Random thoughts #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year:

I was trying to come up with a topic for today but after going through lists of blog post subjects I decided to just wing it.

I'm still doing good on my 90 day soda free challenge...I'm almost to the halfway point...yesterday was day 41. Of those 41 days

41 days soda free
39 days taking 10,000+ steps
38 days drinking 3+ liters of water
lost 12 pounds

Things are going well.

I got an Aria 2 scale from Fitbit that automatically uploads my weight, body fat and BMI measurements to my Fitbit app. Although I think the first body fat percentage may be wrong...It says that I'm at 43.5% body fat, which means that 89.5 pounds of my 191.9 pounds of weight is due to fat. And only 108.4 pounds is due to everything else. I'll have to try it again but it's much higher than I had anticipated...more in the 30% range.

I'm actually at about the same weight right now. I've had soda 3 times since then...2 root beer floats and a Jack & Coke. The steps and water are down quite a bit right now...I need to get them back up!

I really can't think of anything else at the moment, so let's move onto

Interesting days

Today - Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day, High Five Day, Save The Elephant Day, Eggs Benedict Day and College Student Grief Awareness Day

Tomorrow - Haiku Poetry Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, Cheeseball Day, World Hemophilia Day, Kickball Day, Day Of Silence, Bat Appreciation Day, Nothing Like A Dame Day and Ford Mustang Day

Next Thursday - Talk Like Shakespeare Day, Thank you Thursday, Love Your Thighs Day, Lost Dog Awareness Day, World Book Night and English Language Day

Week long celebrations:

April 20 - April 26: Stationery Week

May 16 - World Whisky Day, Sea Monkey Day, Drawing Day, Horse Rescue Day, Biographers Day, World Fiddle Day, Plant a Lemon Tree Day, Learn To Swim Day, World Fish Migration Day and Waiters Day

How To Get Great Sleep While You’re Stuck at Home

Today's blog post is based on a blog post by Dr. Michael Breus.

If I had one thing to tell everyone while stuck at home due to the coronavirus, it would be this: don’t let your new, abnormal schedule ruin your sleep. 

Of course, that’s easier said than done right now. With millions of Americans suddenly finding themselves either working from home or looking for a new job during this downturn, our lives are very different at the beginning of April compared to the beginning of March. 

Right now, about 9 out of 10 Americans are living under a stay-at-home order from their state or local government. Add in the fact that the news is constantly focused on the latest COVID-19 developments, and it’s easy to see why people are stressed out. 

Another problem is there’s simply less to do currently, and people are looking to fill that void with less-than-ideal health choices. Alcohol consumption has increased more than 50%, weed sales have soared, time spent streaming TV has spiked, and, with gyms shut down, people are exercising less. Keeping that in mind, it’s imperative we don’t let our sleep patterns take a hit as well. 

Good sleep helps regulate mood, increases productivity, and gives our immune systems a much-needed boost. (And speaking of immunity, I’m a huge fan of Pique Tea crystals. They’re antioxidant-infused, which helps support immune function, and they taste great. That’s a great combo to me.) If we’re going to be stuck at home, we might as well make sure we’re well-rested. It’ll pay dividends once we’re back to something resembling normal day-to-day life.

I'm actually sleeping more now than I was before, since my work day has been cut from 15 hours to 8 hours, now that I don't have to commute anymore. Although, I had already started slipping in the diet and fitness categories!

Here are a few tips on how to get great sleep, even as we collectively deal with the coronavirus pandemic. 

• Stick to Your Sleep Schedule
• Expose Yourself to Natural Light
• Exercise
• Limit Stress
• When It Comes to Your Bedroom, Comfort Is Key

I'm doing fairly well with most of these. I'm trying to stick with a regular sleep schedule, except I have meetings on Fridays and Saturdays, although I may be able to adjust my schedule closer to normal on Friday. I'm out the door and walking about 20 minutes after I get up. I can still do more walking but it's picking up from where it has been.

