7 Best Lower Back Stretches for Relieving Pain

Are you one of the many who deal with consistent lower back pain? Back pain is a common widespread issue that many experiences, and it’s bothersome. Whatever the cause, whether childbirth, aging, heavy-duty jobs, or some other underlying condition, there is hope and help--and it may not even be that hard to find relief! Lower back pain isn’t enjoyed by anyone, but there are a few simple stretching hacks that can help relieve the pain. Many lower back stretches can help relax the muscles and will make a difference. Here we’re going to go over the best lower back stretches to help turn your life around.

Why Your Tight Hips Could Be to Blame

Tight hip flexors could be a contributing factor to your lower back pain. It may sound strange, but it’s true! What does the hip have to do with the back? The hip bones are connected to the tailbone, leading to the spine. If there is an issue with your hips, that then puts pressure on the lower back, causing you extreme pain. It’s important to know that tight hip flexors are common, especially amongst those who regularly participate in certain physical activities. Those exercises including horseback riding, cycling, jogging, or anything that works your legs and not your hips. Prolonged sitting and improper posture while sitting can even cause tight hip flexors! One way to help reduce lower back pain is by working on improving the flexibility in the hips, which can be done with lower back stretches.

The Importance of Core Stability

Many times, it’s ignorantly stated that the core is strictly the abdominal muscles (abs/stomach area), but that’s not true. The core consists of those front muscles as well as all the muscles on the side of that area, and the back of that area too. When you strengthen your core, you’re also strengthening your lower back. So, why is this important? There are many core exercises that cause both your abs to be sore the next day and your lower back. That’s because you generally don’t work one without the other being affected in some way. Basically, this means that if you're hurting your back, it could be that your core as a whole is weak. Core stability is important because of the location of the core at the center of the body. If the core is unstable, the rest of the body and limbs have to work that much harder. The part that suffers most? The back! Core training and strengthening can lead to a stable core and reduces the risks of pain and injuries. A weak core puts more strain on the lower back and causes it to tighten. Tight muscles lead to injured muscles, which is never something we want.

Why Is Stretching Good for You?

Stretching the lower back results in the lengthening of the back muscles. It’s the lengthening of those back muscles that results in a reduction of pain. With age, muscles naturally get shorter and tend to be tighter. Building the muscles around the spine results in the lengthening of those back muscles. A neutral spine and proper posture helps in keeping those muscles surrounding the spine strong. This is great because strong muscles in the back are muscles that are consistently stretched and lengthened; the stronger the muscles in the back and in the overall core, the less injuries and the less pain! Isn’t that what we all hope for?

How to Stretch out Your Lower Back

There are various ways to stretch out your lower back. When you try to get rid of lower back pain, it’s important to stretch.((Better Health Chiropractic: 11 Secrets for Getting Rid of Back Pain)) However, there are also some things you should be mindful of before stretching. You don’t want to hurt your back more, so remember to take it easy! It’s important to listen to your body and take it slow when necessary; and sometimes, you may need to stop altogether. Another thing to keep track of is your breathing. Breathing is very important as well. Make sure you’re following proper breathing techniques before attempting these stretches.((Stretching-Exercises-Guide: Breathing and Stretching)) When stretching any part of your body, pain can increase. While a slight discomfort is normal in any stretch, if you’re experiencing pain, you should stop. This is your body’s signal saying it’s best to take a break and maybe try again the next day. If the pain persists and doesn’t go away, see a professional to be sure to rule out anything serious. The great thing about lower back stretches is that they are easy to do. Lower back stretches can be performed one to two times a day. Are you short on time? Looking for help but need to get it done in less than ten minutes? These lower back stretches will help you meet that goal!

7 Best Stretches for Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain stretches vary, and in some cases, can seem redundant. However, when they’re performed properly, they can really strengthen the back and core, which can lead to less pain over time. Working on flexibility and core stability is so important. No matter how busy, here are some stretches you can begin implementing in your schedule:

1. Transverse Abdominis Stretch

First, let’s talk about stretching your transverse abdominis.((NHS: Lower Back Pain Exercises)) This is the deepest layer of your abdominal muscles. This muscle is used whenever limbs are moved. Because core stability is so important, this stretch can really help your pain. To stretch out your transverse abs, you’ll want to first lay on your back, propping your head up with anything soft--like a pillow. After you’re comfortable in that position, lift your knees so that they are bent, still keeping your feet on the floor. While keeping the upper body relaxed, tuck your chin. Then, take a deep breath and tighten your core. Think of drawing your belly button down to the ground beneath you. As you release this breath, you’ll want to loosen your muscles. Repeat a minimum of five times. Be sure to breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly as well. Here's a demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3PVLFjheg This exercise is rather simple, but being sure the breathing, contracting, and releasing are done in the proper order is key. The propping of your head is also important, so make sure to use a pillow!

2. Bird Dog

Next, here’s an exercise that is more targeted towards your lower back and its mobility. In the fitness world, it’s known as the “Bird Dog” stretch. In this stretch, you’ll want to start on your hands and knees with a flat back. Think of your form as a tabletop. The key here is keeping the spine in a neutral position, so be sure to keep your back straight while performing the exercise. Don’t arch your back. Place your hands directly beneath the shoulders. Being sure that your hands start under the shoulders and knees under your hips, breathe in. While breathing out, you want to raise the opposite arm and leg. Breathe out while you release those limbs. After holding for a minimum of five seconds, you’ve completed a round. Repeat this exercise eight to ten times being sure to alternate sides.

3. Bridge

This next exercise is exactly what it sounds like. You’re making a bridge with your lower body while your arms relax on the floor.((MoveU: 3 Reasons Why Your Lower Back Hurts and How to Fix It)) First, you’ll want to lie down on your back on a towel or an exercise mat. Choose whatever brings more comfort. Then, you want to bend your knees, keeping the distance between your knees no more than hip width apart. Breathe in and while you blow that breath out, you want to lift your hips using your arms as a light form of leverage. The key is to lift the hips high enough to line up with the spine and the height of your knees. That brings everything into a straight line, which is when you will feel a light stretch. When lowering your hips back to the ground, make sure you’re breathing out. Repeat this stretch eight to ten times.

4. Pelvic Tilt

This exercise focuses on the lower back. Start on your back with something serving as a small cushion under your head. Same as the other exercises, you’ll want to bend your knees while your legs are slightly apart, no wider than hip distance.((Healthline: Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch)) While keeping your upper body relaxed and chin tucked, draw your lower back into the floor, gently. You should feel your stomach muscles contracting. While your muscles are contracted, shift your pelvis in a forward and up motion, then release. Repeat in a slow and steady rocking motion for a minimum of eight times.

5. Hip Stretch

Because tight hip flexors often contribute to lower back pain, stretching your hips can reduce the pain that you feel. In this stretch, you’ll want to start on the ground kneeling with one knee up. Both knees don’t need to remain on the ground in this stretch. The opposite foot should be in front of the body with knee bent 90 degrees. While in the straddling knee position, push/shift your hips forward and always be mindful to keep your back straight. Hold that stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds and release. Repeat a minimum of two times on alternating knees. When performed accurately, this stretch feels very good to the hip flexors.

6. Spine Stretch

This stretch is obviously stretching out your spine, and in the case of lower back pain, this exercise is an excellent tool. Start out lying on your back and placing some form of cushion under your head. Keep your knees bent and firmly together during the entirety of this stretch. Place your arms out wide in a T-shape in correlation with the rest of your body. You want to slowly move your knees from one side of the body to the other side. Breathe out as you shift from one side to the other, and be sure to keep shoulders intact with the ground. When turning your body, be sure to shift your pelvis to each side. That will give you the full stretch, which will be more beneficial to your lower back. Repeat this exercise a minimum of six times, being sure to alternate sides, counting both sides as one repetition.

7. Gluteal Stretch

There is a muscle in the buttocks that can cause lower back pain and tightening. The hips and abdominal muscles can play a part in back pain, but the glutes are a very popular offender. The piriformis is the name of the gluteal muscle that can cause lower back pain if not stretched, so it’s important to stretch it out! For this butt stretch, you simply lie on the ground while crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. It feels like an awkward position, but once you begin the stretch, it will feel really good. After you place the ankle across the opposite knee, you want to grab the thigh of the leg the ankle is resting on. While breathing in, you want to grab the thigh. And while breathing out, you want to pull that thigh into your chest as far as you can stretch it. Holding this exercise for a minimum of 20 seconds will give you maximum results. Repeat at least two times on each side.

