Making The Most Of Quality Time With Friends And Family

The relationships we have in our lives have a significant impact on our well-being. They help us celebrate good times, offer support during the bad, and fill our lives with companionship to help prevent feelings of isolation and depression.

 

Unfortunately, it’s always easy to maintain the relationships we have or develop new ones. We’re busy juggling dozens of responsibilities that we often put our family and friends on the back burner. Only when it’s too late, do we realize how much we’ve neglected one of the most important aspects of our lives.

 

Read ahead to learn how to make the most of quality time with friends and family so you never take them for granted ever again.

 

The Importance of Quality Time

 

We live in an age where everyone is seemingly connected via their screens. We scroll through social media like our lives depend on it. And we’ve convinced ourselves that by sending a text or clicking on a ‘Like’ button, we’ve done our fair share of social interaction for the day.

 

Yet, humans are social creatures. Starting at screens all day long is sort of the opposite of that, which is why a lot of research shows that excessive use of social media platforms is actually one of the biggest risk factors for feeling isolated, lonely, and anxious.

 

On the flip side, keeping in touch with friends and family does wonders for your mental, emotional, and physical health. This means talking on the phone each week and having in-person get-togethers.

 

Strong social connections make you less likely to suffer from high blood pressure, Type-2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

 

Another benefit of surrounding yourself with positive, supportive people is that it lowers your risk of depression, stress, and anxiety. In addition, studies show that it can also delay the effect of cognitive disorders like dementia and Alzheimer's.

 

There’s also the fun aspect of spending time with friends and family. You get to create memories and build strong, trusting relationships.

 

Here are a few more benefits to gain from quality time with the important people in your life:

 

• Improves your sense of self-worth
• Boosts self-confidence
• Encourages you to avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits
• Helps you get through challenging times, like an illness, divorce, job loss, etc.
• Increases your sense of purpose and belonging

 

How to Make the Most of Quality Time with Friends and Family

 

Possibly, one of the things that get in the way of connecting with friends and family is that we’re too tired. Staying connected means staying active, scheduling times that suit both of you, and coming up with things to do together.

 

Yet, once you make an effort, you’ll realize it was just what you needed to make you feel happier and less stressed. To help you get inspired, we put together a list of 30 fun-filled ideas you can try the next time you get together with family and friends.

 

1. Try out a new restaurant or coffee shop.
2. Sign up for a dance class.
3. Visit an art gallery or museum.
4. Plan ‘Game Night.’
5. Hire a rowing boat at a local lake.
6. Make a DIY list of things that need repairs or touch-ups around the house and go through them one by one.
7. Pick up a new hobby or activity together.
8. Plan a crafting night where you knit, crochet, color, or pretty much anything creative!
9. Keep track of important events in each other’s lives and celebrate them.
10. Organize a clothes swap.
11. Attend a TED talk together.
12. Host a ‘spa’ night and do each other’s nails.
13. Gather stuff you don’t want and host a yard sale.
14. Enjoy a Broadway (or off-Broadway) show.
15. Sync up your washing schedules so you can meet at the Laundromat.
16. Plan a getaway for the weekend.
17. Set up a home tasting party.
18. Visit a make-your-own pottery studio.
19. Try an Escape Room.
20. Go bowling or Glow-in-the-Dark bowling for even more fun.
21. Invite your friends or family over for breakfast or brunch while dressed in your PJs.
22. Organize a Swap Clothes day.
23. Go shopping!
24. Go to a karaoke bar or rent a karaoke machine and have a karaoke night at home.
25. See a comedy show.
26. Book tickets to the ballet or the symphony and get all dressed up.
27. Enjoy a ball game from the bleachers.
28. Go jumping at a trampoline park.
29. Brew some herbal tea, sit back, and relax while enjoying afternoon tea and biscuits.
30. Attend community events.

 

10 New Things to Start Doing Immediately for a More Interesting and Inspired Life

When life gets dull, there’s no need to succumb to a mundane lifestyle. Instead, just mix it up! Here are 10 new things to do when you’re trying to spunk up your life. 

