Most of us are accustomed to working eight hours a day while seated at a desk, but did you know that this is a highly unhealthy way to work? This is why I'm reviewing the best standing desks-to give you a healthy alternative to simply sitting at a desk all day!

Studies have shown that too much sitting can lead to a variety of negative health effects such as weight gain, unhealthy circulation and increased risk of disease. Thankfully, these negative health effects can be avoided with a simple lifestyle change: standing while you work.

Benefits of Standing Desks

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Standing while you work is fast becoming the number one way to counteract the health risks of too much sitting – even for those that exercise daily. 

Unfortunately, the negative health effects of sitting for five or six hours each day can't be undone by an hour at the gym-no matter how rigorous your workout might be.

The solution is to vary your daily sitting quota with other types of activities, namely standing and pacing. If you are really ambitious, adding in a few jumping jacks, wall push-ups, or squats will help remove the strain of just sitting and help increase your energy.

The crux of the issue is the length of time that people are remaining seated these days. Research has shown that, regardless of how much physical exercise you get in, the only way to counteract the increased risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes is to mix up your work routine between sitting, standing and stretching.

One of the best ways to implement this healthy transition into your lifestyle is by investing in a great sit to stand desk.

Science and Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic is backing up the use of standing desks in offices and at home. These scientific standing desk benefits include:

• Reduced risk of obesity
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• Reduced risk of developing type II diabetes
• Reduced risk of cancer
• Living a longer life!

How to Choose the Best Standing Desk

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One of the greatest standing desk benefits is that they offer sedentary workers a choice. To sit or to stand-that is the question. 

There's also the question of budget. Do you want to spend more money on an adjustable height standing desk, or do you want to spend less money and convert your existing desk to a sit stand desk.

Adjustable Height Desk Pros & Cons

Pros:

• The ability to customize your desk to fit your height and reach requirements
• The flexibility to choose whether to sit or stand, since adjustable sit stand desks allow you to raise and lower your desk at will
• Manual vs. electric adjustable desks: the good standing desks make it relatively easy and to raise and lower the desk smoothly without disturbing your computer or cup of coffee-whether they offer an electric or manual mechanism

Cons:

• Price. Often, high-quality adjustable height desks are expensive, although there are more value options as standing desks increase in popularity.
• Some manual cranks can be difficult to turn and not deliver a smooth raising or lowering of the desk, meaning you might knock things over
• Some electric motors don't deliver a smooth raising or lowering either, or move in slow increments

Standing Desk Converter Pros & Cons

You will want to determine your priorities before buying. Do you want a standing desk converter to add height to your current desk? Or would you prefer to buy a whole new, fully adjustable standing desk altogether?

What kind of style fits your office space? Knowing what kinds of features you want before you make your purchase as well as your budget will help make your decision easier. 

Pros:

• You don't have to get rid of your current desk
• Standing desk converters are typically less expensive for anyone on a budget
• It's a good way to test drive the concept of standing while you work

Cons:

• You'll want to make sure that it has enough surface space to hold your gadgets. I.e. not all are made for dual monitors, a charging station, and an inbox
• It's important to understand how the standing desk converter will attach to your existing desk. If you have a really nice piece of furniture, for instance, you might not want to fasten a desk converter to the top
• Style. Although there are some attractive standing desk converters (which I review below), you might have to pay a little more for one with both function and style

Below are the top 9 standing desks that fit a variety of budgets and styles, as well as offer choices between standing desk converters and adjustable height desks. 

1

Stand Up Desk Store's Adjustable Height Standing Desk

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

This standing desk by the Stand Up Desk Store features a natural walnut top with a modern, versatile design with plenty of surface space for your monitor, keyboard, laptop and paperwork.

It also comes with a manual crank adjuster that's delivers a smooth transition from sitting to standing height.

For those that prefer a customizable option, this value-priced desk comes with a wide variety of color options to select from.

2

Vivo Sit to Stand Workstation

The Vivo workstation is a fantastic standing desk option that offers adjustable heights, convenient tiers for monitors or keyboards and an easy set-up. 

This addition is also equipped with a gas spring force that easily adjusts the height so it fits your height and reach needs. With plenty of space for dual monitors and a keyboard, this will easily convert your existing desk without hurting your pocket.

The Vivo workstation is perfect if you are a professional that needs desk space but wants a reliable, flexible solution for a great value. 

3

ApexDesk Electric Height Adjustable Sit to Stand Desk

The ApexDesk adjusts electrically with minimum hassle and maximum convenience. Although it comes in at a higher price point, it still delivers good value for the money.

This high-quality desk is built with a minimalistic design and an anti-scratch surface to support a variety of office materials.

Versatility is key, and this desk comes in six different color options to suit your office space. If you don't have the time to spend on setup, you have the option to order it pre-assembled, for an additional price.

