You’re reading 5 Best Apps for Boosting Your Morning Productivity, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

There are a lot of ways people differ from one another, and nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to their mornings, or their morning routines, to be more specific. If were to take a broad look at it, we could say that there are three different types of people. The first type would be those which get out of bed immediately after the alarm has gone off and start their daily activities. The second type involves those whose biggest ally is the snooze button on their alarm clock. Finally, there is the third type, which does wake up right away, but instead of getting up, they start checking out social media and messages they have received.

In this day and age, it’s safe to say that most people are the third type, which is a shame, because there are so many benefits of getting an early start. We are not just talking about having more time, but also about feeling better mentally and physically. Making that switch is difficult, but thanks to these 5 apps we have rounded up for you, you will be able to do that, as well.

1. Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

One of the reasons why you feel so beat up and exhausted in the morning, even if you have went to bed on time, is because you woke up during the wrong phase of one of your sleep cycles. You see, if you happen to wake up during one of the lightest phases of you sleep, you will feel recharged and well-rested. Thanks to Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock, you will be able to wake up during the light sleep phase, and go about your day feeling energized. The way it does it is by keeping track of your movement during the night, and activating itself when you enter one of the light phases, which lasts around 30 minutes.

And if you are still finding it hard to wake up, this app also has a snooze option, which will wake you up at the end of your light sleep phase, giving you about 20 extra minutes of sleep.

Download: Android | iOS

2. Body Stretch

We all enjoy a good stretch when we wake up, but rarely do we continue to do stretching exercises when we get up, which is a shame, because it does our bodies the world of good. Stretching improves your flexibility, circulation, helps you relieve pain and tension inside your muscles, especially if your work involves sitting down for long periods of time. However, if you don’t know how to stretch properly, you might end up hurting yourself, which is why we recommend using the Body Stretch and Flexibility app.

The app features over 40 different stretching routines and exercises, which are suitable for all ages, and all genders. All exercises have detailed explanations and a video that goes along with it, showing you how to perform them. Choose between different difficulty levels, create your own routines, and keep track of your results with this app.

Download: Android | iOS

3. Calm

In this day and age, it’s fair to say that we lead very stressful lives, and our morning are no different. Getting up, showering, having a quick breakfast, getting dressed and rushing out the door is what it’s all about, which only makes you even more stressed out. One of the best ways we can fight stress is through meditation. Aside from being able to help you battle stress, meditation also improves your concentration, the quality of your sleep, and your mood for the day.

Calm is a brilliant app which enables you to enjoy all the benefits of its mediation programs, and choose a meditation routine which fits in with your morning schedule. Each program is accompanied by serene sounds from nature and a soothing soundtrack.

Download: Android | iOS

4. Todoist

Getting early, as we’ve already established, is great, but it gets even better when you have a schedule that can make the most out of your time, while at the same time, being able to create a balance between your personal life and your career. With Todoist, you can easily achieve all of that, since it is probably the most complete task manager of them all. It allows you to add and update tasks from your smartphone, tablet, laptop, browser, email, and even while you are offline.

Keep track of important work milestones and deadline, and break up your projects into smaller sub-tasks for improved efficiency, collaborate on projects with your colleagues, assign tasks to other people, and view your progress with graphs. You can also integrate Todoist with other apps, such as Google Drive, IFTTT, Zapier, and many others.

Download: Android | iOS

5. Fabulous Motivate Me!

If you are prone to procrastination, it doesn’t matter how early you get up in the morning, since you won’t be able to make the most of your day, unless you start changing your habits. Now, as you know, building positive and productive habits is much harder than developing bad ones, but with Fabulous-Motivate Me! App, you will be able to do that to, thanks to its analytical approach to fighting procrastination.

It helps you deal with it in four different ways, by boosting your energy levels, improving your sleep, losing weight, and keeping your focus as sharp as ever. Each of these categories can be adjusted to fit your lifestyle. Also, the app allows you to meet and unlock new goals, similar to a video game, which adds another level of motivation.

Download: Android | iOS

Conclusion

With these brilliant and effective apps, you will be able to transform your mornings, as well as yourself. Become a more productive, healthier, and a more satisfied individual. Start doing it today.

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Brenda Savoie is a content marketing magician at Essayontime . A grammar tutor master and desperate dreamer. Writing her first romantic novel. Seeking contentment through mindfulness. Find her on Twitter and Facebook

You’ve read 5 Best Apps for Boosting Your Morning Productivity, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading How Ready Are You To Take On New Challenges Of 2017?, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The as the New Year unfolds, we leave behind the worries and challenges of 2016 but bring the lessons we learned with us.

The year 2017 is another chance for us to create a story in the new chapter of our lives. This is the time to discover new things and explore new possibilities. However, along with new opportunities, 2017 is also a year full of new challenges. So let me ask you, how ready are you to take on the challenges of 2017?

