| How to Be Productive After School Posted: 23 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST While being productive can be challenging, there are many ways to make sure that you get a lot of things done after the school day ends. Treat your body right by eating healthy snacks and getting enough sleep. Make a to-do list and stick to any schedules that you set for yourself; if you're consistent and make an honest effort to get things done, you'll discover that being productive when school gets out can be a breeze! [Edit]Motivating Yourself to Be Productive - Set rewards for yourself. Whether it's a video game, 30 minutes on social media, or a candy bar, find something that you really want to do. Make an agreement with your family that you will only receive the reward if you complete a certain number of tasks after school every day. This way, you'll have a reason to get things done as soon as you get home.[1]
- You don't necessarily need to arrange rewards with your family in order to motivate yourself to be productive. If you can be disciplined, you can be in charge of rewarding yourself after you've gotten a few things done.
- Ask your parents if there are any incentives that they can think of to give you for being consistently productive after school.
- Perform some simple stretches to activate your body. Stretching will get the blood flowing and make it easier to get started on your first task. Stand up and stretch your back by tilting backwards with your hands on your hips. Use your toes to lift your ankles off of the floor to stretch your hamstrings. Then, keep your legs straight as you bend over to touch your toes. Stretch your upper body by pulling back on your palms as they point away from you. Bend your elbow behind your upper back and push on your triceps to stretch your arms.[2]
- Jumping jacks, yoga, and jump rope are all good physical activities that can be used instead of stretching.
- Stretch for at least 5 minutes before moving on to your next task. This will help get your body in the habit of moving before
- Eat a healthy snack when you get home. Your body is going to need a little energy after you get home from a long day at school. Have a healthy snack, like an apple or bowl of oatmeal when you get home. Fueling your body will give you an energy boost and make it easier to get started.[3]
- Don't sit down for a full meal. Your body will get tired immediately after eating a full meal as it spends energy trying to digest the food.
- Announce your plans to be productive to the members of your family. You're more likely to be productive if other people know about your goals to get your work done. Tell your family members that you are actively going to be productive after school every day. This way, you'll know that you need to get to work when you get home in order to avoid letting your parents down.[4]
- Write a positive note of encouragement and post it in your home. A simple message like "stay busy!" or "getting stuff done feels good" can be written on a post-it note or piece of paper. Hang the paper up in a visible area in your home to give yourself a visual reminder about maintaining a positive mindset while getting your work done.[5]
- Remind yourself why you want to be productive and think about how good it will feel when you're done with your homework and chores. The satisfaction of getting a lot done is a strong motivator when it comes to getting yourself moving.
[Edit]Organizing and Planning - Make a list of what you want to get done after school. Compose a to-do list before you get home with 3-6 tasks that you want to complete. Arrange it so that your list is ordered from most to least important. As you work, cross things off of your list. This will help you track whether you're meeting your daily productivity goals or not.[6]
- Keep your daily to-do lists in the same notebook and bring it with you to school. During lunch or on your way home, review your list from the day before to see what tasks (if any) you need to carry over from the previous day.
- Start with the most important task on your list. If your room is already clean, getting your homework done first is a good idea. If your parents are having friends over for dinner and you haven't cleaned up yet, you probably need to pick your things up first. By beginning with the most important issue, you'll ensure that you're motivated enough to complete your first task. The positive momentum from finishing your first task will carry you through your next couple of items on your list.[7]
- Schedule blocks of time to work on daily tasks like homework. If you have certain things that you need to complete every single day, like homework or daily chores, schedule a specific time to complete them. Set a timer on your phone or alarm clock to remind you when you need to start a daily task. This will ensure that you never accidentally skip something important, and will help you develop the habit of getting stuff done every day.[8]
- Don't schedule something for a time slot when you aren't always home. For example, if you have basketball practice 2 days a week from 3:00-4:30 pm, don't schedule homework time for 3:30 pm.
[Edit]Performing Simple Tasks - Do your homework right away when you get home. Starting with your homework is a good way to make sure that you're using your time efficiently. Everything that you learned at school will still be fresh in your mind and it'll be easier to finish it quickly. Homework requires sitting as well, so you can have a healthy snack or glass of water while you work in order to refresh your body.[9]
- Clean your room and organize any messy areas. It's easy to leave dirty laundry on the floor and forget about trash in your room. Cleaning your personal space is a good activity to complete after school because it requires almost no brain power to complete. If you want to give your mind a rest when you get home, start by cleaning your room.[10]
- Finish any chores that your parents have given you. If your parents give you weekly or daily chores, you may want to get those done after school. If you leave chores for the weekend, you're only eating into your own free time. Once you're in the tempo of getting things done after school, incorporate your weekly chores into your routine.[11]
- Set a schedule where you complete certain chores on specific days of the week to avoid having to do them all at once. For example, you can do your laundry on Monday, take out the trash on Wednesday, and do the dishes on Friday.