How to Relieve Your Lower Back Pain

Relieving a Stiff Lower Back

For a stiff lower back, it's likely to happen if you live in a cold climate, or have any form of arthritis that tends to flare up due to aging, or when the weather shifts. Stiffness has many leading factors with one being a cold body. Cold weather can make your back ache, so try to keep inside during the winter. Back stiffness can also be caused by spasms in the back, injuries that lead to stiffness, improper lifting, and in some cases, lumbar arthritis. However, it’s also important to note that any strain to the spine can result in lower back stiffness. Many times, lower back stiffness develops due to a lack of mobility and activity. If you aren’t one to go to the gym or lift weights, then be sure to take advantage of the above lower back stretches as often as you can.

Alleviating Lower Back Inflammation

Lower back pain can sometimes be the result of inflammation within the lower back muscles. When there is inflammation, over the counter medications can be taken. Physical therapy and chiropractic care are also options. Many people also find that hot and cold compresses can help. Ice packs work best when inflammation occurs after a strain or injury of some sort. When using ice with any injury on any part of the body, always be sure to wrap the ice in something, so that there isn’t direct contact to your body. Heat to the lower back to help alleviate pain is beneficial as well. It can not only provide pain relief but can also present certain healing factors to the lower back.((Spine-health: Benefits of Heat Therapy for Lower Back Pain)) When your lower back becomes tense, there is generally improper circulation in that area. Therefore, heat plays a part by causing blood vessels to dilate, which results in better circulation. Tense muscles become tense due to prolonged standing or sitting, stress, a pulled or strained muscle, or certain injuries. Besides, you can also try these five tips:

• Wear comfortable and supportive shoes.
• Sit in proper chairs that help keep back properly aligned.
• Watch your posture while standing, sitting, or exercising.
• When lifting use your legs and not your back (proper lifting is a must).
• Be mindful of your stress level, keep it low.

The Bottom Line

Lower back pain can often be alleviated or ruled out all together with just a few simple tricks. Start with the seven best lower back stretches and see how you feel. However, if you keep experiencing pain, always remember that it’s important to see a medical professional. Cost is often an issue with people seeing a medical professional, but there are many doctors who work with you if you don’t have insurance.((Better Health: How Much Does a Chiropractor Visit Costs without Insurance?)) Remember, it’s easier to get your back fixed now than later on when you need surgery or something else!

15 Home Office Organization Tips to Save Time and Get More Done

The opportunity to work from home has become more common as the way we work shifts away from the traditional office to more flexible arrangements where companies can hire the best not just locally, but globally. But with this shift comes new challenges. When we work in an office, the ecosystem and environment are developed to create a working environment; whereas, when we work from home; the environment is developed for living. To make our home a great place to work; we need to make a few mindset changes and apply some boundaries so we can work at our most effective. So, here are 15 tips and tricks you can use to make your home working environment an effective and great place to work.

1. Create a Dedicated Space to Do Your Work

While it might seem fantastic that you no longer need to commute to an office every day, one of the biggest advantages of going to a place to work is you have a designated area to do your work. It puts you in the right frame of mind to do your work. One of the hardest parts of switching to working from home is you no longer have that specific place to do work. It can be very tempting to stay in bed until 11 am with your laptop on your lap responding to your emails and messages, then moving to the sofa to do your monthly expense report, and finally sitting on the veranda in the afternoon watching the sunset while putting the last pieces of code together before submitting your software. While all this may seem idyllic, you will quickly find you are not getting very much work done. Instead, create a dedicated place to sit down and do your work. It could be a separate room you convert into a home office, or you create a corner somewhere in your house for work. Wherever you create that space from now on that space is where you do your work.

2. Make Your Dedicated Space Light

You will more than likely be doing your work during ‘office hours’ and you need daylight. It can be very tempting to create your dedicated workspace in a corner away from the windows in the belief this will help with your focus. That might be correct, but it will also cause you to feel down and depressed. We need sunlight, so find a cool, airy, well-lit place for your work area. You want to enjoy working in that place. A dark dingy corner will not do that. You soon come to hate your workspace that is not going to be an encouraging way to do your most important pieces of work.

3. Buy Yourself a Comfortable Chair

When I began working from home, the first items I thought about was the computer and monitor I would use. It never occurred to me to make sure I bought a comfortable chair. It turns out that if you think you can use any old chair, you are going to find yourself feeling very uncomfortable when you are at work, possibly leading to back and neck pain and much worse in the long-term. It is just not worth it. Instead, invest in a good quality chair. Go your local office supplies or specialist furniture store and test out the chairs, and make sure you buy yourself a comfortable one. You will thank yourself later.

4. Create a Set Working Pattern

While it can be very tempting to start your work when you feel like it, we all need some kind of structure in our lives. Without structure, things slip. This is why many of the most successful people around us wake up early and do exercise. It’s the structure of having a morning routine that enables them to get into a set state to do their work, and also gives them that needed structure. This means you wake up at the same time and you begin your work at the same time, preferably in the same place. It helps to create a start of day routine. Wake up, exercise, walk the dog, take the kids to school etc. You can also break for lunch at the same time and finish your day at the same time. Try to resist the temptation of taking a longer lunch break, believing that you can work an extra hour at the end of the day. This rarely happens and you soon find yourself lost.

5. Use Your Calendar to Block Focus Time

While this tip is usually reserved for those working in a busy office environment, I have found that when I block off time on my calendar to do focused work, not only does that work get done, it also gets done within the time I have allowed. It also stops me from being tempted to clean up the bathroom, do the breakfast dishes or pop out and do some gardening—ie procrastinate. For me, I would normally have calls with my coaching clients in the evening which are scheduled on my calendar, but the day time is relatively free. At the end of every day, I spend ten minutes cleaning up and scheduling my work for tomorrow. This maintains a consistent flow of work being delivered every day.

6. Learn When You Are at Your Most Effective

Somewhat linked to number five, work out when you are mentally in your “working zone”. There are times during the day when we can better focus, and other times when we normally find it hard to focus. For most people, their most focused time is in the morning and their concentration will drop in the early afternoon before picking up again towards the end of the day. We are all slightly different here, but once you know your best working times, you can schedule your blocks of focus time. For me, 7:00 am to 9:00 am is my best time for focused work and so is between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. With that knowledge, I block out two sessions of focused work each day and knowing that my concentration falls off a cliff around 2:00 pm, that’s when I would go to the gym.

7. Don’t Eat Lunch at Your Desk

This is a biggie. It can be very tempting to go to the kitchen, make your lunch and then return to your desk to continue with your work. Don’t do this. You need to get up and move. You need to change your environment from time to time. This does not just go for lunch either. You should be taking regular breaks and these breaks need to be away from a screen. Go outside, go for a walk. Whatever you do, make sure you are changing your environment, so your brain gets the rest it needs.

8. Use Cloud-Based Storage for Your Files

This has helped me when it comes to getting my work done. There are times I find sitting down at my desk at home to be uninspiring. Whenever that happens, I want to be able to grab my iPad and go to a nearby coffee shop. The change in the environment is often all I need to get inspired again and sit down and do my work. By having all my work in the cloud, all I have to do is throw my iPad into my bag and head out. I don’t have to waste time trying to remember what files I might need. Everything I am working on is in the cloud and accessible wherever I am.

9. Plan Your Day Before You Finish the Day

This one tip will ensure you never waste time and helps to make you much more effective. Before you close down at the end of the day, spend ten to fifteen minutes to plan out what you will work on tomorrow. The trick here is to plan exactly what you will begin the day with. What project you will work on and what you will do on that project—write a report, prepare a presentation file etc. When you plan the day, the day before you don’t waste any time in the morning trying to decide what to work on. When you work from home, you are essentially your boss. It is you who has to decide what to work on and when. Making those decisions before you close down the day helps your workflow and ensures you are working on the right things at the right time.

10. Keep the Afternoon Reasonably Flexible

Over planning is a problem. There are far too many unknowns being thrown at us every day to be able to plan out every minute of the day. You need to build in flexibility. For most people, the afternoons are the best time to deal with the urgent emails, messages and requests. This is when your concentration levels are beginning to drop and the change from focused work to dealing with communications—telephone calls, emails and messages—can be a welcome break from the heavy brain work. I generally deal with my communications immediately after lunch, before heading out to exercise, and in the early evening before ending my workday.