 

1.    Visit a New Town 

 

Variety is the spice of life, and one way to achieve that is by exploring. You don’t have to trek across the globe to mix up your whereabouts – you can travel to a neighboring town or your closest metropolis. Either way, experiencing a different culture is a great way to make your life more inspired. 

 

2.    Branch Out with Food 

 

Food culture is upon us – let’s relish it! Change up your daily routine by cooking a new meal or going to an exotic restaurant. Here’s the best part: You can do it alone or in good company. It’s your call! 

 

3.    Make a Trip to the Museum 

 

Unless you’re a museum buff, you probably don’t pay frequent trips to the local museum. When you have some extra time on your hands, and you’re looking for new things to do, take a walk-through history or art at the museum. 

 

4.    Spend Time with Someone New 

 

Socialization can be the source of great ideas and inspiration. Give your neighbor a friendly wave or call up an old friend for a coffee date. You never know what could come out of a friendly chat! 

 

5.    Go for a Bike Ride 

 

Fresh air, exercise, and some good ole Vitamin D. A bike ride may be just the thing you need! 

 

6.    Take a Day Trip 

 

When your budget doesn’t allow for a vacation, you can take a day trip to a fun place nearby. Experiment with different foods, visit a few shops and make memories at a new place. 

 

7.    Get Crafty 

 

You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy a good arts and crafts session. Bring out the paint supplies, and glitter and inspiration will hit! 

 

8.    Host a Barbecue 

 

… depending on the weather, of course. When you’re looking for a change of pace, it’s always a good idea to host a gathering with your favorite people. 

 

9.    Go Shopping 

 

There’s nothing like retail therapy! And if you’re working with a budget, you can go thrift shopping. 

 

10.  Pick up Scrapbooking 

 

Sometimes “new” comes from the old. As you piece together your scrapbook, you can look back on your favorite memories. It will boost your inspiration to go make more memories! 

How to Achieve Freedom by Working Online

At its most fundamental, time is freedom. The more time you have that is your own, the more choices you have regarding what you want to do and how you want to direct the course of your life. What this tells you is that you can increase your freedom and stop feeling like you’re being led around in your own life by freeing up more time.

 

And one of the best ways to free up time? Working online.

 

This is perhaps the most common example of lifestyle design: working online so that you can start to choose when, where and how you work. Now you can decide to make your work fit in around your lifestyle instead of being forced to squeeze your life in when you can.

 

The Digital Nomad

 

What does one do with this freedom once they have it? Well, a common choice is to become a ‘digital nomad’. This term describes someone who travels the world while working online. They use the ability to work not in an office as a way to work on the move. These people travel from country to country, meet new people and see incredible sights during the day. Then, in the evenings, they use the rest of their time to work in cafes and bars – anywhere with a power socket and an internet connection.

 

This is true freedom. These people are able to support themselves but in doing so they are also getting to climb mountains, see famous landmarks and discover other cultures. They aren’t tied to any one place and surely that’s one of the truest demonstrations of freedom.

 

The Alternatives

 

But the reality is that not everyone would enjoy this lifestyle. Some of us need colleagues to avoid going mad and many of us have partners or families that depend on us – we can’t afford to go travelling for days on end.

 

So instead, you can use the same thing to just have more freedom at home. 

 

How about working in cafes near you? Or perhaps there’s a beauty spot you could enjoy working in? Because there’s no commute though, you can spend an extra hour in bed. And if someone invites you out for an impromptu lunch? Then you’ll be free to take them up on that offer!

 

You can travel more but still come home in between to spend time with your family and with your creature comforts (like tea…).

Stop Deferring Your Happiness – You Can Already Do the Things You Want to Do

One of the biggest wrong assumptions that the vast majority of people on this planet make is that they aren’t able to do the things they want to do. To clarify, the assumption that many of us make is that we don’t yet have the means to live our dreams and that the only way to do so is to work harder.

