depression in response to external stressors.</li>
<li>In 1980, depressive disorders were remodeled as a single entity that only varies by degrees of severity.</li>
</ul>

Melancholic depression

<ul>
<li>The extension of "clinical depression" to include sadness created concern. Everyone feels down or sad sometimes, and usually, these moods pass without long-term consequences. </li>
<li>Clinical depression is more severe, such as losing sleep or thinking life isn't worth living and extends for a longer period. Lumping them together and ignoring the differing causes may lead to an inappropriate therapeutic approach. </li>
<li>This model also treats melancholia as a major depression "specifier" and not as a disorder in its own right.</li>
</ul>

Sadness and depression

<ul>
<li>Melancholia shows a clear pattern of symptoms and signs. </li>
<li>Sufferers experience a gloominess and have no desire to socialize. </li>
<li>They also lack energy and have difficulty concentrating. </li>
<li>Episodes typically appear from nowhere.</li>
</ul>

Melancholia: A distinct pattern

<ul>
<li>Individuals suffering from melancholia report a family history of "depression," bipolar disorder, or suicide. </li>
<li>Melancholy is biologically underpinned rather than caused by external stressors or psychological factors, such as personality type.</li>
<li>Treatment consists of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy (which is rarely needed.)</li>
</ul>

Melancholia: Physical underpinnings

Melancholia has a strong genetic contribution, so it's largely biologically underpinned rather than caused by social factors (stressors) or psychological factors, such as personality style.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Why melancholia must be understood as distinct from depression

Adding apples to our daily intake can improve various aspects of our health, as they are loaded with fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.
Originating from a proverb in 1866, the phrase ‘An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away’ was coined in 1913. The original quote was: Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.

An Apple A Day

Eating an apple lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, inflammation as it contains flavonoids. The soluble fibre reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
The antioxidants and flavonoids also lower the risk of various kinds of cancer. It is also proven that a diet which has lots of fruits and vegetables protects us against many types of cancer.

Apples: Health-Rich Fruits

<ol>
<li>The fiber in apples supports weight loss due to the feeling of fullness.</li>
<li>Increases bone mineral density.</li>
<li>Helps keep the brain healthy.</li>
<li>Protection against asthma and Type 2 Diabetes.</li>
</ol>
Apples are unlikely to have any downside, though too much of it could have some side effects. It is better to include other fruits in our plate for a healthy, balanced diet.

Health Benefits Of Apples

Apples are highly nutritious, but you may wonder whether they can really keep the doctor away. This article takes a close look at the old proverb and whether it holds true.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away — Fact or Fiction?

Generally, people fail to distinguish between fatigue-physical tiredness and sleepiness, the inability to stay awake.
It&#39;s possible to feel tired physically and still be unable to fall asleep, simply because you don&#39;t feel sleepy.

The difference between tiredness and sleepiness

To fall asleep, you need adequate time to unwind, even if you feel tired. Most people don&#39;t allow themselves enough time to relax before bed.
Lack of sleep makes it worse. When you get less sleep than the recommended 7 to 8 hours a night, you begin to accrue a sleep debt. Your body experiences a stress response and begins to release adrenaline, which stimulates your body to be alert. To overcome this, you need a good night&#39;s sleep on a regular basis.

It's Not Your Fault: We've Been Taught to Be Expert Procrastinators

Bridgerton Real History & Historical Accuracy Explained

A Time Management Hack to Beat Pandemic Blues

Immune system explained - Better Health Channel

How Memories are Maintained Over Time

Andrea A.