If you not sure yet if are ready for the challenges, here are some simple tips all of us can make use of to prepare ourselves as the New Year starts.

Have Some Time For Self-Reflection

We don’t need to be in hurry all the time. When times get tough, sometimes, we just need to stop and ponder. Set aside time for self-evaluation. This is the time where we ask ourselves several questions with can help us determine your personal mission and our state of mind.

Self-reflection is especially useful when we are at our lowest and darkest time. We have to go to the deeper part of our soul to re-evaluate our goals. What we will discover about ourselves will help us come up with a set of rules and guidelines on how we are going to face the challenges ahead of us.

Be Creative

This year, it is time to think differently. Oftentimes, tough challenges need a non-traditional solution. You just have to summon your creativity and innovativeness.

Let us try to look at adversities at different angles. Maybe it is not as difficult as it may seem. Maybe it’s our approach that makes them difficult. Start from simple things and practice creativity. A simple garage makeover for our new home will help us exercise our creativity. It would be easier for us to think outside the box if we start from our simple daily activities.

It Is Ok To Let Go

There is a time that the best solution to overcome challenges is to let go and adapt. Overcoming challenges does not necessarily mean that we have to push our hardest to take control of the situation, there are times that we just have to go with the flow and let things happen.

When things go out of control and let us allow things to happen naturally, and more likely, things will work out better. Letting go means freeing ourselves from unnecessary sufferings which can bring us to a more peaceful life.

Chase Success But Be Guided By Your Happiness

Success is not as fulfilling as it may be when we are not happy. We’ve seen this in movies, people who gave up everything in life to chase success but in the end, they ended up still unhappy. Success and happiness should be on the same page to find fulfillment in life.

To be happier this 2017, we need to chase success as guided by where we will be happy. We want to achieve our dreams but chasing for our dreams won’t be easy. There will be trials, but what is important is that we chase our dreams because that is where our happiness is. And whenever there is happiness, there lies our success.

Last Words

None of us have an idea what lies ahead as this year starts but it doesn’t matter whether we have different struggles to take. We need to face it whether we like it or not and the outcome really depends on how well we handle the situation.

The tips mentioned above are just a few tips which could help us get a head start but what we can do is not limited. It is still up to us on how we approach every situation. What is important is that we learn from them and we keep our heads up as we face every challenge that comes.

You’ve read How Ready Are You To Take On New Challenges Of 2017?, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading The Girl with the Red Shoes – How One Fairy Tale Restored My Wild Heart, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

“There once was a little orphan girl who made herself lovely red shoes out of scrap cloth, and they mean the world to her.

An old woman adopts the girl into a pristine world of gilded carriages and crisp white stockings where she is made to sit all the time, walk without skipping, and not speak unless spoken to.

Soon enough, her adoptive mother tosses her lovingly crafted shoes are tossed into the fire, causing immense pain that she must hide…”

When I was sixteen years old I had a vivid dream about a child who carried a small wick. It was only through the intensity of her existence that it lit and burned fiercely, setting all things nearby alight.

I carefully painted this dream over many hours; it was an expression of my basic joy, and another step on the path to discover my own wild way.

Through the years such spontaneous moments fight to be born each moment, because incrementally I’ve learned small – but sticky – lessons:

Aged 4: I’m the wrong gender to play with that toy. Aged 11: I wrote an essay from the heart, but it doesn’t fit in with the curriculum. Aged 16: I laughed a bit too loud for group. Aged 23: I gave a solution to a problem that is a bit unorthodox. Aged 26: I reach to touch a loved one at just the wrong time, on the wrong day.

Each lesson throws another scrap of those lovely red shoes onto the fire. The threads turn to ember, there’s famine in my soul, and a hush descends over my wild heart.

“…The hunger in the little girl’s heart causes her to reach instead for shiny red leather shoes, which soon enough attract so much attention and admiration she starts to love them.

Dancing in these beautiful new red shoes for all those who gawk and stare, they start to consume the girl’s every thought, and all her desires – she feels empty without them…”

I look for substitutes to fill the sense of emptiness in my heart – the heroic romantic partner, validation through my career, and travelling the circumference of the world, only to arrive right back face to face with the void.

The real desire is to rediscover my wild nature, and with it a meaningful life.

“…One day the girl with the Red Shoes met a soldier who told her “what beautiful dancing shoes!”, and so she twirled. The more people stared, the more she danced; once her feet started she could not stop!

Soon enough she wanted to dance left, but the shoes would dance her to the right, and then she wanted to dance around, but the shoes would dance her the other way around…”

Without full awareness, I am ducking to avoid my demons.

