Hair loss is an issue that both men and women are concerned about. It can affect the way you look and feel about yourself. In some cases, it can even weigh your self-confidence down.

Hair loss can occur for many reasons, such as stress, frequent use of chemicals, heat tools, diseases and hormonal changes. However, what few don’t usually take into account when they suffer from hair loss is that diet can play a big role in its development, too.  And, it could also be the solution.

When your hair falls excessively, it is best to consult with a physician to determine the cause of the problem. Apart from medical consultation, you can also increase your intake of the following foods to prevent hair loss.

Antioxidants

Fruits and vegetables are the largest sources of natural antioxidants that we can find. Including them frequently in your diet can help strengthen your hair and stimulate its growth.

Recommendation

For your hair, it’s recommended that you increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C. Good examples include orange, lemon, kiwi, broccoli and spinach. They can increase the production of your hair’s collagen, cells and other components.

Some people choose to take antioxidant supplements. If you are considering adding a supplement to your diet, it is advisable to talk to your physician first. Many dietary supplements do not have a balanced content of vitamins, enzymes and minerals and this can have an unfavorable effect on your health.

See Also: 10 Amazing Foods You Should Include in Your Detox Diet

Vitamins

Lack of vitamin A can also be one of the reasons for hair loss. This vitamin is responsible for preventing and blocking the drying of the sebaceous glands. These glands function to lubricate the hair follicle to reduce hair loss.

Vitamin A also favors the oxygenation of follicle cells, thus strengthening the hair and promoting its growth.

Recommendations

Improve the condition of your hair by increasing your intake of liver, eggs, vegetables in general and fortified milk. Fish oils, sunflower and olive are great sources of the vitamin, too.

Green leafy vegetables

In addition to being rich in antioxidants, green leafy vegetables also have a high iron content, which is a vital nutrient to strengthen and stimulate hair growth. For this reason, it is recommended to include foods such as Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, spinach, radicheta and arugula frequently in your diet.

Zinc

Zinc is an essential nutrient for the chemical reactions of different enzymes in your body. It includes energy production and protein formation. One of the rich sources of Zinc is meat, which also contains iron, proteins, B6 vitamins and B12 vitamins. These vitamins and minerals are associated with the prevention and treatment of hair loss.

The recommended daily dose of zinc is 15 mg and you can find it in these foods:

Chocolate

This is good news for those who love chocolate! A bar of 100 grams chocolate- without added sugar- contains approximately 10 mg of zinc. This is equivalent to 65% of the recommended daily amount.

White mushrooms

Zinc is found in white mushrooms and they are best consumed when cooked.  It can help you acquire about 6% of the required amount of zinc you should consume in a day. Zinc is also present in celery, asparagus, figs, potatoes and eggplants.

Foods with Biotin and Folic Acid

Together, these two substances help to balance the metabolic activities of tissues that have cells that rapidly multiply. This includes your hair, nails and skin.

Recommendations

Biotin can be consumed through foods, such as liver, yeast bread, cereals, hazelnuts, peas, wheat bran and banana. Folic acid, meanwhile, can be found in chicken liver, veal, turkey. You can also get them from legumes, like chickpeas and beans.

Conclusion

Hair loss remedies aren’t limited to expensive methods, such as laser hair treatment and PRP hair treatment. It should be noted that the food you eat also plays a big role in how your hair behaves. Hair loss can happen when your body doesn’t have the right nutrients to function properly. For this reason, make sure you eat the right foods to prevent hair loss. They can boost not just your hair growth, but your health, too.

See Also: 6 Surprising Remedies That Reverse Hair Loss And Regrow Hair

The post Hair Treatment: 6 Foods To Prevent Hair Loss appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Balancing work and school can be difficult. If you are looking for ways to make the best of your time, here are a few tips you can use.

Review class syllabi

Class syllabi are those small documents created by your instructors, teachers or professors to assist with your studies in the course of the semester. Make a point to go through the syllabi for all your classes. That way, you will have a clear understanding of what will come in the following weeks, including topics to be taught and dates for exams.

Use a good calendar to schedule work and school deadlines

Using a calendar, like Google Calendar, can go a long way in keeping up with end-term exams for school or important projects at work. With your entire schedule in front of you, you’ll find it easier to know when you’re available. Setting deadlines for both school and work will also ensure that you’ll never miss any deadlines or fail to prepare for exams.

Start working on assignments the moment they are issued

Avoid postponing school assignments to the last minute. That way, you won’t need to study all night to the point that you get too exhausted to perform effectively at work.

To avoid this, work on your school assignments at the first opportunity. Taking those initial steps, like researching for the assignment and taking a few notes, will help you build some momentum.

Manage your debt to avoid getting distracted by stress

The stress of huge credit card debt, mortgage, car loans or student loans can weigh you down. It can make it difficult for you to concentrate on your education and perform at work. Seek expert advice on debt relief to learn how to take this weight off of your shoulder.

Try out a few different study methods

Use your study time in the most optimal way. To do this, you might need to try a few different methods of absorbing, retaining and synthesizing information.

Some methods include having a study partner, rewriting notes and jotting down some concepts. The only way of finding out which method of study is the most appropriate for you is by experimenting.

Have clearly set out tasks for your studies

While at the office, it’s typical for you to have a defined set of tasks. This can include meetings with your workmates, writing/replying emails, speaking with clients, etc.

