Test Different Routes for your Work Commute

 

Commuting, especially for hours a day, can be a drain. You might think there's only one efficient way to and from the office, but if you test out other routes when you can, you may be surprised to find an unconventional route that's a smoother or less stressful trip.

It's well understood that commuters experience higher levels depression, anxiety, and blood pressure the longer their commute is. Even so, short of changing jobs or relocating, substantially improving your commute can be difficult. . Even if you think you take the shortest route to work, you might want to start exploring other routes that may shorten your commute in terms of time spent in transit. It could at least make the trip less stressful.

For example, even if there's a freeway exit that is right next to your office, try taking the one before or after it. The unusual route might be less congested on the last leg of your trip.
If you commute five days a week to work, saving even a few minutes a day both ways can add up to hours (and even days) saved over the course of months. Check out some more tips to shave time off your commute below.

photo by pj.

The Calm and Collected Workspace

 

Here's a traditional workspace with personality. From the great wood desktop to the starfish pulls, it's the little details that make this office look pulled together.

Viscusi Elson Interior Design designed this office, choosing a mostly white and wood color scheme. The bluish-green wall paint (Benjamin Moore HC-138 Convington Blue Eggshell, FYI) adds a calming note, while the dark desktop adds great contrast in an otherwise airy room. I like that this office looks like one that someone actually uses, while still having a sense of style.

If you have a workspace of your own to show off, share them with us by adding it to our Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Flickr pool. Make sure any photos you include are at least 640x360. Keeping them to 16:9 helps, too! Include a little text about the stuff you used, how you came up with the design, and any other relevant details. If your clever organization and good design sense catches our eye, you might be the next featured workspace.

Practice Towards a Specific Target During Your "Ten Years of Silence"

 

You may have heard the adage that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of a craft. However, the real trick is to pick a specific target and practice towards this.

Researcher John Hayes discovered that, while practice was certainly an element of become an expert in your field, it took an average of ten years for someone to reach a high level of recognition for their work. More importantly, however, the interim period was filled with deliberate practice.

Kobe had a very clear goal at practice: 800 made jump shots. He was deliberately focused on developing the skill of making baskets. The time he spent doing it was almost an after thought. That sounds simple, but it's very different from how most of us approach our work each day...
Putting in a lot of time might make you tired, but simply working a lot (even if it's 10,000 hours over the course of your career) isn't enough to make you a top performer. It's not the same thing as practicing deliberately. Most people who think they are working hard are merely developing the skill of being in the gym, not the skill of making baskets.

Specific goals may vary from day to day. If you want to learn photography, today you may focus on composing 100 shots, while tomorrow you'll edit those same 100 shots. The important detail, however, is that the goal is specific. Rather than "I'd really like to learn photography."

Household This Is How You Should Store And Wash Your Woolens

This Is How You Should Store And Wash Your Woolens

 They are soft, they are trendy, they are comfortable but above all, they are costly. Sweaters, for whatever reason you might want to pick from the above line, need special care, which if not done can decrease their lives significantly.

One thing that you might want to keep in mind to take proper care of your woolens is how you should store them in the winter season. The tip is, never hang your sweaters. Always go for the conventional folding because hanging them will expand their size and you would most likely find them one size larger than when you last hanged them.

Also, to make your sweaters last long, you must try and wash them by hand. Of course, if the sweater label asks you to wash them in the machine, you should do that but except that, woolens better be washed by hand. Also, turning your sweater inside out while washing would also help in making them last longer.

Changing World of IT

Changing World of IT

The Internet of Everything is bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more valuable than ever before. However, the challenges of complexity, speed, and resiliency are likely to intensify.

Challenges and Opportunities

The proliferation of devices and applications has increased the complexity of the IT infrastructure. Critical resources are needed to maintain and troubleshoot legacy systems. It's harder to stay flexible and support innovation.
Meanwhile, the Internet of Everything creates tremendous opportunity. The possibilities unleashed by connecting new things, unlocking new sources of data, combining those with people collaborating, and creating new processes are immense.
Read more about the challenges and opportunities created by the Internet of Everything.

The Changing Role of IT

 Technology transitions, such as cloud, mobility, big data and the Internet of Things, not only create technical challenges for IT to address, but also challenge the role of IT in the enterprise. IT departments must show they can deliver value to the business because corporate divisions can easily sidestep IT by using cloud services.