 

Thus we put off doing the things we want to do and we end up taking on more and more work until the point where eventually we are spending every waking moment either working or feeling stressed about work. 

 

I’m here to tell you that it’s time to stop putting off your happiness and to embrace it. Here’s how…

 

There’s Never a ‘Good Time’

 

One of the most common arguments people make for not travelling the world, starting their own business or building their own home is that it’s not a good time. Right now they have too many financial commitments, they don’t have enough money or they have too much else going on. You probably are all too familiar with this!

 

But now think back to all the other things you’ve achieved so far. Was it ever a good time? If you’re a parent, then was it a good time to have a baby? Was it a good time to get married? A good time to start a relationship? A good time to buy a house?

When we have to, we make things work. There’s never a good time so if you really want to enjoy living your life to the full you only have one option: do it anyway.

 

It’s Easier Than You Think

 

And actually, many of the dreams we have are much easier to fulfil than we might initially think. For example, if you want to travel then you don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune or take a year off work.

 

How about identifying places a little nearer that you can travel to and then using budget airlines to go there for long weekends? How about a year of visiting the capital cities you can reach on short haul? That would be a fantastic year and doesn’t need to upend your life!

 

Want a better home? You don’t need to spend millions – just empty out your property of things you don’t need or redux your kitchen. You’d be surprised what a different small tweaks can make!

 

How to Look and Feel Like a Highly Successful Digital Entrepreneur

There are many reasons that you may have been attracted to the idea of working online. For many, the allure of being completely free to work when and how they please will be enough. For others, it comes down to the feeling of satisfaction that comes from financial independence.

 

But for some, it’s the allure of being highly successful. For some, it’s the appeal of being successful, accomplished, powerful and wealthy – of being able to live that hedonistic lifestyle of travel, partying and womanizing/manizing (?).

 

In other words, some of us just want to be highly successful in the traditional sense and to get the feeling of reward and power that comes from that success. Internet marketing makes this possible because it gives us a way to earn money that isn’t ‘limited’ by conventional career trajectories.

 

You have the prestige that comes from being an entrepreneur, and you have the theoretical ability to learn limitless money. You just need a good idea, a little business savvy and the dedication to put in the work. Do all that and you can quickly become highly successful.

 

You can rub shoulders with bankers, lawyers and other highly successful individuals, enjoying tailored suits and lavish parties – all without putting in the time at the bottom of the heap.

 

The Problem

 

But there’s a problem and that is the fact that many of us don’t know how to live this lifestyle. Many of us want that successful lifestyle but we miss the vital steps. Many of us end up simply working our behinds off at home, not remembering to brush our hair or do our teeth, and then looking completely dishevelled whenever we do leave the house.

 

Working alone is not highly conducive to presenting ourselves will and what many people don’t appreciate is that running a business is a lot of hard work. Without a boss to motivate you, you can end up falling behind quickly. And then you end up making up for it in the evenings, or by diving straight into work without getting ready for the day first. This is especially true if you are so driven by being ‘successful’ or wealthy. Kind of ironic!

 

The Solution

 

The solution is actually to make sure you leave space in your day for looking after yourself and investing in your look. We all know the saying: dress for the job you want. This is just as true when you work for yourself because dressing well will make you feel more successful and effective. 

 

But knowing that and actually acting on it are two very different things. If you want to spend time on yourself, then you need to ensure you give yourself that time – and more importantly that you give yourself that energy. That means clocking off at a set time and dedicating some hours in the day to getting dressed and ready.

 

Develop a morning routine. This will make it easier to ensure you get dressed and ready the same time every day and will ensure you start your day with the right enthusiasm, mood and footing.

 

How Working Online Will Change You

Lots of articles have been written about the kind of person who becomes a blogger or an SEO, and the ways that you can make yourself better at blogging or running a website. What is less often discussed however, is how working online can actually change who you are as a person and influence your personal development. There are many ways that this can happen and a number of common effects that blogging can have on your personality and your attitudes. Read on to meet the person you might become... 