4

Stand Steady X-Elite Pro Desk Converter

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

This value-priced desk converter comes ready for use – no assembly required. The converter itself features a minimalistic, modern design that easily converts to whatever height works best for you.

The surface space is good, but probably not designed for those who with dual monitors. Its lifting mechanism allows for easy height adjustments.

5

Stand Up Desk Store Standing Desktop Desk

Also from the Stand Up Desk Store, this simple desktop converter solution offers an amazing value for what you receive. It’s easily assembled and its height is adjustable.

Although I wouldn't recommend this to top a $5000 desk, it does feature rubber soles so that your current desk surface doesn’t incur any damage and it gets the job done at a great price point!

Moreover, it opens up desk space underneath so you can stand for certain tasks and sit for others without moving the standing desk converter.

6

Rise Up Electrical Standing Desk With Bamboo Top

At premium price range, this desk from Rise Up is the best stand up desk option for those who want an electronic solution with the memory to remember height preferences.

You have the option of buying the frame with electric motor and supplying your own desktop, which is a nice option for those who want a custom standing desk.

Or, you can spend a little extra to get their bamboo top, which is sustainable, stylish, worth it.

This desk's adjustable capabilities coupled with its high-quality electronic mechanism with memory, this desk is a great investment for both your office and your health.

7

60" Split Top Electric Stand Up Desk

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

Your stand-up workstation has never been easier to navigate with this split top option. It's designed for premium functionality, one level at keyboard height and one level at monitor height, and it even comes with rollers on the feet for ease of transportation.

This standing desk is ideal for those who simply need a workstation for a computer and keyboard or just a laptop. There isn't a lot of additional surface space for doing paperwork, so paper jockeys will likely need a different solution.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

It adjusts from sitting to standing level in a matter of seconds and features a sleek, professional design at reasonable price.

8

Ergo Elements Adjustable Height Standing Desk

If you're looking to buy in the premium price range, this modern and environmentally-conscious desk is elegantly designed to move from sitting to standing with the touch of a button.

This Ergo Elements standing desk is manufactured with recycled materials and is available in 3 different color options. It also comes together with minimum hassle due to the pre-drilled materials and easy assembly instructions.

Although its simplicity won't appeal to everyone's sense of style, it does offer a large surface area, making it ideal for just about anyone's purposes - from paper pushers to those who with dual monitors.

9

Halter ED-600 Preassembled Height Adjustable Desktop Desk

Sophisticated and fully assembled straight out of the box, this beautiful sit to stand desk converter by Halter offers premium quality at a value price.

With one tier for your keyboard and one that can hold dual monitors, this standing desk converter is a great solution. It uses gas spring technology to easily adjust up or down. 

For those looking for a more traditional style, the warm wood surface makes this standing desk converter a great choice. 

The post 9 Best Standing Desks: Increase Productivity & Reduce Back Pain! appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

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There’s only one way to deal with such a day, and that is to prepare in advance. Whether you know the day’s coming up and you can plan the day ahead, or you open your inbox in the morning to a nasty surprise, if you have the whole day smartly scheduled before you begin then you can make your limited energy stretch a lot further.

So what should go into this schedule?

• Make a list of all the tasks you need to achieve that day, and mark out which ones are most important and most difficult. These are the tasks you should do first, while your energy is still fresh.
• Schedule in some regular breaks. They can feel counter-productive when you have so much to do, but this is not the case: there is evidence that even a thirty-second breather can improve your productivity.

Steal five minutes with every fifty minutes that passes.

Plan in advance what you will do with that five minutes – it could be doing some stretches, moving to a café to work for a while, making some coffee, or simply stepping outside to enjoy some fresh air.

The important thing is to give your eyes a rest and your body a stretch – and to get some fresh air and a change of scene if there’s time. Check out this new infographic and learn some great tips about how to keep going when your day gets tough.

Image courtesy of http://www.microsofttraining.net

Presto! You have a plan for the day. Keep to it, and the quality of your work will improve. Armed with a good plan, what can go wrong?

The post How to Stay Productive and Beat the Workday Blues [INFOGRAPHIC] appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

?

Michael Hyatt and his team set about getting that question answered by over 30+ high achievers. The replies have been pouring in. It's a wealth of wisdom and the responses are incredible.

I love learning how successful people achieve their goals and dreams, especially when it's summarized into a report that I can easily read, digest, and apply to my own goal setting endeavors.

2017 is Sneaking Up...

It already seems like 2017 is sneaking up on us...

DirtyOpi / Pixabay

But I think the secret to making this new year count is simply taking a few moments to prepare for it. That's why I love this free PDF report:

Click Here to Download

You'll recognize many of the names as they include multiple best-selling authors, speakers, and leaders of their respected fields.

• Tony Robbins
• John Maxwell
• Dave Ramsey
• Marie Forleo
• Andy Andrews
• Jeff Walker
• Amy Porterfield
• Andy Stanley
• Lysa TerKeurst
• Chalene Johnson
• Lewis Howe
• ...Any Many More!