You should approach your studies the same way. You should come up with study tasks that are clearly set out, like writing reports and researching term papers. This can help you manage your study time better.

See Also: How to Stay On-Task…Every Day

Schedule your entire week’s study sessions

The last thing you want to do is study in a haphazard manner. Simply opening a random textbook and reading a random chapter won’t help.

So, set aside chunks of time in your calendar for tackling specific topics. These blocks of time can be anything from 30 minutes to three hours, depending on your work/school calendar.

Construct an emotionally supportive network

“Have a solid emotionally supportive network both professionally and by and by. That emotionally supportive network can represent the moment of truth you,” says Amy Chen, advertising and correspondence administrator for TINYpulse.

Regardless of whether it’s your administrator, guide or a relative, ensure that everyone around you is energetic about your choice to set off for college.

Time administration is everything

“I had at regular intervals of my life (with the exception of Sundays) planned for 30 minutes increases,” says Gabe Lumby, CPA and organizer of Gabe Lumby CPA. Lumby says the way to adjusting classes, examining, work and your connections is dealing with your time purposefully.

See Also: 5 Essential Time Management Tips to Live By

Make your director mindful

Ensure that your director knows that you’re going to school and knows your work limit. Bringing your manager into the discussion at an early stage may even result in acknowledgment or an advancement after graduation.

Adore your learning

When you’re really energetic about your training and vocation, it stops feeling like work all of a sudden. Don’t simply consider it as doing assignments and checking in hours. Instead, consider it as enhancing your brain and propelling your vocation.

“You have been given an open door that few individuals in this world have: a school training,” “Don’t simply take a class, satisfy a fantasy. Cherish what you are doing!”

The post Achieving The Perfect Balance Between Studying And Working Full-Time appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Americans are using less cash than ever before and this trend is happening worldwide for a multitude of reasons.

According to Gallup, “As technology and consumer preferences evolve, companies will constantly seek ways to make retail payments more efficient to gain an advantage with customers. The economy has become more internet-oriented, and it is already becoming easier to make purchases using mobile technology. People are more familiar and comfortable with cashless transactions and are now primed to use those services in live retail environments.”

In other words, it’s not so much that cash is falling out of favor. It’s just that other payment methods are becoming easier and more common. There are more types of currency than there ever have been before and each has its own upsides and downsides.

Here’s the inside scoop on cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency Isn’t Just For Criminals Anymore

You may have heard of Bitcoin exclusively in the context of Silk Road criminals or hackers, but it is becoming a widely used form of virtual currency. Throughout the world, so-called “Bitcoin Islands” are popping up. These are places where the majority of businesses accept bitcoin. Bitcoin millionaires can seek out these places and pay for food, lodging and goods using their Bitcoin fortunes.

Once such place is the Isle of Man, a British protectorate.

According to Bloomberg, “Bitcoin startups tend to cluster where the venture capital money is: London, New York, San Francisco. Taking on these behemoths might appear to be a stretch for a tiny British protectorate that can seem more time capsule than Tomorrowland. Yet the Manx government is indeed seeking to make the island the world’s foremost hub for the technology. Some 25 startups working with digital currencies or the blockchains that underpin them are already based here—and that number is growing steadily.”

The article goes on to tell the story of the folks who flock to this island paradise to live the libertarian dream- all thanks to bitcoin. One such believer is Adrian Forbes who sees the digital currency as a step toward a better world.

“It’s a global currency that can’t be manipulated by any government, can’t be devalued on a whim,” he says. “You have these debt crises going on; these things couldn’t happen if everyone used bitcoin.””

Currency Devaluation Is A Real Threat

One of the biggest problems with government-backed currency is that the government can declare it without value. They can even seize it at will. While that generally doesn’t happen with stable governments, the threat is always there. Plus, forward-thinking investors rely on diversified currency to protect their wealth.

Once such place where the government created pandemonium by declaring the majority of bills in circulation without value is India. In an attempt to curb corruption and tax evasion, the government gave citizens a window of opportunity. They had to turn in 500 and 1000 rupee notes. This created a run on banks with lines that wrapped around the block.

According to Mashable, “The transition to new notes, though, has caused a major sense of panic among many. All banks in the country will remain shut today and ATMs will remain shut till tomorrow, in order to prepare for the transition. Even when they open, limits will be placed during the first few weeks on how much old currency can be swapped for cash as well as limits on the amount of money people will be able to withdraw from ATMs in a day. Soon after the shocking announcement, people could be seen queuing up to withdraw cash in Rs 100 bills. Most ATMs in India are stocked with the higher denomination currency bills that are now untenable.”

Currency Diversification Is The Only Way To Protect Yourself

In a volatile world where the government can declare your currency without value, hackers can empty your bank account while you sleep and gold is still the only thing with lasting value, the only answer is to diversify. We diversify our investment portfolios, so why not our holdings? Learn more about the rise of cryptocurrency and the need for currency diversification from this infographic!

See Also: 7 Top Tips to Avoid Being Caught in a Phishing Net

The post Cryptocurrency Is On The Rise: Are You Prepared? appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Buying a car online is no longer a fantasy of the past. It might sound sketchy to purchase something as big as a vehicle without being able to test drive it and check it over yourself first, but it can be a completely safe and viable option.

