Tips to Make Your Mornings Easier and More Productive

Are mornings the the most difficult part of your day? Some of us find it tough to get going in the mornings no matter how much sleep we have had.

If you are a Mum and you need to get children dressed, fed and out the door with backpacks and school books, mornings can be very grueling. Now even if you aren’t a morning person, there are some strategies that you can engage that will help you feel motivated and looking forward to the day, as opposed to dreading it.

Try the following tips to help you cope with those challenging early mornings:

1. Get to bed on time the night before to ensure you are getting enough sleep. Of course, sometimes even if you have had your required sleep, you will still feel weary in the morning when you wake, but that may be due to the actual quality of sleep you are getting. This could be the very reasson why you can’t get up with a smile on your face in the mornings. So get to bed on time for a week and monitor yourself in the mornings to determine if you feel any different.

2. Try waking up earlier, I know its the last thing you want to do but this might give you a little more time in the mornings to get organised. If you’re trying to squeeze every possible moment of sleep into your schedule, when you do get up you have to madly rush around, which is too stressful first thing in the morning. Much better to wake up and allow yourself a very quiet, calm moments before your feet hit the floor! Enjoy the sunrise while you have a leisurely cup of coffee, before the rush begins.

3. Preparation. Get organised for the morning the night before. Do whatever you can the night before to make your mornings easily and less stressful.Make sure your keys are in the usual spot, make the lunches and organise the backpacks, and have everyone’s clothes laid out. That way when you wake in the morning there is much less to be stressed about!

4. Turn some music on. My music teacher always taught me to make sure I had music in the house with my children. Nice relaxing music in the morning can be a beautiful way to start your day. It can ease you gently into the day whilst keeping you calm, even if you are busy! Enjoying these first few moments that you’re awake can make a massive difference to your entire day.

5. Meditate. Meditation is great for calming your life down or slowing your life down. It allows you to center yourself and go back to a state of peacefulness which in turn can carry you throughout your day. I would recommend though that you mediate in an upright position so you’re not tempted to fall back asleep.

6. Try to develop a positive mindset. If you have a tendency to be grumpy in the morning, make a conscious decision to start your day in a positive way. Try to imagine the wonderful things that may come your way today. If you have something not so pleasant that you have to face then try to focus on all other aspects of your day which are positive.

7. Be thankful. Start your day by giving thanks for everything you have in your life. Being grateful sets the tone for the day.

If mornings just arent your thing, try to make them easier on yourself and others by remembering to use these strategies and I think you will be surprised at the difference they will make!.

By

MaryAnn Roche.

Psoriasis is a persistent, auto-immune disease that you can see on the skin, and usually on a person’s elbows, scalp and knees.

In some very bad cases, Psoriasis can be found anywhere on the body and sometimes all over the body. It is not contagious, but there are 5 forms of psoriasis –

• Plaque Psoriasis (the most common form)
• Pustular Psoriasis
• Guttate Psoriasis
• Erythrodermic Psoriasis
• Inverse Psoriasis

Generally a sufferer has only one of the above at any given time. That’s not to say thought that if one from of Psoriasis clears, another will generally appear in response to some trigger.

It would appear that the sufferer’s immune system is inadvertently triggered, appearing to cause swift acceleration of skin cell growth. Rather than a normal skin cell taking approximately 29 days to mature prior to being shed by the body, a skin cell in a psoriasis sufferer only takes 3 or 4 days to establish and rather than shedding this skin cell , the cell piles up on the surface of the skin, forming psoriasis lesions.

What you see are red, raised patches on the skin covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells. Psoriasis is sometimes associated with other severe health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

3% of the populations are sufferers which in Australia means more than 600,000 people. In the USA, some 8-9 million people are sufferers. (According to the National Institutes of Health). You can experience Psoriasis at any age (even as a baby) but it generally tends to present itself in both males and females, in their late teens or early twenties. Many sufferers do grow out of the condition over time but others do not and some tend to have a second peak when they reach their fifties.

WHAT CAUSES PSORIASIS?

Similar to many other skin conditions the exact cause of Psoriasis appears to be unknown. Research indicates that a combination of a person’s immune system and genetics contributes to the development of Psoriasis. Although only 2-3 % of the population develops Psoriasis, it is suspected that 10% or more actually inherit one or more of the genes that create a predisposition to Psoriasis. Apart from being genetically predisposed to Psoriasis, the condition will not appear to develop without some exposure to external triggers. A little like epilepsy, the triggers seem to be specific to the sufferer. However the known Psoriasis triggers include infection, some medications, injury and stress.