Don't miss out on this amazing resource. I'm sure that you'll pick up a few actionable tips that will help you anticipate the New Year and help make your 2017 the year that you set and achieve your goals!

Get Your Free Ebook Here!

Discover your LifeScore

How do you measure your progress within key areas of your life? With work or business it might be a little easier because you likely use your income to measure success. 

But what about our relationships, health, or intellectual growth, for instance??

How do you measure and achieve happiness? Where does happiness come from?

People often think they will be happy when they achieve a specific goal. You might think:

• Once I get married, I will be happy
• Once I have children, I'll be happy
• Once I build/buy my dream home, I will be happy
• Once I get that promotion, I'll be happy
• Once I take my dream vacation, I'll be happy

Deep down, you and I know that happiness doesn't come from obtaining the prize, because there's always something just a little better on the horizon. Instead, it comes from the journey and the pursuit. That's why we must continually strive to pursue new goals. 

But what area of your life should you focus on??

New York Times best-selling author Michael Hyatt has developed a proprietary tool that makes this whole process easy...plus, it's free!

Like many assessments, you take this on your own. Although it takes less than 10 minutes, it gives you the opportunity to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 12 in each of life's 10 key areas.?

You'll read a series of statements that describe situations specific to each key life domain, and you simply choose which one most closely aligns with where you see yourself now. ?

The tool calculates your score in each key area, adds them together, and then gives you ?overall LifeScore.

Once you discover your LifeScore, you can quickly see what's already working well plus spot opportunities for growth.

The tool was designed to give you clarity so that you can start creating the life you want.? 

Best of all, the LifeScore Assessment is FREE--but only for a limited time.

Click Here to Access LifeScore

I took this Life Assessment and found it very eye-opening! I definitely found some areas that I need to improve on. But, I also discovered areas that seem to be going well for me. Now, I know where to focus my energy so I can create the type of life that I want.

Namely, I'm looking for better balance between business and family. What are you looking to improve in your life?

The post 8 Strategies Super-Successful High Achievers Use Every New Year appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

giusy64 / Pixabay

I remember being at a meeting of some kind, years ago. One of the organising ladies drafted me to move furniture, presumably because I was almost the only male under 50 in the room. But when she saw me struggling with a heavy table, she apologised and found someone else. That’s embarassing for a young guy, and I’ve never forgotten it.

So you wouldn’t expect me to set myself a challenge of being able to do 100 push-ups, would you?

I’m doing that challenge right now, though.

I believe everyone should have a challenge to help them feel really alive. A challenge is different from stress, because you feel more in control and have a goal to work towards. And in fact, it’s one of the things that helps you to deal with your stress in other areas of life.

Here are five steps towards taking on a challenge for yourself and enjoying success after you complete it.

1. Have a desire for change

It’s one thing to sit on the couch and wish your life was better/different/more exciting, etc. But if you refuse to entertain the idea of making changes in your life, you’ll likely keep wishing instead of doing and accomplishing.

For instance, I want to be fitter and stronger. Sitting at a desk for 6 hours a day isn’t going to help me achieve that goal. So, I’ve taken up kayaking, and I want to be able to paddle strongly and for a long period, and still be able to lift the boat onto the roof of the car when I finish. I also just want to feel better physically, to take up more residence in my body. I want those things enough that I’m willing to put some effort in to get them.

johnhain / Pixabay

It’s important to find the motivation to get off the couch and make a change. What’s your motivation for taking on a new challenge?

2. Believe you can change

I believe I can change. I believe I can rise to challenges. I believe this because I’ve done it before.

I’ve passed exams, learned languages, started businesses, built relationships. I’ve also done a similar challenge to the 100 Push-ups, namely 200 Situps. I went from 26 situps to 200. I know it can be done and I know I can do it.

Keifit / Pixabay

What’s more, I know that when I am successful at a challenge like this, it does more for me than just whatever I get out of the goal itself. When I complete the 100 Push-ups challenge, I won’t just have stronger muscles. I’ll have greater mental strength, a sense of achievement – and further confirmation for myself that I can rise to challenges like this and complete them. Completing a challenge changes who you are in your own eyes. And each success you have builds your confidence.

What successes can you look back to in order to support your belief that you can take on a challenge?

3. Find a destination

A challenge, by definition, is a little bit above and beyond what you can currently do. It’s not more than you ever could do, though.

I don’t have the body type to win a bodybuilding contest or a weightlifting competition (nor does that interest me, actually). But there’s a big difference between “I can’t do this right now” and “I can never achieve this.”

geralt / Pixabay

Somewhere in that space – up towards the scary end – is your challenge. As the wonderful Catherine Caine says, “You should always try anything that makes you uncomfortable, and nothing that makes you uneasy.”

