At Life Package, our job is to get nice recommendation from well being, way of life, finance and relationship specialists and share them with our viewers. Naturally, your producers and editors are going to have some favourite pearls of knowledge.
Listed below are 24 useful ideas from our episodes that we beloved and actually caught with us this previous 12 months. They embrace sensible steering (like put on sunscreen and eat extra fiber!) and some stunning ones too (deal with bread like dessert and use your washer’s categorical cycle!). We hope they will make it easier to save time and cash and enhance your well being and happiness this 12 months.
For extra contemporary concepts on easy methods to enhance your life in 2024, take a look at our New Yr’s Decision Planner.
1. If a activity takes lower than two minutes, simply do it proper then and there. It is not well worth the effort to put in writing it down, keep in mind it and do it.
2. Expose your self to daylight very first thing within the morning to trick your physique into feeling extra alert. Daylight helps regulate your inside clock by curbing a sleep-regulating hormone known as melatonin. In the event you reside someplace the place it is darkish within the mornings, use a broad-spectrum mild field to simulate daylight.
3. Brush your tooth earlier than you eat breakfast. The acid from meals softens the enamel, so brushing too quickly after consuming may harm that usually exhausting, shiny protecting layer in its weakened state. In the event you do occur to eat first, wait not less than half-hour earlier than brushing.
4. Do not waste time on a foul e book. In the event you’re falling asleep, checking your telephone or rolling your eyes as you learn, that could be an indication you are not a fan. So put the e book down and discover one thing new to learn.
5. Spend not less than 20 minutes consuming your meal. That is about how lengthy it takes on your physique to get the sign to your mind that you’re full.
6. The subsequent time somebody asks you to do one thing, pause earlier than you leap to say “sure.” It gives you a second to assess your time and power earlier than taking over new duties.
7. Use your washer’s categorical cycle. This feature gives a shorter wash cycle and a high-speed spin cycle, which helps quicken drying time. It may additionally assist shield your garments from abrasion by lowering the period of time the material is rubbing towards different cloth within the washer.
8. Earlier than shopping for one thing, ask your self whether or not you “want it, adore it, prefer it or need it.” Buy what you want and love, forgo the stuff you solely like or need. It is possible you are solely shopping for these objects for immediate gratification.
9. To keep away from being late, do not forget that departure time doesn’t equal arrival time. Work backward from when you should be someplace to present your self time for the transition. So if you should battle visitors or purchase a metro card, or choose up flowers or print one thing, go away time for these errands.
10. To shield your ears, preserve your telephone quantity at 60% or much less.
11. When giving recommendation to somebody, you do not have to repair the issue. Simply give the one you love house to specific themselves.
12. Use the Ivy Lee technique to create your to-do record. On the finish of every workday, make an inventory of six issues to work on the next day. Listing them out so as of true significance. Sort out these issues and solely these issues the subsequent day.
13. Put on sunscreen. Each pores and skin specialist who Life Package spoke to for our episode on skincare emphasised solar safety as an important consideration for wholesome pores and skin.
14. Seal your doorways and home windows. Climate-stripping your doorways and home windows can preserve heat air from escaping your property in winter and funky air from slipping out the door in summer season, finally saving you cash.
15. Begin a gratitude journal. Daily, write down three stuff you’re grateful for. Research have proven that giving thanks can have constructive results on our psychological and bodily well being. It may assist folks sleep higher, decrease stress and enhance interpersonal relationships.
16. Lower down how a lot trash you produce exterior the house. Go for a digital receipt as an alternative of a paper one. Deliver your personal reusable fork to a restaurant that makes use of single-use plastic utensils. Or ask your native barista to refill your espresso mug as an alternative of a paper cup.
17. Arrange your telephone to say no calls from folks you do not know. To cut back your probabilities of answering telephone calls from scammers, go into your telephone settings and choose the choice to ship unknown callers to voicemail.
18. Before you purchase one thing, see if you happen to can borrow it out of your native library. In some areas, you’ll be able to borrow instruments, video video games, board video games, toys and bakeware — saving you cash.
19. Get fiber from a wide range of plant-based meals. Which means consuming completely different sorts of fruit and veggies, complete grains, beans, seeds and nuts. Suppose candy potatoes, avocados, pears, asparagus, barley, oats, lentils and pumpkin seeds. Not solely are these meals a superb supply of fiber, however in addition they comprise different nutritional vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that promote good well being.
20. Earlier than you’re taking a photograph, ask your self: What are you attempting to doc? Having a “why” may help you concentrate on what you wish to keep in mind. And it might even make it easier to take fewer images, releasing up more room in your telephone and providing you with extra time to – heck – reside within the second.
21. Bathe your pals with platonic affection. Inform them how a lot they imply to you. Inform them once you consider them in passing. Remind them you might be grateful to know them. These easy acts present a layer of safety within the relationship. It exhibits your pals that you simply genuinely take care of them and lets them know it is protected to spend money on your friendship.
22. When reserving a flight, go for an early and direct flight. With morning flights, your airplane has been on the airport in a single day, sitting there and able to go once you get there within the morning. Afternoon flights, however, depend upon planes which are flying in from some place else and could also be topic to delays. Direct flights have the benefit of not having layovers.
23. To attenuate battle at a household perform, it is OK to keep away from individuals who set off you. You are allowed to keep away from a the member of the family who all the time tries to battle with you or criticizes your life selections. Say hey and goodbye to them, however do not sit proper subsequent to them at dinner.
24. Deal with bread like dessert. A research a couple of years again gave folks bread rolls on the finish of a meal versus the start of a meal. The researchers discovered, on common, that the individuals who ate these rolls on the finish had a couple of 30% decrease peak of their blood sugar. In the event you love breads and muffins, save them for the top of your meal.
The digital story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visible editor is Beck Harlan. We might love to listen to from you. Depart us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or e-mail us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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