 

How Jobs Impact On Us 

 

I used to proudly claim that I hadn't changed, because I became a blogger and never bowed down to the man. I have no colleagues as a blogger meaning that there was no one for me to become ‘more alike’, but this in itself can have an effect on you. And likewise, working from home and earning passive income has probably had some impact on me too. Blogging/optimizing changes you just like any other job, only it changes you differently. Once I was self-aware enough to recognize this, I set about finding out what had changed about me. Here's what I came up with... 

 

Care Free 

 

I would say that compared to my other friends, I am more carefree and less restricted. While my friends have to work 9-5 jobs and get very stressed if they stay out too late one night, I can remain flexible and free to work when I choose and where I choose. If I'm honest, this has also led me to somewhat resent those people who aren't free to hang out because they have work the next day. I guess it's fair to say that I've become somewhat detached from the 'real world' and regular routine. 

 

Opinionated 

 

Writing online regularly has also made me somewhat opinionated. Sure, I'm opinionated in my views on employment (and self-employment), but I've also become very used to expressing myself a lot online and sharing my opinion. This undoubtedly crosses over into my daily life, as I tend to wax lyrical about pretty much any subject that I get the opportunity to talk about. 

 

Independence and Confidence

 

You also get a lot of confidence from working online. Once you’ve made money yourself – completely yourself – you realize you’re capable of anything. This helps you to feel more successful and generally means you get used to ‘being the boss’.

 

And with that comes increased independence too. You don’t rely on anyone, and you have countless projects to pass the time when you are alone.

 

An Unusual View of Money 

 

In some ways, being an online entrepreneur has made me stricter with my money. The money I've earned has been entirely down to my own effort and is a reflection of my success, so I feel more personally affronted when I spend it. On the other hand, though, I also think of money now very much in terms of overheads and profits. Spending a little money on a friend is just another 'overhead' and I can earn it back by working a little extra hard for a while. 

 

These are just some of the ways you change when you become a blogger or a digital marketer. Of course, the precise changes partly depend on who you are to begin with. Either way, expect to grow and change and to get more from the experience than you necessarily bargain for…

 

Power User Tips for Internet Marketers

Being a 'power user' is a term that sounds much cooler than it is. Actually of course this just means being able to 'work even quicker on the computer' which when you think about it isn't something you'd probably have bragged about back in the playground. 

 

Nevertheless, being a power user means that you can get more done, be more efficient and ultimately earn more and create more in a shorter timeframe - which is pretty cool. 

If you’re a digital marketer, then this is especially important. So read on and learn these power user tips that can help you work faster and smarter.

 

Use Google Keep 

 

Google Keep is a web app that Google designed with similar note-taking features to Evernote but a less steep learning curve. The concept is great - allowing you to quickly take a note in your browser then access it from your phone, and in practice it really is very convenient for accessing your ideas and photos from wherever you are in an intuitive, minimal and quick way. 

 

Use Your Bookmarks 

 

If you aren't using your bookmarks properly then you are missing out as they can help you to work a lot more quickly online. Bookmarks can let you navigate instantly to the pages you use regularly, and that can include your work e-mail or the collaborative site you use at work. If you want to prevent yourself from procrastinating so much in the morning, then just make the page you need for work your homepage - that way this will be the first thing you see, and you won't be tempted to browse Facebook before getting down to it. 

 

Better yet, consider using the Google Chrome app ‘join’ which can be used to send tabs, bookmarks and more directly from a phone to a PC and back again.

 

Get a Headset 

 

Having a headset for your computer can liberate your hands while you're talking on the phone or taking notes, and this can be incredibly useful for multitasking. Use a headset and you can chat to clients while answering e-mails, or dictate notes with voice recognition software. 