What is your challenge going to be? Can you double it?

4. Make a plan

Sometimes “make a plan” means “choose your own path.” Sometimes it means “find someone else with a plan and use theirs”. For exercise, because I’m no expert, I consult people who are experts and use their plans. The 100 Push-ups challenge comes from a website (hundredpushups.com). It tells you, based on how many push-ups you can do when you start, how many to do in each of five sets, in each of three exercise days per week, for six weeks. It builds you up gradually to the point where you are capable of 100 consecutive push-ups.

Keifit / Pixabay

Another expert source for my challenge is ManVsWeight.com’s massive resource that features videos and directions for 113 push-up variations. That’s right-113! This way, I can work difference muscle groups and vary my routine to get stronger for my ultimate goal of doing 100 push-ups.

That’s a great model for a plan. My fellow New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary didn’t suddenly get up one morning and climb Mt Everest. He built up to it over years of mountaineering.

Your plan needs to start where you are, end where you want to be, and fill in the middle with steps in which you improve achievably. This means the steps need to be close enough together that you can get to each one from the one before. It’s like stepping stones across a river – if they’re too far apart, you’ll get wet.

Who might be able to help you make a plan to meet your challenge?

5. Implement, implement, implement

Carrying out the plan is, in many ways, the hardest part. I don’t enjoy middles nearly as much as beginnings or ends. You’re neither here nor there. You’ve put in hard work, but you don’t yet have the triumph of overcoming your challenge.

Yet this is where every person succeeded who ever succeeded in any challenge. As I’m huffing and puffing with sore arms, partway through set 3 of 5, I’m not just building my arm muscles. I’m building my perseverance muscles, my determination muscles. Between the exciting moment of taking on a challenge and the exhilirating moment of completing a challenge are the thousand unglamourous moments of deciding, again and again, to keep going.

And yet, looked at another way, each one of those moments is another small victory. Every time I keep going instead of stopping, every time I push past the resistance and focus on the goal, I’m winning.

How are you going to win moment by moment on your path towards your goal?

Mike Reeves-McMillan blogs on health and personal development, stress and success, at Living Skillfully: Your Mind and Health. He plans to make 2011 a great year for challenges.

The post How To Set Yourself A Challenge and Achieve It! appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

Ultimately, the perfect job is one where the company culture agrees with you, and finding this can be done. More companies are realizing the importance of creating a positive collaborative lifestyle for their employees to bring about the best work. For example, Atlanta-based toy manufacturer’s Kids II culture is full of empowerment via information, and information can be delivered in many forms.

Their office actually has a slide inside which allows for quick transportation for communication with coworkers. It is the implementation of ideas (like a slide in an office) that resonate with employees and impact the culture making it a positive place. Companies that care about their employees in this way do exist, and you can find open positions with a little creative thinking.

Here’s a few tips to use when looking for that dream job:

1. Brainstorm: No such thing as a bad idea

You might be focusing too much on irrelevant areas of the employment process at the moment, such as acing the interview. There is so much more that goes into seeking out your dream job. First, you need an actual position to interview for, and taking time for reflection can help open up your mind to position possibilities you never considered.

You can start by brainstorming activities that bring fulfillment to your life. Take into consideration your favorite hobbies and interests such as working with animals, cooking or working with your hands. Do research. Ask yourself simple questions such as, what truly makes me happy? What would a perfect day look like? There is no wrong answer. Take these ideas and research backwards and forwards what a position doing ‘this’ could look like. Think outside of the box.

2. Make a List: Be honest with yourself

A list of your personal attributes can help you determine your strengths. It can also allow you to realistically delve into your weaknesses and interests you find most unappealing. If you’re a nurturer and enjoy caring for others, you could find a position in the medical field assisting individuals who are sick or elderly rewarding.

Likewise, if you enjoy meeting deadlines head-on, you could strive for something that focuses on business management. There are others who prefer to work independently, and they may find a technological career most fulfilling. Be realistic with this list. If you know a certain skill isn’t your strong point, but might be highly valued in specific positions, don’t list it. Concentrate on what comes easy and natural.

3. Attend Job Fairs: Open your eyes and ears

It will be difficult to make any confident job decisions until you learn more information. Attending a job fair is a great way to sample different positions and see what is available. This also allows you the opportunity to speak with people who actually hold the positions from that particular job to determine if it fits with your personality.

It’s important to ask questions such as what do you like and dislike most about your job, what is a typical day like and what skills and schooling are required. Job fairs are also a sound place to gauge from a high level, what the culture of that company could look like. If the representatives are buttoned up and stiff, it might be a good indication of life at that business.

4. Personality Testing: Learn about yourself

If you’re still floundering and feel lost about your career goals, you may want to try taking a personality test. There is a variety of tests available that show various attributes you possess. Which side of your brain do you use more? How do you naturally tackle problems? A person who is introverted and tends to enjoy working independently may want to cross being a motivational speaker off their job list.

