Don't Worry and Be Happy in 3 Steps

We live in a world that is so fast paced and stressful that we now have to shell out loads of cash just to de-stress.  We take vacations, spa days, yoga classes, etc just to relax. We make efforts to "get away" from our lives but it's a temporary reprieve. Why not reduce stress permanently?

This is not a 3 step guide to becoming the happiest person in the world with no stress what-so-ever. I'm talking about taking small steps to ensure that we make a long lasting reduction in high stress levels. Small reductions in stress levels that will improve the overall quality of our life. 

Step 1: Talk to yourself.

I don't mean talk to yourself out loud at all times and have emotional or heated debates in public. If it works for you go right ahead (don't be surprised if you get some suspicious or scared glances).

I mean talk to yourself throughout the day. Studies show that talking to yourself can actually make you smarter, more efficient and motivated. Do you speak more than one language? Did you know that talking to yourself in your native language also helps you better analyze situations, assess pros and cons and lead to better decisions?

I usually laugh at myself for feeling so strongly about things that seem insignificant when I say them out loud. When you have to put feelings in to words, it forces you to break them down from uncontrollable feelings to description which somehow doesn't sound so bad anymore. Talk yourself out of negativity. Give yourself a pep talk. Whatever it takes to help you get it all out. Repressing feelings only amplifies them and they end up coming out anyway but usually at the worst possible times.

Step 2: Reflect about others.

No better way to forget your own troubles than to realize the troubles of others. Are you worried about your children? Money problems? Relationship? Go online and Google news about less fortunate children who don't have food, shelter and no parents. How about reading about those parents who cannot feed their children? You might want to splurge on those spa days if you have a teenager or two (joking!) Remind yourself that whatever you are facing, there are those out there that are facing something similar or worse. It's a way to count your blessings. I feel a little guilty for even worrying at this point.

Step 3: Do something positive.

Doing something positive in your life gives you hope. It reminds you of the power you hold within you to do good despite everything that you face. I know this will not make sense to a lot of people when they first read it but I urge you to try this. The next time you are so stressed out that you cannot even think straight...go do a random act of kindness for someone. Give a homeless person some change, bake cookies for your neighbor, call that one person in your family that you don't really talk to just to see how they're doing, make a donation, say a prayer for someone, make amends with someone you dislike etc. It will give you control over yourself. 

So start talking to yourself, count your blessings and make the world a better place.

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." -  Epictetus

"I Just Don't Have The Time": Time Management Tips

The number one excuse for not doing something is that you probably should be is "I don't have time." Beauty Facile is about helping you improve your life, not just your beauty regimen. So let's make some time for the fun stuff in life. "Too busy" is overrated. I'm going to provide you with some tips for time management. 

I have been coaching and training time management skills for many years in my professional career so I have a few tricks you can use without too much hassle or creating a full scale development plan.

A few things to keep in mind about the information I'm going to present in this post:

1. Not all of the tips will work for you so pick something that's suitable for your lifestyle.

2. Time management is a skill and will only improve with practice and can be learned by anyone.

3. Recognize your own skill level so that you don't incorporate actions that may be too easy or too difficult. You have to pick the "tips" that are easy enough to start but still require a small level of conscious effort.

4. Always reward yourself with time for yourself to keep it fun and positive.

5. Don't be too hard on yourself - try to have fun with this.

Alright here it is:

Track Productivity: 

The goal is to get an idea of what you do through your week and how much time is spent on each activity. Create self awareness.

Write down everything at the end of the night if you can't through the day but be honest.

Or you can simple make a code list. Red - House Chores, Orange - Work, Green - Free Time, Purple - Family Time, Pink - Transition Time ( traveling, errands, moving from one activity to another), etc 

Develop your own. I just like colour coding. This way you can just track Colours through the day without explaining activities.

Once you have atleast a weeks worth of data. Highlight the following:

Where was too much time spent on any non productive activities (watching tv, talking on the phone or texting)

Where was too much time spent on productive activities? Did you spend way too much time creating that report at work when you could've shaved off 10 minutes if you focused? Did you spend and extra hour cleaning when you could have broken it down over the week?

