work-life

make your own real-life

work-life

make your own real-life

Foods to help you sleep

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By  Closer Staff Closer Editor

Finding it difficult to get to sleep at night? You’re not alone; from finding it difficult to get to sleep, stay asleep or just get to bed at a reasonable hour, plenty of us are losing out on those all important Zs. But eating the right foods in the hours before you hit the sack may help you fall asleep faster, not to mention improve the quality of your sleep. Which means it’s DEFINITELY time to add these to your grocery list...

Cherries
Cherries are one of the only natural sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Which means that munching on them fresh, frozen, dried or juiced is a good way to sort your sleeping patterns out and bag yourself a great night of snoozing.

Oatmeal
Warming up a bowl of oatmeal as a pre-bedtime snack is a great way to help yourself nod off. Easy to prepare, it's rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon and potassium - all of which are known to help boost the quality of your sleep. Throw in some vitamin B6 (guaranteed to reduce stress) and you’re sorted!

Warm milk
Remember when you used to take a glass of warm milk up to bed with you? Turns out that was a great way to boost sleep.

Calcium is effective in stress reduction and stabilization of nerve fibers, including those in the brain, and the warmth is a definite soother

Add a sprinkle of cinnamon or spoonful of honey to yours for maximum effect.

Almonds
These clever little nuts are high in magnesium, which helps to promote both sleep and muscle relaxation. But, better than that, diet experts claim almonds promote sleep by switching you from your alert adrenaline cycle to your rest-and-digest cycle. A small handful at night is the perfect way to help you unwind before bed.

Green tea
Obviously we’re talking the decaf variety here, but green tea contains theanine, which is proven to help promote a great night’s sleep. Enjoy a cup late at night to help your body get ready for switch off time.

Best foods for healthy hair, skin and nails


BLUEBERRIES

Rich in antioxidants, these little blue wonders help to fight against premature ageing. Try introducing them into your diet raw, sprinkled over your cereal, as a frozen summer treat, via juices or cooked in pies, puddings and stews



Want healthy hair, skin and nails? Try introducing these beauty-boosting foods into your diet...



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The Wheel of Life®

Finding Balance in Your Life

"Wheel of Life" is a trademark of Meyer Resource Group, Inc. "Success Motivation" is a trademark of Success Motivation, Inc. (see www.success-motivation.com). We have no association or connection with these organizations.


Put your life under the microscope.

© iStockphoto/Snowleopard1

When life is busy, or all your energy is focused on a special project, it's all too easy to find yourself off balance, not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. While you need to have drive and focus if you're going to get things done, taking this too far can lead to frustration and intense stress.

That's when it's time to take a "helicopter view" of your life, so that you can bring things back into balance.

This is where the Wheel of Life® (or Life Wheel) can help. Commonly used by professional life coaches, it helps you consider each area of your life in turn and assess what's off balance. As such, it helps you identify areas that need more attention.

Figure 1 below shows an example wheel of life with example "dimensions" (we'll explain how to choose the right areas of life or dimensions for you below).

Figure 1 – Wheel of Life Example

The Wheel of Life is powerful because it gives you a vivid visual representation of the way your life is currently, compared with the way you'd ideally like it to be. It is called the "Wheel of Life" because each area of your life is mapped on a circle, like the spoke of a wheel. The concept was originally created by Paul J. Meyer, founder of Success Motivation® Institute, Inc.

Using the Tool

There are two ways you can use this tool. One is to use our interactive Wheel of Life tool below (click on the diagram to activate it).

Alternatively, use the following steps to create your Wheel of Life and assess your balance. (This allows you to define your own dimensions.)

Start by downloading our free Wheel of Life worksheet which contains a blank Wheel of Life diagram as shown in figure 2, below.

Figure 2 – Wheel of Life Template

1. Brainstorm Life Areas

Start by brainstorming the 6 to 8 dimensions of your life that are important for you. Different approaches to this are:

  • The roles you play in life, for example: husband/wife, father/mother, manager, colleague, team member, sports player, community leader, or friend.
  • Areas of life that are important to you, for example: artistic expression, positive attitude, career, education, family, friends, financial freedom, physical challenge, pleasure, or public service.
  • Your own combination of these (or different) things, reflecting the things that are your priorities in life.

