How to Beat the Midday Slump.

We’ve all experienced the midday slump.

That sleepy, drowsy feeling you get in the afternoon.

You’re probably facing it almost daily after lunch.

And it’s tough.

You want to get your work done.
You don’t want your bosses or co-workers to see you struggling to stay awake.
You just wish it could go away.

Well, it can.

And it’s not all that hard to overcome it either.

But a mistake that we commonly make whenever we need more energy is to grab a cup of coffee.

That’s fine but it’s not an optimal solution to the problem.

Because the side effect of that cup of coffee is going to make you even drowsier later on when you crash.

Get moving instead.

One of the ways that many have tried and tested is to get up from your desk and start moving.

Work up a sweat and run out of breath if it’s possible.

Take a walk, climb up and down the stairs, do some squats, anything.

Exercise energizes you.

So the more ‘worked out’ you feel, the more energized you’ll be.

That’s because our body releases endorphins when we exercise.

They’re responsible for not just boosting our energy levels, but also improving our mood at the same time.

Being stagnant at your desk when you’re already drowsy makes things worse.

Get up and get moving.

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The Secret to Looking Younger than Your Age.

We all get old.
We all age.

There’s no running from it.

So we’re going to do it in the best way we possibly can.

We know of certain celebrities who just seem to stay as youthful as ever despite their age.

Just do a quick Google search on these people:

Jared Leto
Chuando Tan
Jennifer Lopez
Pharrell Williams

And you’ll see what I mean.

They’re perfect examples of aging done right.

Vibrant appearance, youthful energy and very hard workers.

And they all have something in common that keeps them in such top form at such an age.

They have healthy habits.

I’m not just talking about exercise.

Everyone knows exercise is good for them.

I’m talking about other healthy habits on top of that.

Everyone worries too much about how they look, how they feel, and if they’ll be able to still walk or make it past a certain age alive.

We worry too much.

But if there’s something you should know, it’s this:

Incorporate healthy HABITS into your life and let them take care of it.

Think about it.

If you have a habit of exercising 4 times a week, drinking a gallon of water a day, reading positive affirmations every morning, eating clean foods, etc.

You don’t have to worry about ‘aging badly’.

You’re pretty much set to live and age in the best possible way.

These habits will take care of you.

And the keyword here is ‘habit’.

You want your body to recognize all these healthy actions and activities as habits that you regularly perform with ease.

You won’t feel like procrastinating.
You won’t forget to do them.
And you won’t be pressured to do them in any way.

They just become effortless things you do on a regular basis.

Years down the road, you’ll start to see the benefits manifest themselves in your life.

Build healthy habits and they’ll serve you well.

Are you a Producer or Consumer?

There are two types of people in this world.

Producers and consumers.

Producers create content, launch products and sell them for the world to use and interact with.

Consumers buy and use what these producers create.

It’s fine to be a consumer.

In fact, we’re all consumers to varying extents.

We buy groceries, eat at restaurants, shop for clothes and watch Netflix.

But are you producing or creating anything that will leave your mark in this world you live in?

That’s the more important question.

We all have something unique to offer to this world.

We’re all creative and talented in our unique ways.

It’s such a huge waste if we’re not using all of that to create something that’s uniquely us.

Leonardo DaVinci created (painted) the Mona Lisa.
Steve Jobs created (invented) the iPhone.
Mark Zuckerberg created (launched) Facebook.

And if you think about how Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg started out, it’s almost mind-blowing to see how far they’ve come and the empire they built.

Because they decided to start creating.

Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook with his Harvard roommate.

Now it’s one of the most widely used social networking site in the world.

Create, produce and see where it takes you.

Leave your mark in this world with something that’s uniquely you.

How To Make Time Fly At Work.

You know those days.

Those days when you’re at work and time just seems to be crawling by.

“It’s only 2pm?!”, you think to yourself as you wait impatiently for the clock to strike 6 so you can leave work.

We’ve all had those days.

And fortunately, there are some easy techniques you can implement to make time pass.

So what can you do to make time go by faster then?

For a start, hide the clock.

Keep it out of your sight as you’re working.

The more you check the time, the slower time will seem to pass.

It’s a psychological effect and I’m sure some can attest to this.

Every time you check the clock, you’re subconsciously reminding yourself of the time left.

And this takes you out of the zone if you’re working.

And the key to making time fly is to GET IN THE ZONE.

There’s no better advice out there about making time pass but this.

Trust me.

And more importantly, to continue staying in the zone while you’re in it.