Was it worth your time to run out to the store to get that bag of chips? Are you washing dishes 10 times a day instead of  3-4? (This wastes time and water btw)

Think your actions through. Find patterns. 

Just being aware of your time will automatically trigger better decisions and better time allotment. You will literally find the time in your agenda that could be dedicated to doing something you really love like reading this blog or working out.

Intelligent Sorting

Make a list of all the things you have to do for the day and one for the week. Look at them together and ask yourself the following questions:

Are all the tasks in the daily column need to be there? 
Do all the tasks in the weekly column belong there?

For example:
"Mopping floors" should be a task that falls in to your weekly column. If you plan for it every day and you can't make it happen, you will burden yourself with disappointment. Just make it happen 2-3 times a week in regular intervals and maintain.

"Read a Book" should not be in the weekly column but rather the daily column. Chances are tasks that require a lot of time should be broken in to small daily tasks.

"Pay Bills" should be in your weekly tasks and you should schedule it out because it's important.

Always take priority tasks and schedule them out that way you don't forget and you can plan your day/week around them.

Don't list things like "do the dishes, finish report, bathe, eat" You know these tasks are a part of your routine so no need to write them out. Only write out tasks that will require additional time and you really want to focus on completing them.

Put your revised lists up on your fridge, office space etc. Check items off as you complete them. If you miss something, jot down why in a couple of words so you can look for patterns later. Maybe you always miss the things you hate doing like ironing *ahem*

After a few weeks of this exercise, you will probably stop creating lists because you know exactly what needs to be done and when is the best time.

The goal is to ensure that you are spending the right amount of time on the right tasks and to sharpen those skills.

Prioritize:

Write all the tasks that you have a hard time completing or the tasks you would like to incorporate in your daily/weekly routine. Number in order of priority. Once you have everything sorted from highest priority to lowest priority, write down how long you think it will take you to complete these tasks (limit to weekly tasks). Start completing the tasks in that order and write down exactly how long that task took from start to finish. You will be surprised when you compare the time you thought it would take and the time it actually took to complete an activity. Maybe your priorities will change.

The goal is to get a good idea of what your capable of doing in a given time.

These are some very basic things to do. There are other more complex activities that can be completed to really hone this skill. Maybe another post...we shall see. 

Additional Tips:
- Wake up an hour earlier. More time!
- Prepare for your next day ahead of time (I cut my veggies, set up my bills, pack lunches, pick out outfits etc. the night before to ensure that the next day runs smoothly)
- Take time to think about your day and reflect on how you spent it. Take time to reflect how you can change things tomorrow. (Even if you don't follow through with your plans, its important to reflect and change them to make them easier to accomplish)
- Create a sense of mental urgency. Pretend that if you don't finish this blog in the next 20 minutes, your toddler will wake up and then you will have to abandon the entire post for another week ...NoOoOo! 

Let me know what you tried and what worked. Organizing your life can be fun. It's an excuse to go buy some new and cool stationery. I'm a nerd... I know.

Please share this post! 

Check out:

Www.facebook.com/Hennastyle1

Www.facebook.com/Beautyfacile 

Brain Boost: Easy Ways to Train Your Mind

You ever meet someone who was beautiful, attractive and confident and then they open their mouth to talk...All that glitters ain't gold! Great conversations, passionate debates, thoughtful insights are just some signs of a beautiful brain.

Here are some things you can do to improve your cognitive skills and overall "brain power"! 

Reading Exercises:

1. Read more than one book at a time and different types (fiction, non fiction). This helps your brain improve it's multitasking capacity.

2. Read something for ten minutes and then grab a piece of paper and detail what you read. Compare notes. What did you miss? Keep doing this and watch your memory retention grow. 

3. If you want to go the extra mile ask yourself questions about the material you just read.Questions such as; What concepts have been discussed? What are the applications in the real world? What if you changed one significant event in a characters life? How do you they will do things differently? Has the book changed your preception and how?

