Here is an interesting way to use time to your advantage. Time your task as you do it, then take a predefined break. Come back to the task feeling refreshed and ready to get at it until the next predefined break. Try it out if your tasks really feel like tasks.
elvindantes.com & Francesco Cirillo
When life gets stressful, it’s nice to have go-to self-care activities that make you feel better.
Photo credit: thewellnesscorner
Family therapist Virginia Satir has said, “We need four hugs a day to survive, eight hugs to keep us as we are, and 12 hugs to grow.” But while Satir had the right idea, research suggests that the length of our hugs matters more than the number of hugs we have.
In one hugging study, almost 200 people (partners in couples that were living together) were given the very stressful task of public speaking. But before the task, half the group had the benefit of a 20-second hug from their partner, while the other half just rested quietly on their own. Both men and women in the hugging group showed lower stress levels: Having a supportive partner hug them for 20 seconds actually decreased stress.
psychologytoday.com
Photo credit: sheideas.com
“In a quiet place, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and go inward. Place your attention on your heart, in the center of your chest. Sit quietly and easily let your attention remain there.” – Deepak Chopra
Feel the calm.
gethealthyu.com
There comes a time in every adult’s visit to Disneyland that you’re so tired of the lines that you’re happy to ride anything, even the kiddie attractions that offer little in the way of excitement or legroom.
That’s exactly how Melissa and I felt on a recent trip as we bobbed in a sea of people in the middle of Fantasyland, writes Scott Craven for The Arizona Republic, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
A check of the Disneyland app showed lines in the 50- to 90-minute range for the coolest attractions: Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn and the like.
We were hot, it was a fairly crowded Saturday, and we had neither the Fastpass nor the patience needed for an E-ticket ride. The dilemma offered this chilling challenge, to find a way out of yet another long wait.
Of course, there was Melissa’s way.
“What if we went on everything with a short line?” she said. “Try to go on as many things as we can regardless of if we think they’ll be very fun.”
Quantity over quality? The approach was as anti-Disney as it was brilliant.
We set the parameters: We’d ride any attraction that had a 15-minute wait or less. We’d look for the hidden charms in each, rather than side with the masses who were skipping these rides.
With that, we noted the time – 2:19 p.m. – and began our journey through Disney’s tamer side.
Posted wait: 10 minutes.
The experience: Board a mine car that encounters a witch who insists you take a bite of this ripe, juicy and no-cost-to-you apple. Now maybe if it had been a churro …
Hidden charm: This dark ride still has the power to frighten small children. The charm isn’t the frightened children, but the fact that you can find a bit of creepiness at Disneyland.
Total time spent: 13 minutes.
Posted wait: 5 minutes.
The experience: You follow the marionette as he makes a series of blockheaded decisions as he’s pestered by nosy insect. The ending appears to be happy until you realize the puppet-turned-boy will have to one day get a job and move out of the house.
Hidden charm: The ride offers two irresistible benefits: A consistently short line and air-conditioning. The quaint backdrops, boasting fluorescent paint, take you back to the park’s roots when blacklight was cutting-edge amusement technology. Comforting to see some things don’t (and shouldn’t) change.
Total time spent: 12 minutes.
Posted wait: 15 minutes.
The experience: You are Mr. Toad, an amphibian who clearly does not have a firm grasp of driving skills as he piles up numerous moving violations.
Hidden charms: As I child, I marveled at how the car was unscathed in its collision with a train in a dark tunnel. I still enjoy that effect of the car rumbling over tracks as the light at the end of the tunnel hurtles toward you. And how can you not enjoy the demonic ending where children may scream without repercussion, “We’re in hell!”
Total time spent: 21 minutes.
Posted wait: 15 minutes.
The experience: Drift through a hellish, post-apocalyptic nightmare of dolls come to life, dancing and singing in hopes of freeing themselves from their restraints. At least that’s how I see it.
