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  • Mark Townsend

Why Being Financially Organized Can Help Your Motivation and Emotional Well-Being
Finance

Why Being Financially Organized Can Help Your Motivation and Emotional Well-Being

There is no doubt that falling into debt is stressful. People living in the UK owe more than £1.5 trillion and the average household debt is £57,349. That’s a lot of money, so it’s no wonder that many people can’t sleep at night. The situation is not much better in other countries either. In the USA, figures released by the Federal Reserve reveal that credit card debt ballooned to $1.02 trillion in July. In both countries, the level of personal debt is such that many economists are concerned it could trigger another recession.Why Being Financially Organized Can Help Your Motivation and Emotional Well-BeingBeing broke is difficult. Money doesn’t always make us happy, but not having any money in your wallet limits what you can do. Money worries are also the major cause of stress in 35% of relationships. Without any spare cash, you can’t book a weekend away, enjoy a night out with friends, or indulge your passion for investment whether via online trading or utilizing spread betting platforms. In fact, you can’t do much at all. Debt and mental health problemsDebt is inextricably linked to mental health problems. Falling into debt causes anxiety, depression, and stress. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before we are sucked into a vicious circle: the more we worry about debt, the harder it is to make sensible financial decisions that could get us out of debt. A 2012 survey of 10,000 households in the UK found that people with debt problems were twice as likely to suffer from mental health issues. Interestingly, though, the incidence of depression and anxiety is lower in areas where debt and financial issues are more common, as there is a greater level of community acceptance. Intense feelings of anxiety are common among those struggling with debt. Many people feel isolated because of their debt problems. Admitting you can’t cope with your money problems often triggers a sense of shame. A 2012 survey of 438 psychology graduate students discovered that financial worries ranked second, just below academic concerns. Many students reported feelings of shame, guilt, and denial about their money worries. With student debt soaring to £100 billion, it’s no wonder that today’s students are crippled with anxiety over their personal finances. Small victoriesPaying off your debts is key to improving your emotional well-being. Organizing your finances might seem like an impossible task when you are drowning in debt, but a Texas A&M research study found that tackling small debts first gave people the motivation to deal with their larger debts. So, instead of over-facing yourself with a seemingly impossible task of paying off a £10,500 credit card bill, start with a smaller goal and an affordable payment plan.Organize your debts and decide which bills are most urgent. Speak to your creditors. Take charge and see if they will reduce your debts or accept lower payments for a while. Too many people slip into a state of denial when their personal finances begin to spiral out of control. Sticking your head in the sand is not an option. Be proactiveBeing proactive and looking at ways to manage your money will give you the motivation to pay off your debts and be more organized in the future. This, in turn, will boost your mood and help you stay mentally strong.You will be far happier if you take control of your personal finances. Create a manageable budget and stick to it, but if debt problems are keeping you up at night, make an appointment to speak to a debt counsellor.

How to Increase CRM Adoption in Sales Teams
Skills

How to Increase CRM Adoption in Sales Teams

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is one of the greatest success investments a company or business can make in its lifetime. It is also a significant factor that fosters success for businesses that face consumers directly. For you to get the most sophisticated benefits of using CRM, you must be sure that the system is being utilized properly by your employees, especially the sales team members. How to Increase CRM Adoption in Sales TeamsThe customer relationship management market has seen a steady growth in the recent past. For this reason, its value is estimated to stand at $19 billion. However, migrating to the use of the new system is not one of the things you should take for granted. Despite the overall market success, the customer relationship management initiatives have suffered more than 60 percent failure rates in the industry. However, people admit that these failures are out of exaggerations. However, their existence indicates a weakness in a flawed process. Reasons for failureMany ways are available for CRM to fail so that its adoption can gain favor in the eyes of the sales team members. The best way it fails is by choosing the wrong product for your work or business. Maybe it may lack the correct features for having the workflow of the sales the company makes. In some occasions, it may come with numerous features that cause the representatives find frustration and complications. Maybe it does not have the capability to integrate with some products you normally use like email sharing. A customer relationship management system can be of no use if it does measure usage and track investment returns. This is true when it does not enforce and support key leaders. No pay out, and no buy-ins. Ways to boost adoptionThe adoption of CRM is not about forcing people to use it. However, it is all about showing them the true value it adds to the sales processes as well as equipping them for success in usage. Let’s look at the strategies below.Upper-management buy-inWhen most buyers consider adoption, they think about forcing sales representatives to use the system. However, the only target audience is not the end-users. The upper management of the company should also be engaged. Leadership plays a role in enforcing usability standards and selling it to the company.Employ buy-inIntrinsic motivation is more important than extrinsic motivation. Instead of forcing the use of CRM by your junior members, let them make it a choice to use it because of its benefits. Before committing a product, let them get your input. What do you hate or like about this system? Provide rewards or recognition to top performers after installing the system.Provide on-going and pre-emptive trainingFor an average sales rep, it can be a daunting task to learn the use of a new system. While the old systems had its problems, they managed to use it. Training process involves training users how to use the new system. Some vendors offer online training tools through webinars, video tutorials, and a troubleshooting guide. Beyond training, ensure they access updates, support tools, and best information practices.