Save time and eliminate the stress of haggling with a dealer and give online purchasing a shot. However, now that you’ve decided to buy a car online, where exactly do you start?

Do Your Research

According to Google’s latest stats, 71% of people turn to online search first to solve their problems. So, start with a quick search.

The Internet is home to many resources. This includes Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book, which offer comprehensive estimates on the value of vehicles. They can also give you ideas on which one might be right for you.

To get an idea of what you need, consider your family size, daily commute or vehicle usage and your budget.

If you have a specific used vehicle in mind, run the VIN number through a website like AutoCheck or Carfax to get an idea of the car’s history.

Start Negotiations

Once you have an idea of which vehicle you want, you can start contacting the seller. Most people don’t enjoy the high-pressure sales situation created by dealers. This process is designed to wring the most money out of you, and it can take hours of your time.

When you choose to buy a car online, the power is back in your hands. Choose two or three dealers in your area that stock the specific car you want and contact their online sales department through their website. They’ll usually send a follow-up email and this is when you include any extra features you want in your car at this stage. Just don’t mention your trade-in, if you have one, or bring up financing options yet.

Be sure to clarify in your discussions whether or not the quoted prices they give you include any additional fees. If any of the fees sounds fishy, do a quick search for legitimacy.

After you’ve received a few quotes, take the lowest quote and send it to the other dealers to see if they can give you a better price. Repeat this process until one of them offers you a price you’re happy with. It should be one that fits your budget and the estimated ranges you found for the vehicle online.

If you’re unhappy with the thought of having to go through back-and-forth haggling- even through email- there are websites, like Truecar and Vinadvisor, that can negotiate with dealers for you.

If You’re Buying a Used Car, Get It Inspected

In case you’re buying a used car, you should always have a local mechanic inspect the vehicle before you pay for it, especially if you are buying from an individual seller. Search for a mechanic nearby the seller and arrange a date and time for the inspection to take place.

If the seller doesn’t agree to a third-party inspection, that’s your sign that you need to find a different vehicle. The results from a mechanic’s report are incredibly valuable in your purchase decision.

The inspection will cost you about $100, but that’s a negligible cost when you consider how expensive car repairs can get.

See Also: How to Find a Good Mechanic in the Age of Social Media

Have Your Car Shipped To You

If your new car isn’t located in your town, you’ll want to look into car shipping options.

Shipping your car offers you peace of mind that your car will arrive safely. It also allows you to have your car delivered on your time, without having to plan a road trip. Car shipping can also be cheaper than you think, especially when you consider travel costs and the added wear and tear on your car.

There are several reliable auto transport companies, such as Montway Auto Transport and Central Dispatch, who will ship your car from anywhere in the country. All you need to do is schedule a pickup window and make sure someone is present when they pick up your car.

There are options for every budget, including uncovered options to save money and covered options for more expensive vehicles.

Forget About the Dealership

You can purchase a brand new or certified used car completely online, just like from a dealership, without leaving your house. Sounds amazing, right?

These websites offer car inspections, delivery right to your door and the ability to return your car if you didn’t fall in love with it. There are currently two major contenders that sell used cars nationwide: Vroom and Carvana.

Vroom.com vehicles undergo a 126-point inspection before they’re accepted for sale. Browse through their list of vehicles right away and create a free account to start the purchasing process.

You’ll get a free nationwide shipping to your door as well as a 7-day or 250-mile test drive. All cars also come with a 90-day/30,000-mile warranty and a free year of 24/7 roadside assistance. Through Vroom, you can access financing from over 30 different lenders and apply directly from their website.

Carvana.com vehicles, on the other hand, must pass a 150-point inspection as well as undergo an Experian auto check report. After purchase, customers have the option to test drive their cars for seven days before they can return them.

Delivery is free for customers located within 100 miles of one of Carvana’s southern U.S. hubs. If you’re located between 100-250 miles of these hubs, the delivery fee is $199. Anyone needing their car shipped beyond the 250-mile range will need to secure another shipping option.

In addition to Vroom and Carvana, there are other local options depending on your area, such as Nowcar and Carsense. You can also look into the newly developed car-leasing website Prazo, if you’re interested in leasing a new car.

See Also: How To Get The Best Deal From Your Local Used Cars Dealership

 

The post A Simple Guide On How To Buy And Ship Your Car Online appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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A lot of people often find themselves wondering why time flies.

Well, time isn’t what it used to be. It seems just yesterday that I started writing this article and yet it was three days ago. At this rate, I fear I will awaken at an elderly home tomorrow morning. And I’m just 26 now.

It wasn’t always like this.

I remember each of my childhood years as lasting an eternity. Unlike the other kids, I never wanted to grow up. It felt like a scam and I was right.

Upon reaching legal adulthood, everything sped up. Days mix with each other to form an indistinguishable blur of events and I don’t like it. I can’t seem to remember what this past Wednesday felt like or what decisions I made on Tuesday that lead me here. Moments like this often make me wonder why time flies.

Three weeks ago, I returned from a trip to Rome for three days. At the end of the first day, I laid exhausted in bed from a thrilling time in the city. That day felt as if it lasted more than 24 hours. The second day felt exactly the same way and so did the third. They were days full of excitement, joy, stress and learning.

As I played back the days in my head while flying out of Rome, those three days felt like twenty. I could recall each past activity in detail. I felt like I lived more in those three days than I had in months before the trip.

