Say "No" And Improve Your Life

     Nancy Reagan was on to something with her "Just Say No" campaign. Unfortunately, saying "No" isn't as easy as the campaign would make it seem!  Saying "No" is a skill and just like the skill of painting, needs to be learned and practiced.  It would be extremely rare for a well known painter to walk up to a blank canvas and create a beautiful piece of art.  Your life is a canvas, and without the skill of "No", it likely could turn into a jumbled mess.  Perfecting the skill of "No" will improve your health, relationships (that matter) and well being.

     Baby Charlotte takes the difficult skill of "No" and makes it seem so simple in this famous YouTube video - which is why she has enjoyed over 28 million views.  One reason why Charlotte has been able to say "No" so easily is that, at her young age, she has not trained herself to say "Yes" all the time.  You may not realize how often you are inundated with requests for your time.  It's essential that you consider each request with regard to its role in helping you accomplish your daily goals!

     Here is how to master the skill of "No" with the A.R.R.T. method:

• Accept - Accept that saying "No" is a skill:  Until you accept this fact you won't put in the necessary time needed to perfect this skill and your life canvas.
• Recognize - Recognize why you say "Yes":  Take an entire day (or week) and make note of (1) all the times you say "Yes" to a request and (2) all the events on your schedule that are a result of a prior "Yes". With this information you should be able to conclude why you often say "Yes".  Is it that you want people to like you or that you don't want to seem ungrateful?  Or is it that you would rather just "do it" then have to think up a reason to turn someone down.  Once you figure this out, you can skip this R and your A.R.R.T. turns into an A.R.T.! 
• Realize - Realize a "No" request:  Consider what you learned in the prior step and decide if each future request will further your life plan and/or daily goal.  Not every "Yes" will turn into a "No", but your life will improve with each qualified "No".
• Try - Try out a "No" response:  Here are some suggestions for you to try...

NO TIME	"I simply don't have the time right now."
JUST NO	"It's a no I'm afraid, but thanks for asking me."
OVER COMMITTED	"I'd love to, but I've got other work/family/sporting commitments right now."
NEED TO FOCUS	"I can't, I need to focus on my priorities right now."
LESS COMMITMENT	"I won't be able to do that, but I could (insert a lesser commitment here)."
NOT NOW	I don't have the time now, but if you want to consider it next (insert a time frame here)."

     Whether you use these responses word for word is not crucial, but your answer needs to be short and firm.  Until you have mastered the skill of saying "No", consider "I will get back to you" or "Let me think about it".  Saying "Yes" in a no situation and carrying out a half-hearted or regretful "Yes" won't do a service to anyone. Learn the skill of "No" with the A.R.R.T. method  and improve your life.

     Please share and re-tweet to your over committed friends!

 
This makes a great gift:  The NO! Button-Electronic Voice Toy Gag Gift-10 Different Versions of No

How to drink more water?

I'm not going to list the reasons why drinking water is important!  It's a sure thing - drinking a good amount of water has incredible benefits for our health and productivity! Considering, on average, 60% of our body-weight is made up of water, it only makes sense that we make drinking it a priority. I know that most of us would agree that we would drink more if (1) we could remember and (2) if it were in front of our faces. 

There are many ways for you to remember to drink water, but at the same time it needs to become a part of your schedule!  Even though I've done a lot of research, I have still lived moderately dehydrated most of my life, but not anymore.  There are three steps to the Spacics hydration plan:

1. Purchase Bottles That Work For You

Invest and splurge on the perfect reusable water bottle for your lifestyle.  Pick a color and design that you love and slap an inspirational sticker on it. This bottle will be with you a lot so this step is important. Make sure that the bottle you pick is "BPA Free" or better yet, glass!  It turns out that BPA Free may not be good enough. Click here to find out why.  Research is still ongoing in this area.

I use a double-walled bottle with a straw included because I dont like the feeling of a wet bottle and I drink more and faster through a straw. Google makes researching and shopping for bottles painless, but here are a few suggestions to start your search:

Camelbak Eddy Glass .7-Liter Water Bottle, Charcoal
Camelbak Products Eddy Water Bottle, Turquoise, 0.75-Liter
bubba 22 oz raptor bottle midnight blue

*IMPORTANT: Make sure the bottle fits into your beverage holder in your car.