Frictionless Efficiency: Preparing Your Office Environment for Hyper Productivity
Productivity

Frictionless Efficiency: Preparing Your Office Environment for Hyper Productivity

When running a business, one of the key indicators of success for your team is how well they work together, and this comes out in the metrics of productivity and efficiency. Like any other machine, it can be judged on how well its takes its input and generates its output. Machines, like car engines, lose much of their efficiency due to "friction". For car engines this can be mechanical friction (which is why it's important to change your oil and tighten your belts), but for humans it can be more abstract. Frictionless Efficiency: Preparing Your Office Environment for Hyper Productivity There are many different factors that go into reducing friction within a business process, just as there are many different factors that go into team building and company productivity. Today we will focus on some "low hanging fruit", i.e.: is your office best equipped to support a well functioning and "frictionless" team? Optimize your office or workspace productivity with these tips Whether you are working at the company office, or you have your own home office, it can be difficult to be productive all the time. Some days, you just can’t seem to get yourself to work. Other days, you get distracted and the day runs away from you. If this is a regular occurrence however, you may need to rethink your office space. With these helpful tips, you can upgrade your office and improve productivity all at the same time. Organize your space The first step that you can take to improve productivity is to organize your space. This means that everything has a place, and you remove clutter from your area. It is difficult to focus on work if you cannot find it in the many piles of papers and documents everywhere. It is much easier to focus on your work when that is the only thing that you have to focus on. There are plenty of organizers to purchase online, which can help you find homes for your writing utensils, papers, and other important items. Focus on ergonomics This has been a rising trend recently, with the advent of "standing desks", sitting balls, ergonomic office chairs and various other fancy products all claiming to reduce the unhealthy effects of long hours at the computer. These products won't work for everyone, but it's important to find what works for you and your team and make these options available for your office workers. More importantly, don't expect your team to necessarily know they are being non-ergonomic. Many people don't realize the inefficiency of their work until they develop some type of repetitive strain injury (like carpal tunnel syndrome). A good way to go about it is to provide them the basics, including a vertical mouse, ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic chair. Once these bases are covered, ask them some inquiring questions about their comfort level, and adjust to their specific needs. Create to-do lists When you are busy working, it can be difficult to keep a track of everything you need to accomplish, and when you need to accomplish them by. And then you have the problem of trying to do too many things in one day, and not being able to accomplish the most important items. In order to help with these problems, creating to-do lists helps you prioritize what is the most important items for you to accomplish, and what your goals are for the day. You can ensure that the most important things get done first, and you can plan to try and complete a reasonable amount of tasks in a day. Disconnect from social media Social media is both a blessing and a curse for busy people, especially those who are trying to improve their productivity. On one hand, social media can help you network and connect with other people, expanding the reach of your business. On the other hand, social media can be very distracting, and keep you from working on what you need to complete. It is important that you give yourself a set amount of time to be on social media, and disconnect from social media the rest of the time. Healthy snacking For many people, stress snacking can be a very real thing. The other typical response is to not eat at all, because you are too busy. Both of these are not healthy for you, and drain you of energy, so that you feel more exhausted earlier. In order to avoid this fatigue, it is important that you keep healthy snacks around your office, so that you remember to eat, and that you do not stress eat unhealthy foods. But eating healthy snacks, you will give your body the energy it needs to keep working and improve your overall productivity.