2. Write These Down on the Wheel

Write down these dimensions on the Wheel of Life diagram, one on each spoke of the life wheel.

3. Assess Each Area

This approach assumes that you will be happy and fulfilled if you can find the right balance of attention for each of these dimensions. And different areas of your life will need different levels of attention at different times. So the next step is to assess the amount of attention you're currently devoting to each area.

Consider each dimension in turn, and on a scale of 0 (low) – to 10 (high), write down the amount of attention you're devoting to that area of your life. Mark each score on the appropriate spoke of your Life Wheel.

4. Join Up the Marks

Now join up the marks around the circle. Does your life wheel look and feel balanced?

5. Think About Your Ideal Level

Next it's time to consider your ideal level in each area of your life. A balanced life does not mean getting 5 in each life area: some areas need more attention and focus than others at any time. And inevitably you will need to make choices and compromises, as your time and energy are not in unlimited supply!

So the question is, what would the ideal level of attention be for you in each life area?

Plot the "ideal" scores around your life wheel too.

6. Take Action

Now you have a visual representation of your current life balance and your ideal life balance. What are the gaps? These are the areas of your life that need attention.

And remember that gaps can go both ways. There are almost certainly areas that are not getting as much attention as you'd like. However there may also be areas where you're putting in more effort than you'd ideally like. These areas are sapping energy and enthusiasm that may better be directed elsewhere.

Once you have identified the areas that need attention, it's time to plan the actions needed to work on regaining balance. Starting with the neglected areas, what things do you need to start doing to regain balance? In the areas that currently sap your energy and time, what can you stop doing or reprioritize or delegate to someone else? Make a commitment to these actions by writing them on your Wheel of Life worksheet.


Adorable baby panda cub gives a cheeky wave during weigh-in

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By  Abi Hooper Closer Staff

Six weeks ago he was welcomed into the world with his twin at Atlanta Zoo, now the adorable male cub has grown up a lot, has a healthy coat of black and white fur, and isn't afraid of being friendly.

The panda cub was being weighed at Atlanta Zoo when he even decided to give a cheeky wave to his adoring public.

His mummy, Giant panda 'Lun Lun' gave birth on July 15th, and surprised zookeepers by producing twins.

He and his brother were the first panda twins to be born in America since 1987.

Giant panda 'Lun Lun' gave birth to twins on July 15 an both of the male cubs are doing well.
Giant panda 'Lun Lun' gave birth to twins on July 15 an both of the male cubs are doing well.

Speaking after the cubs were born, Raymond B. King, Zoo Atlanta's president and CEO, said: ‘This is a success we share with all of our fellow zoological organizations working to understand and protect this iconic species, and we share our joy with our local community and with our colleagues in China.

'Twins are an entirely new scenario for Lun Lun, Zoo Atlanta and our animal care teams, who will no doubt be extremely busy over the next few months.'

Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder prepares the little cub for his weigh-in
Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder prepares the little cub for his weigh-in

Today they have since piled on the pounds, according to the latest weigh-in, on a diet of rich mother's milk, and both look a picture of good health.

Curator of Mammals Rebecca Snyder was lucky enough to hold the newly-born giant panda twins as part of her job…. Jealous!

The adorable baby pandas have another month of privacy before they are revealed to the public, but visitors will undoubtedly flock to see the unusual creatures.

Who Am I, Really?

Who Am I, Really?



Remove everything you think you know about me, because that’s not who I am underneath it all.

Take away all the labels and jargon, and all the things that I do. Take away what I look like and all my physical attributes, and what is left?  ME.  The ‘me’ of my soul. My spirit. The part of me that was, before I physically became all those labels and jargon and things that I do. The part of me that had a physical beginning, but will know no spiritual end.

 

But how do I find and recognize that?

 

First I must get myself alone and simply observe. No labels or physical attributes allowed. No jargon, no likes or dislikes, no attitudes or pre-conceived notions. No expectations or societal demands.

 

Then I have to keep removing layer upon layer of descriptors and explanations and experiences that have covered up the core of my non-physical identity.

 

What is at the core? ME

 

But… Who am I?

 

I am love, and energy, and creativity. I am pure, blinding, compulsive joy that knows no bounds and spreads far and wide.

