Archive for February, 2009

The Key to a Better Life

Posted on February 14th, 2009 by

Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the ’80:20 Rule’ states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio ’80:20′ is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.

Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone’s life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small.

A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often.

A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Each and everyone of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learning to say “No”. You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.

Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don’t procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.

Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual.

As the say personal time management is the art and science of building a better life.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

Read the rest of this entry »

Queen And Country

Posted on February 14th, 2009 by

If you are itching to do something different this
summer vacation, why not consider a ?once in a
lifetime? holiday to England?n

Historical sites are in abundance, with several of the
Queen?s residences in easy reach of central London.
Most have sections open to the public and offer a
unique insight into the history of her ancestors.

Art galleries, theaters offering the latest and best
stage shows, nightclubs, casinos, London has
everything including the ?London Eye? – a huge wheel
housing bullet shaped carriages for twenty or so
people to view the London skyline both by day and
night. These are even rented out for cocktail parties
and weddings!

London also boasts one of the best local transport
systems in the world and it is very easy to ?pop-up?
all over London in a relatively short time by using
the underground railway. It?s a great way to avoid the
traffic jams also!

But England is more than just London. Take a trip out
to Oxford or Cambridge, the towns housing perhaps some
of the most famous colleges in the world. It?s like
stepping back in time with the ancient buildings still
in use after hundreds of years.

Many Britons now offer a ?home-stay? type of holiday
where you can stay with a family or perhaps the
holiday swaps where you go to a families home whilst
they come to yours.

This sounds a bit dangerous but there are agencies set
up to monitor this and it is becoming increasingly
popular.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bali Hai Is Calling…

Posted on February 14th, 2009 by

Can you remember that song? Was it in South Pacific?
Ok, for the younger ones, this was a haunting song
from a musical – not many of those around these days!
- which in those days seemed like a world away from
our everyday lives.

But these days Bali has much to offer and it is within
most people?s ?trip of a lifetime? holiday plans.

Where is it? It is one of the islands of Indonesia. If
you look at a world map, Bali is North West of
Australia sitting between Jakarta and East Timor.

What does it have to offer? Well, it could probably be
listed amongst some of the most beautiful places in
the world. The island is practically ringed with white
sand beaches and clear water.

It has an active volcano at its center, rice fields
abound everywhere and Hindu temples, complete with
offerings to the Gods, are scattered throughout the
island.

The island is famous for its batik cloth and
paintings. Balinese culture includes the colorful and
unique dance troupes as well as its famous wood
carvings.

This truly is a beautiful and serene place where the
local people love to show off their cultural heritage.
They welcome visitors from all around the world and
offer many kinds of exciting experiences along with
the usual snorkeling, diving programs, horse-riding
and boat trips to other islands.

This surely must be one of the most exotic and far
flung places you could ever wish to visit.

Read the rest of this entry »

MOTIVATION, THE HEART OF SELF IMPROVEMENT

Posted on February 14th, 2009 by

Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ?push? to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face from the next embarrassments. It may be a bitter experience, a friend?s tragic story, a great movie, or an inspiring book that will help us get up and get just the right amount of motivation we need in order to improve ourselves.

With the countless negativities the world brings about, how do we keep motivated? Try on the tips I prepared from A to Z?

A – Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ?the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.?

B – Believe in your self, and in what you can do.

C ? Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

D ? Don?t give up and don?t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.

E ? Enjoy. Work as if you don?t need money. Dance as if nobody?s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you?ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

F ? Family and Friends ? are life?s greatest ?F? treasures. Don?t loose sight of them.

G ? Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place at work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things.

H ? Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force.

I ? Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don?t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people ? the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.

J ? Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone.

K ? keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement.
L ? Learn to love your self. Now isn?t that easy?

M ? Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.

N ? Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

O ? Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways ? how they want things to be, and how they should be.

P ? Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.

Q ? Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate ? are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?

R ? Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn?t raining when Noah build the ark.

S ? Stop procrastinating.

T ? Take control of your life. Discipline or self control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement.

U ? Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second.

V ? Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land.

W ? Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement.

X ? X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on ?extras? on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.

Y ? You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you?re just going to spend it once.

Z ? Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!!

Read the rest of this entry »

Your Recommended Daily Allowance for Relaxation

Posted on February 14th, 2009 by

Stress is the curse of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds.

Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax.

Watching television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve relaxation? If there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.

In recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack. Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation can help you manage stress.

One way of relaxation is transcendental meditation. Recent studies have also shown that this method might reduce artery blockage, which is a major cause for heart attack and stroke. People practice transcendental meditation by repeating uttering soothing sounds while meditating, this is to achieve total relaxation. The researchers found that practitioners of transcendental meditation significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial wall compared with those who didn’t practice transcendental meditation.

Another study on another method of relaxation, acupuncture, seems to reduce high blood pressure by initiating several body functions for the brain to release chemical compounds known as endorphins. Endorphin helps to relax muscles, ease panic, decrease pain, and reduce anxiety.

Yoga is also another method for relaxation and may also have similar effects like acupuncture. In another study, participants were subjected to several minutes of mental stress. Then they were subjected to various relaxation techniques, such as listening to nature sounds or classical music. Only those who did Yoga significantly reduced the time it took for their blood pressures to go back to normal. Yoga is a form of progressive relaxation.