Check out the original blog post for more details.

Interesting days

Today - That Sucks! Day, Anime Day, ASL Day, Microvolunteering Day, Banana Day and Take A Wild Guess Day

Tomorrow - Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day, High Five Day, Save The Elephant Day, Eggs Benedict Day and College Student Grief Awareness Day

Next Wednesday - World Stationery Day, Earth Day, Jelly Bean Day, Bookmobile Day and Administrative Professionals Day

Week long celebrations:

Apr 20 - Apr 26: Stationery Week

May 15 - Chocolate Chip Day, Bike To Work Day, Bring Flowers To Someone Day, World Facilities Management Day, Vascular Birthmarks Awareness Day, Shades Day, Nylon Stockings Day, Virtual Assistants Day, Pizza Party Day, Endangered Species Day and Straw Hat Day

#GlobalKindnessWorkshops

Yesterday was part 11 of a 12 part workshop on global kindness presented by SendOutCards. The first 11 parts are all available on Facebook and I'll provide the links below. The 12th part will be the virtual Promptings Academy coming up this Saturday, April 18, 2020. The first 11 parts are free, there's a $39.95 fee for the all day Promptings Academy. If you're unable to watch the videos,  join the SendOutCards Facebook group.

Here is the schedule, followed by the links:

Workshop  1 - How to turn your promptings into daily habits

Workshop  2 - Happy Mail

Workshop  3 - Converting the Thank You

Workshop  4 - Delivering Opportunities in a Time of Need

Workshop  5 - Expand Your Reach

Workshop  6 - Hope Send-a-thon

Workshop  7 - Nurturing Yourself

Workshop  8 - The Power of Networking

Workshop  9 - Bringing the Heart into Business

Workshop 10 - The A-B-C’s of Productive Quarantine

Workshop 11 - Creating Habits of Prosperity

Workshop 12 - Promptings Academy

I recommend that you watch as least a few of the first 11 videos and that you absolutely sign up for the Promptings Academy. If you're a realtor in Texas or a CPA anywhere in the country, you'll get CE credits for attending.

Interesting days

Today - Dolphin Day, Look Up at the Sky Day, Equal Pay Day and Be Kind To Lawyers Day

Tomorrow - That Sucks! Day, Anime Day, ASL Day, Microvolunteering Day, Banana Day and Take A Wild Guess Day

Next Tuesday - World Creativity and Innovation Day, Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day, American Red Cross Giving Day, Tea Day, Library Workers Day and Kindergarten Day

Week long celebrations:

April 20 - April 26: Stationery Week

 May 14 - Chicken Dance Day

How to Elevate Your Presence in a Virtual Meeting

Today's blog post is based on an article from the Harvard Business Review:

Even before the COVID-19 crisis started, 5.3% of Americans — more than 8.2 million people — worked from home, according to a 2018 U.S. Census report. And with the outbreak turning more office workers into work-from-home employees, video conferences are becoming more routine for a wide range of business purposes, from staff meetings to brainstorming sessions to major announcements. 

P.S. Did you submit your Census questionnaire? I did mine online. And if you're looking for part time or full time temporary work the Census is hiring. I worked during the 1980 Census and my son, Danny, worked during the 2010 Census.

But communication tactics that work well among colleagues in a conference room may not translate seamlessly to Brady-Bunch-style quadrants on a computer screen. Organizational behavior professor Andy Molinsky recommends seeing virtual meetings as “an entirely different context, not simply an in-person meeting or a class on a screen.”

I know I've been on a lot more Zoom meetings lately. Here's a post I did on Zoom a few weeks ago.

Elevating both your point and your presence in a Zoom, Skype, or similar virtual meeting, requires not only engaging in video conference-friendly tactics but also disabusing yourself of potentially detrimental misconceptions about the medium. 