Failure is no longer accepted as part of the creative curve, but a nasty punishable act that will have – to my mind – devastating and crushing results. And so, I no longer skip joyously, flowing in the rich potentiality of each moment, but dance feverishly in the direction of the hoards; hoping to belong, and to be loved.

“…The girl was scared and wanted to take off the shoes, but they would not budge. And so she danced, she danced over hills, through valleys and gloomy forests, rain or snow, sunrise through sunset and the dancing itself was terrible, and the girl got no rest…”

I’m standing on the precipice of truth and it’s uncomfortable: Life has become a tame thing.

Creativity fades in a quest for perfection, pursuits that waste time are followed, and talents that showed potential are forgotten.

Fairy tales aren’t concerned with my comfort, carefully crafted story arcs, and rounded conclusions. They are designed to find the best entry point into my psyche in order to deliver urgent truths that will set me on a transformative journey.

With compassion, they will not deprive me of my deepest low.

Awareness of this deterioration allows me to understand that intervention is imperative: I must fight on the part of my wildish self. Though it will hurt, it is the most worthy battle I will know.

“…In exhaustion and horror she danced into a forest where the towns’ executioner lived.

He tried to cut off her shoes but they stayed on her feet, so she cried for him to cut off her feet, and so he did. And the shoes, with the girl’s feet, kept dancing and dancing through the briars, over the hills, across the moors and out of sight.”

The story of Girl in the Red Shoes made one terrible mistake: she believed that forces outside herself held the key to her happiness, and so she nearly lost herself. Her story is both short and brutal: she only had one shot and her feet, which are representative of her mobility, and freedom, were lost forever.

And so, I feel gratitude, because I am in a glorious position! Life ever-flows, and provides new waves of opportunity each day that overlap and flow toward me like chapters ready to written anew.

Long past the end of this fairy tale, I have learned that my value is not forged in the flames of collective agreement. Each day I remember to wear my own simple red shoes, and dance to the beat of my own imperfect life, joyous in its own wildish way.

And so I ask you, wild little girl: will you choose to dance, or will you choose your wild freedom?

You’ve read The Girl with the Red Shoes – How One Fairy Tale Restored My Wild Heart, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 7 Marketing Tips for Personal Success (even if you’re an introvert!), originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

A couple of years ago, I took a position in corporate marketing. At first, I thought I made a mistake accepting—it had a nice salary bump, so I convinced myself that it was good for my career. But the more I pondered upon it, the more it appeared to me that I made a rather hasty decision, and the job was a bad fit for my personality—as an introvert, I don’t exactly have a penchant for being outspoken and bubbly all day long.

However, almost a year into it, I was grateful for the opportunity. More importantly, I trust that what I learned on the job has helped me tremendously in many ways. I was able to “go out of my shell” and become less shy; coworkers who often passed me by as if I was invisible suddenly greeted me by name; my boss was finally able to see “how my contribution to the job aligned with the corporate goals.” I was in a good place, it seemed.

Of course, it all came at a price. It took me a long time to mentally prime myself every morning; I made the washroom my favorite hideout place to seek solitude and peace; it felt wearing to talk to more than a couple of people during the day as I was used to. I was so drenched of mental energy every night, that all I can do after work was to cuddle on the couch with my son’s teddy bear for comfort.

But it seems like wisdom can come from the most unexpected sources (even if it’s painful at first).
What I learned from the world of marketing has been more than just how to become chattier and perhaps more socially adaptable. I learned how to enhance the brand, called “Me.” It’s an incessant exercise in self-feedback and self-improvement. It’s effortful—true—but the advantages are real.

Of course, marketing gurus have been preaching about the benefits of personal branding for a long time. And the ideas and approaches, I have discovered from my time on the job, are no different than in corporate advertising. Similar tricks and tips that can make a company climb up to stardom (backed up by a good product or service, naturally) can bump up our personal and professional stock.

So, what are some of the lessons I learned? Some are perhaps not revolutionary but, nevertheless, will be good reminders for many, I hope.

1. The Human Factor

Probably the easiest way to make others like us and bend to our decisions and opinions is to glorify them a bit and make them feel special in some way. People-reading skills are quite important here since everyone has different soft spots. For one, it may be the way they dress, for others- their cute kids, and for another – their achievements. Whatever the “igniting factor,” you have to try to find it and make a connection. The most effective marketing messages strike a personal note with a group of people. Thus, even the toughest boss can be won over once you appeal to their human side.

2. Make People Laugh

Clever or subtle humour always works in marketing. If done properly, people will remember it and the message that goes with it. Humour is not only the best medicine but also the best ice-breaker. It’s no secret that if a decision-maker or your boss likes your jokes, you can quickly become part of the “in-circle.” Everyone looks favourably on people that make them feel better. Don’t overdo it, though— remember that court jesters were not respected for their brains. The art of telling a smart joke lies in intelligence. Hence, read a lot, keep yourself updated and never miss a chance to accentuate your work-related skills after a good anecdote.