11. Create a Work Playlist

With the amazing music streaming services available today, it is very easy to create your playlists for different moods. I have several playlists I use for my work. Two of the best places for inspiring work music are the Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep pages on the streaming services of your choice. Having your work playlists will help to put you into a great working mood, and will help you to focus on what is important without the risk of being distracted by outside noises.

12. Turn off Notifications

This one might not be specific for working from home—it also works when you work in an office—but it is still excellent advice. Notifications are distracting and you do not need them. If you check your email periodically throughout the day, you are not going to miss anything important. It is when you are constantly being pinged by incoming emails and messages that you are unable to focus on getting your important work done. Turn off notifications and check email when you have finished each session of work and stop worrying, you are not missing out on anything important.

13. Keep Your Desk Clean and Clutter-Free

Having flies, paper and other stuff lying around on your desk will only distract you. You want to be creating a work station that encourages work and an untidy, disorganized desk does not encourage quality work and focus. Before you end your workday, stop and clean up everything you have worked on and put them back in their rightful place.

14. Clean up Your Desktop at the End of Every Day

There’s nothing worse than beginning the day, turning on your computer and seeing a desktop full of old files, screenshots and other stuff. It does nothing for your motivation and it does not help you start the day with energy, purpose and focus. Instead, give yourself five minutes at the end of your workday to clean up your desktop, put files away in their rightful place and delete all your old files. It helps you to start the day with a clear mind and prepares you for a good session of focused work.

15. Use Tools You Enjoy Using

One of the benefits of working from home is you generally get to use your own tools. It could be that your employer provides you with a computer, but there’s nothing to stop you from adding to that. You could invest in a separate monitor if you prefer to work from a large screen, you also generally have greater freedom with the software you use. For example, if you hate using Outlook, you may be able to use an alternative email service. Likewise, if you prefer to write in a different writing app other than Microsoft Word, then do so. In my experience, the tools you use do help you to perform better. I enjoy writing all my written work in Ulysses, using Apple’s Mail app as my email program and Evernote and Todoist as my productivity and planning tools. Choose the tools you enjoy using. You'll enjoy your work more if you do so.

The Bottom Line

So there you go, fifteen tips for getting the most out of your home office. Remember, work should never be a chore, you should enjoy what you do and love the environment you are working in. As I write this, I have the sun’s rays pouring in through the window to the side of me, Above and Beyond playing in the background and I am sitting very comfortably in my chair. It could not get any better.

More Productivity Tips

• 7 Effective Time Management Tips To Maximize Your Productivity
• 13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity
• How to Be Productive at Work: 9 Ground Rules

7 Strategies to Keep Employee Motivation High

Highly motivated employees are essential to the success of any business. Most people spend a third of their lives at work.((Gettysburg College: 1/3 of your life is spent at work)) That’s a significant amount of time away from home, apart from the people who make us happy and the things we love to do. So keeping employee motivation high is essential for creating an office environment that gets the best out of our people. But do you know what motivates your people? It’s simple:

• Is their work stimulating?
• Does it challenge them?
• Is there room to grow, a promotion perhaps?
• Do you encourage creativity?
• Can they speak openly and honestly with you?
• Do you praise them?
• Do you trust your staff to take ownership of their work?
• Do they feel safe in their work environment?
• And more importantly, do you pay them properly?

Every one of these factors contributes to the general happiness of your employees. It’s what motivates them to come into the office each day and work hard, hit goals, and get results. In contrast, an unmotivated employee is typically unhappy. They take more sick days, they’re not invested in seeing your business succeed, and they’re always on the lookout for something better. Stats show that 81 percent of employees would consider leaving their jobs today if the right opportunity presented itself.((HAYS: US workers willing to compromise on salary for the right benefits, company culture, and career growth opportunities)) So it’s up to you to set aside time and energy to create a work environment that benefits every one of your employees. These seven strategies will help you motivate your people to consistently deliver quality work and, more importantly, to stick around for the long term.

1. Don’t Mess Around with Your Employees’ Pay

Never mess around with your people's salary. As a business owner or high-level manager, it's easy to forget that most people live from paycheck to paycheck. Delayed compensation can mean a missed bill payment, which could result in costly penalties they can't afford or hits to their credit score. So it's your job to ensure that you pay your people on time.

2. Create an Awesome Company Culture

There’s no denying that company culture trickles down from the top. Your leadership and attitude massively influences the attitudes, work ethic, and happiness of your staff. If you’re always stressed-out, overly demanding, and unreasonable, it’ll create tension in your office which will adversely affect your employees’ motivation levels. In fact, the HAYS “US What People Want Survey” found that 47 percent of staff who are actively looking for a new job, pinpoint company culture as the driving force behind their reason to leave. So if you have high staff turnover, you need to determine whether your company culture might be the motivating factor behind your churn rate. Here are four ways to build a culture that keeps your employees highly motivated.

• Be conscious of the image you present. Your body language and attitude can positively or negatively impact your employees. So come to work energized. Be optimistic, friendly, and engaging—this enthusiasm will spill over to your people and motivate them to be more productive and efficient.
• Appreciate your people and be reasonable. Celebrate your team's achievements. If they're doing a good job, tell them. Encourage them to challenge themselves and try new things. And reward when deserved. If they're struggling, help them. Work together to find solutions and be a sounding board for their ideas.
• Be flexible. Give your people opportunities to work remotely—this is highly motivating to staff, particularly millennials. They don't want to be battling traffic each day on their way to work. They don't want to miss their kids’ baseball games or ballet rehearsals. Stats show that companies that offer flextime and the ability to work from home or a coffee shop have happier and more productive employees.
• Create employee-friendly work environments. These are spaces that inspire and ignite the imagination. Have you ever been to Google's offices? No headquarter is the same. From indoor slides and food trucks, to hammocks, and funky work pods on the wall, gaming rooms, and tranquil interior gardens, there's something for everyone. It's a space where people want to be, catering to their need for creativity, quiet, or team building; you name it.

So take a look at your company culture and ask yourself, Is my business an attractive workplace for talented professionals? Does it inspire commitment and motivate my people? What could I do to improve my company culture?

3. Be Someone They Can Rely On

You rely on your people to turn up to work each day, to come to you when they have a problem they can't solve, to be honest, and to always engage professionally with customers. But this is not a one-way street. You, too, need to be someone your team can rely on. They trust you to have their backs when a client is unreasonable, to know that the decisions they make are in your best interest, and to make good on your promises. If you say you'll attend an important meeting, be there. If your company makes a profit and you've said you'll pay a bonus, pay it. The goodwill of your people is something you never want to test, let alone lose. Be reliable; it's astounding how much this motivates your people.

4. Touch Base with Your Team Weekly

Make time for your people, whether you run a remote business or work in an office, set aside time each week to talk to your people one-on-one. It's non-negotiable. When there's an open line of communication between staff members, work gets done. Don't believe me? A study by Gallup found that 26 percent of employees said feedback from their leaders helps them to do a better job.((Gallup: Re-Engineering Performance Management)) Your people want to feel trusted. They want to take ownership of their work, but they also need to know that when they have a question, they can reach out and get answers. If you're unwilling to make yourself available, your team will quickly become unmotivated, work will stagnate, and your business will stop growing. So block off time on your calendar each week to touch base with your people, even if only to let them know that what they're working on matters.

5. Give Them the Tools They Need to Do Their Jobs Well

Imagine trying to run your business without electricity. How would you contact your clients? What would happen when your phone or computer battery died? Technology is super critical to the success of your businesses. It allows you to work more efficiently, to be more productive, and to handle matters on-the-go. That's why you need to give your people tools that will make their jobs easier. Make sure their equipment is in good working condition. There's nothing more frustrating than a laptop that takes ages to boot up. It's got to go. Replace outdated software with new software. Don't make your designer work in Coreldraw; give them access to the most up-to-date version of Adobe Creative Suite. Take it a step further and buy them a subscription to Shutterstock or Getty Images. Make working for you a pleasure, not a pain; and watch your employees' motivation levels rise.

6. Provide Opportunities to Learn and Upskill

Would you believe me if I told you that 33 percent of people cite boredom and a need for new challenges as the top reason for leaving their job?((Korn Ferry: Breaking Boredom: Job Seekers Jumping Ship for New Challenges in 2018, According to Korn Ferry Survey)) If you want to retain your talent, you need to upskill. Thanks to technology, we live in a rapidly evolving world that demands we change with it. A copywriter is no longer just a writer; they now need to be experts in SEO, Google Adwords, CRMs, and so much more. A pastry chef needs to be a food stylist, photographer, and social media manager. An entrepreneur needs to be a marketer—or at least take ownership of the marketing message for their business—if they hope to scale. Technology makes all of this possible. No matter your location, your people can continuously expand their knowledge and gain new skill sets—something that's highly motivating to employees. They want to know that there are opportunities to grow and develop themselves. If you won't invest in your people, then your business becomes just another job to tide them over until they find where they truly belong. So be the company that sees value in developing its people.

