What we’re reading: What One Focused Hour a Day Can Do for You and Your Day

“One focused hour a day can produce amazing results.” Medium.com Find a time that works best with you and your schedule. If you’re a morning person, it could be first thing in the AM or maybe you’re more of a night owl so you take the last hour before bed as your focused hour. Whenever it is, find it and make it your focused hour.

Srinivas Rao lists some of the things one can accomplish with a simple hour a day:

With one focused hour a day you can write a book within a year, write 1000 words a day or finish a 45,000-word manuscript in 6 months.
With one focused hour a day you can easily develop a daily writing habit, and even write something daily as Seth Godin does.
With one focused hour a day you can make time to read the books you’ve been wanting to read.
With one focused hour you can find flow and build momentum for your creative endeavour
With one focused hour a day you can learn a new language

He suggests to use a calendar app on your phone or computer and start by scheduling in the hour a day for your focused hour. While getting used to the habit the calendar will push reminders and goals you have previously set to accomplish within your focused hour.

To get the most of this hour, you have to take yourself away from the technology and hustling world you are used to. Turn off your phone, tv and computer. Tell people not to pop by during this time and leave your conversations to a minimum. This will allow you to focus your full attention on you and your own goals for a short time each day.

Life Hack: How to Clean Your Yoga Mat

If you are a regular Yogi, or use your mat on the daily then you will defiantly want to make sure you are cleaning your mat correctly and frequently enough.

How to Clean Your Yoga Mat Regularly

After each use, you will want to wipe it down with either a DIY spray, mat wipes or a store-bought antibacterial spray. A DIY spray is the most complicated to prepare, however, the natural ingredients will do you and your mat better. When searching for a recipe – something like hippie juice or mat sprays will give you tons of recipes.

Make the spray in a spray bottle- this will make for convenience and make you more likely to actually spritz your mat
Give your mat a light, gentle mist with spray
Wipe down with a clean town or rag

How to Deep Clean Your Yoga Mat

Despite how often you clean your mat with a light spray or mat wipes. You will need to get a good deep clean every once in a while. This will eliminate bacteria buildup and help get rid of the odors that have been building up.

The best and easiest way to clean it – throw it in your bath tub!

Unroll the mat, submerge it in water in the tub with some gentle soap
Let soak for about 10 minutes – give it a gentle scrub to eliminate anything stuck on the map and give it a good cleanse.
Let it soak for another 15 minutes.
Rinse off the soap and prep it for drying.

Drying Your Yoga Mat

Get a large towel and lay on top of the mat, rolling the mat and towel up together.
Hang the mat to dry – either over a rack or flat
Allow the mat to completely before using – can be 1-2 days

People doing good: Simone Manuel Makes History

Simone Manuel becomes the first African-American female to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event. This year in the Rio Olympics has been a moment for female athletes, showing everyone they can do anything their male teammates can do. In some cases, winning the first lot of medals for their countries.

Olympic components Simone Manuels (USA) and PennyOleksiak (Canada) managed to have identical times for the swimming event.

The first medal winner by an African American in a swimming event was back in 1976 Montreal Olympics by Enith Brigitha. The first African American female to win a medal wasn’t until 2000, when Maritza Correia won. However, no female has won gold until today. Simone has been called an inspiration for young African American children, as she breaks down barriers and is debunking the stereotype that African Americans cannot swim.

Keep watching the games, as this year has proven to be something no one expected!