3. Social Chameleon-ism

Social chameleons don’t deserve all the bad publicity and criticism they receive. The term is not equal to a hypocrite. It simply means that, in order to succeed personally and professionally, we need to learn to adapt to other people. We don’t have to change who we are. Rather, just show different parts of our personality depending on the audience, so we can better relate to others.

For instance, you wouldn’t talk to your boss about pets if you know they don’t own one. Exactly as you would never target retired people for the latest iPhone, or advertise retirement homes in Costa Rica to teenagers. “One size fits all” never works well in marketing. Therefore, always know your end goal, your target audience and adjust accordingly.

4. Look the Look

The best marketing messages always have some memorable element—bright colours, something that stands out in the grey mass. We live in a very material world and that’s barely a secret to anyone. Life is busy, people’s attention spans are getting shorter, snap judgements are becoming more prevalent.

If you want to be remembered, make sure you have something to remember you for. Research shows that it takes few seconds for others to form an opinion of us, and it also comes from the way we dress and carry ourselves. It’s worth it to spare few extra minutes in the morning to make yourself look neat and composed. Never underestimate the influence looks can have on a materialistic mind.

5. Details, Details, Details

A small neglected detail or a typo will often ruin the whole effect of a carefully planned marketing endeavour. Details on all levels are very important. For instance, remembering specifics about co-workers and showing genuine interest in them on a personal level can go a long way. Don’t ignore people based on their importance in the corporate hierarchy. Lower-ranking employees give feedback to superiors too, and can influence negatively your reputation. Word-of-mouth is not a minor detail to overlook.

6. Plan in advance, if possible

Always have certain go-to words and phrases to use at work. Never say the first thing that comes to your mind. The more important the impact we want to make is, the greater the need to prepare. Even the best public speakers practice in advance. It will help you appear more confident and in control, and anticipate tough questions. Write your speech (or the main points) beforehand, consider any weak points in your arguments and think of ways to address them if asked. After all, success comes down to how well we can tell our story and sell our brand to the world. And this takes preparation.

7. Honesty and feedback

Criticism is often needed and should be welcomed but some people get offended when you tell them the whole truth straight-up. Be gentle and avoid being brutally honest, unless highly necessary. Remember that there are at least a hundred ways to communicate a message. Chose less hurtful words—for instance, in corporate marketing we will rarely say “we won’t extend our contract because you are a cheap client and we don’t like you,” but rather “we respect your business but we believe that another partner may be able to meet your needs in a more efficient way.” Makes all the difference.
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In the end, I consider that knowing a thing or two about marketing tools (and using them) can advance us plenty in our careers. After all, we live in the heyday of (self) promotion. In fact, as some wise men tell us, today, marketing does rule the world.

What’s more—it all strikes a personal note with many, I believe. Without letting ourselves known to others—as many of us perhaps have grasped already— the chances of being discovered for the great person that we are, are, at best, slim.

It’s like shooting darts in the dark and hoping we will hit the bull’s eye by a stroke of luck. The better strategy, of course, is to be proactive and give our good fortune a hand.
And the best part? It’s really not that effortful as it all sounds, with the right motivation.

Or as Tom Peters tells us: “It’s this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.”

Evelyn Marinoff is a Canadian, currently living in Dublin, Ireland. She is a blogger, a social introvert, an MBA, a passionate reader and a writer in the making. She spends her free time reading, writing and researching new and intriguing ideas in psychology, leadership, well-being and self-improvement. You can also find her on Twitter at @Evelyn_Marinoff, or read her blog at mind-chatters.com

You’ve read 7 Marketing Tips for Personal Success (even if you’re an introvert!), originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading Radical Self-Improvement: Stop Trying to Improve Yourself, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

“Remember to proceed with self-love and self-acceptance at all times, as this is the only path to real and lasting change” – Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

I finally realised I’d been going about it all wrong. I’d been trying to improve myself, when I was already enough. All the fulfillment we could ever need is already inside us.

All my life, if I was honest with myself, I felt like a weed. There might’ve been good days, when the weed seemed less weedy, but on a fundamental level I felt flawed. So I put a lot of energy into trying to control and maintain the weed, trimming it here or there, or trying to change the direction of its growth, or even sticking pretty flowers on it to pretend it wasn’t a weed. I never realised that all I had to do was to source it out at the root.

What was the root? Fear. The fear that I was just a weed, and the fear that I was not, for if I was not at least a weed, surely I would not exist at all!?

Meditation was like directing the sunlight of awareness through a magnifying glass. The closer it got to the root, the more apparent the ugliness of this weed became, but then some sort of miracle occurred. As the main body of the weed was uprooted, I realised that I was never the weed at all, but the fertile ground in which it grew.