How Does Your Physical Fitness Impact Your Mental Health?
Mental Health

How Does Your Physical Fitness Impact Your Mental Health?

Well, it has always been a known fact that our mind and body have an intricate relationship. So, when you feel ill it’s very obvious that you’ll not be feeling mentally refreshed and vibrant. For example, if someone is suffering from a deadly disease then normally it happens like that he or she will neither feel content nor happy at any point of time. Want to know more about the correlation in a specific way? Okay, today I am here with an in-detailed explanation of that. Just take a glance over and enlighten yourself about this critical and must-know fact so that you can take necessary steps whenever you’re feeling that there is any kind of health or mental complication that you’re suffering from. Let’s start! How Does Your Physical Fitness Impact Your Mental Health?A good health can help you to remain calmYes, that’s true enough! If you’re having a healthy body it is very sure that it can act as a mood enhancer for you as well as lets you to be calm and composed. So, make sure that you’re exercising regularly and always having a proper sleep. It’s because these are the two main factors which help your body and mind to be healthy. But, you might not be able to get a proper sleep, thanks to the hectic work schedules and various worries that most of us have nowadays. So, if there is any such scenario with you then you can buy some potential sleeping pills from the top-brands after consulting your doctor. Mental rest increases your patienceYou should know that the mental fatigue and physical fatigue in you are interlinked. If you’re doing any mentally tiring work then it is very sure that you’ll lose your physical endurance. Although mental fatigue will not cause your muscles or heart to perform in a different way but the overall affect that it cause to your physical health is just worst. You’ll feel that nothing is good around you and it will reduce your capability to hold on into any kind of good or bad conversation. Hippocampus enlarges with fitnessThe fact is true enough that your hippocampus remains healthy and increases in size when you’re physically fit. It is actually the center of emotion and feelings in your brain. So, if you’re not physically fit and are suffering from any kind of physical issues then your hippocampus is supposed to shrink. Always make sure that you’re healthy enough so that your hippocampus remains enlarged and you feel emotionally strong. Stress is related to breast cancerOkay, breast cancer is a disease from which almost every other woman is suffering nowadays. It has become a buzzing disease with which most of the cancer specialists are dealing throughout the world. And there are some proven records that the ladies who’re suffering from cancer are somehow linked up with various kinds of traumatic and stressful life events. So, all you ladies out there, make sure that you’re making the right moves to keep yourself happy and content so that you can be ensured about not suffering from such a dangerous disease in future. So, make sure that you’re doing some yoga, having good food and enough sleep etc. to keep yourself healthy as this will certainly help you to be mentally strong and active as well. So, considering the fact that our body is the house of our mind it would be great if we treat both of these simultaneously.