To help keep your impact actual when your presence is virtual, consider these six recommendations:

1. Focus on your camera, not your colleagues
2. Maintain a strong voice
3. Frame yourself wisely
4. Be present and mindful
5. Don’t become your own distraction
6. Use the chat window as your partner

I've tended to ignore the chat widow for the most part, unless specifically directed to it. And I recently found out that you can save a chat in Zoom. Here's how. You can save chats manually or automatically. I would suggest setting it up automatically, to your computer, so you can access any meeting's chat. The automatic setting needs to be done on the Zoom website, not the app. You can access the website from the app by clicking on View more settings at the bottom of the settings window.

Whether you’ve been participating in virtual meetings for years or just started this month, it’s important to realize that a video conference isn’t just a conference over video — it’s an entirely new interactive experience, which requires adapting your perspective, habits, and tactics to make it work effectively for you.

 Interesting days

Today - Scrabble Day, International FND Awareness Day and Thomas Jefferson Day

Tomorrow - Dolphin Day, Look Up at the Sky Day, Equal Pay Day and Be Kind To Lawyers Day

Next Monday - Volunteer Recognition Day and Chinese Language Day

Week long celebrations:

April 20 - April 26: Stationery Week

May 13 - Numeracy Day, Top Gun Day, Receptionists Day, Apple Pie Day, World Cocktail Day, International Hummus Day, Leprechaun Day, Root Canal Appreciation Day, Donate A Day’s Wages To Charity Day, Third Shift Workers' Day and Frog Jumping Day

Your weekend guide to interesting days - April 11, 2020

This week

Sunday - Geologists’ Day, Deep Dish Pizza Day, Star Trek First Contact Day, Caramel Day, Go For Broke Day, Hospital Admitting Clerks Day and Read A Road Map Day

Monday - World Table Tennis Day, New Beer’s Eve, Plan Your Epitaph Day, Caramel Popcorn Day, Army Day and Tartan Day

Tuesday - Making The First Move Day, Beer Day, World Health Day, Beaver Day and No Housework Day

Wednesday - Zoo Lovers Day, Day of Pink and Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

Thursday - Unicorn Day, Winston Churchill Day, Cherish An Antique Day, Name Yourself Day and ASMR Day

Yesterday - Golfer’s Day, International Safety Pin Day and Sibling Day

Today - Pet Day, Cheese Fondue Day, World Parkinson’s Disease Day, Submarine Day and Barbershop Quartet Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Deskfast Day, Walk On Your Wild Side Day, Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and Licorice Day

Monday - Scrabble Day, International FND Awareness Day and Thomas Jefferson Day

Tuesday - Dolphin Day, Look Up at the Sky Day, Equal Pay Day and Be Kind To Lawyers Day

Wednesday - That Sucks! Day, Anime Day, ASL Day, Microvolunteering Day, Banana Day and Take A Wild Guess Day

Thursday - Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day, High Five Day, Save The Elephant Day, Eggs Benedict Day and College Student Grief Awareness Day

Friday - Haiku Poetry Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, Cheeseball Day, World Hemophilia Day, Kickball Day, Day Of Silence, Bat Appreciation Day, Nothing Like A Dame Day and Ford Mustang Day

Saturday - Piñata Day, Husband Appreciation Day, Columnists Day, World Heritage Day, Lineman Appreciation Day and Auctioneers Day

Next month

May 5 - Nail Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, International Midwives’ Day, Hoagie Day, Revenge of the Fifth, Hug A Shed And Take A Selfie, Asthma Day and Cartoonists Day

May 6 - No Diet Day, Golf Day, Beverage Day, No Homework Day and School Nurse Day

May 7 - Password Day, Roast Leg of Lamb Day, Love’s Baby Soft Day and Cosmopolitan Day

May 8 - No Socks Day, World Donkey Day, Public Gardens Day. Military Spouse Appreciation Day, Free Trade Day and Iris Day

May 9 - Lost Sock Memorial Day, Moscato Day, Windmill Day, Train Day, Buckfast Day, Fair Trade Day and Bellydance Day

May 10 - Mother Ocean Day, Stay Up All Night Night, World Lupus Day and One Day Without Shoes Day

May 11 - Eat What You Want Day, Accounting Day, World Ego Awareness Day and Twilight Zone Day

The week in review - April 10, 2020

Monday - "Want to Be Happy? Then Live Like a Stoic for a Week" I think most of us could use more happiness in our lives. "As Epictetus put it, if you expect the universe to deliver what you want, you are going to be disappointed, but if you embrace whatever the universe gives, then life will be a whole lot smoother."