If you suffer from Psoriasis, check with your doctor as to any medications you may be taking that could worsen the condition. Known as the Koebner phenomenon (also called the “Koebner response” or the “isomorphic response”), Psoriasis can develop in areas of the skin that have been injured or traumatized in some way.

COMMON TREATMENTS FOR PSORIASIS

Common treatments for Psoriasis are:

Over-The-Counter Medications – sold without a prescription from the Doctor, there are hundreds of products, creams, lotions and treatments for the scalp.  Generally most of these do not appear to work and are usually full of chemicals and toxins which can actually inflame the situation.

Prescription Medications –Given under the guidance of a Doctor they can only be received via a Doctor’s prescription. These medications have unreliable results but none are actually a cure for Psoriasis.

Other Treatments- Ultraviolet phototherapy systems are used for treating Psoriasis, and is the application of mid wave light energy (Ultraviolet-B light [UVB]) or long wave light (Ultraviolet-A [UVA]). While Ultraviolet phototherapy appears to slow down abnormal growth of normal skin cells there is risk associated. Exposure to UV light over prolonged periods is known to increase the chances of contracting skin cancer.

WHAT IS THE PRODUCT FOR PSORIASIS?

Tamanu or more specifically, Tamanu Oil (scientific name is Calophyllum Inophyllum) is a relatively undiscovered solution for several skin care problems. One of which is Psoriasis. There has been numerous studies on Tamanu Oil, however the research has been limited, due in the most part to the product not being known outside Pacific Island countries such as Vanuatu.

Sufficient scientific studies have been conducted in Europe and the USA to know that Tamanu oil has the distinctive capacity to encourage the formation of new skin tissue and that it contains anti-inflammatory, anti-neuralgic, antibiotic and antioxidant properties. It is also completely natural, no chemicals or toxins.

To learn more about Tamanu Oil and its natural healing qualities go to: http://www.volcanicearth.com.au/skin-problems.html and download your FREE Report.

By MaryAnn Roche

I’m not a man so I suppose in writing this article on men and intimacy I can only speak from what I have observed about men and intimacy throughout the course of my life. Please don’t think for a second that I hold these views of all men, but only of the men I have known.

Men and intimacy – do they go together?  Intimacy for men appears to be complicated.  When I was born I had 7 older brothers and another followed not long after my birth, and my father was very much a man’s man, and instilled in his sons the need to display a strong masculine identity.  I remember any signs of tenderness or softness was quickly squashed by him.  Therefore my brothers grew up believing they had to be macho and tough and the last thing they should do is display any intimacy at all when in a relationship. Men and intimacy in that instance is difficult as a man would find it hard to find the right balance between the two.

However for men to truly experience a loving and intimate relationship, men and intimacy have to learn how to be.

The need to bond with a significant other is very strong; however for men these feelings of romance and desiring another and sharing their innermost feelings can spark a genuine fear for a man.  I wonder, is it really fear or just that fundamentally men and women are very different.  We as women seem to crave intimacy whereas perhaps a man needs intimacy less than us?

To be honest I think it’s a little of both.  You go on a date with someone, you go on a second date with them, you may or may not have sex, everything is going well until you realize you like this person, and you may even miss them a little when you’re not with them. What do you do?  Let’s face it, you can’t confide in your buddies and slowly but surely you feel the fear rise up in you.  How could this happen you are strong, independent and tough but suddenly you feel vulnerable and out of your depth.  At this point if you can keep your mind and your heart open, you will pass through this fear into the realm of intimacy.

Men and intimacy can definitely be achieved, if you as a man can drop your guard and allow yourself to feel exposed and vulnerable, and understand that you are no less macho for doing so.  The reward you will gain will be the deepest most intense relationship and sexual experience you could hope for.

If you are in a relationship and feel that intimacy is lacking and you would like to change the situation I can recommend a 7 step system called “Happy 365” put together by a couple who have been together 21 years and spent a lot of that time getting it wrong.  They stopped and re-evaluated their relationship and began getting it right and have spent considerable time sharing their experiences with others. Click here for more information.

By MaryAnn Roche.

Remember that feeling you got when you went out on your 2nd date? That passion you felt and desire for intimacy with that person?  As your relationship progresses and time goes on it is so easy to let intimacy slip, but intimacy is vital for maintaining a long lasting and satisfying relationship. Just how do we lose the intimacy in our relationship and how can we gain more intimacy in our relationships?

Is it a few years on in your relationship and you have young children, a mortgage, work pressures and no time? Do you feel like there is no intimacy in your relationship? How will change this and are you really looking for more intimacy in your life?