2.  Learn The System
First you need to figure out how much water on average you need to consume daily. This task is not an exact science due to differences in environment (dry/moist), your daily activity, your weight and your water retention level, but you can get super-close to the correct amount for you. These sites will help: 

Hydration Chart

slenderkitchen.com

Hydration Calculator

www.hydracoach.com

Once you figure out the daily ounces you require, divide that number by seven and drink that number of ounces at each of the following intake times: 

1. Before you get out of bed
2. Before breakfast
3. During breakfast
4. Before lunch
5. During lunch
6. Before dinner
7. During dinner

Your final water intake time should be during dinner so you can get rid of most of your fluids before bedtime to help insure a full night's rest. 

**I have to mention (but my guess is that most of us won't have to worry about this) that over-hydration could be an issue.  According to Healthline.com, if you have nausea, vomiting, headache or changes in mental state such as confusion or disorientation - you may be drinking too much water. 

3. Keep It With You

Make your bottle as important as your cell phone. Before you leave your house make sure you have your phone AND your water bottle. Your water bottle should be AS if not MORE important than your phone. Some people find benefits from purchasing multiple bottles (one for home, one for office, etc.) and although this plan doesn't work for me, it might for you. For me, having one bottle insures that I only have to wash one bottle each day.

 **Other Methods To Help You Remember Your Water** 

The Rubber-Band Method
Place 7 rubber-bands on your wrist.  Each time you drink one of your seven daily waters, move a band to the opposite hand.  Always go left to right and return a rubber-band to your left hand for each caffeinated beverage that you consume. This method can also be altered by placing the rubber-bands near the top of your water bottle and moving them down with each finished drink. 

The Gallon Jug Method

There are 128 ounces in a gallon.  For most of us, our daily water intake amount will fit into a gallon jug.  Use an old milk jug and pour your full amount of daily ounces into the jug and mark that water level.  Subtract 1/7th of the water and make your next mark and so on and so forth. This is an easy way to see your progress during the day.  This method can be altered to incorporate your water bottle instead of a jug. JewelPie does a great job describing how to make this happen.

Use Your Electronics
Your electronics can send you reminders throughout your day.  Check out Waterlogged, MyFitnessPal or any of the many water reminder apps available today.  The only downfall of this method is that you may not be in the ideal location to take a drink when your alarm goes off, hence, potentially skipping an intake time. 

Spice it up
Add store bought water spray or flavor packets, frozen fruit, flavored ice cubes or better yet, one of the following to your bottle:  

• Aloe Vera Juice: Relaxes & relieves stress 
• Berries: Promote beauty & prevent oxidation 
• Chia Seed: Strengthens teeth & bones 
• Cinnamon: Regulates blood sugar & reduces cholesterol 
• Cucumbers: Cool and Hydrate 
• Fresh Mint: Freshens breath and treats nausea 
• Ginger: Warms the body & aids digestion 
• Herbal Tea Bags: Relaxes & relieves stress (make it hot for a change)
• Honey: Prevents cancer & infections 
• Lemon/Lime: Boosts immunity & prevents colds 

Good luck on your journey towards a more hydrated and healthier life. If you don't reach your daily ounce goal every day, just remember that many foods that you consume also have some hydrating value to them, however; drinking your water is a more reliable way of insuring success. You have to have a goal and a plan and I hope that I have helped you in achieving them.  

Please share this post on Facebook and with your unhydrated freinds!