Hidden charms: Riders have 15 minutes to check texts, catch up on email or play Fortnight. Napping, however, is made impossible due to low-backed seats designed for toddlers.
Total time spent: An eternity (28 minutes).
Posted wait: 10 minutes.
The experience: Jump on a circus train with the kind of legroom that makes coach on a low-fare airline seem luxurious.
Hidden charms: While in line, we met a 30-something gentleman who was excited to ride Casey Jr. for the first time since he was a child, recalling the attraction as his favorite. Then we watched a half-dozen youngsters rush to be one of the “animals” in the cages. Turns out the train’s charms aren’t so hidden.
Total time spent: 17 minutes.
Posted wait: 5 minutes.
The experience: Take a short cruise in a small boat through a land of miniatures that includes castles, palaces and homes of Disney characters.
Hidden charms: Walt Disney was fascinated with miniatures, and once planned a traveling exhibit of detailed models (eventually shelved for larger projects). The minutia is impressive, down to the tiny trees in a London Park that represents Peter Pan. It makes landscaping an art.
Total time spent: 18 minutes.
Posted wait: 5 minutes.
Experience: Hop on a steed for a slow trot in circles.
Hidden charms: Know that you’re gently galloping into history. The carousel dates to 1922, and a similar ride in LA’s Griffith Park inspired Disney to create Disneyland. As he watched his merry daughters go round, he yearned for a place that parents and children could both enjoy. He probably didn’t envision the lines.
Total time spent: 10 minutes.
Posted wait: 5 minutes.
The experience: Step into life-size teacups that spin and twirl in ways that may cause motion sickness.
Hidden charms: At some point, every child capable of spinning the teacup does so in an effort to make mom or dad or both react in ways that require cleanup crews. What they don’t realize is what goes around, comes around.
Total time spent: 13 minutes.
We did eight rides in two hours, 12 minutes, with roughly 11 minutes of travel time between each attraction. Ending time: 2:42 p.m.
The experience: Highly recommended.
Hidden charms: Just as we were about to get in line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the wait jumped to 20 minutes, so the pachyderm landed outside our predetermined parameters. Thank goodness.
By Scott Craven, Arizona Republic
Fall is the perfect time to declutter your emotions and the baggage that weighs them down. Here is a handy checklist of ways to do just that, lose the baggage!
Healyourliving.com
Before you reach the stage of exhaustion, take time to take care of you, first. It is not selfish to tend to our own care first because a soul that is hurting cannot be much help to anyone else. BlessingManifesting has developed an infogram of self-care advice I think is worth a look. Call it stress relief at your fingertips. How can you incorporate one or two self-care changes in your life? It requires you to first make time for yourself.
Thought provoking questions are great when you’re in the mood to dig into conversation with real substance. Far from your basic small talk, these are the questions to ask when you want to spark a fascinating discussion about heavy topics.
mantelligence.com; acidcow.com
Try his suggestion if you feel a funk coming on.
busineswalkthroughs.net
One gracious visitor to the Singapore Botanic Gardens has evidently found the key to the hearts of a group of turtles living there.
That key? Well, it’s a brush.While paying a visit to the gardens recently, Nur Hafiza Ariffin happened upon a curious scene. There, crouched on the banks of a pond in the park, was a lady wielding a bristled scrubber.
Ariffin clearly wasn’t the only one who noticed.
In front of the lady, dozens of turtles were eagerly emerging from the water — lining up so she could give them a scrub.
Ariffin believes the woman’s aim was to help rid the turtles’ shells of algae, a thoughtful offer they appeared delighted to accept.
“Spreading kindness in every way possible,” Arrifin wrote. “[The turtles] happily came towards her to get their backs cleaned, and once it was done they cutely walked off.”
“Such a heartwarming sight,” she added.
Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Turns out, even if a turtle doesn’t need cleaning, they seem to enjoy the feeling of bristles on their shells. In fact, that’s one recommended way of petting them.
It’s no wonder then that the lady Ariffin saw that day is so popular among the locals.
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