7. Monitor Their Workload

Overworked employees tend to be unproductive and unhappy. Your people cannot be at full capacity every day, month to month. Something's got to give. They'll become deflated and their work will eventually suffer, which will negatively impact your business. What I like to do is implement a traffic light system. It helps me to keep a finger on the pulse of my business. So there's red, yellow, and green:

• Red means they're fully loaded.
• Yellow means they're busy, but they can potentially take on more.
• Green means they haven't got enough to do.

I use this traffic light system because I don't want my team members to be stressed out of their brains all the time. If they are, they won't make good decisions and they won't do good work. If my people are regularly overloaded, I have things to think about. Perhaps I need to hire a new person to help ease the load or take a closer look at what projects are good to go, and which can take a back seat. And this is why #4 is essential. If I'm regularly engaging with my people, I'll know that while they're coping with their workload, it is impacting their performance and health, and I'll take action.

The Bottom Line

A motivated team is an asset to any business. These people never give up. They get excited about coming to work each day and can't wait to test a new theory or tackle a particularly tricky challenge. They're proud of the work they do. And more importantly, they have no reason to leave. Wouldn’t you rather be part of their success story than the business that drove them away?

More About Employees' Motivation

• How the Productivity Formula Can Motivate Employees to Work Efficiently
• If You Want an Invincible Team, Make Them Feel Safe
• Tips for Increasing Employee Motivation
• How to Motivate Employees and Boost Team Productivity

8 Brain Exercises for Mental Strength and a Smarter Brain

Everyone says that we need to strive for a healthy body. These people are the people who say we should be going to the gym, exercise daily, and eat the right kind of food. And while that advice is helpful, I feel a lot of people forget about another important part of ourselves: our brain. Think about it. When was the last time that you read a book? Most are likely guilty of not having read a book in years. From 2004 to 2018, the number of people in America leisurely reading has dropped by 30%.((The Washington Post: Leisure reading in the U.S. is at an all-time low)) We place so much priority on our bodies, and yet most of us don't prioritize brain exercises or brain care. Why is that? Fortunately, with brain exercises, we can reverse a lot of the damage that's been done. Thanks to massive developments in neuroscience, we understand when our brain is at peak performance and what we can do to maintain it or bring it back to those levels.

Do Brain Exercises Really Work?

The short answer is yes. First, there is all of Sherry Willis' work. From her efforts, participants were able to do varying degrees of difficult tasks. Not only that but they were able to do so in an efficient manner than before. There was also an extensive study that looked at the long-term effects of brain exercises on older individuals. The study provided brain exercises to 2,832 individuals aged 65 and up.((Very Well Minid: Cognitive-Training Can Result in Long-Term Improvement)) Over a 10 year period, participants were given training in processing speed, memory, and reasoning. Another smaller controlled group received no such training. After that 10 year period, the researchers came back after 5 years to see results. While the training did help the older individuals during the 10 years of brain exercises, those benefits were gone after 5 years. After 10 years of having the brain training, there were no signs of brain improvements. What this study uncovers is that not only does the training work, but also it's important to practice this regularly. Similar to our health, if we don't train our bodies, it'll deteriorate similar to our brain if we don't exercise it.

Which Brain Exercises Are The Best?

According to research done in 1999, our brain reaches peak performance between age 16 and 25.((Annual Review of Psychology: LIFESPAN PSYCHOLOGY: Theory and Application to Intellectual Functioning)) After that, our cognitive functioning - our ability to mentally process and carry out tasks - declines naturally. This doesn't mean that we will be mentally incapable of working after a certain period of time though. Rather, our ability to change, process certain tasks, and introduce new processes will be tougher. Understanding this is important since brain exercises are designed to keep the brain functional all around.((Healthline: 13 Brain Exercises to Help Keep You Mentally Sharp)) Examples are being able to do daily tasks, retaining memories, and keeping focus. This might not be a big issue right now but, it becomes more pressing when you get older and there are threats of dementia, amnesia, and Alzheimers -- mental issues that could be stopped through regular exercise of our brains. The question is, what sort of exercises are best for us? Simple: personalized brain exercises. Many people have tried all kinds of tactics to exercise their brains. And while there is research to support a variety of these claims, there's more scientific support behind this particular form of training. The strategy has been proven by Dr. Sherry Willis, a professor at the University of Texas. Through her research, she proved participants became more efficient at performing typical tasks at varying levels of complexity.((JAMA: Long-term Effects of Cognitive Training on Everyday Functional Outcomes in Older Adults)) Participants were able to write shopping lists to being able to operate technical equipment with ease. The big question now is where can you find these sorts of programs? Since this research emerged, many businesses have been formed to help in this area. Training can be as simple as playing Sudoku to having full-fledged programs given out by various apps.((Very Well Mind: 8 Great Brain Games and Brain Training Websites))

8 Brain Exercises to Strengthen Your Brain

While having a personalized brain training course is great, not everyone is mentally prepared for them. Instead, people may find it better to strengthen their brains in other ways. While these methods lack built-in long-term challenges or personalization, those can be mitigated. That is, if you want to start taking care of your brain as much as you want to look after the rest of your body.

1. Exercise

Studies from 2006 show that exercise has tremendous benefits on our brain. Specifically, exercising can protect our brain from shrinkage as it ages.((Very Well Mind: How to Prevent Your Brain From Shrinking as You Age)) While exercise may not be the most engaging or challenging brain exercise, this is one way to get the best of both worlds. Not only that, but you can add a layer of challenge by doing different exercises. This helps because it teaches our brain to fire off new signals to our brain. This increases our brains plasticity - the ability to change and think differently. Thus doing new exercises will strengthen our brains.

2. Drawing Maps

A lot of us remember the streets we grew up like the back of our hands. We can navigate it with ease with no challenge. But have you ever drawn it out before? One good challenge is to draw out the streets and what your neighbourhood looked like. Try to recall iconic landmarks and place them on the map as well. Once you're done with the map, find a real map and compare it with the one you drew. More often than not, you probably missed a few spots here and there. This happens because our brain doesn't store that specific information for very long. Once we know where we want to go, our brain typically signals us to go a familiar route. We subconsciously comply and think nothing else of it. Regardless, drawing a map can help us strengthen our brain and is a step above physical exercise since this demands more brainpower. I'd also encourage you to challenge yourself further and draw larger scale maps. Why not draw a map of the United State and write in all the state's locations and capitals? Why not do the same with Canada?

3. Learning Something New

Barring personalized training, the best form of brain exercise stems from doing something different. Starting something new requires a lot of mental capacity. Not only are you learning to do something new, but you also need to keep yourself motivated to continue doing it. Because of this, learning something new will keep us on our toes. What's also nice is that the activities don't need to be really challenging. For example, one study had two groups and was asked to do different activities.((SAGE Journal: The Impact of Sustained Engagement on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The Synapse Project)) One group was asked to learn new skills like quilting or digital photography. The other was asked to watch movies or listen to the radio. The study found that those quilting or doing digital photography had a better memory than those who had more leisure activities. They proved this by giving the individuals memory tests.

4. Socialize

When we get older, we tend to have a smaller circle of friends and thus, talk less and less. What's saddening is the lack of social activity negatively impacts our mental health. We're obviously social creatures, so it should come to no surprise that being socially active is one way to exercise our brain. It also is one way of fighting back dementia and Alzheimer's.((PLOS | Medicine: Association of social contact with dementia and cognition: 28-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study)) Even if you are an introvert, seeking social interactions clearly has short-term and long-term benefits. Some ideas to be socially active is by joining clubs, going for daily walks with people, volunteering in your community, or staying in contact with your family or past friends.

5. Doing a Jigsaw Puzzle

Big or small, research shows that this exercise recruits multiple cognitive abilities.((Front Aging Neurosci.: Jigsaw Puzzling Taps Multiple Cognitive Abilities and Is a Potential Protective Factor for Cognitive Aging))

6. Playing Card Games

Similarly, card games both online and offline can prove useful for your brain. One study in 2015 found that card games activate various parts of the brain.((Brain Imaging Behav.: Participation in cognitively-stimulating activities is associated with brain structure and cognitive function in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease)) Games included poker, crazy eights, solitaire, bridge, and gin rummy.