[Edit]Keeping Yourself from Getting Distracted - Listen to music while you're working to stay focused. Listening to music is an excellent way to keep yourself from getting distracted. Build yourself a playlist on your phone or home computer, and throw some music on when you get started. This will prevent boredom from setting in while you're working through the mundane items on your to-do list.[12]
- Try to include uplifting and high-tempo tunes in your playlist. If you're listening to slower or softer music, you may find yourself falling asleep or getting tired while you work.
- Create multiple playlists filled with different artists and genres of music to prevent yourself from listening to the same thing over and over again.
- Ask your family to redirect you if you get off-task. Enlist a family member to keep you accountable if they see you getting distracted. Try to work when they're around so that they can keep an eye on you, and don't get upset if they remind you that you're trying to be productive, since a simple reminder will help you stay focused while you work.[13]
- Take a short nap before getting started. It may sound counterintuitive, but a nap may be the best way to be productive after school. A 15-20 minute nap can give your body a quick rest and make it easier to fight through the after-school slump. Be careful not to overdo it though; set an alarm on your phone and stick to strict time limits in order to prevent yourself for sleeping through the evening.[14]
- Deactivate notifications on your phone and avoid looking at social media. It's hard to get anything accomplished if you're consistently staring at a screen. Turn the notifications on your apps off, and close any social media programs to avoid the temptation altogether. Consider leaving you phone in a separate room or with someone if you aren't using it for music and don't need it for the task that you're trying to complete.[15]
- Consider downloading an app that monitors and limits the amount of time that you spend on social media. Offtime, Moment, and BreakFree are all apps that will cut you off from Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat if you can't help yourself.[16]
- If you're leaving it with someone, tell them you don't want them to give you your phone back until they can see you've completed everything.
[Edit]References |
| How to Drive Less Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST Whether you'd like to reduce your environmental footprint, reduce expenses, get more exercise, spend less time stuck in traffic, or all of the above, one of the best things to do is to drive less when you can. You can cut back on your driving by using alternative forms of transportation, staying close to home, and making small changes to the way you drive. With these easy changes, you'll be driving less in no time! [Edit]Using Alternative Forms of Transportation - Ride a bike to your destination if it's within a reasonable distance. If your trip is less than away, try going by bicycle. You'll get exercise and fresh air, and you'll have a lane all to yourself. You might even get there as fast as you would sitting by traffic in a car.[1]
- If you don't own a bike, look into bike-share programs in your community.[2]
- Get a rack, backpack, or a trailer if you need to carry things.
- If it's been a while since you've been on a bicycle, start by doing short, easy trips to gain confidence before you ride a long distance.
- Walk to your destination if it's close enough. If you're traveling less than , enjoy some fresh air and walk to your destination. It's great exercise, and it offers a nice break from other fast-paced activities.[3]
- For example, if you live within of your place of work or school, then you could walk there.
- Make sure to use sidewalks, crosswalks, and other safe walking areas if you decide to walk to your destination.
- Take public transportation 1 or more days per week. Find out what the public transportation options are in your community and take advantage of them. You can use your bus or train time for things you couldn't do while driving. Read a book or magazine, sleep, catch up on your email, plan your day, learn a language, or do a portable craft, such as knitting or crocheting.[4]
- You can walk or bike to the bus stop, or drive to a park-and-ride lot
- Carpool to work or school to reduce the environmental impact of driving. If you must drive to school or work every day, try taking along a few passengers. This is a great way to help other people cut back on their driving and reduce your impact on the environment. You can share the cost of gas, get some company on your commute, and you may be able to use a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane to save additional time.[5]
- Find out if any of your coworkers or classmates live near you and would be interested in carpooling.
- Use apps to connect with neighbors with similar commute patterns.
- Check rideshare boards to identify people going your way if you are taking a longer drive or road trip.
[Edit]Staying Closer to Home - Choose destinations that are close to home whenever possible. Reducing the length of your trip to work, school, shopping, and wherever else you need to go is a painless, easy way to cut down on the time you spend in the car. It also makes it easier to use transportation other than driving when you don't have far to go.[6]
- Try shopping for your groceries at a local supermarket rather than driving 20 miles to a major shopping center.
- Walk to a café in your neighborhood rather than driving through at a fast food restaurant to get coffee.
- You could even bike or walk to school or work if you live close enough.
