Be That Early Bird

Waking up early is a sign of success and ambition in our society. Yet legislature insists on making schools start later to accommodate the sleep cycles of adolescents. You do not need science to figure out that students in middle and high schools like to stay up late and then stay in bed in the mornings. I do not know about you but eight hours is eight hours whether it goes from midnight to 8 am or 10 pm to 6 am. Why don't the parents take back the responsibility and make them go to bed at a decent time. This early-to-bed approach has the benefit of not needing taxpayer dollars. We won't waste lawmakers' time debating the merits of an 8:15 a.m. start time vs. 8:20 a.m. We will also be able to use that time on more pressing matters such as mobile applications and communication services used in schools as well as video conferencing for tutoring. Just imagine the possibilities.

Put Away The Phone Before Bed

You are probably one of those people that like to check their phones before bed and maybe play one more game on that mobile applications or check on the progress of the web development project. Turns out that it can be bad for you in the long run. It has been known for a while that the light messes with melatonin production which makes us feel sleepy. Not only does that blue light mess with sleep, it can also damage your eyes, make you more vulnerable to disease, and even make you moody. The amount of stimulation can be too much for the eyes and can lead to macular degeneration. Less melatonin has also been linked in any number of cancers. And everyone knows that not getting enough shut eye can make anyone grumpy. It might be beneficial to have a nightly routine where you are able to unwind.

Silver Linings

As I was experiencing a moment of happiness, I wanted to share some of the ways that I got there. We all deserve to be happy and even stay that way but it is something that we have to get ourselves and consciously work on. First of all, learn to see the silver lining in the worst of things and going with the flow. This might sound counter intuitive but try seeing a tearjerker. Even centuries ago it was suggested that people go see sad operas to get all those emotions out so that afterwards they are happier. Turns out that there is some truth to that notion. This sadness that you experience can get you to think of what you have and be thankful for it which can induce a sense of happiness. Now before you go around moping that none of these things nor any mobile applications work consider this, sadness and the occasional bad mood are natural, too. No one can be happy all the time. That is good news too.

Think Happy

One of the keys to being happy is to be aware off your surroundings and yourself, including your feelings, no matter what they might be. First step in changing how you feel is to acknowledge how you naturally react to things. Once you realize what you are feeling you will be able to catch and then reframe your thoughts. You could ask yourself what could be the positives in the situation. On the other side of the coin, you need to be able to take a step back from all the negative thoughts and put distance between you and them. A feeling that kills happiness is fear. I heard that fear can cut deeper than any sword. Taking that with stride, try to live in the present because most of the time the fear is based on what will or will not happen in the future. You have to realize that you can take control of that fear of the video conference presentation and turn it around to work for you. Lastly, start each day with three things that you are grateful for and end it by sharing your favorite moment from that day.

Apple Shortcuts

Apple knows all about your smartphone addiction so the software development team has some shortcuts when it comes to texting. If you are done with a sentence, all you need to do is double tap the space bar and you will get a period so you don't have to go to the numbers keyboard. You can also switch between the numbers and letters keyboard by holding down the 123 key and swiping to what ever number of symbol you need. You can also add other languages to your keyboard by going to settings, general, and keyboard. You can even add the Emoji keys. If you’re in the mood to yell at someone, double-tap the arrow Shift key on the keyboard. It’ll change colors and lock you into using capital letters. Hope this will save you some time while you are firing off the 428th text for the day.

Napping: It Is Alright to Do at Work

Sleeping on the job is not always seen as a good thing. In fact, your boss with probably think that you are lazy and not really doing your job. In recent years, many progressive companies have begun to encourage employees to take mid-day naps to recharge. Many of these companies even have specialized napping rooms that are comfortable and away from the noise of VoIP services and other distractions. Naps can help you refocus and re-energize for the rest of the day. It can also be a huge help to those that are trying to balance work and family life where neither place can be conducive to sleep. Although napping is becoming a more popular employee perk in some industries especially software development, there’s still a great deal of resistance in the corporate world towards sleeping on the job,

Yelling at Your Phone

There are days when those internet phone service is not cooperating and those mobile applications are not doing what they should be doing. Those days you just want to yell at your phone. There could be tech soon that lets you charge the phone by yelling at it. At least there is some good that is coming out of the frustration that you are experiencing. That's the idea behind a recent collaboration between scientists at Queen Mary University of London and Nokia. The team is working to develop a prototype charger that could replenish the battery of a mobile phone using human voices, music or even background noise. There is sound and energy all around us and we need to be able to use the technology to harness its power. Of course this idea is not entirely new because there was a prototype created in 2011. This time it seems like it might make it to the market.