Exercise Your Brain

Sitting at a desk for hours at a time can cause your productivity to decline. When you get tired and your creativity starts flagging at work, it might be time to take a break. Instead of surfing the web or heading for the coffeepot or the snack machine, try something completely different: play a game.

You could play a round of Numbrix, which runs weekly in Parade magazine and daily on their website. The game goes from beginner level (Vanilla) to expert (Pistachio), so you can work your way up. You don’t need any math skills, it’s completely logic based.

You could try the games at Happy Neuron, too, which says its memory, attention, language and visual-spatial skills games are “fun and scientifically developed and validated to challenge your brain and keep it in top gear at all times.” Many of the games are available to paying members only, but there are some that are free. My favorite game is Split Words. The only downside is waiting for the game to load while an ad runs for 10 seconds, which is a pretty fair tradeoff.

Giving your brain a break from the usual and looking at things differently could give you the boost you need to get back to the work at hand feeling refreshed. One caution, though, don’t get so caught up playing games that you lose track of time. If you are someone who can’t just play one game and move on, set a timer for your break.

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

Exercise Your Brain

Sitting at a desk for hours at a time can cause your productivity to decline. When you get tired and your creativity starts flagging at work, it might be time to take a break. Instead of surfing the web or heading for the coffeepot or the snack machine, try something completely different: play a game.

You could play a round of Numbrix, which runs weekly in Parade magazine and daily on their website. The game goes from beginner level (Vanilla) to expert (Pistachio), so you can work your way up. You don’t need any math skills, it’s completely logic based.

You could try the games at Happy Neuron, too, which says its memory, attention, language and visual-spatial skills games are “fun and scientifically developed and validated to challenge your brain and keep it in top gear at all times.” Many of the games are available to paying members only, but there are some that are free. My favorite game is Split Words. The only downside is waiting for the game to load while an ad runs for 10 seconds, which is a pretty fair tradeoff.

Giving your brain a break from the usual and looking at things differently could give you the boost you need to get back to the work at hand feeling refreshed. One caution, though, don’t get so caught up playing games that you lose track of time. If you are someone who can’t just play one game and move on, set a timer for your break.

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

What’s Your Goal?

In the January 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine, 72% of women said that "happiness lies in making progress toward their goals, even if they never achieve them."

I question people often about setting goals. I ask them if they really have a goal or is it just a vague idea of something they might like to do someday? A goal has parameters set around it, including how far, how much, when and where.

In their quest to improve their lives, many people say their goal is “to get organized.” That rarely happens, though, because they haven’t really set a goal. How do you know when you’ve achieved your goal?

If you really want to achieve something, set a timeline for accomplishing it and decide what it will look like when you are finished. Do you want to clear out your basement by the end of the month so you can rent it out? Do you want to sort out your paperwork by the end of the week so you can finish your taxes? Think about what you really want to do and set an agenda for success. You not only can make progress toward your goals, but you can achieve them, too.

What goal would you like to move forward?

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

What’s Your Goal?

In the January 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine, 72% of women said that "happiness lies in making progress toward their goals, even if they never achieve them."

I question people often about setting goals. I ask them if they really have a goal or is it just a vague idea of something they might like to do someday? A goal has parameters set around it, including how far, how much, when and where.

In their quest to improve their lives, many people say their goal is “to get organized.” That rarely happens, though, because they haven’t really set a goal. How do you know when you’ve achieved your goal?

If you really want to achieve something, set a timeline for accomplishing it and decide what it will look like when you are finished. Do you want to clear out your basement by the end of the month so you can rent it out? Do you want to sort out your paperwork by the end of the week so you can finish your taxes? Think about what you really want to do and set an agenda for success. You not only can make progress toward your goals, but you can achieve them, too.

What goal would you like to move forward?

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

I Got Scammed

I have written previously about getting copies of your credit report from each of the three reporting agencies. You have the right to know what is on your credit report and you want to make sure that no one is opening accounts in your name.

I suggest that you ask for a copy of your report from each of the agencies every year. I schedule the requests on my calendar and I space them apart so that I get one report every four months. The Federal Trade Commission created a website that provides you with the information you need to get your free copies.

Somehow, when I requested a copy of my credit report two months ago, I was redirected to another website. Apparently, I typed in my VISA card number during the “authorization” process and they started charging me a monthly fee, which I noticed on my VISA bill. (Another good reason to check your bill every month!)

When I called the toll-free number on my bill, I found out that I had signed up for a monitoring service from freecreditreport.com without my knowing. They would not refund my money and I had to fight with my bank to get the charge taken off. I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable consumer and I know my way around a website, so I still can’t figure out how I fell for this scam.

I still urge people to use the free service provided by the FTC. However, make sure you are logging in to the correct website and don’t give your credit card number away!

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

I Got Scammed

I have written previously about getting copies of your credit report from each of the three reporting agencies. You have the right to know what is on your credit report and you want to make sure that no one is opening accounts in your name.

I suggest that you ask for a copy of your report from each of the agencies every year. I schedule the requests on my calendar and I space them apart so that I get one report every four months. The Federal Trade Commission created a website that provides you with the information you need to get your free copies.

Somehow, when I requested a copy of my credit report two months ago, I was redirected to another website. Apparently, I typed in my VISA card number during the “authorization” process and they started charging me a monthly fee, which I noticed on my VISA bill. (Another good reason to check your bill every month!)

When I called the toll-free number on my bill, I found out that I had signed up for a monitoring service from freecreditreport.com without my knowing. They would not refund my money and I had to fight with my bank to get the charge taken off. I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable consumer and I know my way around a website, so I still can’t figure out how I fell for this scam.

I still urge people to use the free service provided by the FTC. However, make sure you are logging in to the correct website and don’t give your credit card number away!

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

Tightwad Chic

Due to the economic downturn, more people are watching what they buy and, apparently, it has become popular to show that you care about saving money. The Washington Post reported today that “being cheap has become socially acceptable.” In the article, Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and the author of Predictably Irrational, noticed a “new, more thrifty pattern of consumer behavior.” He recently conducted a survey for Bank of America and found that about 80 percent of people surveyed said they are more conscious of spending now than they were at the beginning of this year. The article also noted that a Gallup poll in April showed 59% of Americans enjoy saving money, compared with 48% in April 2001 and the percentage of people who said they enjoyed spending money dropped to from 45% to 37%.

To read the whole article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060404577.html?hpid=artslot

So many people use shopping as recreation, filling their homes with stuff they don’t need. Before you go shopping, see if you already have something that you can use for the same purpose. Remember: Just because something is inexpensive doesn’t make it a bargain. How can you make do with what you already have?

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!

Tightwad Chic

Due to the economic downturn, more people are watching what they buy and, apparently, it has become popular to show that you care about saving money. The Washington Post reported today that “being cheap has become socially acceptable.” In the article, Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and the author of Predictably Irrational, noticed a “new, more thrifty pattern of consumer behavior.” He recently conducted a survey for Bank of America and found that about 80 percent of people surveyed said they are more conscious of spending now than they were at the beginning of this year. The article also noted that a Gallup poll in April showed 59% of Americans enjoy saving money, compared with 48% in April 2001 and the percentage of people who said they enjoyed spending money dropped to from 45% to 37%.

To read the whole article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060404577.html?hpid=artslot

So many people use shopping as recreation, filling their homes with stuff they don’t need. Before you go shopping, see if you already have something that you can use for the same purpose. Remember: Just because something is inexpensive doesn’t make it a bargain. How can you make do with what you already have?

Organized by Marcie: Getting you organized so you have time to do what you love to do!