More Time

12 Things you can do right now to improve your life which require minimum effort

This

time of year can be depressing, no sun, overspent, no excitement and trudging to and fro in the cold, and every television channel, newspaper and magazine telling you how to change your life !! Here at Hot Brands we want to try and be different.

So we are not going to try shock tactics, or nagging, or try to encourage you to do the impossible. Instead we are going to share things we have tried, and suggest that you take your time in trying to do them. So for example in Week One we suggest that you think about smiling and laughing more, it costs nothing, requires minimum effort, but could make you feel so much better. Each of our suggestions we have tried, but it all needs regular maintenance so if you do follow the plan, we will be doing it right alongside you !! Each week we will be giving hints and tips linked to each theme.

If you focused on one of these each week, by the time the first of the Spring Bank Holidays arrives on May 5th we could all have made a real difference to our lives.

1.The first one is really easy, try and smile and laugh more, laughter releases endorphins, which help to reduce stress levels. Whenever you feel you have had a stressful day, try and find a ‘feel good’ DVD, or call a friend that you know will make you laugh with stories of what has happened in their day. Try and avoid the people that you know are a drain on your energy, seek out the people who make you feel better. If you know that you have a tendency to see the bleaker side of life, try and find things to feel positive about. Even anticipation of

of laughing can help to relax you, as can happy memories.

Try and have a favourite collection of books, photographs, music and DVDs, to help you chill out. If you have the opportunity to see the stars safely from where you live, take time to just stand and look upwards, there are amazing constellations on a clear crisp night, you may recognise a few, but frankly just relax and be amazed how beautiful the night sky can be. Linked to this general feelgood factor, is to really try and make your home a welcoming haven for you and your family. It shouldn’t become a battleground; don’t waste time rowing with your partner, or having shouting matches with your children, try and build mutual respect between all of you. In reality children as well as adults can have “a hard day at the office” when they go to school and they get homework too!

Try and create a bedtime routine for everyone that involves family time, relaxation and a cool down.

2. Try and find out what motivates you, if you have ever applied for a job you will probably have had feedback about your personality or character traits, but at home you may be very different than how you are in work, however some characteristics will apply everywhere. Take every opportunity you

have to find out more about yourself. If you think you will achieve your goals more effectively with help, see what kind of support is available to you, or what you can afford. You can achieve an awful lot yourself, but try and understand more about your sleep patterns, your energy levels, identifying what has worked for you in the past, and trying to recreate similar circumstances.

Think about who you know who can help you, informally through friends, business colleagues, or perhaps more formally through coaching.

Also identify the advantages, if I sort out my finances, I would worry less; I can save for a decent holiday, a deposit for a house. If I went to bed earlier, maybe getting up wouldn’t be so hard.

3.Getting organised, managing your time, reducing clutter are all important ways of making your life more efficient, leaving you more free time for the things you really want to do. One of the main reasons we waste time is trying to find things. Make a real effort to reduce the clutter that surrounds you, whether in your inboxes, on your desk, or at home, set up a system for dealing with all of it. There are now really attractive storage solutions, both for the office and at home. Don’t try and do it all in one go, set yourself targets, particularly at home, so that you get some space to relax as well. Much of it is about controlling paperwork, and keeping on top of chores. Setting time aside to deal with your backlog, say for example filing when perhaps you are doing something else, listening to music, waiting for a meal to cook, using some of that dead time to start the process.

put in your diary a deadline just marginally earlier than you really need it.

In terms of diary management, get in the habit of allowing yourself thinking time, book some time out each week, which is “me time” to allow yourself to plan for meetings, or just to catch up. If you get frustrated by phone conversations, or meetings that take too long, try and get an agreement before the meeting, or the phone call, of how long it will take and stick to it. It can be hard in team meetings, but most meetings take too long; see of you can encourage your colleagues to be more focused in the interests of everyone.