I was the earth of limitless possibilities, and that meant I was free to grow tulips, daisies, lilies… whatever the hell I wanted! I could have a full garden for the different seasons! It could be wild or it could be nicely kempt, what did it matter!? Sure, each plant would eventually wither and die, but the possibility of growth was always there. There was no point holding on to an individual plant, for they were all in their basic nature ever-changing and impermanent. This also meant that I could happily invite people in to see my garden, and it didn’t matter if they didn’t like what they saw. After all, none of these flowers were really ‘me’ anyway!

I had spent so long focusing on changing the weed, that I had forgotten the sun was always shining.

Right now, I am in the process of uprooting all the rogue weeds, but it’s okay, because none of them are ‘me’ either. The weed of self-doubt, the weed of social anxiety, the weed of anger, none of them. I also know there’s no point in trying to fight them with chemicals or garden scissors, or masking what they are. All I have to do it direct the sunlight through that magnifying glass once they sprout their heads through the soil, and they are gone forever. In other words, feel them fully. Until they sprout, I can’t know they’re there.

Maybe one day I’ll be completely free of weeds. That’s not to say I’ll be immune to them, but at any rate they’re easily dealt with. And what’s the point worrying about them anyway when you’ve got a beautiful, ever-changing garden?

Are you trying to improve yourself? Why? Who is this ‘you’, this ‘self’ you feel isn’t good enough?

Susannah had a remarkable experience five months ago that changed her life. To read more about spiritual awakening go to her recent blog http://ift.tt/2ihOX3g.

You’ve read Radical Self-Improvement: Stop Trying to Improve Yourself, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 5 Practical Tips to a More Restful Sleep, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

 

Image source: Pixabay

Don’t you love it when you close your eyes and fall asleep immediately after your head touches the pillow? Or who doesn’t like to have pleasant dreams without interruptions to wake up feeling totally refreshed and energized? Think about it. If we spend around one third of our lives sleeping, that means that an average person with a life span of 75 years, devotes about 25 years to sleep. So, shouldn’t we aim to make such important activity this enjoyable every day?

However, as Arianna Huffington (author of The Sleep Revolution and Editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post) explains in an interview with Fast Company, “The irony is that a lot of people forego sleep in the name of productivity, but in fact our productivity is reduced substantially when we’re sleep deprived”. The reality is that as much as someone tries to avoid sleeping time, most of us need 8 hours of good sleep to be truly efficient and a bad night could really have a negative impact on how the day ahead unravels.

That’s why I’m sharing 5 tips that I’ve personally found helpful to avoid these annoyances from disturbing our dreams and try to make good use of every single minute of our sleeping time:

 

1 Stay away from ‘intense’ TV shows before bed

 

Image source: Flickr

I know there are people who use TV to lull them to sleep. If that’s the case for you, I don’t pretend that you change this habit just because you read it in this article, but you could definitely choose wisely what type of content you watch before closing your eyes.

Die-hard fans of these kind of thrilling series will not stop watching any episode just for sleep’s sake, but there are ways to ease the inevitable agitation that they cause. Take a shower before you go to bed, watch a comedy series, a short web series, read a book, or find any other activity that unwinds you from the intense emotions and clears your mind a bit. Which leads me to the next tip…

 

2 Light yoga or meditation at night

 

Image source: Yoga Sanctuary

If it is not something on TV which causes you stress before sleeping, your busy life might be enough. Our jobs could not only alter our mind peacefulness with constant thoughts about the tasks that need to be done, but our bodies can also get stiff after sitting for long hours or being tense due to the daily grind. The good news is that a brief yoga session at night could help with both.

Even if you’re not a yoga advocate, there are simple yoga poses that relieve tension in your shoulders and spine, such as an Easy Forward Bend or Child’s Pose. During your practice, you could also experiment with some breathing exercises; and if you want to completely empty your mind, you could try a few minutes of meditation. Just don’t do very intense sessions, or your heart rate will be too high, making it harder to relax in bed.

 

3 Ambient music

  

Image source: Pixabay

I’ve found out that this kind of music not only reduces the outside noise, but it helps to lower the mental noise as well. It’s relaxing and gives you a nicer alternative to lull you to sleep than the TV. More specifically, I recommend the album Long Ambients1: Calm. Sleep. by Moby, which he shared for free earlier this year.

 

4 Drink just enough water

 

Image source: Pixabay

There is a common belief that you should not drink water before sleeping, and while it is true that the need to go to the bathroom could disrupt your dreams, it’s also true that dehydration at night could cause severe discomfort and insomnia. According to Simple Organic Life, drinking water before sleeping helps our body to liberate toxins, avoid muscle cramps and feel fresh in case the weather is too hot. And if you suffer from nasal congestion, proper hydration keeps the mucus thin and loose to breathe perfectly while you sleep.