See how companies are changing IT to demonstrate their strategic value and help their organizations benefit from the Internet of Everything.

Fast IT: The New Model for IT

 

 A new model for IT, Fast IT, transforms your IT infrastructure, making it more flexible, automated, simple, and secure. It unifies compute, storage, networking, virtualization, and management solutions in a single fabric to:

• Reduce complexity and operational costs
• Create capabilities and services that add real value to the business, while protecting investments
• Respond to threats intelligently and dynamically

See how Cisco's unique approach can help you transition to a Fast IT model.

Simple Ways To Improve Productivity At Work

Simple Ways To Improve Productivity At Work

Being productive at work is something that many of us often struggle with. This struggle often results in a drop in productivity at work, both in quality as well as quantity. This often causes people to spend unnecessarily long hours at work and may even result in low performance evaluations from peers and seniors. If you find yourself or any of your family member or friend in a similar situation, then know that it is time to look at the way you (or your family or friend, whosoever is in question here) work. Here we share a list of hacks that can actually help you in a situation like this.

Set weekly and daily targets

It is very important that you set your target for the week and for each day. Here, we are referring to the target you want to set in terms the actions you will take during the day and during the week to get the results (targets) which are probably set by your company.

Often, we have a tendency of not focusing on setting the target, what we need to achieve by end of the day and end of the week. Not having a definitive target can often give a sense of being directionless, which will result in low or zero motivation to do work.

In contrast, if this habit is applied we know a list of tasks and action to take during the given period. This makes us more effective in doing the work as well as keeps us motivated.

Set key morning tasks, before leaving work

It is a good habit to set the first few tasks for the next day by the end of the day before leaving for home. This helps you prepare yourself mentally for the work you are required the next day. This sets the tone for the day very well. As well as, it gives you a lot of room to let the work being processed in your mind.

Suppose for example, the first thing you have to do the next morning is to give some new ideas about a project. In this case, if you set this objective, your mind know you require ideas in the morning. The mind will thus, already start preparing itself to look for ideas.

Take breaks

It is very important to incorporate little break in your work routine. These can tea/coffee breaks or just a 5 minutes away from thinking or doing work. Taking small breaks as and when required will give your mind the time and space to refresh itself which makes it more effective to do the work, when you get back at it.

The theory behind this is that we have a given attention span, once that time passes it is difficult for us to focus and hence a short break is required. Some researches suggest that on an average, the human mind has a sustained attention span of 50 minutes to one hour. After this time passes, the mind is not able to focus on the same. Taking short breaks refreshes the mind and makes it ready to focus again.

Here taking breaks does not mean that you take a tea break after every hour of focused work time. That's not practically possible and is also not good for you. You can take some of these breaks as a tea or coffee break, some of these as spending five minutes chit chatting with a colleague, just walk to the water filter and have a few sips of water, etc. What you do in that break is your choice and it is best to include multiple things.

Deep breaths

Another life hack that can enable you increase your productivity quickly at work is taking deep breaths. Deep breaths ensure that you get enough oxygen for your body and mind. When there is plenty of oxygen the mind as well as the body is more relaxed and calm. When the mind and body are well relaxed you will be able to do your job better with the precision that is required.

So, next time you feel distracted and not able to focus on the task at hand, take five deep breaths and as you exhale your breath out tell yourself to be relaxed. You will see the immediate shift in yourself and your productivity will certainly improve.

Make it fun

Now, this one is simple and easy: Anything that we do not find interesting and find it boring and dull, we are not motivated to do that work. So either we keep postponing that or we do a bad job with it. If this has been happening to you too lately, it is time you evaluate yourself and your situation. See are being all too serious with no fun, if that is the case being productive at work will be a challenge. Look again at your situation and ask yourself how can you add some dash of fun to it. What can you do to make it more exciting, because if it is fun and exciting you will be more motivated to focus on it sub consciously as well as consciously.

Apply these simple hacks to your life and see the magical shift in your productivity at work. Beware that people will soon start coming and asking tips from you to stay productive.

Spookiest DIY Halloween Party Decoration Ideas

  

The spookiest time of the year is just around the corner! If you are planning a Halloween party, enthrall your guests with these amazing DIY Halloween party decoration ideas! These simple ideas will definitely get everyone into the mood!