The Science

Intense moments, good or bad, feel as if they lasted longer. This is because the brain remembers much more when the information is relevant or if it causes a strong emotional reaction. I’ve washed dishes a million times, yet I can only recall one or two occasions. I would hate to remember the color of every dish soap I’ve ever used.

We spend more time doing yellow, but we only remember yellow. The varied experiences in colors feel as if they last longer.

In the beginning years of our lives, most experiences are new and important. The brain remembers most of these pieces of information in great detail throughout the day. Remembering days in their entirety creates the illusion of living longer, both during real-time and when accessing memories.

In contrast, as we age, few experiences are new, more mundane and less relevant. Days seem like they fly by that we can’t even remember past eve.

Holding On To Slippery Time

Understanding why time flies or what we can do about it isn’t hard. Intuitively, if our time feels like it’s going by too fast, we need to slow down.

I am aware of two types of feel for time.

Type one is how long each day feels from the moment I wake up. Going through a stressful moment at work would make my day feel longer as I count the hours ahead. Type two is how long the past days feel relative to today.

It is vital for me to have a good control over these two types of time. As often as I could, I try to get out of my comfort zone in an attempt to seek new powerful experiences — a great solution for both types of “time feel”.

I join local groups to talk and share and this often results in an exchange of powerful moments. I travel monthly to absorb new places and their culture.

Every day, I take some time to break the routine and monotony of my daily tasks by replacing them with new activities. I talk to strangers, hear their stories, eat my lunch seating under a different tree or share my stories through the web.

See Also: The Call for Change: Time to Step Out of the Comfort Zone

Time Halt Summary

Here are your key takeaways in making each day special and different.

1. Get out of your comfort zone as soon and as often as possible. Take risks as they are healthy in mild amounts.

2. Visit new places. Have you been to the broom closet in your job?

3. Share with people and hear their stories. People appreciate unloading their emotional baggage and an engaging story might be the tipping point in your day.

4. Break your self-imposed discipline. Don’t repeat the same tasks every day.

5. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s not always healthy to feel safe in your daily decisions or the type of clothes you wear. Only with mistakes will we know what works and what doesn’t.

See Also: 7 Ways to Get More Comfortable With Feeling Uncomfortable

The post The Reason Days Feel Like They’re Flying By And How To Fix It appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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It’s evaluation time at work again!

And you’re thinking and hoping that this will finally be the time where you get a glowing review for all your hard work.

I mean, who doesn’t want to be a rock star at work? Imagine feeling fulfilled and accomplished in your job, being loved by your boss, respected and admired by your peers and paid the salary you are worth.

Well, those things aren’t impossible.

You know that you can crush it at work and prove to be a valuable asset. You just need the chance to show them.

Sure, kicking ass and creating a name at work require commitment and a good attitude. But, more importantly, it’s achieving success on the right projects, having opportunities to show your skills and cultivating harmonious relationships that can facilitate long-term success.

If you’re playing by all the rules and still not getting any promotion at work, then you might be unknowingly sabotaging yourself. You may think that the following common ‘social graces’ can make you look good but, in reality, they don’t.

Here’s why and how.

Not taking a compliment

If someone says “Great work on that last project!” and your response is anything less than “Thanks, it was a lot of work, but the result was well worth it”, then you’re self-deprecating.

We commonly respond with humility. However, what it actually does is devalue the other person’s opinion of what we accomplished.

If we don’t celebrate our successes or we attribute them to pure luck, then how can we expect our bosses to respect and acknowledge our talents and skills?

Obviously, they’ll think that we are just really lucky and not worthy of a raise or to be given more responsibility. Especially since our luck will probably run out soon right? With that logic, can you seriously blame your boss?

Promoting your success doesn’t make you a jerk it. It just makes you honest. Call a spade a spade. You don’t have to peacock and tell everyone in the office how awesome you are.

And if you would praise your coworker for a job well done, why wouldn’t you praise yourself?

Carrying the world on your back

A project deadline gets missed and you, being the martyr, take full responsibility for the delay.

Falling on your sword and taking the blame for the failure, unfortunately, won’t earn you brownie points with the boss. If there is a problem, it’s important to be honest about the situation. State the issues clearly and concisely.

It could be that the project scope was larger than anticipated or the time required for the other teams to complete their milestones was underestimated. Or it could be that the subject matter required a longer learning curve. Whatever the reasons are for the delay, be honest about them.

Sure, all of those boil down to bad estimations, but no one was asking you to bear the full blame. They only wanted to know the reasons so that they can be avoided in the future.

Carrying the world on your back and blaming yourself is counter-productive to solving or avoiding any issue. And this doesn’t mean that you are dodging accountability. You are simply highlighting the facts in a productive way to resolve or prevent the problem from reoccurring.

Needing the opinion of everyone in making a decision

Great employees are able to anticipate their manager’s needs or concerns and can make some quick decisive actions without supervision when the time requires it. If you are unwilling or unable to make decisions without your manager’s or everyone’s input, then you won’t be able to prove you have the chops to be a leader or manage valuable projects.

Sure, getting input is important, especially in making decisions. But, needing to get every single person’s opinion sounds like you don’t trust your own judgment.

No one is saying that you play CEO or spend the company money like your own, but low profile decisions within the parameters of your job is a great place to start. If your gut says yes and the data are backing it up, then you are golden. You can even bring the options to your manager, tell them your chosen solution and have them decide the solution.