7. Learning a New Language

I mentioned earlier that learning something new is good but, it doesn't always have to be a physical skill. Learning a new language activates many regions of our brain while also boosting cognition.((Tom Adam Frederic Anderson: Vocabulary and the Brain: Evidence from Neuroimaging Studies))

8. Taking a New Route to a Familiar Destination

That or simply go down a different road. This doesn't apply to driving or travelling but to any sort of problem that you deal with in life. By pushing yourself to think of other alternatives, your brain receives a number of benefits from making a simple change as these taxi drivers discovered.

Bottom Line

A lot of the reasons to consider brain exercises in our lives is similar to our health. As you can probably tell, these exercises do not take very long. They can be easily integrated into our daily lives. Furthermore, brain exercises improve our focus, memory, and ability to complete daily activities. To stop doing brain exercises is to remove all of those benefits that can help us significantly as we get older. So if you can't get personalized brain training, consider the strategies I mentioned above. You'd be surprised how easy and how quickly you'll notice changes in your life from this.

More to Sharpen Your Brain

• How to Increase Brain Power, Boost Memory and Become 10X Smarter
• 12 Best Foods That Improve Memory and Brain Health
• 7 Brain Training Habits to Easily Boost Your Brain Power

Why Am I so Sad? 9 Possible Causes You Shouldn’t Ignore

Expressing emotions is difficult as it’s not always encouraged in society. People rely on comfort zones and a secure mask to get them through the day. You may feel emotions stirring and wonder, “Why am I so sad?” and not know where to begin in how to answer that. In a way, being sensitive can be looked down upon. We ignore warning signs of sadness, depression and other forms of suffering because having feelings is something we cannot be open about in society. Stigma stifles us from speaking up. It shouldn’t be something we are afraid of. With the release or catharsis of emotion, we find resilience and who we want to be. Sadness is one emotion of many. But it’s often the one most ignored. We don’t want to appear weak to others, or even to ourselves. Ignoring sadness leads to repression. It may also lead to depression. There is a difference between sadness and depression. Sadness you feel, depression may lead into numbness, intense sadness or a heaviness that cannot be easily coped with. You may go through all your coping skills for sadness, and it may still be there if it's depression. Typically, sadness is fleeting and brought on by something; it comes and goes, whereas depression holds us down for long periods of time maybe lasting weeks or so. It’s where we are in a hole we feel we cannot climb out of by ourselves, but we are even more afraid to ask for help. When you are feeling sad, you are most likely feeling alone. You are most likely feeling helpless. You feel like it’s the end of the world or that you can’t go on. It’s a grief of something. But part of depression is feeling this way almost nonstop at a depth that can overrule your behavior. When you feel sad, you may be at a juncture in life of confusion. Where do I go from here? What next? Or even, what is worth holding onto? Do you find yourself hiding away from the world in shame or confusion? Do you find yourself feeling hollow or empty, even though more tears may come up? Do you find yourself feeling lost? These are the key components to both sadness and depression. Sadness may hold on but it doesn’t linger. Depression doesn’t let go. Seek a professional to help assist with either, but for now, reasoning through the causes may help to identify a way for a solutions. Here're 9 possible causes of you sadness that you shouldn't ignore:

1. Lack of Support System

We need people to know who we really are. We need moments of vulnerability or opening up to one another to feel safe and secure. When we can tell others what we are going through, we feel a sense of clarity and release. We feel obligated to be our own heroes. We feel like we need to hold on rather than let go and let others in. When this happens, sadness increases, and we are no longer engaged with those we love. People overwhelm us with their ability to smile, carry on and even be functional. But that's not always their truth either. When sadness hits, we have to tell someone and build a support system. We may find we have some thing about ourselves in common with others. Find people you trust: professionals, friends and family that you can turn to when going through a hard time. Let them in. You are not alone in this. You just need to allow others to see your weaknesses, which aren’t even true weaknesses. Feeling sad is not a weakness. Holding back in an effort to appear strong is, however, a weakness. When people know what you’re going through, they can better assist you.

"No man is an island." -- John Donnes

2. Inability to Communicate Needs

When we are the most sad, we have trouble communicating our needs to others. But sadness doesn’t form overnight. Oftentimes, the repression goes back longer and deeper. We expect others to read our minds. We don’t give them a chance to get to know the real us because we’re so afraid of rejection. Your needs are more than food, shelter and clothing, etc. They include understanding, compassion, reassurance, empowerment and hope. When you let yourself become vulnerable, people can offer you these things. It starts with communicating your needs. Maybe you were passed up in a promotion, rejected in a love affair, hurt over past childhood abuse, neglected in life because of your inability to speak up. All these things do not define us. What defines us is what we do with them, the lessons learned. We have to let people in so that we can decide what to do with them. To communicate your needs, write a list of your values, goals, what you’re grateful for and what you want others to help you with in regards to these areas. Then, make a plan to ask for help. Let others see this list. Let them choose how they can help you.

3. Identity Loss

Our identities become wrapped up in what we want people to think about us. Instead of hiding in the same stigma of sadness, open up to the world to share what you are going through. When you are wearing a mask, you cannot be authentic. And when you are not being authentic, you are not getting your needs in life met. You are not building a true foundation for success. You cannot be happy. You cannot learn others’ needs or identities. You cannot offer a solid answer to their own vulnerabilities. Instead, you freeze. You become numb to others’ suffering and isolated in your own. That mask needs to come off. Otherwise, you’re just waiting for more sadness to consume you when isolated and alone. That mask is designed to distract others from your pain, but it doesn’t work in the long term. Eventually, that mask will break. If you keep it on, you will look towards that mask as who you really are. You will pretend and lose sight of your dreams and goals. Instead of letting that happen, take the mask off. The freedom that comes in being yourself is worth it. The sadness will shrink at the sight of who you really are.

4. Hardship

Hardship does not define us. But it can take time to recover from one. Don’t speed up that process. Sadness is not an inherently wrong emotion to feel. It’s just uncomfortable. And when you go through a hardship, that sadness will be there. That sadness attaches you to what you lost that you loved. It gives meaning to it. It helps you understand yourself when you open up about your grief. People will have solutions for everything. But the greatest answer you can give yourself is honoring that sadness and what it stands for, so that it doesn’t overwhelm and control you. You will be less afraid of the hardship’s long term effect. It will equate some closure. You will learn lessons from the hardship that you might have not learned any other way. Hold space for the pain, for yourself to heal, and for others who might not understand right away. Be kind to yourself. That’s the best way to handle sadness from a hardship. Know that it’s natural to be there, but it won’t be so pushy forever. That’s where your own abilities come into play. You can keep going knowing that you will honor that notion that it carries the weight of what you once wanted. And maybe as you grow, you will change in what you want. But you will never change in what you need. And that’s healing, growth, love and honoring your journey that you got this far and are able to do much more than anyone knows. Keep going!

5. Negative Messages or Self Talk About Yourself

You are worth everything. Your sadness does not speak to what you are worth. It only tells you the story you tell yourself. And when you change that story, you can breathe. You start to see the positives in your day. You start to realize you deserve to be happy. You even let yourself smile maybe. You will not go down that easy. You will rise again. In The Toxic Effects of Negative Self Talk on Very Well Mind ((Very Well Mind: The Toxic Effects of Negative Self Talk)), Elizabeth Scott, MS said:

“Studies have linked negative self-talk with higher levels of stress and lower levels of self-esteem.”

Both stress and lower self-esteem bring on the sadness in which we feel we are losing our sanity. But we can pick ourselves up again with positive self talk. Positive self talk is sending message of love and hope to yourself when the world fails to do so for you. It’s taking control. You may not be able to take control of every aspect of every circumstance, but you can control yourself. That means you have something to give. You can show up, when you are struggling, and you can know you are safe because you can control the messages you are telling yourself. Take control, today and everyday, and watch the sadness fade. Start with "I am worth it."

6. Disempowerment

Maybe you’re not going through a hardship. Yet, you are not empowered. Maybe your circumstances are just not giving you what you want. You are having unfulfilling experiences. Your relationships are not healthy, your school or work simply drains you, you have no support system, you have an identity crisis, a lack of focus or meaning. Or all of the above. In all of these examples, you feel a lack of power over your life. Maybe you didn’t notice it at first, but the sadness creeped slowly up on you. Maybe you need it though as a wake up call. This isn’t the life you deserve. Maybe it’s time to change something. That’s when sadness can serve us. It can give us hope. That we can feel enough to know something isn’t right. You don’t need to explain it to anyone else. You just need to act on it. You’ve been white-knuckling through your problems enough. Use the sadness or when it rains to open an umbrella, and walk forward.