 

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts 

 

Learning keyboard shortcuts can save you a great deal of time when it comes to getting through large workloads. A few taps of your keys and you can have opened new documents replaced elements and saved and once you get used to doing this it will become almost like breathing. 

 

Have Multiple Monitors 

 

Working with multiple monitors is something that almost every power-user swears by. This way you have more screen real estate for running multiple applications and you won't find your workspace so crowded. If you don't have space for two monitors, then bear in mind you can use a television or even an Android tablet as your second screen (the latter of which will probably also impress colleagues). 

 

Another option is to get an ultrawide monitor, and studies suggest that this can increase your productivity by as much as 30%.

 

Organize Your Folders 

 

If you want to work as quickly and efficiently as possible then it pays to think ahead and to set everything up to be easy. One way to do this is to organize your folders so that everything you need is right at the top and in a logical place where you can find it quickly. 

 

Step by Step Instructions for Becoming a Digital Nomad

A digital nomad is someone who works entirely online in order to be able to travel freely wherever they want. A digital nomad will normally be found wearing just a single backpack with a small laptop or hybrid slate computer slipped in, and will spend their time moving from WiFi-providing café to WiFi-providing café in all kinds of sunny countries. 

 

The idea is that they get to travel and see the world, while being able to easily fund their movements and not have to worry about getting into major debt. Sounds ideal right? 

Well for the right person it is. As long as you can bear to be away from your creature comforts and you don't need the social stimulation that comes from working in an office, then you can use this as a way to live the kind of life that most people only dream of. 

 

But how do you go about making that leap? Going from an office worker to a digital nomad? Here's the process in a simple step-by-step form. 

 

Speak to Your Loved Ones 

 

What stops most people becoming a digital nomad is not their jobs really, but rather their relationships. If you're in a romantic partnership now, then you'll need to talk seriously with your partner about the prospect of you travelling the world. Hopefully they will be supportive and recognize it as something you need to do. If not? Then you'll have to decide what's most important to you. 

 

Speak to Your Employer 

 

Before you give up your job, you should first ask if there's any way you can set up a remote-work arrangement. Explain your ambition and your manager may help you to make it a reality with no career-change necessary. If not, you'll need to try another tact… 

 

Start Earning 

 

The next thing to do is to start earning some cash off of your own back online. Do this by writing articles for webmasters, by creating web designs or even by providing proof reading services. You can advertise these skills on a webmaster forum or a site like ODesk or even Fiverr. The aim is to start generating just a little work so that you can start to gain confidence and 'wean' yourself off of your 'main job'. Once you're earning enough to be confident you can quit – remember you don't need that much money to do this. 

 

Better yet, consider becoming an internet marketer. By selling affiliate products, PLR products or your own digital products, you can earn money even while you sleep. Or how about becoming a travel blogger and that way turning travel into a financial asset rather than a burden?

 

Speak to Your Mum and Dad

 

You will need a lot of money if you want to pay rent and travel the world at the same time, but if you are willing to throw out a lot of your things and get your Mum to look after the rest then you can free yourself of this financial burden. You might have friends who can do this, but Mum is your best bet seeing as it’s a rather big ask. Otherwise consider storage, but make sure you'll have somewhere to stay when you get back. In general, you’re probably going to have to cut back a little on your possessions!

The Best Places to Work if You Work Online

If you work online, then you have the freedom to be physically located anywhere in the world and to still earn an income. This is an amazing freedom that so few people are afforded, and it’s one of the top reasons that many of us are attracted to the notion of working online in the first place.

 

It’s a minor tragedy then, that so many people who manage to make their income online, will not take full advantage of this. So many people who work online equate this to working ‘from home’ in a very literal sense. That means working out of a home office, or working in bed. Sure, this has its appeal too, but it’s not exactly taking full advantage of this untethered way of working.

 

You can go anywhere if you work online. So where should you go?

 

Working Abroad

 

Of course, the natural conclusion is that working online should mean working abroad. That way, you can see more of the world, experience other cultures and truly live a kind of life that wouldn’t be possible any other way.