Tuesday - "The Physical Intelligence That Helps You Take Action" What is physical intelligence? "physical intelligence is the mutually responsive interaction between your body and your mind that allows you to interact effectively in the world"

Wednesday - "Thanking through the process" What is it? "That's the title of the presentation I'll be doing this Friday at 12:00 PM PDT at my Gold Star meeting."

Thursday - "How to Lose Weight While You Sleep #TBT" Sounds good to me. "On average, a person burns about .42 calories per pound per hour of sleep."

Interesting days

Today - Golfer’s Day, International Safety Pin Day and Sibling Day

Tomorrow - Pet Day, Cheese Fondue Day, World Parkinson’s Disease Day, Submarine Day and Barbershop Quartet Day

Next Friday - Haiku Poetry Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, Cheeseball Day, World Hemophilia Day, Kickball Day, Day Of Silence, Bat Appreciation Day, Nothing Like A Dame Day and Ford Mustang Day

May 10 - Mother Ocean Day, Stay Up All Night Night, World Lupus Day and One Day Without Shoes Day

How to Lose Weight While You Sleep #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year:

Today's blog post is based on an article by Dr. Michael Breus.

As many of you may already know, I'm a little over a third of the way through a 90 day no soda challenge. You can check it out here. But what you may not know is that in addition to going without soda for 90 days, I'm also walking 10,000 steps and drinking 3 liters of water a day...all to lose 30 pounds in 90 days...which is the main driver of all of this. About 6 weeks ago I gave blood and when I was weighed, I weighed more than 200 pounds for the first time in my life. So, I got my Fitbit fixed, found a meme for a 30 day soda free challenge and started drinking lots of water. I've lost about 15 pounds, so I'm about halfway there. Anyway, this article caught my eye since it's always good to multitask.

From the article:

For a 150-pound person, the estimated calorie burn over a 7-hour night of rest is just over 440 calories. That’s a 40-minute jog on a treadmill! 

On average, a person burns about .42 calories per pound per hour of sleep.

Here are some of the ways you can harness your sleep routine and your overnight rest to help your body burn more calories and stay metabolically healthier. 

•  Activate your body’s ‘thinning’ fats
•  Limit blue light exposure 
•  Set an earlier bedtime
•  Get light exposure early in the day
•  Sleep in a cool bedroom
•  Sleep naked
•  Eat a sleep-friendly snack

He goes into these in more detail, especially the thinning fats (brown and beige fat) and the cooler bedroom.

So, check out the full article and learn how to burn more calories while you're sleeping!

In the past 13 months I've has soda twice...I had a root beer float on Rott Beer Float Day and I had a Jack and Coke without really thinking about it.

Unfortunately I've slipped off the wagon on the rest of the things I was doing. But I'm going to get back on the wagon. Although, I only have about 10 pounds to go to get to my weight loss goal.

Interesting days

Today - Unicorn Day, Winston Churchill Day, Cherish An Antique Day, Name Yourself Day and ASMR Day

Tomorrow - Golfer’s Day, International Safety Pin Day and Sibling Day

Next Thursday - Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day, High Five Day, Save The Elephant Day, Eggs Benedict Day and College Student Grief Awareness Day

May 9 - Lost Sock Memorial Day, Moscato Day, Windmill Day, Train Day, Buckfast Day, Fair Trade Day and Bellydance Day