I’d recommend to drink just one glass of water about 30 minutes before going to bed and learn to know your body from there. If it makes you go to the bathroom, drink just half a glass or do it a bit earlier.

 

5 Do not watch the clock in the middle of the night

 

Image source: Pixabay

Lastly, even if we follow every single advice to sleep better, inevitably there will be times when we wake up in the middle of the night. When this happens to me, my hope is that it is still early so I can remain in bed longer. Thus, it is only tempting to watch the clock to check how many hours are left till I have to wake up. But in my experience, this generally leads to bad news and I end up turning the screen of my phone on just to realize that there is not much time left.

This leads to some sort of anxiety that doesn’t let me enjoy whatever is left. Whether it’s 20 minutes or 2 hours, in my mind I know that it will soon be over, making it hard to fall asleep again. That’s why I highly recommend to not check the time by any means; if you wake up, just relax, imagine that there’s plenty of time and let your alarm ring whenever it has to.

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Alberto G. Güitrón is a contributing writer to BookYogaTeacherTraining.com. He is a journalist, committed yogi and meditation enthusiast. Equally passionate about blue ink and inversions poses. Author of the fiction novel “El Sueño de Unos“

You’ve read 5 Practical Tips to a More Restful Sleep, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading The 5 Best Podcasts on Intuition, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

–  Albert Einstein

We all have choices to make, be it toward relationships, career, child-rearing or even simply our wardrobe. It is often a matter of a pro/con list that helps us make a decision we are contemplating, however, there is something that helps us receive information in a way that we can hear and feel what the best choice is for ourselves. This is called our intuition. If one can allow themselves to live with a ‘receptive’ energy as opposed to being a ‘forcing’ energy, we can operate from what is true and which decision resonates with us on a deeper level.

1. Marie Manuchehri is what one calls an ‘energy intuitive’, who works in the field of energy medicine. The belief is that holistic healing works with the human energy system to help heal disease. In her radio segment podcats, she touches on several subjects through the readings of callers asking for her help.

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2. This podcast asks, as an intuitive how do you know when to trust your gut? It is both interesting and difficult – how and when one can trust their fundamental wiring? You are a speculative thinker (a sensor) if you look for patterns, and make connections between disparate things. However you are an intuitive if you are driven to make speculative leaps (a tendency to focus only on one thing).

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3. Jess Lively’s blog focuses on how to know you’re listening to your intuition and not your ego. A very common question that is very difficult to define, she sheds light on how to glean the wisdom we all carry with us inside. Often intuitions lead us to uncertain feelings, if we are going through something very challenging, try to discover both voices (the ego and the intuitive voice) – there are 3 markers to intuitive decisions, it will feel peaceful, it will be present focused and it will be fine with the uncertainty. Wait for the answer to come to you form your body and not the first thing that comes into your ear, which is trying to control something.

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4. This is about inner guidance, a concept that defines what it means to follow ‘that voice’ within us, which is intuition. It is choosing to go in for answers instead of going outside of yourself, as there is a part of you that knows more than your mind can think of itself. First one must acknowledge you have an intuition, to develop a relationship with it and begin to practice how to cultivate and recognize it.

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5. In Lana Simmons’ podcast, she muses with her guest, Ivy Felicia, on this time of the year which is the holidays and how it can be a stressful, especially for those of us who are sensitive or keyed into our intuition. We can define our own experience, by recognizing that the ability to connect with intuition is always there. We tend to put everything in a box, and our intuition may urge us to rip that box apart. However we experience fear of making choices that can subject us to failure in order to avoid being uncomfortable, so we may suppress the intuitive voice.

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The only way to trust your intuition is view it as a friend, by building a relationship with it as you practice and develop the skill of being instinctive. See what is there to begin with, collect all the information, don’t hesitate and then you can make a leap as to what is considered a decision based on trusting your intuition. We think too often with our reason and rationale versus a deeper and emotive level of thought, there is some guidance one can follow to clarify your intuition. Intuition is subtle and it is based on vibration. It simply feels often like a ‘knowing’, the concept that our own soul communicates and exists as real and tangible when we live in our own intuition.

 

Do you read a great blog about intuition that’s not on the list? Leave a comment on FB!

 

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 Larissa Gomes is a breast cancer survivor and single mom to her spirited baby boy! Originally from Toronto turned Angeleno, she has worked in roles from writer, actor and producer for well over a decade. In that time, she’s developed concepts, film and television screenplays, short stories, along with freelance articles, blogging and editing work

You’ve read The 5 Best Podcasts on Intuition, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading What I Learned about Politeness at a Korean Flower Shop, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

We take it for granted that people should know how to be polite. It seems like something universal: You say please and thank you, you smile, and you tell people you’re doing well when they ask how you are, even if your life is in turmoil. At least that’s how it works in the West.