7. Lack of Focus, Direction or Drive

It may be a simple thing of a lack of focus, direction or drive for your reason for sadness. You may have a great life, but you don’t know which way to go next. You aren’t taking what you do have seriously. In fact, you may be taking what you have for granted. The lack of gratitude may be the reason why you can’t see the good even though it’s there. You’re forgetting why you started. You don’t recognize yourself in the mirror because you’ve let yourself wander so far. But now, it’s time to get it all back. Choose. Make choices. Act. It sounds simple, but it is not easy to get your drive back. You have to really want it. And that changes everything. Your mindset is everything. If you can't view things with a positive spin, you will have nothing to do that is meaningful or productive. If your mindset is causing you to overlook what you do have and what you can have, it's time to change it. Just with positive self talk, getting focused is about realizing what you deserve.

"It's during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." -- Aristotle

8. Oppression of Some Sort

Poverty, pain, wrong doing, injustice... Sometimes, there are things outside of our control. We may feel like there’s nothing we can do in our current circumstances to make it better. But we have to try. You didn’t choose this, but you did decide your attitude about it. You can either fight or stop. But stopping is not an option. Instead of blame everything else, see what you can do to be a light here. Get yourself through it to get yourself to the other side. Don’t judge what you’ve had to do in the past to do just that. But now it is time to start over. Forgive yourself. Let the sadness be a voice for what you’re going through. Express that. It doesn’t mean things will change right away. But you will change. That will make meaning out of your sadness. It will help you transform what you hope to change.

9. Depression

If your sadness doesn’t leave you, it may be depression. A chemical balance may be the reason for it all. Or a sudden hardship, heartbreak, loss. There’s no one reason for someone to become depressed. It's subjective to that person. Sadness enduring and growing stronger with a more hollow, empty feeling than you’ve ever had before is a sign of depression. Depression strikes when you are down. It’s like a weight on your chest. Sometimes, the sadness robs you of your sanity. You make rash decisions. You act in ways that do not appear healthy. You choose to retreat rather than open up the world. And therein lies the problem. You forget you’re human. You’re allowed to ask for help. When the depression becomes numb, it could be a multitude of emotions lingering that the brain suppresses to help you cope. In that state, it's time to reach out. Even if you don't know what is causing it, it's time to act. If you need help, here’s a great organization to start with: National Alliance on Mental Illness describes depression as hopelessness, lack of interest in activities or even suicidal thoughts. It's also suggested to create a safety plan. This means you gather your supports, someone you trust, to help maybe take you to the ER if symptoms persist. Call a suicide prevention hotline. Note these aren’t fail-safe. It may take trying different therapies such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Maybe even medication. Meditation never hurts. But it’s up to you to be honest about how you feel, if something is not working for you, or if a counselor is not helpful. Get ready for it all to be a process, to take time. There's not a quick fix for your feelings. And when sadness becomes depression, you know to take it seriously. One day, there may be a cure, but for now, you will heal your sadness and depression by identifying and causes and coming up with a plan of action no matter what.

Final Thoughts

People don’t always recognize when someone is in crisis. They don’t know your internal dialogue. They don’t hear your negative self-talk. But what they do is love you. You are not alone in this at all. Sadness can be very telling of what a person is going through. If it becomes depression, added steps are needed to getting help. It should be viewed as any other health crisis. But due to stigma, it is not often so that we view it that way. You can change that -- just by showing up, just by voicing your concerns, just by living for yourself, your needs, and your goals. Because when it comes to sadness or depression, we often feel silenced. No more. Good luck.

More to Cheer You Up

• How to Be Happy Again: 13 Simple Ways to Shake off Sadness Now
• Why Negative Emotions Aren't That Bad (And How to Handle Them)
• How to Stop Being Sad and Start Feeling Happy

How to Train Your Brain to Think Fast and Think Smart

In a TEDx Talk in 2015, Matt Abrahams got up in front of a crowd and said:((Matt Abrahams | TEDxMontaVistaHighSchool: Think Fast. Talk Smart))

"People hate me. People fear me... I have a tool and that tool is what makes people fear me and despise me. As a professor, I have an ability that's called cold calling. That's where I look at a student and ask 'what do you think?' 'what do you feel about what we just discussed?' 'how does this impact you?'"

In that paragraph alone, there is a lot to unpack, but what's important to note for now is this ability of his: Cold calling. Why do people fear it so much? Likely because it's estimated that 75% of people have a fear of public speaking.((Credit Donkey: Fear of Public Speaking Statistics and How to Overcome Glossophobia)) But digging further, it might also be due to people being unable to think fast in those situations. Looking further than that, there are likely all kinds of other social situations where you wish you could think fast. From coming up with witty remarks to finishing a task faster, thinking fast has various perks and requires training to achieve it.

The Importance of Thinking Fast

Before we learn how it's important, we need to learn why it's important. If there is no reason to practice, then we will ultimately stop after a while. Being able to think fast provides a wide variety of benefits. Outside of the few social situations I mentioned above, some other ones include:

• People will think you are smarter.
• When people are asked to think fast, they are happier, more creative, energetic, and self-confident.
((Science Daily: How 'Manic' Thinking Makes Us Happy, Energized And Self-confident))
• Faster thinking also ties into planning, problem-solving, goal setting, and being able to focus.((Understood: Slow Processing Speed: What You Need to Know))
• Faster thinking will also keep your brain mentally sharp.
• You also will experience faster reaction times.

The list is extensive but the idea is: the stronger your brain is, the more you can leverage it in many aspects of life.

How Do You Think Faster?

The next question is how does one increase speed? That answer is through a variety of ways that I've listed below.

1. Make Faster Minor Decisions

We are faced with many decisions over the course of the day but, some of them aren't as important as others. Eating is important, but the decision between a salad, chicken, or beef is inconsequential. Being able to quickly decide what to eat can help you with thinking faster. After all, even if your decision wasn't the best, the consequences are small. This training works since this is literally the act of thinking fast. But one thing I'll stress is the keyword with this advice -- minor decisions. Do not use this tactic in more pressing life-altering decisions which will have larger consequences.

2. Practice Speed

There are things that we do all the time and we've gotten really good at -- playing music, learning songs, writing, or doing specific stretches. Whatever the case, I encourage you to add another layer of challenge to those skills by speeding up. Similar to the tactic above, this also demands you think fast to perform a task. What will help you in practicing speed would be a timer. Time yourself on completing puzzles or running a lap. You can give yourself an allotted time to complete a task. That second strategy is surprisingly effective as most people will instinctively prioritize the most important aspects of that task. It's called Parkinsons Law.

3. Stop Trying To Multitask

As much as we like to think we can do tasks at once, we really can't. Our brain - as powerful as it is - is unable to focus on two tasks at once. But why can people rub their tummy and pat their head? Well, that's because our brain rapidly toggles between tasks. In those situations, people's brains are jumping between those tasks faster. Outside of those situations though, the research found that multitasking reduces attention span, our ability to learn and our mental performance.((American Psychological Association: Multitasking: Switching costs)) Therefore, it’s smarter for us to prioritize a single task and give it our undivided attention until completion.

4. Get Sufficient Sleep

Adequate sleep is necessary not only for body function but for brain function as well. One study found that not sleeping well will impact our thinking speed and accuracy.((Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat.: Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance)) By that logic, it makes sense that sleep will help in keeping our brain healthier and functional.

5. Meditate

Regular meditation is another way for us to stimulate our brain. There have been all kinds of studies showing how meditation helps with the creation of new brain cells and neural connections. That’s because meditation strengthens the communication between cells in the first place.((Medical Xpress: Evidence builds that meditation strengthens the brain, researchers say))

6. Do Aerobic Exercises

All exercise is great for us and our brain to some degree. That being said, aerobic exercises specifically have shown to improve the processing speed of our brain.((abc News: Study: Exercise Can Make You Smarter)) Aerobic exercises are exercises like jogging, walking, biking, and swimming. All of these strategies can help you with thinking fast. However, there's one other strategy worth looking over. It's the research that was conducted by Daniel Kahneman on thinking slow and fast.