Once you’ve gotten your results from the personality test, you can cross reference them with those of your dream position. It makes sense to pursue opportunities that you are hardwired to handle.

5. Job Shadow: Try it before you buy it

Hearing about a job opportunity and actually doing the work may be quite an eye opener. Before you invest a lot of time and work into something that you think is your dream job, you may want to consider shadowing a person in that particular field first. Following an employee around and watching them perform tasks can offer real insight into the type of work you would be doing on a day-to-day basis.

If your situation allows for it, interning for a specific period is another great option to get a true day-to-day taste of life. If you see employees with your ‘dream job’ working weekends and truly unhappy, then you have the opportunity to do a self check when the internship or day is over to determine if this position is still a good option for you. On the flip side, if you love what you see, this provides great self validation.

An unfulfilling job opportunity may hinder and hurt both your pocketbook and mental outlook. While adult responsibilities can send you down the wrong career path, you can use a little creativity with the above tips to find the ultimate dream job with corresponding culture.

The post 5 Factors You Should Know When Looking for a Dream Job appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

Eventually you start moving and about the time you start getting up enough speed to be getting somewhere, someone pulls around you and cuts you off without even the courtesy of using a blinker. You know why they didn’t use their blinker because you saw them texting with one hand and holding the steering wheel with the other as they drove by!

Orlando, Florida Steinger, Iscoe & Greene accidents and mesothelioma law firm say that, “Most drivers have been distracted while driving in some way at some point. Basically, any activity that takes your attention away from driving is a distraction and can potentially lead to a serious car accident. Distracted drivers can cause serious problems.”

Tell you something you don’t know, right? The only problem you’re worrying about right now is how that driver that cut in front of you is making your blood boil. If that feeling sounds familiar, you are experiencing the beginning of road rage.

Road rage is becoming more common as commutes get longer and as traffic on the highway increases every year. It’s best to learn how to control road rage because if you don’t, you could wind up in a lot of legal trouble.

The following tips will show you the way to stay Zen and avoid road rage:

1. Take a Deep Breath

The next time someone cuts you off or is tailgating you, use the breathing method to calm yourself down. Hyperventilating and gripping the steering wheel so hard that your knuckles turn white isn’t helping anyone.

The right way to do the breathing method is to focus on every breath you take, paying attention to each one as it goes in and out of your lungs. This controls your anger and any renegade adrenaline running around in your body. Maintaining an even breathing rhythm can help you ride out those feelings of anger and help you forget all those nasty incidents that happen to you.

2. Start a Carpool

If carpooling is an option for you, it is an excellent stress-buster. You can take turns driving every day with your partner, and the one that doesn’t have to drive can relax, read or even work on a power point presentation for work.

It also provides you with some much needed company and automatically cuts down the stress of your commute in half. You not only find relief for potential road rage opportunities, but you contribute to keeping the environment clean by carpooling.
Some cities give you incentives for carpooling and you save gas money doing it, too. Saving money is one of the best stress relief therapies there is.

You and your driving buddy can compare idiot driver notes at the end of the week, too. Stories like: Remember that lady talking on her cell phone who drove her SUV down the entire length of that sixteen wheeler? Yeah. She never even dropped her phone when she finished going down the side, even though the metal just screeched! I’ll bet she had a time explaining that to her husband!

3. Try “Counting Idiots” Technique

You can play the Counting Idiots game during the road trip. It’s a variation of comparing idiot driver notes, and it’s a very effective tool in stopping road rage. Here’s how you do it:

1. Realize you are a good defensive driver, but accept the fact that not everyone else is.
2. Remind yourself of the hard truth of #1, and realize that there are some idiots out there.
3.Keep a tally of all the idiots you encounter on your commute.
4. Assign a number to all the idiots on your commute (oh look, SUV lady is idiot #4!).
5. Once you have assigned a number to the idiot driver, just ignore them and concentrate on the road ahead, an audio book or your passenger, for instance.

4. Learn Another Language

Audio books and music can be relaxing to pop in your CD player, but don’t have that interaction that foreign language audio tracks do. Listening and learning a foreign language while you drive can take your mind off the frustration of the commute, but still allows you to stay focused while you drive. It keeps your brain active and fresh, too.

Try to keep the radio turned off for news stories and commercials unless you are listening for traffic updates. Who wants to hear another story about how the commute makes your arteries harden, or listen to those irritating commercials and jingles while you drive, anyway?

5. Get Creative

A big part of the stress when commuting is knowing you have to be at work, but can’t get there because of heavy traffic. Traffic can be very unpredictable, so make sure you plan for it the best you can. Get lots of rest, and leave for work in plenty of time to get there.

Anticipate delays, especially during bad weather. For instance, the traffic is a mess when it rains, so make sure you leave earlier when it happens. Talk to your boss about possibly working different hours.