5. While you are getting organised set up a plan to take control of your finances, most of us have seen Martin Lewis’s campaigns on the television, but he has an excellent website http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ which as well as promoting particular campaigns, also has money saving tips. Make this the week when you try and make plans for the future, look at all your outgoings and see if you are getting the best deals on your utilities, are you managing your money as effectively as you can? Could you make economies on some luxuries, or non-essentials and start saving for something you would really like to do. Even if you are experiencing real difficulties and can’t face acknowledging it, there are excellent agencies designed to help people handle their debt, for example the Consumer Credit Counselling Service http://www.cccs.co.uk/

6. Make a plan for regular exercise; it does not have to be like a boot camp, all the evidence shows that a little increase in exercise undertaken on a regular basis can make a big difference. Walking, a gentle workout at home, swimming, or even just going outside and getting some fresh air. Our brain needs oxygen to function effectively, so apart from apart getting a break from the office you will concentrate much better from the change in scenery. Even if you work for yourself, build 4.In terms of time-management, it really is in regular breaks. Exercise can also be fun, relatively easy to change the way you organise again it comes down to how well you know your time, one very easy way is just to set all yourself, and what works for you. your watches and clocks just slightly fast, not so much that you know they are ten minutes If you respond to a more disciplined approach fast and you still work up to ten minutes after book time in your diary, decide which activity you should have been somewhere, but just fast works best for you and make a commitment enough to start you getting ready earlier. Always this week to start. If you are more spontaneous being late is really stressful, and bad for your make a commitment with yourself that you reputation, try this week to really make an effort will start doing some kind of exercise this to arrive for meetings bang on time, or slightly week, allow yourself to chose from some early. You can always get a coffee, to avoid different options and reward yourself when being the first in the room if you prefer, but its you start. Try and choose something that you much better than arriving late, breathless, after know you will like and that you will be able the meeting has started. If you are always late to sustain, for example, going swimming with for deadlines, do the same thing, tell yourself, or a friend on a Thursday might work for you Even starting with three empty shoeboxes, and at the end of each day, sorting out your expenses slips, receipts for items, papers to be shredded and junk mail to throw out in the recycle bin. Whether you work from home, or are employed, try to have a clear desk, or at least an organised desk by the end of the day. Try and leave yourself time to create a “To do” list for the next day, particularly on a Friday, so that you can get a head start on Monday

, painting, going out to the park. Family activities like bowling, cycling, swimming are not just good exercise, but also fun. Your children will love having you play with them and it will also help you to relax. Its also amazing how absorbed you can become in child’s play, with Shrove Tuesday, Mother’s Day and Easter coming up there are plenty opportunities to make things with your children. Turn off the television and do something else; it is so easy to slump on the sofa, when you get home from 7. Linked to this it is important keep an eye work. Join a night class, go dancing, go out for on your general health, go for regular check- a mid-week meal, or go to the cinema. ups, teeth, eyes, body MOT’s, don’t ignore symptoms, particularly if you have a family Also keep in touch with other friends and history of a particular disease. Carry out your family, as more of us choose to live on our own self-examination checks. Encourage your own, or to move abroad, it’s all too easy to partner too. Look after your body; think about become isolated. Remember birthdays, take your posture, is your office chair set at the right the time to send a card, write a thank you height? Occupational health is an important part note, buy thoughtful and different birthday of an office and you can get help to make sure presents, become the friend that you would that you are working in the best conditions. For like to have. Doing things for other people can people working in small offices or self –employed help in creating a feel good factor. this is often neglected, but it is equally important to make sure that you don’t strain your eyes, or 10. Broaden your knowledge, spend time spend hours on a kitchen chair, when perhaps finding out about other countries, cultures, you should invest in an office chair and desk. increasingly we live in a virtually connected Lighting is equally important; you may want to global world. Broaden your knowledge, think about getting daylight simulation bulbs, expand your mind. Soon you will be able which are easier on the eye. Also try and build to click through from the Hot Brands Cool in sensible and regular beauty routines, looking Places UK site to other sites in different parts after your skin, protecting it from the sun, of the world. As well as finding out about the drinking plenty of water, building your health countries, think about some of the global issues that we have to deal with. Even on a from within. small scale, think about ways that you could 8. Find out the truth about food. Don’t be give something back. Could you help in your seduced into crazy diets, follow a healthy diet, local community, do you regularly support a if you can’t buy something locally for lunch charity? Do you regularly exercise your brain? that you like, which is healthy, bring in a packed There are now many fun activities that you lunch. Increasingly most organisation’s internal can do, for you and your family keep your restaurants have healthy options. Read the brain active. Encourage the growth of your Truth About Food, one of our favourite books, children’s general knowledge, through playing which exposes some of the myths about food. games, taking them to museums, art galleries.

