Blog Reviews

A while ago I started writing blog reviews here – I love reading new blogs and I think it is great for blogs to support and link to eachother. If you have a blog that is personal, related to self-improvement, philosophy, life or great words of wisdom and would like a review then please get in contact.

Click here for details of how you can get a free review of your blog.

Note: There is no guarantee that I will give you a review. If I like your site I will review it eventually. There are already some review requests that weren’t fulfilled so I will do my best to get round to them soon

Moody Monday: How To Look Forward To Monday Morning

Looking forward to Monday morning, this is a tough subject. Or is it? Sometimes I dread Monday morning, but in truth there are times that I actually do look forward to it.

* For me, Monday morning is my fresh start: It’s a new week, and I can forget about all the tasks from the week before that I failed to get done, and start today with a blank slate. This is a great start and helps me to gear up to what I really need to get done. It’s all psychological, but it really works. Try looking at Monday morning in this fresh way and over time you may come to look forward to that opportunity.
* Be prepared: This means knowing on Sunday night what needs to be done on Monday, but not letting it take over your weekend. Easier said than done! Simply make sure everything is ready – you have enough food to make the lunch, you have your clothes washed and ready, everything you need is in your bag and, if necessary, you have your to-do list ready for the week.
* Sleep well: In preparation for Monday mornings I always make sure I have enough sleep. This means trying not to go to bed too late on Sunday nights, which is made a lot easier by maintaining regular sleep patterns throughout the week.
* Look forward to what you have to do on Mondays: We can’t all choose the work we do on any given day, but a lot of us can control our working week to some extent. Make your Monday task something you enjoy doing, and also take time to plan out the rest of your working week so you know what’s coming.

These are just a few of the tips I find helps me through the week. What works for you?

-

Moody Monday is a weekly feature that gives you simple tips that can improve your life step by step and help you face the coming week…

Moody Monday: Wake Up Easier!

Last week I woke about that extra hour I was blessed with. If you are in the UK, that feeling of extra time is probably starting to fade (though lucky you if you have only recently put the clocks back and still feel like you have extra time!).

I am starting to feel the pain waking up each morning – it’s really dark outside, freezing cold outside of my bed, and nothing seems better than staying in bed and pressing the snooze button on my alarm! So I have decided to try and do something about it and started searching for some great ways to wake up easier, and with more energy, every morning. And that includes Monday!

* * Put your alarm clock out of reach, so you are forced to get up and turn it off. This is one of the oldest tricks I have heard, but I haven’t forced myself into trying it yet. When I do, I will let you know how angry it makes me, and also how it hopefully makes me wake up quickly!
* Get enough sleep every night! This will help you wake up, and if you get into a routine you will not feel so terrible when waking up early even if you do get the odd late night.
* “Make your last thought before sleeping to be your intention to wake up at a particular time” – I got this one from here and I thought it sounded interesting. I am definitely going to try this. The theory is that it will prepare you for waking up, and force you into doing what you really need to do to be productive.
* “The more pleasant your daily life – the easier it is to face all your daily life again each morning” – Here is another one I found on a different website here and is a lovely thought but perhaps not as easy in practice. However, thinking about what you look forward to in the coming day, or in the coming week in the case of Monday morning, will really help. There is always something positive to look forward to, and if not you can create something positive.
* Take a shower in the morning instead of the night before. This is something else I am changing. I used to usually have showers the night before, but if I have to get up for a shower, it forces me to get up because I really don’t want to stay in bed, miss out on it and look terrible! You might also take a slightly colder shower, though I believe this is a bit harder to do when it is freezing in winter.
* Once you have woken up you know that eating breakfast is extremely important. I cannot emphasise this enough. This is something I do every day and I am pretty sure it stops me snacking as much and really gets me going for the day. I also find that it helps establish a routine; in the past I never ate breakfast so I didn’t have that certain thing to do as soon as I woke up.

**For some more advice and easy reading I recommend you see the 13 tips here or check out the sites that they link to for even more advice.**

Do you have any tips of your own? Please let me know, since waking up is becoming harder each day!

-

Moody Monday is a weekly feature that gives you simple tips that can improve your life step by step and help you face the coming week…

Wednesday’s Blog Review #4

Today’s review is dedicated to an interesting site known as The History Bluff. I was intrigued to take a look at this site, as I have always been interested in learning about history. However, this site goes beyond the facts and is a creative re-telling of the truth designed to make readers chuckle.

Were you aware that the game of tag was first played by none other than the great Julius Caesar? Or perhaps you were interested to know what Abraham Lincoln was compensating for with his huge hat?!

This is a great mix of comedy and history. The blog is updated with wonderful little facts and fictions from history every day, as well as hosting a fun caption contest in which participants are in with a chance of winning an exclusive History Bluff bookmark!

In short, this site is fun and wonderfully written. I was glad that it was recommended to me and I will certainly continue to visit – I hope you will all do the same.

-
As a new feature I decided to write brief reviews for other bloggers, for sites that visitors to YUWAB may be interested in. If you want your site reviewed please click here.