Anything is better than simply reporting the problem for your manager to fix.

Constantly apologizing for ourselves

There are a handful of disastrous lines that women employ during conversations. Mika Brzezinski shares a couple of examples in her book “Knowing Your Value: Women, Money And Getting What You’re Worth“.

It includes:

“I’m sorry if my timing is bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you’re busy, but…”

“I hate to do this, but…”

When we say these things, we minimize ourselves and our worth. These lines technically translate to: “Please give us whatever is left of your attention, because we know we aren’t as important as your real work.”

You don’t have to barge in and demand folks to stop what they are doing to talk to you. Using phrases like ‘Are you available?’ or ‘Is now a good time’ is a perfectly acceptable way to get your boss’ or peer’s attention without devaluing yourself or your message.

If you don’t value yourself, why should anyone else?

Thinking relationship building isn’t a part of your job

I’ll admit it. I hate social networking.

My husband regularly tells me to change my profile pic, respond to comments made on pictures he tagged me in or asks me if I’ve heard what happened to so and so.
I don’t do those things not because I’m an introvert or antisocial, but because I have a million and one other things I need to finish. I think those are just unproductive ways to spend my limited time.

And if you have been working so hard through your lunch hour, coming in early and staying late to impress the bosses, you know what I’m talking about.

Unfortunately, working so hard that we forget to build relationships is a big mistake.

Like it or not, we live in a world where social networking is no longer a can-do, but a must-do, especially if you want to be an influencer or to make it into the inner circle. If people never get a chance to know you, then how can you get a promotion at work?

See Also: Job Seekers: Boost Your Appeal Through Social Media Accounts!

Avoiding ‘picking a side’

No one loves confrontation, especially when it comes to caustic workplace dramas.

In terms of company decisions, however, trying to not to pick a side and give your opinion won’t do you any favors. Your teammates won’t be able to hear your thoughts on the issue or see how you’ll be able to provide value.

Your opinion on a course of action and your reasons for it can only be expressed by you. That’s where you leave your mark and let folks know that not only can you analyze an issue, but you can recommend a solution as well.

Someone who offers a solution – good or bad- to try and fix a problem is always better than someone who just sits there looking at the problem and doing nothing.

Thinking they couldn’t function before you

We want to prove ourselves- desperately.

But, in our pursuit to show we are the best, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of joining the bandwagon that criticizes the company’s current policies, standards and employees.

You’ll find a lot of people who spend all their time complaining about how the system or process is retarded or how the project management team holds no true function. If you’re caught in such a scene, change the topic or just stop talking to them altogether to maintain your own sanity.

Folks are likely to have been doing the job, succeeding and making money long before you came. So, take it easy on criticisms until you have learned the environment and why the company does something the way they do.

Then, when you voice any recommended changes to your boss and team, you can do it from a place of understanding and knowledge. Remember that change takes time. If they choose not to listen, always continue following commands.

Say the serenity prayer with me:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
Wisdom to know the difference;

And self-control to keep it to myself

Okay, I added the last part, but you get the idea.

Smiling and nodding

Unfortunately, I’ve unconsciously done this too many times than I can count.

It is a technique we often use to ‘appear’ smart or knowledgeable to our peers and in our attempt to continue the conversation and not point out our deficiencies. Say, for example, someone asks if you are familiar with a process, tool or product. To avoid being embarrassed for not knowing, you smile and nod and make a mental note to google it when you are back at your desk later.

The only problem is, folks can smell the BS from a mile away – like when you mistakenly nodded in agreement when they asked you a question.

If you don’t know what that product or technology is, just say that you aren’t familiar with it or haven’t worked with it before. If you aren’t sure, then say you aren’t sure but you’ll be happy to get clarification.

There is nothing wrong with seeking knowledge and learning from a position of strength.

The fear you have of appearing as the weak link can only come true if you waste time and mess something up that you said you’re skilled at- when you really aren’t.

Everyone wants to make the best decision that will provide an optimal solution. To do that, you have to weigh the pros and cons and look at the problem from every angle. You must be able to anticipate roadblocks.

Take note that overthinking to the point of paralysis can also make us look indecisive.

Have you heard of the jack story?

A man got a flat tire on the side of the road and he saw a house at the top of the hill. He decided to ask the homeowners if they have a jack he can borrow. On his hike up to the house, he thought to himself, what if they don’t have a jack? What if they have a jack and wants to charge him to use it? What if they want to charge $600? He didn’t have that kind of money!

As he made his way up the hill, he continued to get inside his own head. By the time he got to the house, rung the doorbell and someone answered the door, he yelled “Keep your stupid jack!” and stormed back down the hill.

Being able to make educated decisions quickly when stakes are high is a quality of a good leader.

Our instinct to overthink makes us appear as ineffective worriers. They make us look incapable of making tough calls, taking risks and achieving success.

Always remember that done is usually better than perfect, so get started! Besides, most folks can’t tell the difference between 90% and 100%.

Get noticed now

Now that you’ve seen some of the damaging common social niceties, do you see any that you routinely fall for?

Trying to prove your value to folks is hard enough and walking around unknowingly sabotaging yourself just makes it worse. With these ideas, you’ll able to find out how you’re ruining your chances of getting that promotion at work.

So, pick one or two to start with and spend the day changing your habit. You can do this!