5 Essential Tools for Increasing the Customer Experience
Skills

5 Essential Tools for Increasing the Customer Experience

Do we really need to make a comprehensive introduction about the importance of increasing customer experience and keeping your clients satisfied? No, we really don’t. Because if you are reading this, then you already know why you should keep your customers happy. What you are not sure is how to do it. Well, there are a number of different solutions for increasing customer experience: some companies opt for expensive but effective call centers and live chat systems, while others choose slow but cheaper old-fashioned emails and message systems. There are many options -- but which one is right for you? Many software tools are available on the market, each one with its own pros and cons. After thorough research and user recommendation analysis, we have taken upon ourselves to make a brief list of the top five tools for increasing customer experience. All of them have free trials or free licenses that will allow you to test them before choosing the right one for your business. 5 Essential Tools for Increasing the Customer Experience Freshdesk Freshdesk is a help desk software suitable for companies that prefer a lean approach. The IT help desk exists to quickly resolve technical issues and incidents, as well as users' immediate needs. It can stand separately or be part of a larger service desk operation. With Freshdesk you can automate multiple processes and manage multiple groups, workflows and escalation procedures. This web-based app comes with a self-service portal, a knowledge base, and community forums so customers view the status of their tickets, as well as discuss solutions and ideas. Freshdesk includes multi-language and multi-timezone capabilities and comes in five pay-as-you-go price plans which can go up to $89 per agent monthly, depending on available options and size of your business. ServiceDesk Plus Unlike Freshdesk, ServiceDesk Plus by ManageEngine is -- as its name states -- a service desk software. In comparison to a help desk, the term “service desk” is considered to be more broad, strategic and cross-organizational. Focused on business rather than solely users' needs, a typical service desk manages incidents, service requests, and handles the communication with the end users. Therefore, compared to help desk software such as Freshdesk, ServiceDesk is more comprehensive and complexed. ServiceDesk software offers asset tracking, incident and contract management, purchasing, self-service portal and knowledge base. Normal and ITIL editions are available in three flexible plans depending on your company’s size and needs -- standard, professional and enterprise. Conversocial Many people have contacted diverse companies for various reasons via Twitter or Facebook, and had their issues resolved in a matter of minutes -- all it took was a few taps on the phone screen. And since the number of users is increasing daily, keeping constant tabs on social media is paramount when it comes to maintaining positive customer relations. Customer service has expanded on social networks as well. Therefore, applications such as Conversocial will keep you up to speed. By allowing the app to perform intelligent ticket and issue prioritization, you can manage all of a company’s social media interactions on a single screen. Conversational also offers useful collaboration features such as team-based routing, internal notes, approval systems, collision controls and unified queue. Users have commended its easy-to-use and well-organized interface, as well as the prioritization system of incoming messages across channels. However, the cost can be rather high for some -- it starts at $149 a month per user. Active Collab If your company is handling digital projects, a management tool such as Active Collab can help you stay organized and on track, while simultaneously including clients in the process. Handling digital projects usually implies managing teams, delegating tasks and keeping a budget and deadlines on track. It will sometimes, however, imply handling clients and their needs as well. Even though different clients have different needs, most of them have two things in common: they will want regular progress reports, and they will want their feedback to be taken into consideration. For that, you can choose Active Collab: a powerful yet simple project management software for creative agencies that enables you to fully include your clients in the process. First, invite them to join a project so they can track work progress, as well as the time and money spent. After that, assign them to a certain role and give them more permissions (like the ability to create tasks), or restrict their access and hide sensitive topics, files or discussions when needed. Finally, make an invoice and bill them for your effort -- swiftly and easily. With Active Collab you can track time spent on the project, organize tasks easily, and simplify collaboration within the team as well. Th errice plan for this project management tool starts at $25 and goes all the way to $299 per month, depending solely on the number of team members that will be using it. Live Help Now A survey conducted by Mattersight Corporation found that 85% of millennials prefer face-to-face interaction with coworkers. The same study shows that the similar number of them are dissatisfied by customer service and support from certain companies, mostly because there was no possibility of live interaction. One of the respondents stated: “They didn’t offer an option to call and talk to someone. It was Web only, and my problem wasn’t featured among troubleshooting options.” And while certain companies expect you to leave your question in written form, others have implemented live chat support -- some of them by choosing Live Help Now. LiveHelpNow has scored 9.75 out of 10 on the Toptenreviews.com website and has proven to be the software of choice for small and growing businesses that want to improve their customer experience. This application consists of four core components: live chat system, trouble ticket system, support system with knowledge base management and callback management system. It will help you to increase customer satisfaction, reduce support costs and drive online sales more easily. LiveHelpNow pricing starts at $21 and depends on components you choose, as well as the number of operators that will be using it. Final words Just in case you need a reminder, increased satisfaction, higher referral rates, reduced churn, and gain of competitive advantage and differentiation are the reasons why you should maintain customer experience and keep their expectations high. So choose a proper tool and choose it wisely, because service is no longer just a separate, final phase of the customer lifecycle. It has become an important aspect of the business which, if done right, will allow you to easily gain new and retain old customers and clients alike.