No Fail Life Plan

     Within the last six months, my husband has been in and out of the hospital for his leg, my father passed away and my youngest daughter had open heart surgery. I have three children under the age of 8 and they attend three separate schools. You are probably not surprised if I tell you that I can get quite over whelmed and that life has gotten away from me at times.  I hate those times because I know that I'm not being the best me that I can be.
     I know for myself If I don't have a plan, my activities turn "willy nilly" and I don't feel like I am accomplishing anything. This is why the No Fail Life Plan was born. Created in Microsoft Word, I'm pretty sure that this daily plan to "de-willy" my life entails everything that happens in my average day.
     At the top in orange is My Life Mission. I think that it is important that we create mission statements for our lives in order to give them more meaning and to have something to work toward. With that in mind, your plan should be written to help you succeed in your life's mission. If it doesn't do this then it needs to be tweaked. Your plan should be fluid, changing as it needs to and put it in a format that works best for you and that is easy to edit.

      I placed my plan in a simple 8" x 10" photo frame under glass so daily markings can easily be erased. Checking the boxes gives me a sense that I am not wasting my day (or at least all of my day). Here is what my plan looks like on my desk.  It's front and center as I tackle my day.  Notice the Water Consumption line at the bottom.  I have incorporated 8 checked boxes to mark off as you consume. Click here to see what the Mayo Clinic says about the amount of water you should consume daily.

     Please share, tweet and email with your world!

           Sam

3 Steps To An Empty Inbox

A survey conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute found that workers spend 28% of their day dealing with email. It's time to Supernanny your email inbox and here's how in three steps:

1.  Open A Gmail Account
With Gmail you can create one master inbox.  If you have multiple email accounts, you can set up forwarding to receive and send email from one place (your new Gmail account). Although there are other free generic e-mail services available; In my opinion, Gmail is the best and will save you time - here's why:

• It's free
• Hardly any spam - If a spam email does make it through to your inbox, all you have to do is click on the spam button.
• Tons of storage - You may never need to delete another email again and it makes a great remote storage location. You can send attachments in an e-mail and they will be saved on Google servers along with your emails in-case your computer dies.
• Targeted text-only ads - Other email services include pop-up ads and untargeted banners. Gmail only uses text ads which are related to the emails you are receiving.
• Time-saving conversation threads - After you reply to an email, the replied to message will now have all responses in the conversation attached together so that you don't have to search for older parts to your conversation. 
• Gmail chat - you can communicate with your friends or coworkers (or enemies I guess) real time by texting with your cell phone or by sending voice messages and videos. You have the option to save your chat history as well if there is important information you need. 
• Easy-to-use filters - Gmail filters give you the ability to manage the flow of your incoming messages and automatically label, archive, delete, star or forward your mail before it even hits the inbox.  Ehow shows you how or you can watch this video:

 

2.  Create Two Folders And "Archive" The Rest
You are not alone if you create folders to organize your e-mails, but that doesn't mean that this task is saving you time. A study created by researchers from Microsoft and IBM called "Am I wasting my time organizing email? A study of email refinding" looked at email sorting of 345 users and found users who sort email might be wasting their time.  Consider simplifying to two folders:

• "Unsubscribe" - Here you will place any emails received from automatic mailer lists.  These should be emails that don't have any real benefit to you and only take up your time and space. You can go through these and unsubscribe at your leisure.
• "If I Have Time" - This folder is for those email that are just for fun or don't need any kind of response.  You can enjoy these when you have an extra moment over a glass of wine.

Due to the excellent search-ability of emails within Gmail, the remainder of your emails should be archived.  Important: Make sure that if there is an action needed from an email, that you add the task to your todo list before you click the "archive" button.

3.  Use Shorter Responses 
If you treat your emails like sms messages - you will save so much time and also be doing your "recipient a favor".  Read Dennis Roth's The Art of Breif Emails. If you can incorporate just a few of his suggestions - you will free up some time in your schedule. 

I hope these tips were helpful and that you can now enjoy your empty inbox!  Please share, tweet and email with your world!

Where Does All This Crap Go?

So you want to declutter your home and make more space! Who doesn't?  Sometimes thinking about donating can seem like a pain and in turn clutter up your already busy schedule and cost you money.  Donating your items can help save the landfills, but shouldn't be a burden on you!  

These organizations will either come to you, send you a prepaid shipping label or reimburse you for the cost of shipping:

• Household Items/Electronics/Equipment
  Donation Town (Find local charities that will pick up your donations for free)
  How to donate: Enter your zip-code, select a local charity and schedule a pickup. 