Questions like these will require higher order thinking skills. You will be able to analyze pieces of information and bring them together to solve problems, make accurate assumptions and better decisions. Why do you think we had to do book reports in grade school or essay analysis in high school or critical thinking projects in college?

Writing Exercises

1. Try writing a creative short story. Build a character profile with a background story, personality traits, dialogue patterns and physical attributes. This will improve your attention to detail and creativity.

2. Write out a sales pitch for yourself. Think of yourself as a product. What are your features, benefits and what objections would people have when hiring you? Then write out the rebuttals or goals to improve those objectionable traits

This exercise is cool because you get a self analysis and a self improvement plan. You will never have a problem answering questions about your strengths and weaknesses in an interview!

Physical Exercises:

Work out! It helps clear your brain, produces adrenaline which promotes heightened clarity and chemical balance. 

Coffee:

Drinking coffee in moderation helps jump start your brain on those slow mornings.

Diet:

Eat brain food! Almonds, walnuts, complex carbs like whole grains and wild salmon can have some incredible impact on the brain.

Play:

Games like Sudoku, Tetris and Chess have known to improve your strategic thinking, spatial analysis and logic.

Draw:

You can doodle stick figures all you want but try sketching a real life objects. Try to replicate the same shades, angles and perspective. You will improve your spatial analysis, hand-eye coordination and creative thinking skills. Plus it can be extremely relaxing for some.

Quick Tip:

You will retain up to 95% of information you read, hear, or see IF you teach it to someone else. 

7 Ways To Drink More Water When You Don't Like It

It's not easy to drink 2 liters of water when you like water, let alone when you don't exactly enjoy drinking the stuff.

Water is good for you. Water is amazing for you. Water. Water. Water... Easier said than done! I was too lazy to keep drinking so much water. It made me feel full and bloated and I didn't like the taste. So I stuck to soda, juice, coffee and everything that wasn't pure water. 

So here's what worked for me. I tricked myself in to it. I didn't force myself so if I didn't stick to the plan, I tried again the next day.

I started by drinking flavored water: Crystal Light, Mio, Gatorade..etc. I needed less and less as time went on till I started enjoying plain water. I kept water accessible (a bottle near every window will stay cool...some days even freeze but hey I live in Canada!) and yes I was THAT lazy. I also found that I liked my water a certain temperature so I found ways to keep it that way. I don't enjoy COLD water. I don't enjoy room temperature. I like COOL water. Enough that it's refreshing but not so cold that I can't drink a whole glass in one shot. Results I went from 2 glasses a day to about 1 glass every 2 hours - more if I work out.

This will not work for everyone but here are some tricks you can try:

1. Flavored water

2. Tea - use raspberry, green, lemon or any other tea you might like. Make a lot at once and let it cool in a glass jar. You'll get additional benefits from this.

3. Smaller amounts. Start with drinking half or a quarter glass every hour and increase as your body gets used to it.

4. Drink water when you feel hunger. It's probably thirst you're feeling but your body recognizes it as hunger.

5. Do thirty jumping jacks till you get thirsty. (exercise and water in one shot!)

6. Play with the temperature. You may not like water because you haven't found your ideal temperature. Remember this is about preference...your body is designed to like water so whenever you find a form of water that appeals to your taste buds your body will thank you!

7. Bloating from water is sometimes hard to avoid at first but keep doing it till your body learns to expel water at the same time. Side effect: you will pee a lot! Your pee should be the colour of lemonade or almost clear when you drink enough.

These may or may not work for you but the bottom line is, at some point you're going to have recognize that the benefits you get will waaaay outweigh the effort. This will be worth it. So here are benefits that may motivate:

Weight Loss - You will. I have and water helps.

Metabolism boost - I know a lot of people who have experienced this. I  have been regularly working out and trying to eat healthy so I have noticed that my metabolism is more active (I get hungry a lot more often and have to eat smaller meals more often) but cannot just chalk it up to water alone.