- Do what you can online or by phone to avoid going out. Take advantage of websites where you can order items that you use frequently to cut down on your trips to the store. Comparison shop online rather than hunting all over town, or call merchants to ask about prices and availability before you go.[7]
- For example, you could try ordering your groceries online and have them delivered to eliminate a trip to the store.
- Pay bills online or by phone rather than paying in person.
- Make check deposits using a banking app instead of driving to the bank.
- Ask your employer if you can work from home 1 day per week. If you can perform your work remotely, then you might ask your employer about telecommuting. Not all jobs are suited to it, and not all managers and workplaces are willing to consider it, but if you can save on even 1 day's commute per week, it will add up.[8]
- Try pointing out the perks of allowing you to work from home for 1 day of the week, such as increased productivity, higher morale, and reducing environmental impact by cutting back on your commute.
- Some people even find that they are more productive without all the distractions of a busy office.
[Edit]Finding Little Ways to Reduce Driving Time - Combine errands and trips when you need to drive somewhere. If you need to drive somewhere, do your best to minimize the number of individual trips you need to make. Make a list of the places you need to go and what you need to get before you head out.[9]
- Try to avoid driving back and forth across town as well. Stop at places on the way to and from your other destinations. For example, you could visit the post office or doctor while you're in that part of town, or stop by the store on your way home from work or school.
- Park in the first space that you find when you arrive at your destination. Instead of circling the parking lot looking for the perfect space, pull into the first available one even if it's far from the entrance. You may reduce your time spent in the car by as much as 10 minutes by not circling for a closer spot, and you will get some extra steps in by parking further from the entrance. Parking further away even counts as part of your daily exercise![10]
- If valet parking is an option at a crowded venue, then you might also try this option for parking. You usually have to pay for valet parking, but it might be worth it for the time and energy you could spend looking for a place to park.
- Use map and transit applications to plan your trips. Maps and apps can help you to shorten your route and avoid traffic slowdowns. Some map applications can also tell you where the roads are congested so you can avoid getting stuck in traffic. By following the app's suggestions for alternative routes, you can cut back on the amount of time that you will spend behind the wheel.[11]
[Edit]References |
| How to Learn Astrology Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST Astrology is not the same thing as astronomy, although they are sometimes confused. Astrology is the study of the alignment of planets, often at the time of a person's birth. People create and read astrological charts to help them identify personality traits—good and bad—and to gain insight into the events of their lives. Anyone with an interest in astrology can learn how it works and apply the principles to create and interpret astrological charts of their own. [Edit]Mastering the Basics of Astrology - Identify the 12 zodiac signs and their related sun sign dates. Most people are familiar with sun signs, since these are commonly thought to be significant for determining one's individual traits. However, all of the astrological signs are present on a person's astrological chart at the time of their birth. They just appear in different positions depending on the time of year. The sun travels through all of the signs of the zodiac as the year progresses. Its alignment with each sign is as follows:[1]
- Aries: March 20 to April 22
- Taurus: April 21 to May 22
- Gemini: May 21 to June 22
- Cancer: June 21 to July 22
- Leo: July 21 to August 22
- Virgo: August 21 to September 22
- Libra: September 21 to October 22
- Scorpio: October 21 to November 22
- Sagittarius: November 21 to December 22
- Capricorn: December 21 to January 22
- Aquarius: January 20 to February 19
- Pisces: February 18 to March 21
- Look at the sun, moon, and planets that are incorporated into astrology. Astrology incorporates the positions of the sun, moon, and other planets in earth's orbit. Where each is positioned on an astrological chart will affect the meaning of the chart. When you look at an astrological chart, you will see symbols for:[2]
- Sun
- Moon
- Mercury
- Venus
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
- Pluto
- Look at the zodiac as a 360 degree circle to identify aspects. Aspects in astrology are the way that the planets align with each other in relation to their position around the earth. If 2 planets are in aspect in an astrological chart, they may form an angle, overlap, or be opposite each other. This changes the significance of their positions and you will have to interpret their positions in relation to each other. The 4 major aspects to look for on an astrological chart include:[3]
- Conjunction, which is when there is 0 degrees of separation between 2 planets and they overlap.
- Sextile, which is when there is 60 degrees of separation.
- Square, which is when the planets form a 90 degree angle.
- Trine, which is when the planets form a 120 degree angle.
- Opposition, which is when the planets are at opposite sides of the chart or have 180 degrees of separation.
- Identify the astrological symbols or glyphs. Before you can create or read a chart, you'll need to know what all of the symbols on the chart mean. There are symbols for the planets, astrological signs, and special points and angles, so it can get a little complicated. Study the symbols and try drawing each one yourself to help familiarize yourself with them.[4]
- For example, the sun symbol is shaped like a circle with a dot at the center of it, while the moon looks like a crescent.