Get noticed today for the strong, confident and capable employee that you are!

See Also: How To Get a Promotion Without Working Yourself To The Bone

 

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Outsourcing jobs is a great way to solve problems at work. It can help you deal with heavy work overload, time sensitive deadlines, lack of work competence or having inadequate workforce at a given time.

However, it is still not as ideal as it sounds, especially with all its potential risks. This includes hiring incompetent freelancers or competent freelancers that overcharge their services.

It is in your best interest to avoid both of these scenarios and the following article will help you do so. Here we will provide four tips on how to avoid wasting money on substandard services when outsourcing jobs.

Plan for what is needed

The best way to avoid unnecessary expenses is to have a well-laid-out plan for your freelancers. The more specific you are, the better.

First of all, the people you collaborate with are not mind readers. Since you communicate via emails, it’s easy for a project to lose its track due to the lack of necessary information.

Moreover, if you fail to provide detailed information, you risk getting a project that meets your demands but lacks in quality. So, give them online samples of the level of quality you expect to see. Try to be specific about what you do not want to see.

This way, you will be fully covered when asking for a refund if the demands are not met. Moreover, freelancers who lack the competence to meet those demands will back off.

Ask for previous work samples

When you are hiring someone, it is imperative that you go over their portfolio.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell from someone’s portfolio if he can fill in your specific task. So, for that reason, it would be best to ask freelancers if they have a previous work sample of something that is similar to what you are going to ask for.

Maintain communication

Once you select your freelancers and award them the project, it is important that you maintain communication. As we said, you are not sharing the same working space.

If the project is delicate, it would be wise to organize a Skype call. You can also ask to receive screenshots of how your project is going. This way, you can correct any inconsistencies immediately. You’ll be able to see in advance if you have made the right call, too.

Get a referral or test potential candidates

Lastly, if you are not sure in the expertise of your potential candidates, you can test them out. You can also ask for referrals from other trusted users in the same niche as you. You can do the testing if you are down to two or three potential candidates so it won’t cost you a lot.

Focus on these traits

If you want a reliable outsourcing partner, then you need to have a clear list of their purpose. If they can meet these standards, you can count on them.

> Positive results – The Company can help you increase your customer satisfaction and decrease production costs within the desired time frame.

> Compatibility – The Company should share common goals and values as your company. They need to be performance centric, care about their clients and community and use same methods for managing the company.

> Innovative – You need a company that can greatly contribute to your business and that can perform on their own without the constant need for monitoring. They should help you modernize your business regarding technology, equipment, etc.

See Also: How Cloud Technology Can Help Your Business Grow

> Flexibility – You need a company that can adapt to your standards and provide you with a personalized service to meet your demands. They need to consider your needs as a priority and you need to adequately reward them for their devotion.

> Adaptable management – You need a company that can respond quickly and adapt to changes without sacrificing the quality of the end results. In other words, it needs to have a reliable management team as well as competent staff.

> Benchmarking – You are going to know the outsourcing solution is reliable if they can provide you with evidence explaining that you are receiving a high-quality service. They need to create new growth potential and offer measurable success in the field of employee and client satisfaction.

> Resourceful – They need to continuously deliver in-depth content that is innovative and that fits your needs and demands.

> Constant quality improvement – With continuous collaboration, the quality and the performance of your outsourcing solution should improve. Basically, you need a company that can keep up with you. They need to work on their own staff and provide new and comprehensive training courses for their employees in order to achieve these results.

Conclusion

We hope you will end up with an outsourcing agency or freelancer you can trust and collaborate on numerous other projects in the future. Once you find a competent outsourcing company, it will be far easier to handle projects in the future.

See Also: A Practical Guide to Hiring and Managing Freelancers

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Leadership is a people business.

If you weren’t working with other people, you wouldn’t be a leader. You’d just be some crazed shouty guy on his own in a badly-lit office.

And, without a personality yourself, you would just be an app. You would just be regulating the flow of work, like an algorithm unable to bend or adapt to the human values around you.

At the heart of what makes us human is our emotions. We can concede that as a human with a personality and a workforce, you are technically a leader. But, if you don’t understand or can’t work with your emotions and those of your colleagues, then you’re not going to be a very effective one.

There is a name for that crucial faculty for understanding emotions and that is emotional intelligence or EQ for short. Everybody has at least an ounce of it. Some just have a different type than others. For the greatest leaders, it is as vital as water or air.

So what are the constituents of EQ?

There are three factors that add up to create your emotional intelligence. They are:

• Perceiving and understanding emotions. This is the basic ability to tell one emotion from another and their intensity in yourself and in others.
• Managing emotions. This is about keeping your emotions under control and the ability to consciously affect the emotions of your colleagues.
• Utilizing emotions. This is next level stuff. It is your ability to harness emotions and drive them towards helping you or your employees towards accomplishing tasks.

If these seem like unattainable superpowers to you, it’s time to start taking some specific steps to develop your abilities and learn what makes emotional intelligence for leaders.

How to assess your EQ

Figuring out your strengths and weaknesses can help you to identify which elements of your emotional intelligence need some work.

Emotional intelligence is a matter of responsibility, mindfulness and empathy. Ask yourself how you score on these factors in various scenarios and find out more about your EQ.

Responsibility

For example, when you wake up in the morning and you know you have a ton of work to do, what is your instinct?