 

Simultaneously infinitesimally small, and beyond comprehensibly vast, who I am has no container if you remove my physical, societal confines.

 

And when “I” meets “You”

and love meets love

and energy meets energy

and creativity meets creativity

and joy meets joy

 

in that chemistry

ME becomes WE

 

So who are WE?  

 

WE are an explosive force to be reckoned with, and the more WE pool together, our influence sets off such a cacophony of incredibly positive energy that its chain reaction reaches farther than we will likely ever know.

Diamond Value

Diamond Value

Diamond Value Work Sheet

Helping you get the best diamond value
I’m frequently asked to help people determine the appropriate value of a diamond they either have or are about to buy.

What they don’t realize is how many details about the diamond I need to know in order to give an accurate evaluation. This work sheet will tell me everything I need to know in order determine a diamond’s appropriate price. If you’d like a free evaluation, fill in the following work sheet to the best of your ability.


Instructions
Select the boxes for which you have the correct information and type it in. When you’re done with the diamond evaluation form, press send. Your diamond value — the most you should pay for the diamond — will be e-mailed back to you within 48 hours. Please make sure you provide a valid email address.
*NOTE: If all data is not provided you will be e-mailed back a price range versus an exact price.

Privacy

All personal information you send us will remain private with DCI and not shared with any other 3rd-parties.
Required Information

How to Get Your Husband to Help out Around the House

Get Your Husband to Help out Around the House

The division of “household labor” is non-existent in many busy homes. Between work, kids and social outings, housework usually falls on one set of weary shoulders: the wife’s. After a while, many wives become resentful, especially if they have a day job, as housework becomes the "second shift."

In order to avoid a marriage meltdown, creating an action plan that will not only motivate your hubby to help around the house, but create peace and balance within the marriage, is one way forward.

Edit Steps

  1. 1
    Determine what needs to be done. From laundry to taking out the garbage, make a list of all the weekly chores and who currently completes the task. In defining the mandatory tasks, you clear the first hurdle of your husband overlooking the tasks left undone. Moreover, identifying the exact chores can help both of you see what constitutes household work. Typical chores include:
    • Tidying all areas of the house
    • Laundry (washing, ironing, folding and putting away)
    • Grocery shopping, plus other sundry store visits
    • Cooking, washing the dishes
    • Bill payment and sorting
    • Yard work, gardening and maintenance
    • Getting children to any extracurricular activities, medical visits, etc.
    • Pet care, including grooming, vet visits, feeding, etc.
  2. 2
    Define easy, moderate and difficult tasks. Rate each task by considering how time-consuming it is, how strenuous, and how often it must be performed. For example, washing the floors may be a moderately difficult task, what with mopping, sweeping, waxing, etc.
    • When writing up the list, consider items that could make cleaning easier. For example, can you upgrade the vacuum cleaner or get better detergent? These can be excellent tasks to assign to your husband. Making him feel that he has bought the items can give him a greater sense of pride in using them to prove that they're doing the job better than the old items!
  3. 3
    Ask for help. Unless you ask, he might not know that you need help, and you may never know how much more he can contribute. Make a date with your husband to discuss the chores. Schedule your date after a fun day or even a long week at work––just avoid booking time immediately following an argument or when something else has your husband's attention. Grab some wine, get away from the kids (and the TV), and bring your list to the date.

  4. 4
    Begin by telling your husband how much you appreciate what he does around the house. Reference the tasks he performs already and talk about how his contributions make a difference in how well the family functions. Then go on to explain that because you feel as if you're taking on more than you can handle, you’d love him to help out more.
    • Show him the list of tasks so that he can see the multitude of household chores in black and white.
    • Don't tell him that you think it’s unfair that you’ve been doing the majority of the work––chances are, he’s never thought of your housework input as being unbalanced. Just tell him that his contributions would help maintain your energy levels, and give your family more time to do things instead of waiting around while you finish the housework.
  5. 5
    Ask him to review your list and find the chores that he wouldn’t mind taking on. Steer him toward the chores that may not require previous homemaking experience, like bathing the pets, sweeping, or cleaning the toilets.

  6. 6
    Since he may have never tackled these “new” chores, tell him how you accomplish the work and when. Don't tell him that he must do the chores one way and on a certain day, but instead explain how you do it and what has worked for you. Don't freak out if he doesn't use your exact approach.

