What I’m Reading: 10 Habits to Break for a More Productive Work Day
It can be hard to stay on your A-Game 24/7, meaning we can sometimes slip up and let our bad habits get the best of us. There’s nothing wrong about that, you just want to make sure that it isn’t becoming too frequent. These are our top bad habits from Entrepreneur’s 10 Bad Habits to Break.
Surfing the Internet
Believe it or not, it takes 15 minutes for our brains to be able to switch between tasks and re-focus. So those quick minute scans of random sites on the web, are not helping you at all. Instead, finish the task at hand, and reward yourself with 15 minutes of web browsing!
Notifications.
When our phone lights up, or our inboxes chime, we get a buzz of excitement (if only for a split second!) However, these little flashes take immediately take your attention away from what you should be doing, and leave your mind partially distracted until you have checked said notification. Instead, turn off your notifications and designate a specific time to check all your notifications – and catch up.
Saying “Yes”
We have been told numerous times to say yes to an opportunity when it comes our way. But saying yes to everything can become a waste of your time, and prevent you from focusing on things that really matter. Learning when it is best to say “No” will not only allow you to spend your time and attention on things that really matter, but it has been proven to decrease stress levels and help you take self-control.
Office Gossip
We thought we left that bad habit in middle school, but more often than not we are part of office gossip. There are too many interesting people and conversations to be part of, to worry about “somebody else’s personal or professional faux pas.”
Putting Off Until Later
If you don’t know Nike’s slogan, here’s a refresher: (which for your sake I hope you do!) “Just do it!” Coined by them in 1988, it is a great motivator and reminder to live in the moment and do it now. In the work field, there are so many times that we will put off a specific task or idea until we know we will succeed. This bad habit is preventing you from so many learning experiences and opportunities.
Life Changer Hack: Eliminate Puffy Eyes Once and For All
Waking up with puffy or dark undereye’s is never fun, it adds extra time to your morning routine as you wait for them to calm down or to cover up, both slowing you down! What you thought could only be caused by lack of sleep and exhaustion, is actually a lie you have been telling yourself for years.
Treat your puffy eyes and dark circles differently: Puffy eyes need to be drained of the extra fluid while dark under eyes need the blood vessels constricting to prevent a build up of blood in the undereye.
Seasonal allergies can also be a contributing factor to puffy eyes, often caused by constant rubbing of the eyes. Keeping your hands away from your face (more importantly your eyes) can help prevent swelling and redness of the eyes.
Moisturizer should be your BFF. The skin under your eyes is much thinner than the rest of your face, “more prone to dryness [and] flaking” (Sweet.com), so choosing creams intended for eyes will help prevent dark under eyes and puffiness while you sleep. While anti-inflammatory products will help with puffiness and promote skin elasticity to prevent wrinkles.
People Doing Good: Turning Scraps into Fashion
It is no secret that the fashion industry produces mass amounts of waste during overseas production. Cambodian designer for Tonlé is trying to decrease the amount of production waste, by taking fabric scraps and turning those into a collection of ready-to-wear pieces.
Working specifically with Cambodian factories and markets, Tonlé travels around buying scraps and fabric remanents from other designer waste and uses it as the base for her own collection.
During production, of the Tonlé collection, larger pieces of fabric get dyed and sewn into dresses and tops. While the smaller scraps get “handwoven into yarn and knit into new fabrics” Huffington Post.
See more of the Tonlé Collection here…