I’ve been living in Korea for the past year and a bit and it’s a little different over here.

Koreans have a distinct way of saying “Yes” to each other that sounds like a dismissive grunt to the native English speaker.

When my girlfriend and I first started dating, for example, I’d ask if she wanted to have pizza for dinner. “Uh,” she’d reply, and it took me a while to learn that this meant yes.

Naturally, as we spent more time together, I began using “Uh” myself. Eventually it became unconscious; without noticing I would grunt “Uh” whenever I wanted to say yes to something.

Why was this an issue?

I’m used to expressing politeness by using the word, “Please,” or excessively apologizing like the good Canadian boy I am. But in Korea I’m often at a loss because there’s no real word for “Please” in Korean, and if you say “Sorry” without having actually done anything to apologize for, you just seem strange and silly.

Instead, politeness in Korean is expressed using different word endings. There are essentially three levels—casual, everyday formal, and super formal—and in each level you would end the last word of your sentence in a different way.

It’s a little confusing, but for the sake of this story all you need to know is that using “Uh” to say “Yes” is something you would do only when speaking to someone younger than you or someone who you know very well. You would use a different word to say “Yes” in more formal situations.

The other week I went to a flower shop.

There was an old Korean couple inside sitting behind the register. They were eating noodles together silently. I smiled, said hello, and began browsing the flower display.

The old lady rose from her seat and asked me in Korean if I’d like to buy the bouqet that I was looking at. “Uh,” I said, without noticing.

She began preparing the flowers. As she did I noticed a sour look on her husband’s face as he sucked up a few noodles from his bowl.

“Would you like to pay by card?” she asked me.

“Uh.” I smiled and handed her my card. Now her face looked sour too. I tried making small talk with them in Korean—something I’ve found usually delights the elderly couples here as they watch me struggle to form sentences. This time, however, I barely received a response.

I sensed something was wrong. “Would you like a receipt?” she asked in a tone that seemed rather harsh. “Uh,” I said.

She gave me the receipt and sat back down without thanking me or saying goodbye. I eventually figured it out as I replayed the scene in my head on the walk home.

Worst of all was that I had no idea how many times I’d done the same thing to others; I imagined the number to be high. I consider myself to be a reasonably polite person, yet here I was in Korea, walking around grunting “Uh” at elders like an asshole.

Politeness is often one of the first things lost in translation, as it turns out.

So the next time you see a foreigner acting in a way that seems rude in your own country, perhaps they’ve just misunderstood some of the dos and don’ts of your culture. Maybe they really do mean well and are just confused about how to express their good intentions. Maybe they aren’t accustomed to all of the strange things we do that seem normal to us.

…Or maybe that particular person really just is a dick. Who knows. 😉

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My name is Jacob. I’m fascinated by all of the strange things we often tell ourselves that prevent us from doing what we want to do in life. Soon-to-be blogger at pooroldme.com Check me out here.

You’ve read What I Learned about Politeness at a Korean Flower Shop, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading 5 Productivity Tools That Will Make You a Millennial Time-Lord, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

If you’re on this Pick The Brain, you already know how essential productivity is. It supports you to work-smart and lower the time you spend on dumb stuff that doesn’t make an impact. You want to be uber-productive, grow your empire and still have social time to spend with friends.

Just 5 minutes per day can make a massive difference when multiplied across a lifetime. 5 minutes a day can save around 100 days in a normal lifetime – imagine what you can do!

I think there are 2 different facets to productivity:

1. Rid of waste
2. Power-up work

Below, I’ve left the important tools that I use and the category I believe they fit in. Let’s start with the “Rid of waste” section

1. Unroll.me – I found this tool a couple of months ago. Simply download the app, add your email and swipe you subscriptions as if it were tinder. I deleted 700 subscriptions in half an hour and that means no more spam emails that I don’t care about. I now don’t spend 10-20 minutes every morning deleting annoying emails. Remember, that’s 200-400 days I’m saving over my life! On a serious note, this is a great product and couldn’t be thankful enough for the amount of time they have saved me. Get rid of those pesky spam emails!
2. GetGistly – Fed up of going through 300 page books to hear the same thing repeated again and again? This tool provides audio and text summaries for the best entrepreneurial books so you can listen or read in 15 minutes. I can’t wait for this product to launch so you guys can see how cool it is! I’ve been invited to their early adopters program and already love the app.
3. StayFocusd – A Google Chrome extension that blocks you from accessing time wasting sites e.g. Facebook or Twitter. We all know how simple it can be to type in “fa” and then click enter or how easy it can be to sit back, open Instagram and submerge in user content. This tool will destroy your instincts and stop you in your tracks.

Next up, let’s talk about how you can improve your work so that 1 unit of input equates to 3 units of output! So, how do we “Power-up Work”?