If your first idea is to make a plan and work through your tasks, you can consider yourself pretty responsible. If your immediate idea is to roll over and go back to sleep until the big bad work has gone away, well, that’s less responsible.

You might want to take some time by yourself to figure out why you’re in the line of work you are and what leading your team truly means to you.

Mindfulness

How about when you reach the end of a tough day and you’re full of stress and rejected? Do you push it down, like a supposedly good, strong leader?

Well, that’s not dealing with the problem. It’s a fast-track to burnout. Your humanity doesn’t stop at the seams of your suit. You have a soul to listen to, too.

Instead, when you’re feeling stressed, try using mindfulness techniques to reconnect with your core. You can go for a walk, listen to the sounds around you, name the colors you can see from where you’re standing or name the emotions that you’re feeling.

See Also: 7 Ways Mindfulness Can Unlock The Door To Your Authentic Life

Empathy

Suppose you have good reason to pass that heavy workload onto a colleague who’s just as busy as you. Regardless of whether that was the right or wrong decision, did you stop to think about how that would make him feel?

Dishing out heavy workloads without a thought for the emotional consequences puts you back in the ‘app’ territory. In other words, you have about as much empathy as a smartphone.

Slow down, try to only give out tough tasks face to face and make eye contact. Train yourself to remember there’s a human being behind every workplace accomplishment.

See Also: How To Develop Empathy By Understanding Subjective Hardship

How to boost your EQ

So, now you have a pretty good idea where your EQ levels are at. Unless you’re Oprah or Mr. Rogers, there’s probably room for improvement.

Most of it is stuff you can do as you work. Slow down, try to identify problems as they arise instead of steaming through them and apply some of these techniques to train your EQ:

Improving your perception of emotions

Take some ‘me’ time. Put fifteen minutes aside each day to think about what you’ve felt at various junctures. Reflect on how you felt in your mind and the way it made your body feel. Soon you will come to better recognize your emotions in real time.

And take some ‘you’ time. Observe how the individuals in your team respond to situations and to each other. When one of them has a problem, ask yourself what the reason behind their behavior might be.

Are they overworked? Insecure? Unfulfilled? How does it feel to be that person wearing those shoes?

It doesn’t mean you need to tolerate their behavior, but it might help you find ways to rectify it without negatively impacting the team.

Improving your management of emotions

So, you’ve slowed down and you’ve figured out you’re stressed, what next?

A change of context is always good and can help you get perspective. If you’re hot and bothered, splash water on your face. If you’re furious and full of self-loathing, spend five minutes watering the office plants. Seriously.

Likewise, if you sense negative emotions in others, don’t rise to them. Instead, take a minute to collect yourself, take a deep breath and suggest they do the same.

Improving your utilization of emotions

Emotions are a powerful force. We’ve already seen how they make us human. Now, imagine if you could harness that power like a solar panel.

You can do that by tracing those emotions to their roots, figuring out what the problem is and working on it. If you feel out of your depth, write a plan. If your colleagues feel bitter and unfulfilled, give them a challenge right when they’re hungriest for it.

Now, your EQ level just rose from ‘political tyrant’ to ‘leadership ninja’. Work is about to get much better for you and all your loyal team.

Source

 

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Think back to your last firm handshake.

How much of your attention did this activity demand? Did you need to stop talking and devote your entire focus just to make sure you successfully grasped the other person’s hand?

Probably not as your brain is wired for parallel processing. Its seeing and guiding pathways allowed you to continue speaking while simultaneously doing a handshake.

Unfortunately, parallel processing doesn’t always come naturally to us.

For example, think back to the last time you found yourself listening to a conference call while responding to an urgent email. In all likelihood, that situation probably led to multitasking misery. Your heart rate and blood pressure spiked as you tossed your “undivided” attention back and forth. And, at the end of the day, neither task was executed to its full potential.

If this negative outcome sounds familiar to you, don’t worry. You’re not alone.

According to University of Utah researchers, just 2.5% of the population can be considered “supertaskers”. They are the people who can easily bounce between tasks without sacrificing quality.

In our professional lives, we would all benefit from becoming graceful jugglers who never need to focus on one ball at a time. In my book “Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try,” I explained how — through brain-based exercises that stimulate the default mode network (DMN), the brain’s “unfocus” circuit — we can train ourselves to become just that.

Here are three unfocus strategies that can help you develop parallel processing skills. They can make multitasking as easy as a handshake.

Dare to daydream

Throughout our lives, we’re told that daydreaming is a guilty, unproductive habit that distracts us from reality. On the contrary, however, science proves that daydreaming can actually be productive when it’s planned ahead of time and paired with a laid-back activity, like doodling or knitting.

This seemingly taboo practice played a major role in helping me leverage my passions for music, psychiatry, neuroscience and executive coaching into a business venture.

See Also: A Guide To Guilt-Free Daydreaming

Specifically, positive constructive daydreaming (PCD) is a technique that trains the brain to make quick associations and become more creative. To engage in PCD, pencil in a 10-minute period every day to find a quiet spot, pull your attention away from the computer screen and wander into your head.

Start the process by visualizing a playful and wish-laden image. It could be something relevant to the tasks currently on your plate. Then, allow this image to guide you on a productive daydreaming journey that helps you better predict the future.