• Books
  Better World Books (Helps to fund world literacy)
  How to donate: Print out a prepaid shipping label and mail it.

• Cars/Trucks/RVs/Boats
  Purple Heart Foundation (Provides programs for disabled veterans)
  How to donate: Submit an online form and they will pick up your car within 24 to 48 hours.

• Cds/Dvds
  Discs For Dogs (Gives second chances to stray cats and dogs at SPCA)
  How to donate: Send your items U.S.P.S. media mail and they will reimburse you for the cost.

• Cell phones
  Cell Phones For Soldiers (Provides cell phones to active duty men and women)
  How to donate: Print a free shipping label and mail.

• Clothing
  Donate Stuff (Finds a home for your clothes and saves the landfills)
  How to donate:  Enter your address and they will tell you whether your area has home pick up.  If not they will send you prepaid UPS bags for you to ship.

• Office Products/Equipment
  National Cristina Foundation (Promotes technology reuse)
  How to donate: Use their online zip-code search to find companies with equipment needs in your area who will pick up your items.
  

Don't forget to ask for a donation receipt for tax time.  This Bankrate article will help you place values on your donated items.

Happy Decluttering!

P.S.  Please share, tweet and email with your world!

Are Your Kids In Your Car?

So far this year, 24 children died after being left in a hot car.  I have to give cudos to young inventor Andrew Pelham who created the EZ Baby Saver to remind parents when their child is in the back seat. 

7 ways to remember you little ones are in the car:

1. Set an Alert on your computer, Ipad or mobile phone to go off about the time you are scheduled to arrive at your destination. 
2. Put a reminder sticker on your car, door of your workplace and your home or wherever you think you would see it.  
3. Place a large stuffed animal in the car seat when it is unoccupied. When you put your child in, put the animal in the front seat as a visual reminder. Remember to return the stuffed animal to the child's car seat!
4. Put your shoes, purse or anything that you need for your activity in the back seat so you have no choice but to look for your things near your child.
5. Leave the diaper bag and/or kid supplies in the front seat as another visual reminder.
6. Ask your childcare providers for their help. Let them know when you plan to drop a child off every day, and ask them to contact you if they haven't seen the child by that time. 
7. Invest in an alarm for your car seat. The Baby Alert Child Minder System retails for $69.95.  If you walk more than 15 feet from the car while the child is in the seat, the alarm will sound. The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor retails for $29.95. This monitor senses the weight of the child and plays a lullaby whenever the car stops, reminding you that you have a baby in the car.

19 states have a law making it illegal to leave unattended children in cars. Is your state on the list? Does it matter if your state is on the list?  Would you leave your children near a pool unattended?  I didn't think so!  The same care should be taken with children and cars, but sometimes we make mistakes. Treat your car like an extension of your home.  When you leave

your home, you most likely check your lights and your locks. Make it a habit to check your car as well; windows up....children out!  Please share, tweet and email with your world!

P.S. If you liked this post, consider signing up to receive a weekly Spacics: The Blog! posts.

My First Post!

What's with your name...Spacics?
Brangelina....Tomkat...Blended words are silly...that's true!  But they also save people time! There is no complicated story behind our name. We took two very important words to us...two words that sum up our purpose...and blended them. It's as simple as that!

Space + Basic = Spacics 

What can we do for you?
Spacics.com gives you the BASIC tools you need to simplify your thoughts, life and SPACES. Spacics: The Blog! puts all that same info into meaningful sentence. Many times organizing tips don't seem realistic or doable; that can be deflating! We want you to succeed, to make the most of your time and space. We can help you do that! Our posts are short but smart and will help you step toward a simple life!

While we are on the subject of stepping - lets talk flip-flops...my flip-flops! A picture is worth a thousand words!

Thank you for reading my very first blog entry.  Please sign up to receive weekly Spacics: The Blog! posts.

P.S. These Clear 14" Pant/Skirt Hangers from Amazon.com work great for flip flops!
Clear 14" Pant/Skirt Hangers [ Bundle of 25 ]