How to Study Smarter, Not Harder

April 7, 2012 by

Study Smarter Not HarderThroughout your life you will always have time where you need to study to pass a course to progress forward to your goals.

Whether it is high school, university, an apprenticeship, or a training course required for your career, you will need to show that you can learn the material and demonstrate your knowledge.

Studying can be hard work, and you might be saying to yourself “I’m terrible at taking tests; I’m not going to do well in this course.”

However, don’t give up just yet.

No matter how academic you might be; here are some clever studying hacks which will help you make the most of your study time and nail that exam:

Find Your Ideal Learning Style

The most important tip is to find out how you learn the best so that you can make the most of your studying time.

Some people find that locking themselves in a room with the textbook and poring over the material helps them to memorize for an exam.

Other people find that they remember and understand the material better when they are actively discussing it within a group or using flashcards to quiz themselves.

Find your learning style and stick with it, and don’t waste your time studying in ways that don’t work for you.

Figure Out the Criteria You Are Being Graded On

Remember that your grade in the course will not reflect how well you know the material, but how well you perform on the test and complete the course requirements.

Usually, on the first day of the class the teacher will give you a syllabus which will tell you exactly what you will be graded on.

Knowing what type of exam you will be facing is important.

If you will be writing an essay, you should be studying by memorizing the big ideas of the course and how they link together.

If the test will be multiple choice style, you will probably need to remember more small details.

There’s nothing wrong with chatting to the professor about the exam, and they might even give you hints about what topics it will cover.

Get to Know Your Teacher

When you are taking a university course or any other program where the course materials and tests are designed by the instructor, it pays to get to know who they are as a person.

Why? Because most professors will design their courses based on what they are interested in.

Of course, they will need to stick to a particular curriculum, but usually they will give more weight to topics and ideas that they think are the most important, so pay attention!

If you know what those topics are, you can almost predict what your professor will include on the exam and you will know what to study.

These are just a few ways that you can make the most of your studying, and excel on the next course you need to pass in your life!

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , ,

How to Host an Easter Egg Hunt

April 6, 2012 by

Easter Egg HuntDo you remember the excitement of hunting for chocolate eggs on Easter when you were a child? 

Now that you have a family of your own you can create an Easter egg hunt for your little ones so that they can enjoy searching for hidden treats.

Here are some tips on how to create the best Easter egg hunt ever:

Create Magic

Part of the fun of the egg hunt is in believing that the eggs have been left by the mysterious Easter Bunny. You can add to the illusion and create a magical feeling on Easter by leaving “evidence” behind of the bunny’s presence.

For example, your children can leave carrots out the night before, which will have been nibbled on the next day.

The More the Merrier

If you want, invite a few of the neighborhood children over and create a larger egg hunt with the other parents. This way you can share the work of setting up and the kids will have friends to play with.

You can also organize Easter related games and activities for the little ones to enjoy.

Make it Fair

Nothing ruins an Easter egg hunt more than siblings squabbling over their chocolate. You want to make sure that the eggs are divided evenly and that no one feels left out.

You can keep the peace by letting your children know that the eggs will be divided evenly at the end no matter how many they find, taking the competitive edge out of it.

You can also give younger kids a head start and make some hiding spots higher up and trickier for older ones.

Think Outside the Egg

You don’t have to hide just chocolate eggs on Easter. Be creative and think of other prizes that you can hide, such as teddy bears, stickers, small toys and more.

These other treats will be just as exciting for your little ones to find and it will mean that they get less sugar-high from overloading on candy!

Have a fun Easter and enjoy hosting your Easter egg hunt with your children.

Filed Under: National Holiday Tagged With: , ,

Finding Time to Accomplish Your Goals

April 4, 2012 by

Time to Accomplish Your GoalsHave you ever thought that you would love to write a novel, learn to speak French, or perfect your drawing technique? Do you have other unfinished goals that you are thinking of right now?  

It is interesting how we all have passions and desires that we would like to accomplish in our lives; a legacy that we would like to leave that impacts others in a positive way.

If you are like a lot of people, every time you think about these goals you tell yourself that you just don’t have the time to accomplish them at this stage in your life.

Guess what? If you don’t make time to focus on these dreams, they will never happen.

There will never come a time when all of your other responsibilities disappear and you have endless free time to pursue your hobbies.

Work, family, friends, and other responsibilities will always get in the way, so instead you need to make the decision to make time for these goals.