1. Skimm – this service sends a newsletter that gives you the lowdown on current affairs. Rather than browsing through your boring news outlets, just get sent the most salient news in your inbox every day. Skimm has gathered a great following and even received funding, so it’s becoming more and more popular every day! Oh and, if you don’t like reading the news, this will get you in to the habit so you can talk the talk with the wisecrack political expert at your college re-union!
2. Instagress – Personal brand equity is becoming more and more important everyday. Instagram gives you the platform to grow this personal brand but managing a social account can take a ton of time. This is why Instagress is super-useful! The tool automates your Instagram growth by commenting, following and liking under hashtags relevant to your niche.

Now that we’ve got our grand list of tools, it’s time to put them into practice. Try them out and tell me how they worked for you in the comments

For now, have fun and happy working!

You’ve read 5 Productivity Tools That Will Make You a Millennial Time-Lord, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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You’re reading How Art Affects the Development of Intelligence, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Any child deserves all rights to get an art education.  In fact, art helps to form the development of the whole child’s development. It doesn’t only prepare it for the life but fills with joy and happiness. Art is valued much for its ability to improve cognitive skills and intelligence. Gifted and intelligent children have been always much valued. But who is a talented and intelligent child? It’s really difficult to identify this.

Importance of Art Education

Due to music and various images, it becomes easier to make kids become more interested in the studying process. No one would ever try doing something if he is not interested in it. And art works perfectly in such a case.

According to the observations, it’s known that children become very happy when hearing the sound of music they play with their own hands. The most important is to be occupied in art each day. If you start playing the piano, you would do a progress, when doing it day by day. The same with painting. A continuous occupation with art leads to the development of confidence and self-assurance. Once your child starts being engaged in painting or playing music and does it daily, he would gradually become more confident about this world.

Why are Habits so Important?

Habits are equal to success. No matter what you do, the result would always depend on your habits. There are many children, who achieve aims by their own efforts, others believe in luck and some do it day by day, developing habits. In fact, the last are one of the most successful, because if you once formed a habit, changing it becomes a real challenge further.

Art is one of the best ways to make children more creative. Creativity is one of the key moments of developing a child’s intelligence. In fact, focusing on scores at college is not enough. That’s why it’s very important for parents to understand how art is significant in the life of their children.

Why is Art So Important?

Art offers a lot of intrinsic and extrinsic benefits to the development of any child.

 Intrinsic benefits include:

• Creativity;
• Imagination;
• A chance to experience beauty and joy.

Extrinsic benefits are the following:

• Better engagement in the process of learning;
• Better metacognition;
• Enhanced self-confidence;
• Developed social skills.

What is Intelligence?

In fact, intelligence is not a big volume of facts and other knowledge, accumulated in your brain. It’s your ability to learn new information, be able to retain process and use it in practice.

How Music Affects a Child’s Brain?

All of us know about Mozart effect. Don’t you know? It’s a notion, which describes the process of listening to Mozart music, at the same time increasing your intelligence.

According to a number of experiments, it was found out that many people got a lot of visual-spatial skills improvements when listening to this kind of music. However, it’s not yet clear whether the passive listening may contribute to the development of intelligence. But what about becoming active in this kind of occupation? The researchers say that being engaged in music is able to change the course of the whole brain. There is evidence that certain music play can easily improve working memory, self-regulation, and even self-confidence.

In fact, everyone can stimulate his brain, because art is accessible to all of us. If you lack self-esteem, arts will certainly help you developing it. Moreover, it will increase the levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, which is responsible for good mood and motivation. It would also contribute to better concentration, drive and focus. Due to art lesson benefits in childhood, one can further benefit from them in adulthood.

Art benefits include:

• Increased brain plasticity;
• Better fluid intelligence;
• Higher IQ;
• Better attention span;
• Improves overall behavior;
• Reduces impulsiveness.

According to one study at Stanford University, students, engaged in art, had the following characteristics, in comparison with those, who weren’t:

• They won more academic awards;
• Received more community service awards;
• Got higher SAR results.

Art – Brain Food?

In fact, art is a brain food. For example, if you start playing the piano, it will help developing your coordination, reaction, social participation. Telling the truth, it’s not obligatory to be professional in some kind of art to get cognitive benefits from it. If you even have the slightest exposure to art, it will certainly make you smart. Due to it, we start thinking critically, which simultaneously increases our intelligence. It’s not enough to take a brush into one’s hands- before creating a painting you should give yourself a thousand of questions. Of course, it requires time and efforts, but the result is worth that.

Author bio: Alexandra Foster is an ex-English teacher who helps parents/students and organizations with educational planning. She is a tech savvy, who loves education and technology, that makes studying process more convenient and collaborative. Currently working with Noplag.com team as a consultant.”

You’ve read How Art Affects the Development of Intelligence, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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