Detox - This benefit I noticed one hundred percent. Everything feels clean and light inside. I don't know how else to describe the feeling.

Balanced mood and clarity - My husband doesn't hide from me anymore. Joking...It's a joke. 

Healthier Skin - I have extremely dry skin and seasonal eczema. It's winter so I can't say. I also live in a city known for it's dry conditions.

Happy Drinking...Water! Please share if you enjoyed this post. 

Remember to Like: 

www.facebook.com/beautyfacile

www.facebook.com/hennastyle

 

Unhealthy to Healthy Hair: 4 Easy Rules

It doesn't matter what kind of hair you have or texture or age or colour. We all wash, style and cut our hair... Well we should anyway. Lol.

So I'm going to share with you rules to live by for when you wash, when you style and when you cut your hair. Of course we need to nourish hair too so there is a recipe for revitalizing hair included for you. They're easy to follow - trust me I'm so lazy, I'd never stick to it if it wasn't easy.

1. The Cold Shower 

Always rinse hair with cool or cold water after washing. Condition with your hair flipped over to avoid buid up in your scalp and to avoid cold water running down your back. Practice makes perfect. There have been a few screams in my bathroom while perfecting this trick. The cold water seals in the moisture.

2.The Comb, Brush and Heat 

COMB (no brushes) hair with a large tooth comb when wet - preferably while there is conditioner in it during a shower to detangle.

BRUSH only dry hair. Brushing pulls on the hair so wet hair will snap and break but dry hair will be more resistant.

HEAT - Using blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, hot rollers, crimpers etc. is bad for hair - no matter what protective serum you use - there is always some damage that adds up over time so limit it if you can!

Tip: curly or wavy hair should not be brushed unless your going to flat iron it.

3. The Sharp Cut 

Always make sure that the hair stylist is using the sharpest scissors.

If you want to maintain length, trim your hair every 4 months

If you want to grow your hair, trim 1/4 inch once every six months.

Easy right?l

Okay now how do we bring life back to hair?

4. The Protein Pack

Mashup an avacado,

add half a cup yogurt, 

and two tbsp almond/coconut/olive oil 

Optional: one egg

Mix it all up and apply all over your hair. Tie it up and let it sit for atleast an hour. Wash and style.

Here's the beauty of it... If you follow these rules and your diet is balanced - you only have to do the hair mask once every two weeks or once a month depending on the condition of your hair.

If your hair is healthy at the roots but gets damaged as it grows longer it's likely the way you manage it. 

Happy hair care people and let me know how things work out. Remember to check out our page for more great homemade, easy to do, doesn't cost an arm and a leg tips at : www.facebook.com/Beautyfacile 

Check out this homemade hair growth formula!

http://youtu.be/rdC3ewXtbzA

About Beauty Facile

We are constantly led to believe that beauty is a result of expensive procedures, complicated regimens and secret ingredients - well this is one way to achieve "beauty"... Yeaammnno!

Beauty is about feeling good about yourself. Confidence and self esteem are beautiful. These things don't have to be complicated. I feel comfortable in my own skin but that's not to say I don't take care of my skin. 

That's the point of this blog - Easy, inexpensive, natural, mostly painless (hair removal processes excluded) beauty tips. Beauty made easy is Beauty Facile.

So read on and use what you can and what you like. A few things you can expect:

I'm not a regular blogger so please don't expect consistency - just being honest.

I will blog tips in a timely manner about specific things if requests are made.

I will only post things I've tried and tested - I will share results good or bad

My repertoire of natural health and beauty tips is pretty extensive since I've been passionate about natural beautification for over 15 years. I'm a professional henna artist so check out my Facebook page: 

www.facebook.com/hennastyle1

I have a youtube channel where I post tutorials for henna application: look up HennaStyle1

I have a youtube channel to compliment this blog so please check it out: Beautyfacile

I hope you enjoy reading this blog and watching my videos!

Please like and share my content!