According to Jerome Singer, the “father of daydreaming”, PCD is a reliable way to turn your brain into a fluent integration and association machine. This is a hallmark of parallel processing and a key ingredient of multitasking.

Get physical

A little bit of stress can actually go a long way when it comes to activating the DMN and unlocking your multitasking skills. However, it’s imperative to learn how to control this stress. Otherwise, your unfocus circuit can get stuck in the “on” position and you won’t be able to actually buckle down once it’s time to tackle tasks.

Brief periods of exercise- whether jogging or mock wrestling with your kids- offer a great way to reduce stress, bring more order to your DMN and boost your multitasking abilities. Rough-and-tumble play relieves the brain of the burden of focused attention while improving self-control. It switches your brain to autopilot and leaves you available to sense and respond.

This is exactly why I make a concerted effort to regularly incorporate physical activity into my life. I’m no Roger Federer, but I’ve found that my mind wanders toward innovative solutions when I play tennis. Through exercise, I’ve learned that physical fitness leads to mental prowess.

Provide feedback early and often

Motoring through your tasks without assessing your progress is the least effective thing you can do. Your brain doesn’t automatically update information and gauge results as you go along. You need to consciously provide it with this feedback and positive reinforcement. Otherwise, you’ll quickly find yourself feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Feedback can be divided into two primary categories: local and global.

Local feedback pertains to specific tasks (e.g., “That conference call went well.”), while global feedback refers to the task list as a whole (e.g., “On average, everything seemed to have gone well.”). When it comes to multitasking, gravitate toward frequent local feedback. Check in with yourself after each task, ask yourself how it went and move forward while making any necessary adjustments.

Multitasking is a challenge to our brains. But, with some training, it can be an invaluable skill that goes beyond handshakes. Activate your DMN and familiarize yourself with its inner workings. The resulting enhanced brain function will allow for connections, coordination and smooth execution in times when you need to juggle tasks.

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If you liked our previous article on movie locations, then you’ll enjoy this one too.

The best movies have the power to transport you to exciting places or faraway worlds. They can put you in the moment and make you feel like you’re part of the action. What could be more exciting than that?

Well, how about really being there?

We’re not talking about virtual reality tours or amusement park knockoffs. We’re talking about setting your feet on the same places that set the stage for some of Hollywood’s most iconic moments — or at least their real-world counterparts.

You can pretend you’re in the middle of your favorite scenes, so recite some lines if you feel like it or take a few Instagram-worthy snaps.

Bring Hollywood to life by visiting these five inspiring movie locations.

The castle from “Harry Potter”

First of all, there’s the famous Harry Potter series.

You’re a J.K. Rowling fan and you’ve got a wand and a Ravenclaw scarf to prove it. If only you could step inside Hogwarts and get a glimpse of Harry and his wizarding pals’ world.

Well, you can! And we’re not talking about the Universal Studios look-alike in Florida.

Although this movie used plenty of cool special effects to transport you to an ageless time, its makers chose a 500-year-old school as Hogwarts’ inspiration. Hop across the pond and visit Christ Church College in Oxford, United Kingdom. Guided trots around campus cost £13 (or about $17) per person and they’ll give you all the insights you can handle. Even a Slytherin would feel a little giddy about that.

“The Sound of Music” scenery

Unfortunately, you won’t be reenacting Julie Andrew’s iconic opening scene because the meadow where the scene was shot is privately owned. The owner isn’t welcoming to visitors, too.

Fortunately, the other scenes from this classic were filmed on location in Salzburg, Austria. More than 300,000 fans journey each year to this picturesque part of Europe, looking for their own chance to climb every mountain and spot Edelweiss in bloom.

Not sure you’re comfortable exploring alone? No problem. Tours abound for “Sound of Music” aficionados like you.

The Rebel base from “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope”

If you’ve got the skills to bull’s eye a womp rat in a T-16, then you’ll definitely want to check out Tikal in Guatemala.

This archeological site served as the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4. You won’t find any X-wings in the site’s temples. However, you can learn all about a civilization from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Tikal was one of the Mayan civilization’s largest cities during the Classic Era — more than 1,000 years ago.

Entry into the park will only set you back $20, but make sure you give yourself plenty of time. The central part of this ancient city covers almost 10 square miles.

The bridge from James Bond’s “Skyfall” thriller

Got a sweet spot for engineering marvels from the big screen? Then, you’ll want to check out the Varda Viaduct. This is where James Bond fell to his apparent doom in the opening of “Skyfall,” the Bond series’ 50th-anniversary offering.

Although train service prohibits tourists from walking the bridge, you can head to the surrounding cliffs in Istanbul and take in its 102-year-old glory. And if you’re going to Turkey anyway, you might as well absorb the culture.

The grate where Marilyn Monroe’s dress went viral

Finally, there’s that iconic white cocktail dress blowing in the air.

Although Marily Monroe is no longer with us, she’s cemented her place in American history and so has the location of her dress “slip-up” during the filming of “The Seven Year Itch.”

Monroe’s husband at the time, baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, didn’t appreciate the publicity stunt. Fortunately, you can still appreciate one of the most famous subway grates in movie history. It’s in New York City, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street.

While there are plenty of places we can’t visit (the Death Star comes to mind), there are tons of fantastic movie locations we can still visit. Next time you watch an awesome flick, take note of the scenery and do a little research after. You might be able to see a movie magic come to life.

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