If you know the commute is bad at 8:30 am, then ask if you can come in early and leave early to avoid those times. If you work at a job where telecommuting might be a possibility, talk to them about that, as well. Even if you can do it 1-2 days a week it helps.

6. Stay in Control

Never let someone you don’t know and most likely will never see again control your mood and the situation. Be determined to stay positive about the morning and say to yourself that you are going to have a good day, and no one else is going to tell you what kind of mood you’re going to be in before the day even gets started.

If someone does something unsafe or you feel like you’re losing control, pull over to a safe place. Safety is a number one concern, and if you are completely stressed out it may affect your driving.

You can avoid road rage by following these suggestions:

• Never cut off other drivers when driving.
• Don’t dawdle (drive slowly) in the left or fast lane.
• Never tailgate.
• Avoid making gestures to fellow drivers, especially rude gestures.
• Only use your horn for emergencies.

The following actions can lead you to get involved in a potentially fatal accident, so make sure you follow these guidelines recommended by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to avoid any trouble: 1) avoid looking angry drivers in the eye and 2) make sure you give an angry driver lots of space.

Once you’ve followed all the suggestions here and let go of your frustrations when driving, it usually becomes easy to not get angry toward others that do goofy things when they are driving. Don’t let someone’s act of anger control you or interfere with the great day that you intend to keep having and maintain all day.

Keep a Zen frame of mind while you drive and road rage will become a thing of the past!

The post Zen Driving: Six Ways to Avoid Road Rage appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

For me, it was quite clear that architecture was not my passion. Although it took me a long time to get to that conclusion, the signs were clear. I immediately quit the industry despite having a degree in the field and headed straight for open water. Fortunately, the transition for me was seamless. I landed a freelance job as a blogger and slowly built my clientele, proving Richard McMunn’s statement about making a career change.

“While things rarely go according to every detail of the plan, many employees grow into their career change nicely, take pride in their job, and are able to progress,” said McMunn, founder of How2Become.

Some are as lucky as me, but some remain clueless if they should remain building up a career in a particular industry. Below are my personal telltale signs that tell you when to clean up your desk, sign those quit claims, and leave.

1. You hate every waking moment of your workdays.

FlexJobs’ chief executive officer Sara Sutton affirms that there are general signs which tend to signify a certain incompatibility between career and employee.

“Others are unaware that it’s time to get out,” she said. If you are miserable every morning before going to work, whether triggered by the long commute, traffic, or your nagging kids, then it means that you dread what lies ahead in the office. Ultimately, this means that you have no motivation to excel at your job.

2. You don’t fit with the corporate environment.

There are many factors that may make someone uncomfortable with the corporate setup of many companies. For one, there are ethical and moral grey areas which might be against personal beliefs such as rules of operation, employee management, or even the nature of the business. Office politics are inevitable that most in the company plays, while some people do not put it on the same box withwork. Whichever it is, if you feel out of kilter, then the corporate culture might not be for you and a career change is needed.

3. Your performance bonus is not measured by your performance.

This was one of the most obvious signs for me. When I was working as an architectural technician, I was receiving a bonus package which is supposed to be equal to your performance for the month. If you feel like what you receive does not reflect the amount of work you put in, then the management is not acknowledging your efforts. If no matter how much research you do or how often you raise valid points during meetings and you get passed for a promotion, this is a sign that you should get out.

4. You are getting sick more often than usual.

Stress is not the best indicator of lack of passion as most jobs tend to be stressful no matter what industry. However, if you are experiencing regular attacks of migraines, exhaustion, and physical pain, then it might be time to think things through. Overworking causes stress, but what’s worse is being stressed due to hating the job. “Your body tells you what your lips cannot,” says Kathy Caprino in her article in Forbes.

5. You feel that your salary is merely a number.

It’s an obvious fact that we work so we can have that spending ability for us to get by. But if this basic need doesn’t seem very attractive anymore, then that means your passion for this particular job has run out. Here are two scenarios:

• a. You don’t care if your salary gets deducted from your absences or lates.
• b. You lower your salary expectations on your online job search profiles to include other more interesting jobs.

If you have been doing similar things to these two, then you should be changing your career soon.

When that time comes that you decide to get up and make a career U-turn, never ever close your gates to the people you have worked with. Burnt bridges might cause you harm in the future.

The post Five Sure Signs That Tell You To Change Careers appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

Are you prolific? Pablo Picasso was. He is said to have produced 40 to 50 THOUSAND works of art!! How about you?

But the even deeper question is: Why am I writing this article? Why do I care about being prolific while you don’t?

We’ll answer that in a minute, but first, let’s take a look at what it means to be prolific.

Prolific Productivity

To be prolific means to produce an obscene amount of work.