  7. 7
    Consider forming a team approach to the household chores. Set aside one time a week where both of you pitch in and do household chores together, after which there is room for relaxing and leisure. Saturday mornings can be a good time if there aren't other commitments since it frees up the rest of the weekend; otherwise choose another time that fits and lets both of you do housework in tandem.

    • In the spirit of teamwork, break down smaller chores into team efforts, too. For example, you cook, he washes the dishes; you hang the clothes on the line, he takes them off and folds them; you vacuum the floors, he mops the rest; and so on.
  8. 8
    Be flexible and patient. It takes time to change old routines and habits, especially when one person has been relied upon to keep the house clean. It may take lots of gentle reminders and additional persuasion, but persist until it becomes the norm in your household. And avoid keeping score; he's likely to slip up, and you are too. Just gently remind him of his end of the bargain when he fails to meet it.

    • Cut your husband some slack. Just because he doesn’t do it to perfection, don't interrupt him to fuss. Remember that if you want more help, you have to accept how he does it.
    • Give your husband “foolproof” housework such as emptying garbage cans, picking up laundry and sweeping floors. Wait until he’s better capable to tackle chores like laundry, where there’s the possibility he could accidentally turn your white clothing pink.
  9. 9
    Get into the habit of thanking one another for keeping the household running smoothly. You both contribute to the harmony of the home, so both of you need to acknowledge this from time to time. The more you demonstrate your appreciation to one another, the more it becomes a good habit.

Edit Tips

  • Give some of the housework to the kids. Children need to learn early in life how to manage basic household chores, so asking them to put away their laundry, clean mirrors and make their bed is a good start. Increase the amount of chores regularly until they're doing cleaning up jobs without even having to be asked.
  • If helping around the house doesn’t work out, split the difference and ask your husband to instead run your errands, grocery shop and take and pick up children from school or practices.
  • If you and your husband work long hours, determine if you have the finances to hire a weekly cleaning service. Even if one or both of you works from home, having a cleaner can make life a whole lot easier. Consider which tasks you’d like the cleaning service to handle and which tasks would still be your responsibility. Usually weekly cleaning is best left to a cleaner, while both of you will need to remain responsible for day-to-day needs and bigger cleans.
  • If your husband is willing, provide him with a “honey-do” list so he knows exactly what you want and doesn’t have to guess.
  • Plan cleaning in advance. Prepare his mind and his mood to be engaged when the weekend comes to clean the house. Do it together and limit the time so your family doesn't spend the entire day cleaning. The goal is to get your husband to get involved. If it becomes too much, he may not want to do it again. Start small and build from there.

Edit Warnings

  • Avoid treating your husband like a child or being bossy. This will only end in arguments and nothing will change. Also avoid pulling the martyr routine; all that does is have you continue to burn internally while everyone simply acknowledges that you put up with it even if they have to tolerate mumbling.
  • Don’t broach the subject of helping around the house during an argument or tense situation; you’ll never get the help you need and deserve.
  • Don't yell at him. This can cause him to restrain from doing as he is asked even more.
  • If your husband has agreed to perform certain tasks but doesn’t do it, don't nag or yell at him. Instead, ask him if he thinks he’ll still be able to do them and that you really would appreciate the help.
  • Never redo the chores after your husband did them. This will certainly discourage him from wanting to get involved to help around the house.
  • Men and women are different in many ways, so don't expect him to do chores exactly as you would do them.
  • Don't try starting a fight. This happens rarely but it can happen.

Porter’s Five Forces

Assessing the Balance of Power in a Business Situation


Assess the balance of power in a business situation, with
James Manktelow & Amy Carlson.

The Porter's Five Forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This is useful, because it helps you understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you're considering moving into.

With a clear understanding of where power lies, you can take fair advantage of a situation of strength, improve a situation of weakness, and avoid taking wrong steps. This makes it an important part of your planning toolkit.

Conventionally, the tool is used to identify whether new products, services or businesses have the potential to be profitable. However it can be very illuminating when used to understand the balance of power in other situations.