Thinking Slow And Fast

In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman uncovers various concepts revolving around decision-making and behavioural psychology. It’s well worth a read as the book explains various concepts and makes you think a lot about how we go about decisions. For example, one big takeaway from the book revolves around two systems. These two systems are how we think. System 1 is about thinking fast, while System 2 is about thinking slow. This forms the premise of the book. But there is a twist to this. While a lot of us believe we are analytical thinkers who think slow, we actually spend most of the time in the System 1 - fast thinking. So we’re technically already able to think fast. But maybe not in the way you’d think. You see, System 1 is all about intuition. It’s what our gut tells us and we use that to make decisions. It’s the very same system we use to judge people and put together the first impressions of people. It’s until we make a conscious effort do we actually move to System 2 and think slow. Kahneman expands on this:

“Systems 1 and 2 are both active whenever we are awake. System 1 runs automatically and System 2 is normally in comfortable low-effort mode, in which only a fraction of its capacity is engaged. System 1 continuously generates suggestions for System 2: impressions, intuitions, intentions, and feelings. If endorsed by System 2, impressions and intuitions turn into beliefs, and impulses turn into voluntary actions. When all goes smoothly, which is most of the time, System 2 adopts the suggestions of System 1 with little or no modification. You generally believe your impressions and act on your desires, and that is fine — usually.

When System 1 runs into difficulty, it calls on System 2 to support more detailed and specific processing that may solve the problem of the moment. System 2 is mobilized when a question arises for which System 1 does not offer an answer… System 2 is activated when an event is detected that violates the model of the world that System 1 maintains.”

Because of this, System 1 is constantly making judgements, intuitions and impressions based on what is being sensed. In most situations, we instinctively gravitate towards that idea presented. This often leads us to jump to conclusions despite us thinking fast. We even create a story to further solidify that conclusion even if it’s unfounded. Kahneman explains:

“The measure of success for System 1 is the coherence of the story it manages to create. The amount and quality of the data on which the story is based are largely irrelevant. When information is scarce, which is a common occurrence, System 1 operates as a machine for jumping to conclusions.”

While training ourselves to think fast is helpful, it's important to be wary of that power. As Kahneman outlined, people can jump to conclusions too quickly and that can cause issues. Learning to think slow and fast stems from an understanding of when it's appropriate to think slow or fast. Indeed, improve your thinking speed, but keep the information presented in mind as we delve into what thinking slow really means.

Understand Type 2 Thinking

Type 2 thinking is another way to say System 2 thinking. And the best way to fully represent this form of thinking is to solve the following problem: 18 x 26 In this example, you can immediately identify that this is a multiplication problem. A math problem you are confident you can solve with the help of a pen and paper or a calculator. All of this information alone represents System 1 thinking. System 2 thinking is the act of you going through the steps to solve the problem. If you were to solve the problem by hand or mentally, you'd retrieve the math skills you were taught in school and implement them in your solution. Overall the mental work was deliberate, orderly, and took effort and some strain. Most likely had a shift in facial expression as you worked to solve the answer -which is 468 - or when you gave up. What this exercise reveals is that both forms of thinking feed off of one another. In order for us to go slow, we must learn to go fast. System 1 presents the overall ideas and goals and views (i.e. this is a math problem and your goal is to solve it). System 2, on the other hand, breaks those down into steps and constructs thoughts in an orderly fashion (i.e. here are the steps to take so solve the math problem). By understanding this relationship, we not only understand our thinking process but we can learn to be okay with it. We can accept that some things will take more time to process. The point of that is to not get frustrated or jump the gun. When to use type 2 thinking is to understand when a situation requires our attention. Examples of this are not only that math problem but also:

• When looking for someone.
• Remembering a particular quote from a book.
• Filling out a tax form or other government documents.
• Even maintaining a faster walking or running speed than what we are used to.

System 2 thinking demands that we process those things and that we think slow in those situations.

Final Thoughts

While there are all kinds of tactics to exercise our brain to think fast, speed isn't always everything. Sometimes situations call for us to carefully consider and gather our thoughts. It's important to find balance in thinking fast and slow. By understanding the connection between both systems, we can better determine when to be thinking fast or slow. No matter what though, there is nothing wrong with either of the thinking processes. After all, each situation we have in our lives demands different forms of thinking from all of us.

More to Enhance Your Brain Power

• How to Increase Brain Power: 10 Simple Ways to Train Your Brain
• 8 Ways to Train Your Brain to Learn Faster and Remember More
• 11 Tactics on Increasing Brain Power, Memory, and Motivation

15 Simple Things You Can Do to Boost Your Daily Motivation

More often than not, we as humans look to create positive momentum in our lives by identifying one massive item that we can adjust to create change and generate motivation. The realistic approach is to take a bite sized strategy to achieve newfound motivation. With that in mind, I’ve come up with a list of 15 simple things you can do to boost your daily motivation.

1. Identify and Establish a Long Term Goal

Motivation can feel as fickle as the weather man’s daily predictions. But there are numerous ways to boost your daily motivation and ensure that you are on a track of success in your pursuits in life. When working to achieve that required boost in your pursuit, the first step has to be for you to create a long term, over-arching goal that you will start to work towards. Rome may have not been built in a day but the idea of what it was to be had to exist before the end result ever materialized. In the same way, you have to be strategic in creating a long term goal and then working to pursue relentlessly. The hard part is figuring out the goal: The Surefire Way to Set Long Term Goals and Reach Success The easy part? Activating that boost in your daily motivation (with the help of the rest of this list, of course!)

2. Target Milestones in Your Daily Pursuit

Keeping your long term goal in mind, the next step in this journey of keeping your motivation levels sky high is to create bite sized goals within the larger goal for you to pursue. The simple but effective quote comes to mind:

“How does one eat an Elephant? One bite at a time.”

It may be cheesy but the general point remains true. You won’t have any luck losing 50 pounds if you are trying to do so in the span of a week. But if you create target milestones within the long term pursuit of being more fit, then you will experience the joys of the smaller victories that will lead you down the path of achieving that larger goal. Those small victories will give you a powerful feeling of accomplishment and continue to transform your daily motivational levels for the better. In time, those victories will compound and your motivation will only continue to grow as you continue to check off more of the boxes towards your overall goal!

3. From Checking Boxes to Cashing Checks

In creating target milestones within your over-arching goal, it is even more important to setup checkpoints within those milestones where you reward yourself for your efforts thus far. As a parent, it can sometimes be much easier to get my child to comply with a request if I include a small prize for said compliance. We often encourage our daughter to brush her teeth after which we give her a tasty vitamin gummy, and this has helped establish a positive habit in her morning ritual. If you have identified your target milestones, pick a few of those and add some kind of reward as a pairing with accomplishing that milestone. Much like pairing a delicious cut of cheese with a fine wine! It really can be anything that you actually believe. It will help incentivize yourself to continue down your path of self-betterment as long as it helps to maintain your motivation, and doesn’t interfere with your long-term goal. Keep in mind the reward shouldn’t in itself be a negating factor towards your long term pursuit.

4. Firm Up Your Foundation

Considering the first few steps in boosting your daily motivation levels, have you really spent much time considering the purpose behind your pursuit? Having a true understanding into the foundation of why you are pursuing a goal will help you to keep after it in the long term. Do you know why you are trying to pursue that goal? Spending thought and time defining your purpose behind the pursuit of a long-term goal, will allow for a more successful path and an extended duration of that journey towards the goal. That strong foundation will serve as a friendly reminder that allows you to keep those motivational levels boosted, and in a place that will lead to continued success as you move forward towards your target milestones.

5. Publicly Commit

I’ve found that when I’m willing to make a more public facing commitment to accomplish something, I have a stronger tendency to push through and maintain my daily motivation in that pursuit. When more people are aware of your pursuit, the pressure to not fail starts to accumulate on the brain. While pressure at times can be detrimental to a pursuit, I think that a little social pressure can be a healthy thing to keep you focused on the task at hand. When I know that my parents, significant other, friends, or co-workers are aware of my pursuit, I am more likely to strive towards my end goal with more sincerity. Similarly, it was much easier for me to workout, exercise, and eat properly in high school when I had a basketball coach that reminded me each day why I was actively pursuing being better. Now that I’m an adult and don’t have that built-in coach in my life, I find it more challenging to maintain those pushes to be better. While it is a simple gesture, opening yourself up to the “public” and making a pronouncement of your intentions can serve as a strong motivating tool for you to keep on keeping on.