 

I have done this a fair bit myself. One of my favorite memories was finding a friend who also worked online and travelling to Croatia. There we explored and saw the sites during the day (and had some great adventures!) but in the evenings we would work in cafes and bars.

 

Sure, many people would rather be out partying during the evening, but my friend and I are introverts. And we love what we do. So, the idea of being able to sip a beer and watch the world go by, immersed in the atmosphere of the nightlife… it was incredible. One evening in particular, we worked in a bar listening to some Euro music while watching rain hit the cobbled streets outside and watching people pass by on their holidays. It was a great feeling and really made us grateful that we had the opportunity to work this way. On another occasion we hired a small log cabin from AirBnB in the mountains of Switzerland. There we worked while sipping tea and enjoying a view of the mountains from our wooden balcony.

 

For the Non-Digital Nomads

 

I’d like to point out at this junction that I am not a digital nomad. That is to say that I do come home in between trips and you can do the same. You don’t have to give up all your creature comforts or your relationships in order to enjoy travelling as you work. Working online means you can just travel more.

 

And even in your local area, there are no doubt more exotic and exciting places you can work. Anywhere with an internet connection where you won’t get kicked out can make a great place to get work done.

 

Working in a coffee shop is the most popular and sensible option. As long as you spend a little on coffee, you should be able to stay there as long as you like and most will have free wifi and power. Plus, you can enjoy people watching and listening to the background chatter, all while avoiding the many distractions and temptations that come from working at home. Libraries are great too!

 

The Most Useful Tech for Online Entrepreneurs

Are you interested in working online? Thinking of becoming a full-time entrepreneur? Then what you need to realize is that your lifestyle is going to change in some big ways. Simple things like no longer having an office and no longer having colleagues will make a huge difference to the way that you spend your days and your workflow.

 

And with those changes will come new requirements for your tech. In order to get the most work done, you will need specific hardware to help you get there. You will no longer be able to rely on an office desk being there every morning when you get into work. So what tech should you invest in? Here are some important and useful considerations.

 

A Laptop

 

Firstly, you will likely want a powerful computer for handling some of the more demanding parts of your work. If all you do is basic SEO, then you can get by with something simple, but if you intend on doing any video editing etc., then you’ll need something with some more impressive specifications.

 

Getting a laptop is also a good idea, because that way you’ll be able to work from anywhere. The only problem is that getting a computer that is at once highly powerful and highly mobile is not so easily done. 

 

Good options include: the Surface Pro, the Macbook, the Surface Book, the Razer Blade and the Dell XPS 13 and 15. My pick of the bunch has to be the XPS 15. This device comes with a Kaby Lake i7 processor, a GTX 1050 GPU, a 512TB SSD harddrive and 16 GB of RAM and is considerably less expensive than a Macbook.

 

A More Mobile Device

 

Something I highly recommend to any digital entrepreneur though, is that they also invest in an even more mobile device to work on. One of the great things about working online is having the freedom to be able to work from anywhere. Use something like the GPD pocket – a tiny 7” laptop – and you can slip it in your pocket when you’re done. Another option is to get a folding keyboard for your phone, such as the Microsoft Universal Folding Keyboard.

 

A Great Phone

 

You’ll find that you can also actually end up doing an awful lot of work on your phone. Whether you’re chatting with clients and business partners over Slack, or you’re managing your content via the WordPress app – there’s a surprising amount of work that can be done from a phone these days. Invest in a good one and consider the requirements of a power user: such as a large battery, lots of screen real estate for multitasking etc.

 

Kit Bag

 

You’ll also need the right bag for carrying your stuff around. If you’re going to stay productive, then you’ll need to be able to carry a lot with you and you’ll need to have all of this to hand when you need it.

 

Some things to keep in your bag should include:

 

·      Powerbank for getting extra charge

·      Portable harddrive for extra storage

·      Noise cancelling headphones for working on planes and trains