So if you’re an artist, you put out a lot of paintings. If you’re a writer, you put out a lot of books. If you’re an entrepreneur, you start a lot of companies. If you’re a golfer, you play in a lot of tournaments. If you’re a stripper, you give a lot of lap dances. Don’t judge, I live in Vegas

How about you? Do you actually ship lots of stuff? How many projects have you completed in your life so far? Interesting… Some food for thought, eh?

But now, a caveat. There is a big difference between working long or hard, and being prolific. If fact, I see many cases of people working long and hard but not being prolific. To be prolific you have to work towards some creative objective. It could be a something tangible like a novel, or more abstract like a public speaking career.

Stephen King is prolific. The Beatles were prolific. Pablo Picasso was prolific. Isaac Asimov was prolific. Walt Disney was prolific. Tom Cruise is prolific. Apple is prolific. All of them are prolific because they put out product. Lots and lots of product over many, many years.

What would your life feel like if you shipped more product? Would you feel more financially secure? Would you feel more proud? Would you feel less depressed? Would you have more autonomy at work?

What You Could Be Missing

Prolific people can achieve levels of happiness and success that few of us dream of. And that’s what I want for you, and what I want for myself.

If you study the biographies of the great genius creators of the last several hundred years – people like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Walt Disney, Pablo Picasso, Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Steven Spielberg – one common denominator quickly stands out: they all produced a lot of stuff. There is a clear correlation between being world-class, being on purpose, and producing a lot of work. In fact, I would go so far as to say that those three things are joined at the hip.

More importantly, though, these genius creators loved their work. Actually, “loving your work” doesn’t do the idea justice. “Love” is such an overused word. Instead, think of it as a whole new kind of peak experience: a combination of flow, pride, and peace… the kind of satisfaction most of us barely touch.

Think about that! You are missing out on a unique, peak experience of life, just like the thrill of skydiving, drugs, or amazing sex, except even better, because creative satisfaction is a clean high that can never be fully sated.

Quantity vs. Quality

At this point you might be saying, “Okay, Leo. I get it! Creative people are productive, but isn’t quality better than quantity?”

True, quality is important, but it’s not an either/or choice. In fact, quality work is an advanced state reached through quantity of work.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, If you read a book a thousand times, you’re bound to understand it. The same principle applies with your work. When you publish 10 novels, when you star in 10 movies, when you win 10 tournaments, when you start 10 businesses, or when you paint 10,000 paintings… your work can’t help but get good. Many imperfections will simply auto-correct, so you can safely focus on quantity.

Of course, I’m not saying you should be motivated by quantity. No. No one great thinks like that. Instead, their drive comes from wanting to create a beautiful and excellent thing. Notice, “thing” is in the singular. Then, it just so happens that because they get so much satisfaction out of creating one thing really well, they end up producing another, and another, and another. Presto! Now you have quantity AND quality.

So the solution here is NOT to tell yourself that you have to be doing more work. The real solution is to change your psychology to that of a person who loves putting beauty and excellent out into the world. Then you will be happy working on the immediate next thing, without worrying about quantity, but counter-intuitively, ensuring that you get both quantity and quality in the end! It’s a sneaky, counter-intuitive, but time-tested strategy.

To boil this all down, being prolific is just a measure of how much you love your work. So if you aren’t prolific, that tells me a lot about how great your life can really feel. You are simply missing out on life, like a 40 year old virgin.

The Win-Win-Win Trifecta

The thing I love the most about my prescription to be more prolific is that it’s a win-win-win:

1. You get deep satisfaction from being in flow and expressing your talents, and…

2. You position yourself to earn the most amount of money you possibly can, and…

3. The world gets to benefit the most from your talents!

Yes, yes, yes! I want ALL three, not just one. I am not going to settle for one.

Too often the pursuit of a Life Purpose is down-played by others, and even your subconscious, as a “luxury” – something that would be nice in an ideal world, but too impractical and idealistic for the REAL world.

No, no, no! As sober and prudent as this wisdom sounds, get it out of your mind right now. If you try to be realistic, you will be average.

To position yourself so that you can produce tons of work, by doing the thing you absolutely love and that’s aligned with your highest values, is the best money-making strategy. Why? Because if you don’t commit yourself 100%, and you don’t love the work enough, you will simply quit before you become successful. If you have a tendency to start and quit projects, that’s a sure sign that you haven’t figured out your true purpose.

Worrying about making ends meet and being secure and not putting yourself and your creative talents out into the world, is the path to mediocrity. That’s the easy route. Being conservative is psychologically easy. There is no emotional labor there. It’s the route everyone takes and it’s the reason mediocrity and “average” exist. I don’t know about you, but the last time I checked, average is far below what I want for my life. I don’t want average. I want exceptional! I want amazing! I want extraordinary! And so should you.

What You Should Do Now

First, acknowledge to yourself that you want to be prolific. This alone can be a big inner shift.