Buy a healthy cookbook. If you missed the Great Food Fight on Channel 4 visit the website http:// 11. Review your career, are you happy at work? www.channel4.com/food/ and see the highlights Are you being recognised for the effort you from the programmes, including some recipes. are putting in? Are you doing what you want to Like exercise, it is important to find an eating do? Do you come to work full of enthusiasm? plan that works for you; when you are having a Or, can’t you wait to leave? Unfortunately the general health check find out about your weight career’s advice at school, or university often and BMI, get the facts and then work with doesn’t identify the full range of options that them. In reality if you need to lose weight for really exist, so many people drift into jobs health reasons you will probably need support, that may not be the best fit for their talents. it is very hard to stick to a diet on your own. Many people do not really acknowledge their Finding a well-balanced diet that is right for you potential, and they may not receive helpful will increase your rate of success, buying the feedback from others about how to develop. right food, taking regular exercise and rewarding We would never encourage people to make yourself when you achieve weight loss, is likely to rash decisions about their careers, but we do be a more successful route, than a strict regime encourage people to recognise their talents which you stick to for a few days and then give and to look realistically at the opportunities that might exist. If you would like to take up. control of your career, see our latest book.

9. Make a plan to spend quality time with your Do Something Wonderful! A Guide to Getting partner, or children. Spending time baking, the Best from Your Career more effectively than signing up to joining a Health Club, when you know you will probably go a few times and then lose interest. Or if you don’t like exercising with others buying a dance DVD and do it when you get home from work, or Sunday morning, or even just going for a walk by yourself, or with a partner over the weekend is a start. Always stay safe if walking, try and go with someone else and check with a GP before taking exercise.

12. Plan little treats, rewards, things that will motivate you to do some of the things you don’t want to do, and to keep you working on the areas above that are important for you. This is one of the most effective ways of handing difficult tasks, not just for you, but also for your family too. If you really want to do things differently you need to be able to keep going, but it is very difficult if it’s a “nice to do” rather than a “must do”. We can always give ourselves reasons and excuses for not doing things, we’re too tired, demands from colleagues, work pressures, but if you really want to make changes, it will need a level of discipline, but coupled with a reward can encourage us to do it. For example make a list of the activities you need to do, and set aside a limited amount of time to do each one and then reward yourself. Try and vary your routine so that you don’t get bored with it, encourage everyone to help. Make it easy for yourself, tackle unpleasant chores as you go along, if for example your partner loves to cook and normally uses every utensil try loading the dishwasher half-way through. Alternatively load the dishwasher between courses. Equally washing up before going to bed after a dinner party along with drinking plenty of water means that the hangover will be less painful and you could go out for breakfast instead! Washing clothes mid-week rather than at the weekend, means that you have more free time at the weekend. Waking up early one morning a week to work on a project that you really want to do, could mean that you are fresher and have a clearer mind than trying to do it after work.

We hope you find this article useful and in a small way it helps you achieve a healthier, happy and more fulfilled balanced life.

“From time to time to remind ourselves to relax, to be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend and enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on earth”.

- Thich Nhat Hanh