Breathing is one of the easiest methods to relax. Breathing influences alamost all aspects of us, it affects our mind, our moods and our body. Simply focus on your breathing, after some time you can feel its effects right away.

There are several breathing techniques that can help you reduce stress.

Another easy way to achieve relaxation is exercise. If you feel irritated a simple half-hour of exercise will often settle things down. Although exercise is a great way to lose weight, it does not show you how to manage stress appropriately. Exercise should also be used in conjunction with other exercise method.

One great way of relaxation is getting a massage. To gain full relaxation, you need to totally surrender to the handling and touch of a professional therapist.

There are several types of massages that also give different levels of relaxation.

Another method of relaxation is Biofeedback. The usual biofeedback-training program includes a 10-hour sessions that is often spaced one week apart.

Hypnosis is one controversial relaxation technique. It is a good alternative for people who think that they have no idea what it feels like to be relaxed. It is also a good alternative for people with stress related health problems.

Drugs are extreme alternatives to relaxation. They are sometimes not safe and are not effective like the other relaxation methods. This method is only used by trained medical professionals on their patients.

These relaxation techniques are just some of the ways you can achieve relaxation. Another reason why we need to relax, aside from lowering blood pressure in people and decreasing the chances of a stroke or a heart attack, is because stress produces hormones that suppress the immune system, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover and in doing so function more efficiently.

Relaxation lowers the activities within the brains’ limbic system; this is the emotional center of our brain.

Furthermore, the brain has a periodic need for a more pronounced activity on the right-hemisphere. Relaxation is one way of achieving this.

Relaxation can really be of good use once a relaxation technique is regularly built into your lifestyle. Choose a technique that you believe you can do regularly.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Key to a Better Life

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by

Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the ’80:20 Rule’ states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio ’80:20′ is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.

Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone’s life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small.

A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often.

A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Each and everyone of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learning to say “No”. You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.

Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don’t procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.

Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual.

As the say personal time management is the art and science of building a better life.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

Read the rest of this entry »

Happy as You Want to Be

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by

Almost everyone have heard the hit single ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin’s simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is – ‘The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change’, and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can’t start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -’Laughter is the best medicine’.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Types Of Ebooks For Children

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by

There are many different types of ebooks available for
children. There are educational books, novels, classic
literature, and much more. The most popular ebooks for
children are your basic short stories.

These make up a majority of what children like to read
since they often can’t sit still long enough for
something longer. The best type of ebook for your
child really depends on their needs and interests.

Educational ebooks for children are very popular.
Since the .PDF format is used quite a bit for ebooks,
they allow the use of pictures and hyperlinks. This
way if your child is learning about space, there may
be links to useful websites like NASA and a lot of
interesting pictures to keep your child’s attention.

Novels in ebook format can be great for kids because
they have the ability to increase or decrease the size
of the text and if they are using a portable ebook
reader, they can carry over 100 books with them.

This is great for long flights, vacations, and family
reunions that can be pretty boring at times and ebooks
can kill a lot of time.

An often overlooked type of ebook for children is the
textbook. More and more children today are being home
schooled and the price of a year’s worth of textbooks
can be over $1000.00.

If you get them in ebook format however, you may only
pay half as much. This can make a big difference in
someone’s budget and insure the child gets all of
their proper textbooks.

Read the rest of this entry »

“The Way to Wellness” It’s time to start a Healthy life: your 7 days program

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness — and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.
In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:

* Warm Up — seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.

* Resistance Training — Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.

* Aerobic Exercise — Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.

* Stretching — Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.

* From one to eight weeks — Feel better and have more energy.

* From two to six months — Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.

* After six months — Start losing weight quite rapidly.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don’t stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,’ says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow guidelines:

* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day
* Make sure every meal is balanced — incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits
* Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor
* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day
* I also recommend that you take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

I suppose that’s all I can think of for now. I should extend my thanks to a doctor friend of mine. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to write this article, or keep my sanity.

Enjoy life, we all deserve it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Where To Find Children’s Ebooks

Posted on February 13th, 2009 by

The Internet is a huge and wonderful place that is
full of information of all kinds. Children’s ebooks
are booming and becoming more and more popular as
portable technology gets better.

It’s now possible to get a portable ebook reader that
can hold over 100 novels and some game devices like
the PSP enable you to read ebooks on them.

Where do you find these ebooks though? Well, they are
becoming so popular that most online bookstores have
an ebook section.

Amazon, Ebay, and many more are great places to check.
Barnes and Noble used to have a great ebook selection
but closed that area down.

Many of your children’s favorite novels are available
as ebooks and the prices are very reasonable. The
popular series Eragon may cost $22.95 for a hardcover
edition but the same novel in ebook form is about
$8.00.

This has many benefits. The most obvious one is that
it can’t be destroyed. Unless you reformat your
computer, that ebook will be with you forever.

You can download it to personal ebook readers as well.
Harry Potter, Goosebumps, and many popular children’s
stories are all out there waiting to be read.

Many of these sites will require you to register with
them and you can choose whether or not to receive
e-mail from these sites. If your child is an avid
reader of ebooks, it might be beneficial to subscribe
to their “What’s New” newsletters.

This can keep you and your child informed about when
the next book in a series is going to be released and
might even recommend books of a similar nature.

Read the rest of this entry »

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