Understanding the Tool:

Five Forces Analysis assumes that there are five important forces that determine competitive power in a business situation. These are:

  1. Supplier Power: Here you assess how easy it is for suppliers to drive up prices. This is driven by the number of suppliers of each key input, the uniqueness of their product or service, their strength and control over you, the cost of switching from one to another, and so on. The fewer the supplier choices you have, and the more you need suppliers' help, the more powerful your suppliers are.
  2. Buyer Power: Here you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive prices down. Again, this is driven by the number of buyers, the importance of each individual buyer to your business, the cost to them of switching from your products and services to those of someone else, and so on. If you deal with few, powerful buyers, then they are often able to dictate terms to you.
  3. Competitive Rivalry: What is important here is the number and capability of your competitors. If you have many competitors, and they offer equally attractive products and services, then you'll most likely have little power in the situation, because suppliers and buyers will go elsewhere if they don't get a good deal from you. On the other hand, if no-one else can do what you do, then you can often have tremendous strength.
  4. Threat of Substitution: This is affected by the ability of your customers to find a different way of doing what you do – for example, if you supply a unique software product that automates an important process, people may substitute by doing the process manually or by outsourcing it. If substitution is easy and substitution is viable, then this weakens your power.
  5. Threat of New Entry: Power is also affected by the ability of people to enter your market. If it costs little in time or money to enter your market and compete effectively, if there are few economies of scale in place, or if you have little protection for your key technologies, then new competitors can quickly enter your market and weaken your position. If you have strong and durable barriers to entry, then you can preserve a favorable position and take fair advantage of it.

These forces can be neatly brought together in a diagram like the one in figure 1 below:

Figure 1 - Porter's Five Forces

Porter's Five Forces

Using the Tool:

To use the tool to understand your situation, look at each of these forces one-by-one and write your observations on our free worksheet which you can download here.

Brainstorm the relevant factors for your market or situation, and then check against the factors listed for the force in the diagram above.

Then, mark the key factors on the diagram, and summarize the size and scale of the force on the diagram. An easy way of doing this is to use, for example, a single "+" sign for a force moderately in your favor, or "--" for a force strongly against you (you can see this in the example below).

Then look at the situation you find using this analysis and think through how it affects you. Bear in mind that few situations are perfect; however looking at things in this way helps you think through what you could change to increase your power with respect to each force. What’s more, if you find yourself in a structurally weak position, this tool helps you think about what you can do to move into a stronger one.

This tool was created by Harvard Business School professor, Michael Porter, to analyze the attractiveness and likely-profitability of an industry. Since publication, it has become one of the most important business strategy tools. The classic article which introduces it is "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy" in Harvard Business Review 57, March – April 1979, pages 86-93.

Example:

Martin Johnson is deciding whether to switch career and become a farmer – he's always loved the countryside, and wants to switch to a career where he's his own boss. He creates the following Five Forces Analysis as he thinks the situation through:

Figure 2 - Porter's Five Forces Example - Buying a Farm

Porter's Five Forces Example

This worries him:

  • The threat of new entry is quite high: if anyone looks as if they're making a sustained profit, new competitors can come into the industry easily, reducing profits.
  • Competitive rivalry is extremely high: if someone raises prices, they'll be quickly undercut. Intense competition puts strong downward pressure on prices.
  • Buyer Power is strong, again implying strong downward pressure on prices.
  • There is some threat of substitution.

Unless he is able to find some way of changing this situation, this looks like a very tough industry to survive in. Maybe he'll need to specialize in a sector of the market that's protected from some of these forces, or find a related business that's in a stronger position.

Key Points:

Porter's Five Forces Analysis is an important tool for assessing the potential for profitability in an industry. With a little adaptation, it is also useful as a way of assessing the balance of power in more general situations.

It works by looking at the strength of five important forces that affect competition:

  • Supplier Power: The power of suppliers to drive up the prices of your inputs.
  • Buyer Power: The power of your customers to drive down your prices.
  • Competitive Rivalry: The strength of competition in the industry.
  • The Threat of Substitution: The extent to which different products and services can be used in place of your own.
  • The Threat of New Entry: The ease with which new competitors can enter the market if they see that you are making good profits (and then drive your prices down).

By thinking about how each force affects you, and by identifying the strength and direction of each force, you can quickly assess the strength of your position and your ability to make a sustained profit in the industry.

You can then look at how you can affect each of the forces to move the balance of power more in your favor.