6. Meet Motivated People

Too often, we make attempts to increase our motivational levels on a day to day basis without examining the people who are influencing our life’s direction. If you are supposed to be the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with, where does that leave you? You should strive to seek out people both in your professional career and in your personal life that are more successful than you are. If you are lacking motivation in life, try to be in regular contact with friends of yours or peers in the workplace who have the levels of motivation that you desire. Do what you can to learn from them! What empowers them day in and day out to maintain high levels of motivation and accomplish their goals?

7. Develop an Accountability Team

We all have the best intentions when we set out towards any specific goal in our life but, life has that pesky mannerism of getting in our way from time to time which leads to those inevitable collapses in our motivational levels. This is the time in your journey when a team of friends, family, your significant other (anyone who you’d put in your corner if you were a boxer), need to jump in on your behalf and remind you of what you set out to do originally. Sometimes, your accountability team may be a group of strangers that all share a common cause (weight loss groups, group therapy, basketball teammates) and sometimes, they are people with whom you are very intimate. Whatever it looks like for you, this team to help you maintain your promise to YOU, is so vital to your success when you start coming up on roadblocks to your daily motivational levels. Keeping this team on speed dial will be a life saver when you have those Monday blues and begin considering the abandonment of a goal. They will be the ones who you can “trust fall” back on and can help pick you back up, inject you with confidence and restore that motivation that you started with!

8. Consider Future Impasses

The prospect of boosting our motivational levels on a day to day basis and maintaining them over the long term is well and good but, you must remember that the road won’t always be silky smooth. A key aspect of journeying to a better place in your own life and in pursuit of your goals and dreams is considering the direction that you are headed and plan for future successes AND failures. What obstacles lay ahead of you that you believe you will need to be prepared to face? Without considering what challenges are to come as you pursue stronger motivation to push forward towards a better life, you will smash into some road blocks that stop you in your tracks. If you take the time to consider the trajectory of your path through life and mentally set aside the energy and time to consider what pitfalls may come along the way, then when those challenges materialize, you will be more prepared and able to handle them. Take the time in your pursuits to consider where in your pathway you might come across the flashing hazards signs and know what your game plan to address them will be ahead of time. The knowing itself is such a huge element that can help you to defeat your proverbial enemies and will allow for your motivation to stay strong!

9. Fuel Your Success

Consider too, not just your mental health a moment to evaluate the fuel you use on a daily basis to give you energy for the day. Are you slamming pizzas in the evening and donuts for breakfast? Your physical body and how you care for it has a direct and immense impact on your mental state, motivational levels, and energy to get after life in a positive way! My family has taken steps to discontinue our eating of processed, frozen foods and opted for more whole foods, vegetables, fruits, and grains to fuel our success throughout the week. Instead of snacking on a bag of chips for an afternoon snack, I try to incorporate a cheese stick and some grapes! Take a look at what it is that you eat on a daily basis and ask yourself if you should make some subtle changes in what you consume to better maintain those energy levels and keep your motivation boosted.

10. Energize Your Pursuit

I’ve got a confession to make and it might sound a bit crazy but here it goes: I love coffee. Each and every morning, I allow myself a cup to get the day going and on the really tough days when my motivation to get moving for the work day is low, I might even sneak in a second. I’m amazed at the people who have gone entire lifetimes without utilizing a cup of joe to get their day fired up. I actually question those people’s sanity because who the heck doesn’t like coffee?! No matter, coffee and/or tea is such a fantastic way to get your body in a routine of fully waking up, activating your awareness and starting the day off on the right foot. What better way to boost your daily motivation than to wake up with a fresh injection of caffeine to clear the fog out of the attic? Research from the American Heart Association shows that:((American Heart Association: Is coffee good for you or not?))

“[Drinking coffee] gives you energy and may help you lose weight and sharpen your mental focus, thanks to the magic of caffeine. Studies have shown that caffeine may improve your mood, help your brain work better and improve performance during exercise.”

That same study did go on to warn readers that while drinking coffee has clear health benefits, the manner in which you take your coffee will play a part in whether it is good for you or not as “fancier drinks” or sugar loaded coffees will end up hurting you more than they help you. Over consumption of caffeine can be just as bad as well especially if it interrupts your normal sleep cycle.

11. Catch Some Z’s!

According to the National Herat, Lung, and Blood Institute,((National Herat, Lung, and Blood Institute: Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency))

“Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. […] The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant, or it can harm you over time. [Sleep deficiency] can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.”

When I find myself with a strong lack of motivation at work, I often look to examine my most recent week of sleep habits as that can often play a contributing role into my inability to stay on task and motivated. Sleep gives our body and mind the time to reset, recharge, and repair the damage that we do in our day to day movements through life, which is why it is so crucial to take the time to get proper rest. The NHLBI recommends 7-8 hours of sleep for Adults aged 18 years or older which is difficult to achieve at times but, so relevant to your quest to boost those daily motivational levels. Simply put, if you aren’t sleeping enough, you’ll find little success in your pursuit to have more energy for the areas that you really care about being productive in within your life.

12. Making Moves to Materialize Motivation!

Some of the greatest tools for building up your motivation levels are simple yet superbly effective. Exercise is a huge part of contributing towards a healthy mind and body. If you can get out and exercise on a regular basis, your motivation to continue and exercise will actually increase. According to a study referenced in the Men’s Journal by the University of Copenhagen,((Men's Journal: Moderate Exercise Increases Motivation))

“moderate exercise could increase your motivation to work out and lead to an all-around healthier lifestyle.”

So just by working out 30 minutes a day, research shows that your desire to continue with that positive behavior will increase. Even if you are just walking for 30 minutes each day as your form of exercise, that can be a great way to take strides towards a healthier mind and body. The better off you are mentally and physically, the stronger your daily motivation to be better overall and pursue a long-term goal, will be.

13. Know Yourself

You know yourself best and you will be most aware of your internal weaknesses, patterns of behaviors, and path to having a decrease in motivation levels towards a specific goal. Exercise your self-awareness and plan ahead for potential areas of failure that you have encountered in the past. If you work to navigate away from your previous areas of failure that may have led to a decrease in daily motivational levels, then you will obviously have stronger potential for success. Maintaining a real grasp on our own bad habits and areas of weakness, and ensuring that we disallow those bad habits to kick back in, or weaknesses to re-materialize are so key to maintaining high motivation levels on a day to day basis. Changing habits is hard and is a daily pursuit. But if you can first control your thoughts and responses to a situation, then those conditioned responses will eventually convert into new positive habits, which in turn will eventually recondition your personality and behavior. All of this work and effort will go far in increasing your day to day motivational levels!

14. Overcome Your Fears

The retreat of motivational levels in my opinion is often related to self-doubt or internal fears creeping into your mind. So often when we are near the peak of a success, we revert to a previous version of ourselves in our mind and allow fear to dictate our ability to continue on instead of reality. The truth is that internal fear is a mental block that we often allow to enter the equation, and we allow it to bully us out of a pursuit or aspiration. However I must emphasize that fear is something that you can overcome! If you work to face your fears, then you will begin to realize that they don’t have any power unless that power is given to those fears by the individual. Fear is merely an idea and if you overcome it, you will find that there isn’t much of anything holding you back from success! Motivation levels will continue to grow as you’ve removed yet another obstacle from your internal thought process and allowed more space in your head to build yourself up, implement positive self-talk, and continue to grow in your confidence. Take a look at this guide written by Mandie Holgate on how to overcome your fears: How to Overcome Your Irrational Fears (That Stop You from Succeeding)

15. Pool Your Victories

When you’ve been working at a goal for a long time and painstakingly maintained a strong foundation of motivation throughout the pursuit, it’s just as important that you take the appropriate time to marinate in that victory. Success doesn’t come easy and it never happens over-night. Your strive to increase your motivation and do so on a day after day basis is not without pitfalls. But in the end, when you work so hard to keep that effort up and see it through, you will experience the benefits of that journey. Victory never comes easy, so make sure you give yourself some credit and take the time to appreciate your growth through that journey to be more motivated and reach your long term goals! Revel in your victory! Count your chickens because after all of that time, patience, hunger and internal doubt, you have finally accomplished your goal. Even if it is a small victory, with each one that you rack up in your life you will grow your confidence in what you are doing and your motivational levels will benefit because of this. After you get that initial taste of a win, it builds up your desire to see future success and as a direct result, you will see your motivation grow even stronger and more resilient than it has ever been!

More to Boost Your Motivation

• 9 Types of Motivation That Make It Possible to Reach Your Dreams
• Positive Motivation vs Negative Motivation: Which One Is Better?
• How to Get Motivated Every Day When You Wake Up