How to Encourage Productivity at Work
Productivity

How to Encourage Productivity at Work

The majority of us spend much of our day at work. Since we spend so long in the workplace, it is important that we are happy both with our jobs and with the environment in which we work. After all, being unhappy at work can lead to serious implications not only during working hours but for your health and in your personal life as well. While it is virtually impossible to ensure that you are constantly happy at work, there are still many ways in which you can work towards ensuring that every working day is as good as it can possibly be. There is a direct link between happiness, motivation and productivity – a productive person is a motivated one; a motivated person is a happy one. Someone who is content with their current job and pleased with the work that they do is somebody who will be working to their full capacity as effectively as possible. Therefore, the benefits for employers of putting employees’ happiness first are clear to see. There are a wide variety of ways in which levels of happiness can be improved, which should then have a positive knock-on effect when it comes to motivation, productivity, and ultimately, success. How to Encourage Productivity at Work People rarely succeed unless they are having fun in what they are doing. - Dale Carnegie Targets Setting goals and targets that you want your employees to achieve is a great way to boost their productivity. Make sure that you are tapping into people’s natural sense of competitiveness by setting goals that are realistically achievable while still stretching them a little further past their usual boundaries. A word of warning – make sure that any competition stays friendly, as the last thing that you want is for your team to suddenly find itself divided by competition! Success Similarly, you should make sure that you are always ready to celebrate successes within the workplace. Whether it is a team achievement or an individual accomplishment, both should be valued and appreciated equally in order to further motivate your team in the future. After all, praise and rewards show your employees that all their hard work is not only noticed but also respected, which can provide a big boost in terms of motivation and self-esteem. Variety Variety is the spice of life, and it is never easier for something to quickly become bland and boring than at work. Counteract the negative effects of the same old tasks day in, day out, by introducing something a little different into the working day. A simple way to do this is by giving the office an update to provide a fresh feel. Whether it is a new coat of paint, some bright accessories or just a change in layout and seating arrangements, all of these things can work towards creating a more positive working atmosphere. Of course, this is all well and good for the traditional office environment, but some workplaces simply don’t have the ability to be able to adapt to incorporate a fresh feel. Luckily, there is another great way to add some extra variety into the working day. Fun team-building events are perfect for getting everybody out of the usual workplace and allowing them the freedom to try something new together. Team building events are known for encouraging people to work together and develop workplace relationships, but they are also a brilliant way of increasing motivation and removing the negative effects of an unchanging routine. If the weather is a concern, why not opt for indoor team-building activities instead? That way, you can safely try something new while remaining secure in the knowledge that the weather can’t spoil the fun day of events that you’ve got planned. Once you begin to implement these changes and work towards improving the working lifestyle of your employees, you will then see a rise in levels of both motivation and productivity. Since the two are so closely interlinked with happiness, these three things are surefire ways to guarantee success.

6 Easy Tips to Reenergize Your Life
Self-Development

6 Easy Tips to Reenergize Your Life

Spring is the season for rebirths and renewal, and it's the perfect time to break out of old comfort zones and reenergize your life and soul. Doing something completely fresh and unusual is the best way to stimulate new learning and growth. Of course, breaking through the barrier of routines can seem unnatural at first, as there will always be that resistance to the unknown and unfamiliar. But if you start small and gradually wane yourself into new territory, you'll be blossoming into a new you before you even know it. To help you do that, here are some simple things you can do to change up your habits, refresh your perspective, and give yourself a new lease on life. Put the Spring Back in Your Step: 6 Easy Tips to Reenergize Your Life You're never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick, to start from scratch once again. - Bikram Choudhury Change up your playlists If you’re a metal head, try throwing a bit of hip hop or RnB into your playlist, or vice versa. If you're into electronic or rock, try to throw some Classical or jazz in there. Just give it a go and see what happens. You might be surprised by what you find. Personally, I just start listening to Future, Young Thug and G. Easy, and I'm really liking it. That’s a big thing coming from a huge rock and metal fan, who revels at the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Army of Me, Killswitch Engage, Chris Daughtry and Breaking Benjamin. Try and do the same for movies. Plan errands weekly to free up time Instead of doing your groceries whenever you run out of something or feel like it, plan the visit. Make a list of the things that you need to buy, go to the store on one particular day, and enjoy it, getting all that you needed. This will free up some time during the rest of the week to do new things. Step away from the newsfeed If you're an avid news reader, you may not like this one -- but that's all the more reason to give it a try! If you often find yourself getting scrolling addictively or getting sucked into your newsfeeds, force yourself to cut back the habit to a few scheduled moments of the day. Knowing what's going on in the world is important, but you might find that reducing the endless stream of (often bad) news can be surprisingly liberating. Besides, you can't do much good about any of it if your mind is cluttered and anxious! Learning to unplug and savor the good in your own life is essential for your mood and mental clarity. And speaking of unplugging... Get offline and get out there The Internet has got everyone bogged down these days. With countless advertisements and a zillion info and entertainment options, it’s like it has us in a death grip. Break free, even if for a day. Enjoy time with family or friends, read a good book at a café or in a park, or have a fun night on the town. Weekends are particularly good for this change as they help you get a nice little mini-vacation in before the new week starts. Out with the old in with the new Throw out the old tight clothes and gadgets that you have. You can go the generous route and give them to charity or sell them in a garage sale or on eBay if they are in good condition. It will be a nice change of atmosphere in the house for you. Who knows, you might even like the new stuff you get in its place. And now that you've gotten rid of all the things that remind you of your old routines, you can focus on getting new stuff that encourages you to change your habits and move towards a new lifestyle and mindset. Giving your environment and wardrobe a good spring cleaning can be a powerful trigger for expanding that comfort zone of yours. Take the road less traveled -- literally And finally, here's one often-overlooked curveball you can throw into your life to stir things up a bit. Literally take the road that you haven’t traveled before, from home to work or school, or vice versa. You’ll be surprised at how good it feels to have done something as ordinary as taking a different route. Take it on as an adventure and use that gray matter to find your way back home or to work. It’ll be a nice little exercise to jolt your brain. We hope these tips help give your life a little spring boost. And do let us know of anything we missed out!