Here are a few ways that you can carve out the time from your busy schedule to accomplish these goals:

  • Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier. Rather than pushing the snooze button, you could start your day by practicing the guitar or writing a page of your novel every morning. The bonus is that doing something you love first thing in the morning will energize you for the rest of the day.
  • Along the same vein, go to bed 15-20 minutes later than you usually would and spend the last bit of your day working towards your goal.
  • Stop watching television. Did you know that the average American watches four hours of television per day? Usually we use the TV as a way to tune out after a busy day at work, but imagine how much more revitalized and inspired you would feel after spending a few hours working on your passion rather than watching countless reruns of ‘Friends’ and ‘How I Met Your Mother’.
  • If your passion is portable, take it with you wherever you go and work on it when you are stuck in traffic, on a long bus ride, in a waiting room, or other times in the day when you are bored. For example, if you are working on a novel you can take a notebook with you and jot down ideas throughout the day.

These are just a few easy ways that you can find time in your busy schedule to focus on your own goals and work towards achieving your dreams. 

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , , , ,

The Importance of Paying Yourself First

April 2, 2012 by

Blue Piggy BankIf you are like most other average Americans you will have a list of bills that you have to pay every month, such as rent, cable, internet, cell phone, water, electricity and much more.

If you were to list each of these monthly expenses in order of importance, which would be number one?

The answer is none, because there is one payment you need to make which is even more important than all of these and that is to yourself.

The bill of “You” should be the first payment you make before you make any of your other payments. You can pay this bill by contributing a certain amount of your paycheck into your savings account.

Why is this so important?

It is extremely important because saving your money for the future should not be optional. If you are not consistently saving at least 10% of your income, you are actually living beyond your means.

If you do not pay yourself into your savings account, you will never be able to fund large purchases in life and will have to subject yourself to debt in order to buy what you need.

If an emergency such as losing your job or injuring yourself, you will have no emergency fund to take care of you and you will again be forced into debt.

When you are old enough to retire, you will have amassed no retirement nest egg to support yourself, unless you have been paying yourself first.

Check out a short video on the power of savings here 

Make it Foolproof and Automatic

Call your financial planner right now and ask them if they can set up an automatic direct deposit from your bank account to your savings or investment account.

Schedule it every month for the day that your paycheck comes in. If you earn $400 take home pay per week for example, 10% of this is $40, so you should set up the deposit to put $40 into your savings account every week.

Pretend that it is just another bill for a service that you have signed up for. After a while, you will adjust your spending habits and get used to not having it. Meanwhile, the money will be building up in your savings account and compounding interest.

Paying yourself first with a manageable percentage of your income is one of the easiest ways to grow your savings and prepare for the future. 

Filed Under: Personal Finance Tagged With: , ,

Will You Turn Your Lights Off For Earth Hour?

March 31, 2012 by

Earth Hour

On March 31, 2012 at 8:30pm, cities all over the world will be plunged into darkness for one hour as they celebrate Earth Hour, a world-wide event which is organized by the World Wildlife Fund.

Business and households will turn off their lights all at the same time for sixty minutes in order to reduce electricity and to raise awareness about the need to take action regarding climate change.

It is a time for people to reflect on their energy consumption. It is only when we try to live our lives without electricity that we really appreciate how much we use it on a daily basis.

How it began

Earth Hour started in 2007, when the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia encouraged 2.2 million people in Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

Several other cities and towns around the world were inspired by the success of this first Earth Hour and carried on the lights-out tradition in 2008.

Things to Do During Earth Hour

Are you wondering what you and your family will do while you have turned off the lights for one hour? Here are some great earth hour activities:

  • Go outside and look at the stars. With the streetlights turned off you will be able to see many more constellations than usual.
  • Take a relaxing candle-lit bath.
  • Do some yoga to stretch your body and calm your mind.
  • Sit in a circle with your friends and family and take turns telling stories. Who needs television when you can entertain each other?
  • Go to bed early. Why not use the opportunity to get an extra hour of sleep?
  • Eat a cold dinner, which uses less energy than a hot meal. You can eat things like fresh fruit and vegetables, salads, nuts and sandwiches.
  • Light a fire in your fireplace and gather around it to play a board game with the family.
  • Brainstorm ways that you and your family can reduce your carbon footprint during the rest of the year, such as switching your light bulbs to energy efficient ones, recycling and composting, and driving the car less.

There are many fun things that you can do during your hour of darkness as you celebrate Earth Hour and raise awareness about the fight against climate change. 