What To Do When You Feel A Cold Coming On

Since the winter months are fast approaching, at least here in the UK, it is the time of year where many people fall ill with a cold or flu. Since I was feeling almost like I had a cold coming on myself, today’s tip focuses on what to do when you get that feeling and how to avoid getting ill. Please note that I am not a doctor but these are the best tips based on a little research:

1. Wash your hands: this tip is perhaps more useful as a preventative measure, so if you are unsure as to whether you have a cold or not take care not to pick up germs by washing your hands regularly. This is especially important before eating, and try not to touch your face, mouth or eyes too much if you have not washed your hands.
2. Avoid close contact: If you know anyone who has a cold, try to avoid close contact with them. If you think you have a cold avoid spreading it to others in this way too (note that the cold virus is most easily spread in the first few days).
3. Humidity: Make sure that your environment is not too dry as this may lead to your sinuses drying out. Make sure to keep warm and in a humidity controlled environment if at all possible.
4. Fluid intake: Drink a good amount of water each day. There is a common belief that this will help ‘flush out’ your system which may or may not be true. Nevertheless, fluids are an extremely important part of our body and even more so when our immune system is low.
5. Vitamins: You can up your vitamin C intake either through orange juice or through vitamin tablets, but be careful to follow instructions.
6. Rest: This is probably the most important factor. If you keep overdoing things your cold is bound to get worse, so rest and look after yourself until you feel better.

Unfortunately, if you already have a full blown cold none of these tips may be able to stop it. However, it may also be the case that you are seeing the tail-end of what might have been a cold and it will not get worse.

Do you have any tips to help avoid a full-blown cold?

Moody Monday: An Extra Hour!

Here in the UK the clocks went back on Saturday night. This means it is now officially winter time, the nights are dark, the weather is colder…

But it isn’t all doom and gloom! I for one feel like I have a whole extra hour to spend doing things I love. This feeling still hasn’t worn off, and it takes a while to get used to.

On Sunday I had a wonderful lie-in, and when I woke up I was happy that the time change meant I had not wasted my day. So I had plenty of time to read blogs, find a new theme for this blog and generally relax.

Do you feel like you have been blessed with an extra hour? If you had an extra hour today what would you spend it doing?

-

Moody Monday is a weekly feature that gives you simple tips that can improve your life step by step and help you face the coming week…

Tuesday’s Tip: Your Morning Routine

Morning routines are different for everyone. You probably already have some sort of morning routine, which usually consists in waking up and getting ready for the day ahead! But have you ever stopped to think of some ways in which you can greatly improve your days just with a few changes to your morning routine?

1. Start with a healthy breakfast! This is crucial, you have heard it before. So if you still skip breakfast, why do you do it?! You do have the time to eat breakfast, and this will make you productive for the rest of the day.
2. Wake up at a suitable time: I have mentioned before how routine in sleeping is extremely productive. It helps you feel more energised if you wake roughly at the same time every day. However, you could also try to wake up early to make your days really productive – even half an hour can give you time for something (for example breakfast!).
3. Decide what your goals for the day are – this might include writing your to-do list or simply figuring out what your purpose is for that day!
4. Start incorporating hobbies into your morning – use your time productively. You can read the paper over breakfast, or read some of your favourite book. You may also have time to study for exams, or even a quick meditation session.

This guide is a very basic outline. You will need to really be strict with yourself and first, and figure out what it is that you need in your morning. Often, getting things done in the morning can really spur on our productivity for the rest of the day, so think hard about how you want to use this time.

Moody Monday: Learn How to Vent Healthily

All of us have certain feelings that we need to get off our chests. We get annoyed at our family, we feel stressed about work, we don’t know how we are going to fit everything into our day. These problems can often be very small, but can have a big effect on our day to day lives.

Stewing over problems is not healthy and will lead to us becoming less focused on the tasks ahead. The best way to deal with problems is to allow yourself a healthy way to vent. One idea is too keep a journal each morning where you can express all of your feelings. This may sound like a huge task, but all you need to do is get up perhaps 15 minutes earlier each day. Simply write anything for that time, close the notebook and get on with your day.

Writing down your thoughts can be a great way to stop them from interfering with your life.

Moody Monday is a weekly feature that gives you simple tips that can improve your life step by step and help you face the coming week…

Achievement When There Is No Hope

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

Often there are many things that we feel we have absolutely no hope of achieving. Perhaps there really are physical limitations, but in many cases we are only limited by our own mind. We think that a certain task is too hard, we doubt in our ability to perform and look for ways to avoid opportunities that appear in front of us. But why waste opportunities without even trying?

Instead of setting yourself up to fail, the key is to have confidence. Gaining confidence in your abilities is not easy, but keep thinking to yourself that this is a challenge and an opportunity rather than dreading what must be done. Be prepared, know what is required of you, and go for it completely. Even if you fail, you will probably achieve something in that process and ultimately you will be better for the experience.

Tuesday’s Tip: Your To-Do List

To-do lists are an essential part of many people’s lives. They are used for both business and personal reasons and can help you structure your day, making sure that you fit everything in that you need to get done. However, whilst this make work in theory there are always times that we cannot face whatever we have planned. When you need to get it done, you need to learn some ways of focusing yourself on the day’s tasks.

1. Break down large tasks to make them more doable. If you are studying and need to write 1000 words, break it down into four chunks of 250 words at different times of the day. You can also split tasks up and do part each day if you have the option, and this will be a great way of making sure you get it done.
2. When you have tasks that are less desirable, think of a reward for yourself for doing them. For example, do some horrible tasks that must be done before lunch then you can reward yourself with a nice lunch break and perhaps some tasty food too. Come up with ideas that you find work for you.
3. Make sure you take breaks. It is all very well scheduling a day that is completely packed with tasks, but when it comes to actually doing them this probably won’t work out in reality. Remember to take regular breaks. Short breaks of 15 minutes can work, just make sure that you leave your computer to really refresh your mind.

These are some basic tips to help you get more tasks done. Try finding your own methods to see what works best for you.

Tuesday’s Tip is a weekly feature providing simple and easy to follow tips on all aspects of improving your life…