Are you further down the track in your relationship and the kids have left home and you find yourself and your partner have completely lost the intimacy between you?

You can regain the intimacy in your relationship if you really want it, but it will require work and commitment for both parties.

Deciding firstly that you need to set aside time for intimacy is the first step. Then organising that time together and understanding that intimacy isnt just about sex. Sure sex plays an important part in it, but it is more about connecting again as a couple, remembering and reminiscing on why you got together in the first place. It’s about touching and holding and ultimately sex forms an important part of regaining that intimacy.

By MaryAnn Roche.

Boost Your Leadership Skills Simply By Answering The Question, “What Does Our Organization Really Reward?”

The difference between leaders is ears. Good leaders not only ask good questions, but they actually listen to the answers.

Ask people in your organization: “What does our organization REALLY reward?” Listening to the answer may help you achieve marked increased in results.

Rewards and punishments make up the drive shaft of any organization. But my experience of working with thousands of leaders during the past 23 years reveals that most of their organizations reward the wrong things.

Such organizations may pay lip service to rewarding people for what is viewed as the right things: getting results, getting the right results, getting the right results in the right ways. But what they may really reward, often in terms of promotions and job perks, are such things as the care and feeding of top leaders’ egos, political conniving, tyrannical leadership ….

Here is a way to transform wrong rewards into right results.

(1) Ask people in your organization what your organization REALLY rewards. The answers may surprise you. But don’t get caught up in those answers. Don’t make value judgments. At this stage, you are just an observer. Simply compile the list.

(2) Gauge each item on the list against results your organization really needs. Does it help get results? Does it detract from results?

Do it this way: Pick out a single item from your list. Describe the problem in the item and identify who controls its solution. Execute a “stop-start-continue” process. What reward do you stop, what do you start, and what do you continue?

You’ll get results, but don’t expect overnight success. Not only are many of these wrong rewards ingrained habits but changing them seldom achieves quick results. Still, keep asking, What does my organization really reward? In the long run, when tackling the challenges that comes with listening to the answers, you’ll be getting more results as well as sharpening your leadership skills.

(3) Ask, “What does your leadership really reward?” When your leadership rewards the wrong things, you’re getting a fraction of the results you’re capable of. However, since we see the faults of others more clearly than our own, it may be more difficult identifying and dealing with your own issues rather than your organization’s.

Do a 360 degree assessment. Select a single item from the list and apply the start-stop-continue process. Don’t simply eliminate the item. Such items can be grist for the results mill. Identify the problem in the item then have the solution be a tool that gets results.

Guaranteed you will get results. After all, you are eliminating a negative aspect of your leadership and replacing it with a results-producing one. When you make this a long term endeavor — going from item to item — results will come to you in new and often unexpected ways.

(4) Encourage the people you lead to question the rewards aspects of their own leadership. Be aware of their reactions to your encouragement. Do they see the questioning as meaningful to their jobs? Do they want their colleagues involved in such questioning? Do they want to have senior management question their own leadership?

If people want the questioning to be a regular part of their daily work, continue it. If they feel it has little value, call a time out. After all, if people believe they are powerless to change things in the organization, seismic questions like this will only frustrate and anger them, creating a hot house environment for cynicism to flower.

As you go forward:

–Cultivate among the people a common, self-reinforcing fervor for the questioning. Don’t force things. Be an observer and a supporter. Observe their reactions to the questioning and support their efforts to make it succeed.

–Encourage the development of networks of people taking the initiative to engage in the questioning together.

–Now and then, and especially in the beginning, set aside special times and places to have them focus exclusively on such questioning, making sure they continually link the answers to getting increases in results.

–Keep that linkage alive. This is not an academic exercise. It’s not meant to simply have people feel good or, on the other hand, vent their frustrations. It’s sole objective is to get MEASURABLE INCREASES IN RESULTS. If results are not forthcoming, have people refocus on the need for the questioning; and if you still are not receiving results, curtail or even eliminate it for awhile. You can always reactivate it when the time and the environment are more conducive to having it succeed.

–Avoid having the process deteriorate into name calling and finger pointing. The idea is not to use the questioning to get the goods on people or as a platform for emotional outbursts against the organization but instead for what it is meant to be, a powerful tool to get more results continually.

Mind you, people shouldn’t be spending inordinate amounts of time on the questioning. Nor should it be seen as a major, discrete effort, like an operations or marketing program. Just the opposite: It should be a natural part of everybody’s leadership activities. Constantly asking, Are we rewarding the right things? should eventually come as second nature.

2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at www.actionleadership.com