It’s so noisy out there

The single biggest threat to sanity ever being is lousy time management.
Declarative sentence; allow me to build the case.
Noise holds us back. Real thinking and/or getting things done takes time. Time is a commodity and most people don’t have. It’s all about the loud noises around you. But what noise you ask?
Emails
Begin with objectively reviewing your email from the past week. How many emails did you automatically delete? You know, without even looking at them closely the ones you have got to delete. Quite a number of them, right? What could have been worse was that you could have given time to read each one of them. Now that’s where you are wasting time.
Here’s what I think:
Unsubscribe. From everything. When you need to find information, you can always Google. You can subscribe again anytime, but I’d say you wouldn’t miss any of those emails. And you will enjoy the time you saved in going through all that email.
Different email addresses. For newsletters, promotional emails and other marketing stuff. This may not work over time, because you still take precious time to check out those emails. Let the culling begin; reclaim your inbox. 10% of your day is plenty time to spend on your inbox.
Facebook
Admit it. You love Facebook. To argue that it isn’t a huge time killer is like arguing that drinking Coca-Cola is good for your bones. The worst part of Facebook is that you allow it to invade and influence you mind. What your friend does or says is cool. Pages you like rule. Facebook allows you to unsubscribe and/or filter all the content. Just do it. Spend some time getting your feed clean—filter crap, filter in the good stuff. Rather than learning the least helpful google images on buzzfeed, you’d rather find out how you can eat better to live a healthier life with tips on mindbodygreen. The reason is simple; you streamline your time with Facebook. You’ll get all the good stuff without the time killers and/or calories.
Twitter
Like Facebook, you control who you follow. It’s okay to love someone and yet not follow them via Twitter; the world continues to move on. Are you following is overtly religious, political, racist, sexist, explicit, then just un-follow. Clean up your stream and stop wasting time.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is actually pretty good—it’s more professional than Facebook. LinkedIn groups may be great but I suggest you unsubscribe from emails from the groups you belong to. Again, an empty inbox is like a friend with great weed. When you want information from that group, visit the group. Interact and have fun but you don’t really need a daily or weekly email from them. Get your time back; get back to adding real value at work. No one will think less of you because you discontinued your long standing relationship with a virtual group; no one will ever know.
Text messages
Text messages are real time killers. And just because someone text you, you dont have to text them back. Don’t get me wrong, for quick questions texting and/or chat is great. But having a full on conversation via text? Now that’s a complete waste of time. You are kidding yourself if you don’t get that.
I could keep going but you get the point. Think of time management as push versus pull. You’ve got all these inputs and you control them all. Change the game by taking control of these inputs. Get your time back, put it to good use.

Habit #3 Cook your own food.

We all want to eat healthier and cook our own meals, but fear getting into our kitchens.

If you have always relied on restaurants or take-out, the task of cooking your own food may seem to be a very forbidding one.

Home-cooked food has an effect restaurant food just does not have. While preparing food for  yourself or your family, you would put in love, your ideas and concern for the well being of your loved ones. This makes a whole lot of difference to the end-result, as compared to the food that is commercially prepared in restaurants.

If you are new to cooking, try to picture cooking as an art. Your pots and pans are your paintbrushes and easel, and the ingredients are your colours. Start of with nothing and end up with a painting that reflects your moods.

Be happy, let your imagination free. Enjoy the process. Be aware.

1. Read recipes and understand the process. Collect recipes from your family and friends

If you find a recipe interesting, save it. There may be a reason that attracted you to it in the first place. If you liked something that your friend or your mother made, not the recipe. Tried and tested recipes never fail. Soon you will see a pattern emerging, and you will have a whole variety of dishes you can try out.

2. Begin humble

So you have decided to cook. Start with preparing a few easy meals for yourself or your friends, rather than making huge plans for a party.

3. Experiment with different flavours and kinds of food

Be aware of the flavor each ingredient adds to the dish. Inhale the spices. This would allow you to make your own changes to the recipe as you go by.

4. Have fun while you are at it 

Listen to music, open up your windows. Enjoy the moment.

5. Its alright if you goof up

Top chefs goof up, so why cant you? After all practice makes perfect, right? Try to begin with smaller quantities, so that wastage is minimal. You will soon figure out the reason why one step follows the other in a recipe. To begin with, get your mis en place right. Then you can follow the recipe through easily.

Whatever it is that you are preparing, understand the value it adds to your life. Appreciate food with all your senses-  vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Your time in the kitchen is when you get the chance to enjoy the small moments to savor beautiful experiences through your senses, where you can get away from your busy lifestyles.

Habit # 2- Yoga helps relieve arthritis pain

Arthritis patients find great relief once they have started an exercise program which includes moderate intensity aerobic activity such as brisk walking, gardening as well as more vigorous physical activity such as jogging. Though people believe that Arthritis is an ailment that affects the aged, it actually is a condition which results from the deterioration of soft tissues that cover and protect the joints causing the bones rub against each other. The exact causes of Arthritis are not known yet, though obesity and heredity do contribute to deterioration. There are several exercises for arthritis pain relief, but yoga, which is a combination of controlled gentle movements, stretching and breathing exercises are very helpful.

Before beginning a yoga session, the patient must consult a doctor to ensure that it is safe for the individual to begin yoga exercises for arthritis pain relief. Though it is best to consult a trained practitioner of yoga, there are simple exercises, which are called asanas, which can be done in the comfort of your home, which help increase the circulation in the joints and limbs. You can start with simple breathing exercises, and slowly proceed to stretching. It is highly recommended that you maintain slow and controlled movements and not stay in the poses for too long.

Habit # 1- Begin your day with lime juice and water

Now, one cant find happiness without good health, right? Even an attack of flu can leave you morose and glum. Now, though it is impossible to keep flu away, I guarantee that starting the day with the juice of half a lime in a glass of lukewarm water definitely reduces the chances of getting a bad cold and fever. The high vitamin-C content in lime fights colds. Those who complain about acidity, and feel that consuming lime on an empty stomach could increase acidity, couldn’t have been more wrong. Though lime/lemon is citric acid, once it is metabolised, it becomes alkaline. Being more alkaline helps the body maintain a higher pH which in turn makes it resistant to minor and major disease and assimilate nutrients.

Drinking lime in the morning is a great way to kick-start the day. Besides reducing a cup of coffee or tea loaded with milk and sugar, it also boosts the digestive system by helping to stimulate the liver into producing more enzymes and liquefying bile.

Though it is said that because lemon is high in pectin fiber, which helps to curb craving for food, this is something that I dont swear by. In all these years I have been starting my day with a glass of lime water, I have not lost any weight or felt a drop in my healthy appetite!

Oh, and it helps bowel movement in the morning. This is another great habit to cultivate, but I will come to it another day.