- Aquarius' symbol looks like 2 parallel wavy lines, while Taurus looks like a bull's head with 2 horns on top of it.
- The north node symbol looks like a pair of right side up headphones, while the south node looks like a pair of upside down headphones.
[Edit]Going Deeper into Astrological Concepts - Learn about the different astrological houses. The houses are arranged on a wheel like the signs of the zodiac, but they are not the same thing. The houses correspond to the hours of the day on a person's birth chart rather than to a time of the year. Depending on the time of a person's birth, they might have different traits associated with each house.[5]
- 1st house: Self
- 2nd house: Money and possessions
- 3rd house: Communication
- 4th house: Home and everything associated with it
- 5th house: Children, creativity, and the pursuit of pleasure
- 6th house: Daily work, service, health, and sickness
- 7th house: Marriage and relationships
- 8th house: Joint finances
- 9th house: Philosophy, religion, law, and education
- 10th house: Status, reputation, and honor
- 11th house: Community, friends, and large groups
- 12th house: The subconscious mind, memory, and habits
- Look for the rising sign and its significance. The rising sign, also known as the ascendant, is the sign that appears in the first house on an astrological birth chart. This will vary depending on the person's time of birth. A person's rising sign will indicate personality traits that are more apparent to other people than to that person. The rising sign may also impact the person's actions and their lasting impact on the world.[6]
- Note that your rising sign can be different from your sun sign. For example, you might be a Taurus with a rising sign of Gemini, or a Pisces with a rising sign of Leo.
- You need to complete an astrology birth chart to find your rising sign.
- Develop your knowledge of the 4 zodiac elements. Understanding the elements will make it much easier to interpret an astrological chart since these are the underlying traits of each zodiac sign. By committing these to memory or at least developing a good understanding of them, you will gain a deeper understanding of how astrology works and how to apply it. The 4 elements and their associated traits include:[7]
- Fire: Associated with Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Fire signs are quick to act and take risks. They are often extroverts, energetic, and physically active. However, they may also be impatient, insensitive, and selfish.
- Air: Associated with Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. Air signs are thoughtful, social, and love learning. They are often articulate, understanding, and objective. However, they may also be unemotional, impractical, and hyperactive.
- Water: Associated with Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. They are responsive to energy, deeply emotional, nurturing, calm, and compassionate. However, they may also be shy, oversensitive, vindictive, and moody.
- Earth: Associated with Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. Earth signs are practical, realistic, cautious, efficient, patient, and hard-working. However, they may also be slow, unimaginative, and stubborn.
- Determine if a sign is yin or yang to find its polarity and qualities. Yin and yang are opposites and all of the zodiac signs correspond to one or the other. In general, yang signs are more active and assertive while yin signs are more passive and receptive. Yang is typically associated with masculine energy while yin is associated with feminine energy. By knowing what signs are yin and what signs are yang, you can gain some additional insight into the meaning of a sign.[8]
- Yin: Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Yin signs are also more likely to be passive, introverted, withdrawn, and reactive.
- Yang: Aquarius, Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, and Sagittarius. Yang signs are also more likely to be direct, outgoing, extroverted, and giving.
- Study astrology to gain additional knowledge on the subject. There are tons of ways that you can deepen your knowledge of astrology even further if you want to learn more. Some options you might try include:
- Reading books on Astrology
- Taking an astrology class in-person or online
- Attending a local meetup or other group to meet other people interested in astrology
- Using online resources to help you understand astrology's concepts, such as the Astrology Dictionary: http://theastrologydictionary.com/
[Edit]Putting Your Astrology Knowledge into Practice - Learn how to create an astrological chart. Making astrological charts is a great way to learn more about astrology and practice your skills. You can create charts by hand, use a computer program, or create them online with a free website. You can make a birth chart or natal astrology chart for yourself or someone else, or create charts for different events.
- Read the results of the charts you create. Use the knowledge you have gained about the different zodiac signs, planetary aspects, and elements to help you interpret a chart. Keep in mind that astrology is not an exact science, so don't worry if some aspects of your reading seem a little off. You will gain more insight and improve your chart readings with time.[9]
- If you create an astrological chart using a website, then it will also provide interpretations of your chart.
- Write horoscopes based on your astrology findings. If you create a chart and want to boil it down into a forecast for the day, week, or month, then you might try your hand at writing horoscopes. This is a way of succinctly describing what the planetary alignment indicates for different individuals. It's a fun way to practice your astrology skills and continue building your knowledge.
- It takes a while to master all of astrology's concepts. Try setting aside at least 15 minutes daily to study astrology and practice some of the techniques you have learned.
[Edit]Warnings - Never use astrology alone or to help you make major life decisions!
[Edit]References |
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