Filed Under: Environmental Awareness Tagged With: , ,

The Best April Fools Hoaxes

March 30, 2012 by

Do you have any pranks or tricks planned for upcoming April Fool’s Day?

The first of April is known as a day of playfulness and trickery in many countries around the world.  

It is not an official national holiday, but it is recognized by many people who play jokes and pranks on their family members, friends, coworkers, teachers, schoolmates and neighbors.

Also, many news networks and websites post silly and ridiculous materials on April Fools in order to prank their readers. Here are a few of the most outrageous April Fools hoaxes in recent history:

Royal Wedding Cancellation Scare

In April of 2011 the United Kingdom was focused on gearing up for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

On April 1st British news source the Guardian launched a fake website which claimed to give “live” coverage of the wedding preparations.

However, at 10am on April 1st they announced that the wedding had been cancelled!

The announcement caused an enormous panic throughout the country, and even caused Buckingham Palace to contact The Guardian and ask them to stop, claiming that the website could be contravening the Treason Felony Act of 1848. Oops!

The History of YouTube

Last April Fool’s Day, video sharing website Youtube completely changed their design to imply that the website was founded in 1911 and was celebrating its 100 year anniversary.

They even included a button on all of their videos which allowed users to change them into black and white silent films. A collection of videos which were “old-fashioned” spoofs of popular viral videos were posted.

The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest

This prank dates back to 1957 but it is still one of the most famous April Fool’s Day hoaxes as it was the very first time in history that the medium of television was used to perform an April Fool’s Day prank.

The British news show Panorama broadcast a short three-minute news clip about farmers experiencing a bumper crop of spaghetti in southern Switzerland.

The highly respected anchor of the show, Richard Dimbleby, provided the narration as the video footage showed a Swiss family pulling handfuls of pasta from “spaghetti trees.”

The news story sparked a lot of interest and hundreds of viewers phoned in asking if they could grow their own pasta at home. The BBC replied, “Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

To watch the spaghetti farmers at work, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ugSKW4-QQ

With these pranks in mind, what do you have planned to fool your family and friends this April Fool’s Day?

Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: , ,

Do You Want to Live a Long and Healthy Life?

March 28, 2012 by

Do you want to live a long and healthy life?

Here are five tips that will help to extend your lifespan:

Enjoy Time With Your Friends

Many studies have shown that having a strong network of friends, acquaintances and community can help you live a longer and happier life.Active Seniors

Having companions around you will help reduce your stress and give you a sense of belonging. This powerful feeling has numerous effects on your health and mood.

Move Somewhere Else

Did you know that where you live can actually affect your longevity? All of the subtle environmental influences of a particular location such as air and water quality, climate, and other health factors can have an effect on your body over time.

A recent study conducted in St. Louis, Missouri found that low air quality and dirty streets tripled the amount of disabilities that elderly residents suffered later in life.

Keep Your Brain Active

Your brain is a muscle, and you can keep it active and youthful throughout your life span by continuing to use it and challenge it.

If you never stop learning and continue to fill your life with mentally challenging activity this can have very positive effects on your longevity and can help prevent degenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Don’t Retire!

Ok, you can quit your 9-5 job if you really want to, but don’t let old age stop you from contributing to the community in some way.

Start volunteering or become involved in some sort of project or organization. Older people who are involved in their community in this way tend to live longer and retain their health and mental function for longer.

The feeling of taking part in this way brings happiness, vitality, and a sense of purpose.

Stop Smoking

It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for your health, but did you know that non-smokers are twice as likely to live past the age of 90 as those who smoke?

Even if you are already hooked on the habit, quitting will still improve your health and the longer you stay off smoker the more your body will repair the damage done.  

These are just a few ways that you can keep yourself healthier and live a long and happy life!

 

Filed Under: Health and Wellness Tagged With: , , ,

Workaholic Much? How to Leave Your Work at the Office

March 26, 2012 by

Work FrustrationDo you find yourself sitting at the dinner table, lying in bed, or trying to relax on vacation while stressing out about your responsibilities at work?

Is it hard to chill out and enjoy your hobbies without the stress of the workplace and your responsibilities in the back of your mind?

In our culture the workplace is becoming even more important and with how email, cell phones, and other devices have made us more connected it is even harder to leave it behind at the end of the day.

If you want to learn how to leave your work at the office and enjoy your free time more, here are a few tips.