5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
Mental Health

5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Mental Health

Your mental health is fundamental to your life and goals, and it's about time we all started giving it the attention it deserves. It's not only a question of serious diseases like dementia that could be waiting for you in old age if you don't take good care of your mental health; there are also significant impacts, ranging from the everyday stress, blues and lack of focus, energy and motivation in your daily life, to more serious conditions like depression and anxiety, that affect people in all stages of their lives. It’s essential to have a calm, healthy and composed mind as you take on life's many challenges. So we have compiled a list of five simple activities that can help you boost your mental health. 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Mental Health Exercise Physical activity is perhaps the most vital contributor to our mental health, and has been shown to be one of the most powerful cures for depression and anxiety -- more even than antidepressants. When you exercise, your body produces endorphins, which transform your state of mind and gives you the clarity and positive drive you need to sail through your days, even when stresses or pressures threaten to knock you off track. So next time you get off work and find yourself sinking into your social media feeds or binging on Netflix, catch yourself. Try spending that time jogging, working out, doing some yoga (which alone has huge mental benefits), or even just engaging in simple exercises at home. Take a break, meditate Take some time between work to relax and center yourself. Step away from the noise and clutter. Allow your mind to take a breather. When you do this, it allows your mind to be more attentive and fully present. You will become more aware of yourself, and will experience greater mental clarity as a result. You can also take this time to write down what is bothering you so that you can find a solution to that in due time. Furthermore, when you increase your capacity for self-awareness, your creativity will increase, and will ideas come more freely to you. Keep a notepad handy to jot them down so that you don’t forget them. You can make the most out of this practice when you wake up in the morning too, where you can note down the ideas you had the night before. Dark chocolate? Coffee? Where? Ever wonder why you feel so good every time you enter a coffee shop or catch a whiff of the fresh beans brewing? Studies have suggested that the aroma of coffee beans might serve to ease feelings of stress, and drinking it can even help to reduce the risk of depression. If you are prohibited from too much caffeine and are trying to cut back, green tea with added lemon and honey can do the job of oxidizing your blood and activating your mind and body just as well. Talking about body and mind activation, dark chocolate contains theobromine and various flavonoids that improve mental capacities. It also has caffeine. So keep one bar of dark chocolate hidden in your fridge, and help yourself to a little piece here and there. Do this every week and savor the chocolate moderately rather than gobbling it down. Laugh and smile more Laughter is truly the best medicine. Yes, we know Reader’s Digest does have a whole section on it. And for good reason; laughter reduces stress and anxiety. Smiling also reduces your heart rate and helps a feeling of calm wash over you in times of stress. So take the time out to watch a comedy or TV series that gets you going with laughter. You could also goof around with a funny friend or watch funny videos online. Or you could go out of your way to help someone. The effort itself is memorable and rewarding. Put down that phone But only after reading through this article, of course. No, but seriously. All that unnecessary exposure to harmful rays, skimming and skipping through content, multi-tasking, constant notifications, bad posture -- the combination of bad habits they encourage have been shown to take their toll on your mental health over time. Take this challenge today and make it go viral: Pick the right moment, and go without your cell phone for the day. Set all emails, alerts and notifications aside, and go about your daily routine without interruptions. Instead, talk with friends or coworkers face-to-face when you need to discuss things or communicate. It’s more than doable. We hope this helps you out. Best of luck with trying these activities, and let us know if we missed out on your favorites.