If you are still unconvinced, then sit down and brainstorm a way to convince yourself of its personal important to you. Find a high-quality reason for being prolific. For me, I want to be prolific because I love creating beautiful things. That’s it! It is an end in itself. This connects me to source. I also want to live to my full potential and bask in a very consistent, high-quality feeling of flow. This is a vision worth bleeding for, at least for me. How about you?

Second, get clear about your life purpose. Commit to your purpose 100%. If you aren’t clear about it yet, that’s okay, you are where you are, but seek out help via books, seminars, audio and video programs, coaching, mentoring, or taking time off to reflect.

Third, once you have your purpose, recommit to hitting it HARD! Draw up a very BIG, VIVID vision of what exactly you are fighting for and why.

And lastly, go out there and fight! Show us what you got. Produce your work. Be prolific!

The post Are You Prolific? appeared first on Goal Setting Guide.

There is, however, a slight problem of redundancy with apps. We download many and use just a few. The rest keep lying there, taking up valuable space. Since productivity is all about making the most of what you have, you need to start by deleting every ‘productivity’ app that you haven’t used in a couple of months.

Too many options = confusion. Hence with this post we are bringing to you the best apps in the productivity department. These are all rather simple to use, which is how it should be, and don’t overlap with each other (if you discount apps listed for different operating systems).

We are also only discussing free apps here as I find the idea of paying for apps, quite frankly, ridiculous. And luckily we don’t have to since the free app space is huge, very very useful, and has almost everything covered.

So let’s get to it!

Tasks

For: Android

We went through a number of calendar and to-do list apps but finally settled on this one because of one major feature – it’s integrated with Google tasks!

There are many apps out there that will give you lovely interfaces and great features to make task creating fun and useful. But if you use a Gmail account, you are better off using an app that draws from that account of yours for seamless task setting. Eliminate having to open multiple windows – one for the calendar, one for your email, and another for your notes. Tasks will do all of it for you in one place.

It’s easy to use and has a clean and simple interface. It syncs with multiple Google accounts so that you can easily access any email to retrieve information needed for setting a task. A major time saver.

Google Keep & One Note

For: Android, Windows 8

Two of the best note-taking apps out there. Type out the note, speak it, or take pictures and annotate them. One Note comes pre-installed on Windows phones but Android users can also access it by downloading it for free. I’m of the mind it’s best to use only one note-taking app and store all of your notes there, in one place. Otherwise things get too scattered and one faces the same problem as they do in real life – of leaving bits and pieces of information here and there.

Google Keep as well as One Note are very simple to use and both have cloud backup so that you can access your notes from anywhere. One Note comes with loads of features, but it could get a bit too much for some. Depends on your preference. Try them out and choose whichever you find more at home with. iPhone and iPad users can’t go wrong with Evernote – still the best note-taking app in the iOS ecosystem.

Asana

For: iOS, Android

Asana is a lovely little app that packs a lot of punch. Its versatility means you can use it the way you want to, whether for personal or professional reasons. It can be your personal note-taker or an excellent project management app for work that effortlessly switches between managing tasks and sub-tasks. Now your entire team can get on this and share their tasks, reminders, updates, and notes via this app. It integrates with your email, syncs in real time, backs up to the cloud, and can be shared with 15 teammates at a go.

Google Drive

For: Android

Having lost loads of data over the past few years, sometimes because the USB stick got corrupt or because the hard disk itself malfunctioned (tragic, I know), I have been very enthusiastic about the concept of cloud storage. Except that I had started using it even before that’s the name it got given. How?

Simple. Stored all my important documents (mine are usually in the form of Word files, PDFs, or spreadsheets) as drafts in my Gmail.

I have more than 300 saved drafts and all of that is accessible from anywhere. As good a cloud storage solution as you could get ‘back then’! But sorting through the drafts was a pain, which is why Google Drive has come as a much welcome accessory to Gmail. I’ve now moved all my drafts and sundry notes to Google Drive, where they are easily accessible from anywhere.

While I also have a Dropbox account, I prefer Google Drive to it simply because it’s synced with my Gmail — and almost everybody has a Gmail account! However, if you own an iOS device, Drop Box is your best cloud storage app.

Get S**t Done!

For: Android

Yep, there’s actually an app called that. And you know what, it works like a charm! A no-nonsense, tough talking app that kicks you where it would hurt the most (figuratively speaking) so that you can finally stop checking baseball scores and get back to work.

Well, essentially it’s a reminder app but without all the fuss of a typical reminder app. You time your tasks and set consequences and rewards for them. Timing your tasks helps your focus from wavering and actually gets more done hour by hour. Give this fun app a try and find out for yourself if you can finally stop wasting time!

Image credits:
https://lh6.ggpht.com/6ODrumF5eGy-JLVZvO9BsaAdcDhKy_ijjxkjeV_HUlj9KuCyhpVVB0G28kMYhl0d4Q=h900-rw
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8114/8637598848_fde2d51ff9_o.jpg

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