  • Shut off your devices. As soon as you arrive at home, turn off your Blackberry and don’t check your emails until the next morning. The emails will still be there tomorrow and this is not the time to respond to them.
  • Make a happy playlist and listen to it in your car on the way home. Music is a great emotional trigger and when you hear your favourite songs you will feel much better.
  • If you have had a stressful day, ask your partner to allow you 15 minutes to vent. You can set the timer to stay on track and once your time is up, you are not allowed to say anything else about work for the rest of the night.
  • Spend time with your family. Go outside and play a game of soccer with the kids, watch a movie with your partner, or take the family and the dog out for a walk in the park. You will quickly forget about your work worries and focus on the people you love instead.
  • Sometimes we get worn out and stressed because we don’t take enough time for ourselves. Schedule in a hot bath, a favourite TV show, or a quiet moment to sip a cup of tea and read a good book.

The most important thing to remember is that if your workplace continues to be stressful and consumes your thoughts for too long, it might be healthier to seek work somewhere else.

Life is too short to spend feeling stressed out about your job!

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , ,

How to Deal With an Angry Person

March 24, 2012 by

Angry BoyIn a perfect world we would all deal with our issues by calmly discussing them with each other and using logic and understanding to come to a fair conclusion.

However, unfortunately this is not a perfect world and throughout your life you will encounter many people who will take out their anger and frustration on you.

Perhaps it’s your landlord insisting that he has the right to change your rental agreement even when he doesn’t, maybe it’s your boss getting frustrated when something goes wrong at work, or it might even be a total stranger who you accidentally bump into while driving your car.

Perhaps they have a point and often they don’t, but the problem is that they deal with the issue in a way that involves shouting, confrontation, threats, and tantrums of all-out rage.

How can you deal with these intimidating behaviors and make sure that the situation is resolved in a fair way?

Keep Your Cool

Remember that it is likely that most of this person’s shouting and bravado is just a show to try to intimidate you. They will hurl threats and insults in your direction because they are trying to make you scared of them so that they will get their way.

If you stay calm and don’t let what they are saying affect you, this will take away a lot of their power.

Discuss the Plain Facts

When someone is angry they will want to make the issue into something emotional and will be trying to blame you, upset you, or make you angry as well. Try to cut emotion out of the issue altogether and think about the basic facts of what happened.

Either they have a point about what you have done wrong, which is when you can admit to your faults and apologize, or they are wrong and you have not done anything inappropriate. In this case, stand your ground and don’t let yourself get bullied or harassed into admitting fault when you did nothing wrong.

Speak calmly and clearly and defend your position. Hopefully they will soon see the logic in your argument and they will back down.

Protect Yourself

If you are ever in a situation where you feel like the angry person is a threat to you, make sure that you seek safety. Angry people can be dangerous and unpredictable and might become violent, especially if they are frustrated that they cannot use their anger to control you.

Know where you can get help if they start to attack you and remember that if they physically hurt you this is assault and you can call the police.

Good luck dealing with the angry people in your life and resolving your conflicts in a confident and positive way.

 

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , ,

How to Boost Your Energy Level

March 21, 2012 by

TiredAre you feeling lethargic and tired?

Having low energy levels can make even the most basic tasks seem daunting and can really negatively affect your productivity.

When we are at work and we feel our energy levels start to drop we are more likely to get distracted and be lead off task, or make errors and mistakes in our work.

How can you lift your energy levels so that you can get more done and take on life?

  • Get some exercise. Go for a ten minute walk, do some yoga, or dance around the room to a good song. Getting your body moving will increase circulation, boost happy endorphins and give you a burst of energy.
  • Take a quick nap. This doesn’t work for everyone because some people find that sleeping in the middle of the day makes them feel even groggier. However, if you can lie down for a quick 10-30 minute snooze this can sometimes really reinvigorate you.
  • Talk to someone who inspires you. When you speak to a positive friend this can really boost your energy.
  • Choose something small and easily achievable on your to-do list and get it done. The satisfaction of checking off that item will make you feel great and give you more energy.
  • Avoid reaching for sugary snacks to give you a boost of energy. Sure, they will make you a bit hyper for a while but then you will get a post-sugar-binge crash and that is not pretty. Instead, look for healthy treats such as granola bars, fruit, nuts and water which will give you lasting energy.
  • Breathe deeply! You might be feeling less energetic because you are not getting enough oxygen, so sit up straight and take a few deep breaths in through your nose and exhale slowly out through your mouth.

These are just a few ways that you can revitalize yourself quickly and get your energy levels high again so that you can achieve something great today!

Filed Under: Health and Wellness Tagged With: , ,