5 Apps That Will Increase Your Morning Work Rate
Productivity

5 Apps That Will Increase Your Morning Work Rate

Everyone's morning routine is different, but we can group most people into three categories. The first type consists of the ones that get up once their alarm starts ringing and begin their tasks right away. They are the most effective. The second type consists of the ones that, after waking up, try to have light sleep sessions because they think they’ll get more rest. Last, but not least, are the ones that get up when the alarm goes off, but they don’t leave the bed until they check the news. Nowadays, it seems the great majority of people are the last category. Being informed is very important, we all know it. Even so, having a spot-on morning routine can have a positive impact on your productivity and attitude. Here are 5 apps that will increase your work rate during the early hours of the day. 5 Apps That Will Increase Your Morning Work Rate 1- Sleep Cycle alarm clock Our sleep is cyclical, and if you disrupt one of these cycles you will feel very exhausted when you wake up. Many people that go to bed early tend to feel very tired all day long because they disrupted one of these cycles. The best time to wake up is during the light sleep periods. You may wonder how this app works, what’s so magical about it. Well, all you have to do is place your phone on your nightstand, start the app and go to sleep. While sleeping, the app will analyze your sleep cycles and it will wake you up only during the lightest sleep phase. This way you will feel rested and full of energy all day long. There’s also a "lazy people” option for the ones that want to sleep as much as they can. Once activated it will only wake you up during the last phase of your light sleep. This option will give you an additional 20 minutes of sleep. 2- Body Stretch A good stretching session right after you wake up can increase your productivity drastically. It can have better effects than the coffee you are used to drinking every day. Stretching enhances your elasticity and blood flow and relaxes your muscles. It has especially visible effects on people with sedentary jobs. Even so, if you don’t want to hurt yourself, you should at least ask for professional help or advice. The Body Stretch app has more than 40 distinct stretching techniques, which are appropriate for every age group. Every exercise is thoroughly explained and it also offers you examples using videos. 3- Calm Times have changed, the world is getting more and more dynamic, and everything happens faster than it used to. This makes our lives very agitated and nerve-racking, and we forget how to relax. We keep on running, but we forget why we do it. Our lives become sadder and sadder. From time to time we need to have some periods of relaxation and meditation. This is where this app comes in handy. It has a lot of meditation courses. You can choose the most appropriate one and start your day properly. The good part about this app is that every routine comes with relaxing music. 4- Todoist Being an early bird can be very effective, but you also need to plan your day in order to become efficient. People without a thorough program will tend to waste more time and be less efficient. By using Todoist you can also find the right balance between the personal and professional. When using Todoist you can plan your entire day or week, and keep track of your progress even when you are offline. You can separate massive activities into smaller, manageable tasks. If you want to work more effectively you can also ask Superior Papers for help. They can help you create a one-of-a-kind paper work for the jobs you ought to do. This way you can focus on your more important projects. Also, by using this app you can oversee the general progress of your activities and you can increase the pace when you feel it would be appropriate. 5- Fabulous Motivate Me! From time to time, each and every one of us needs a coach or adviser. The difference between successful and unsuccessful people lies in their habits. If you try to create habits out of the things you need to do, your work efficiency will increase and you’ll become more successful. This is what this app does for you. It helps you establish some basic routines that will make your life a lot easier and efficient. Conclusion Time is very precious, and you don’t want to waste any second of it. By using these apps you can increase your efficiency, and become a better organized and calmer person. These things will increase your quality of life.