So hide the clock so you don’t check it by accident and get taken out of the zone.

And to get in the zone a lot more quicker, use the Pomodoro technique.

If you don’t already know what it’s about, click here to read up about it.

But the Pomodoro technique is useful for getting you in the zone quick.

Try it out for yourself.

Hide the clock, get in the zone and watch time fly.

Just make sure you’ve gotten enough sleep the day before.

Nothing makes time crawl more when you’re sleepy and tired.

How We Become “Old”.

Ever wondered why adults are “boring” and why kids are lively and fun?

Well, that’s probably because we stopped doing the things we did when we were kids.

Kids just have that zest for life and an unstoppable amount of energy that we adults seem to lack.

So what is it that kids do that we don’t?

More importantly, what is it that kids have that we don’t?

Well, it turns out there are quite a few things.

The first being curiosity.

Kids are always asking about anything and everything.

“Where do babies come from?”
“Why are there no more dinosaurs?”
“Why do people get sick?”

And they never end.

Kids also have an innate ability to play.

Like 24/7, unlike us adults.

A kid’s life is almost entirely made up of studying and playing since they don’t have the same responsibilities as adults do.

An adult’s life consists of work, responsibilities and even more work.

A lot of times we’re too busy to even think about scheduling some play time in our lives.

Then we just become dull and boring and “old”.

Kids also embody the definition of the word ’mindfulness’.

Kids are always living in the moment.

They don’t fill their thoughts about the past or the future.

They’re always living in the now.

And they’re fully consumed in whatever activity they’re doing.

That’s actually a very important aspect of happiness and contentment in life too.

Being in the moment frees you from thinking about past hurts or stresses about the future.

Sure kids might be thinking about what they want to do later when they get home from school.

But even so, they’re most likely going to be thinking about playing and having fun.

So be curious, present in the moment, and play!

The Best Way to Ensure Weight Loss.

It’s not by eating lesser.
It’s not by working out more.
It’s not by following some diet plan given by some professional.

If we’re constantly fixated about wanting to lose weight, that’s actually not the best way to lose weight!

Instead of asking,
“How can I lose weight?”

Think of,
“How can I be healthier?”

It makes a lot of sense because healthy people tend to have a healthy and generally lighter weight.

And they do so simply by having healthy habits.

Losing weight is all about being healthier.

We can’t expect our body to hold less weight if we’re stuffing ourselves with all kinds of junk and not exercising in some way.

We miss the bigger picture by focusing too much on weight loss and not being healthier.

So do a little exercise here and think of all the unhealthy habits that you currently have and write them down – snacking on potato chips, not exercising, eating fast food, anything.

Write them all down.

And when you’re done, we’re going to get rid of them one at a time.

If you realise you’ve been snacking on potato chips every time you get home from work, it’s time to reduce that.

If you realise that you’ve been drinking a can of coke every day for lunch, it’s time to reduce that.

If you realise that you don’t exercise at all, it’s time to change that.

But do it one at a time.

Choose one unhealthy habit from the list and work on getting rid of it.

Then move on to the next.

You’ll eventually realise that as your list of unhealthy habits becomes shorter, your body starts feeling and looking better too.

But it’s a slow and long process.

The state of our body and our weight are ultimately a result of our overall physical health.

Live an unhealthy lifestyle and our body will reflect it.

There are no shortcuts and quick fixes to it.

Live, look and feel healthy.

Simplicity.

In a world that demands and wants more, we overlook the importance of simplicity.

We live in an age where complexity is rewarded.

The more complicated and sophisticated something is, the more likely it is to be accepted and highly regarded.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

But it’s bad if we think that every idea or solution to a problem needs to be complex.

Sometimes the best solutions are really simple.

Even for tough and huge problems.

Like the invention of the wheel to get heavy goods from one point to another.
Like the international space station that was saved by a toothbrush in 2012.
Like the Ivanhoe Reservoir in Los Angeles that was saved by plastic balls in 2008.

These were all huge problems that were solved by simpler solutions.

You can probably think of some examples in your life too.

Not every tough problem requires a tough solution to counter it.

Sometimes, all it takes is just an absurd and simple idea. 

But simple doesn’t mean that it’s worse or inferior.

It’s just a lot easier to implement and understand, which is good.

And it can be just as good, if not better than a more complex idea.

So embrace some form of simplicity in your lives.

It takes a truly creative mind to be able to come up really simple solutions to complex ideas.

It’s time to exercise that creativity of yours.