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Sick and Tired….Escaping the Golden Handcuffs
The term Golden Handcuffs is often used to describe a financial incentive that keeps an employee from leaving a company. The employee is locked into such a sweet high paying position that they simply can’t afford to leave.
However, this term can be applied to your position in life as well.
Escalating Expenses
When most people get high paying jobs and start earning a lot of money, the first thing that they will do is increase their standard of living to match their new wage. The new flat screen television, the recent model car, the larger house, and the expensive hobbies all start rolling in.
With an increase in salary comes a brand new lifestyle. After all, no matter how much money you are earning, it is the easiest thing in the world to spend it all.
However, what happens when you are sitting on your brand new leather couch, sipping wine from your designer stemware, and you realize that you don’t actually like your job? In fact, you hate it and you wish you could be doing anything else.
You wish you could be able to start your own business, go travelling, or follow your passion to a more rewarding career.
Trapped in a Lifestyle
Unfortunately, if you are spending everything that you are earning (and even going into debt) you are literally trapped in your high paying position. You would love to quit and try something different, but you know that other options out there will not be as high paying as your current position.
With your high mortgage payments, car lease, utility costs, and paying off that new TV you would be bankrupt within a week if you dared to give the job the slip. Any major job change would require stripping your lavish life down and getting rid of all of the luxuries you and your family have become accustomed to.
Avoid the Trap
So how do you avoid this nightmarish scenario? Don’t let yourself get trapped by the Golden Handcuffs in the first place. The trick is to avoid inflating your living expenses to match your income, and always living well within your means. To put it simply: Always spend less than you earn.
It seems simple, but so many people in modern society have been handcuffed. Don’t let yourself become trapped!
If you had taken the high paying job, but stayed in your smaller home with your old car (which works just fine) as well as held off on buying items you could not afford, you would be able to easily make a career switch later on without having any impact on your lifestyle.
In fact, you would probably have money in savings that you could use to travel, start up a business, or pursue your dreams.
Isn’t freedom sweet?
Feeling Overwhelmed? How to Make a To-Do List That Gets Done
Making a to-do list is a great way to see at a glance what you need to get accomplished in a day. 
However, some to-to lists help productivity more than others, and a bad to-do list might do more harm than good.
If you can invest a little bit of time planning out your tasks for the day in a clear and achievable list you will be able to accomplish things much more smoothly.
Here are a few ways that you can make the best to-do list possible:
- Break it down. Adding a huge task such as “clean the house” to your to-do list can overwhelm you. Divide this task into several small jobs so that you know where to start, such as “wash the dishes”, “sweep the floors”, and “vacuum the carpets.”
- Group tasks together that are located in close proximity to each other. For example, if you are driving to the shop to pick up bread and milk and you also have a package to mail you can drop it off at the post office on the way there. It is inefficient just to go out and only accomplish one task at a time.
- Prioritize the things that you need to do by urgency. This will help you know which items are more important and need to be finished first. You can create a system with colors or numbers to organize your tasks.
- If you have bumped a task from yesterday that you couldn’t get finished, this job should get a higher priority today or you will continue to put it off.
- Don’t make your to-do list so long that it is impossible to achieve in one day. This can be very demoralizing. Include small and easily checked-off tasks which will give you positive reinforcement and provide momentum.
Above all, don’t forget to include a reward at the end when you finish everything you set out to do. Whether it is going for a walk with the dog, relaxing for a while to watch your favorite show, or going out with friends, if you achieve all of the goals on your list feel free to celebrate your productive day!
Trying to Lose Weight? Eating to Get the Most Out of Your Workout
Did you know that the food you eat before and after working out can have an impact on how effective your exercise regime is? 
Working out takes energy, and the food that you use to fuel that energy makes a big difference. When you fuel up on the right nutrients you can superpower your workout and make the most of your time in the gym.
What to Eat Before the Gym
Some people swear by working out on an empty stomach, but studies have shown that because you have no food in your system to use as fuel this can cause your body to burn your muscle reserves for energy.
You are going to the gym to build muscle, not deplete it so it is better to eat a small meal before working out to give yourself some energy.
This meal should include lean protein, lots of fiber, complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, and a small amount of fat. These types of foods take longer to absorb and make you feel fuller for longer, and they provide lots of fuel to energize you for your workout.
A great pre-workout snack would be whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a banana, scrambled eggs and toast with fruit, or a protein shake or smoothie made with yogurt and fruit. If it is less than one hour before the workout, go for a small meal but if you have more than two hours before you get to the gym you can eat more.
What to Eat After the Gym
Once you are finished working out, you should be drinking lots of water to replenish the sweat that you have lost.
Within one hour of finishing your workout, you should have another small snack with high quality protein, because this will help build your muscles and aid your body in recovering.
Nourishing your body with healthy proteins and complex carbs before and after a workout will give it the fuel to build muscle and become stronger.
Say What? I Wanna Talk About Me!
Have you ever had the experience of realizing that the person you were speaking with was simply not listening?
They might have looked like they were paying attention, but your words were simply going in one ear and out the other. Chances are this left you feeling frustrated and unappreciated, especially if what you were saying was very important.
Listening is a very important communication skill that not everyone has mastered.
Have you ever thought about how well you listen to other people? Perhaps you might be tuning out others without realizing it, causing them to feel like you don’t care what they are saying.
Whether it is in the workplace, with your friends, or in a relationship, being a good listener is a skill that will always be beneficial. It will help you avoid conflict and misunderstanding, resolve issues, and succeed in all aspects of your life.
Here are some helpful tips for becoming a better listener:
- Don’t interrupt. Let the person finish what they have to say before jumping in to finish their sentences or object. Be patient.
- Remove distractions. If you find that you are looking at your text messages or surfing the net on your laptop while someone is talking to you, then you are not giving them your full attention. Eliminate these distractions to show them respect.
- Give eye contact to the person you are speaking with, and watch their face for important non-verbal clues to what they are meaning.
- To let the person know that you are paying attention, give an occasional nod or say something like, “I see” or “that makes sense.”
- If you don’t understand something, ask questions to clarify so that you don’t get lost as they assume you know what they mean and start to talk about the topic more.
Practice your listening skills and you will find that being a good listener will improve your personal and professional life in many ways.
Home Decor Tips for Designing a Childs Bedroom
Designing a child’s bedroom can be one of the most exciting tasks of decorating your home. You can create a fun and flexible space that your children will love to spend time in and enjoy throughout their life.
Here are some tips for parents to help with the project of decorating a room for a young child:
Involve Your Child
If your child is old enough to converse with you, have a talk with them to get their opinion on what their dream bedroom would look like. Ask them what they like about their current bedroom, and what they would change. You can also ask them about their favorite colors, animals, and storybooks to get an idea for a theme for the room.
Make a Plan
If you plan your design concept in advance, you will make the project a lot easier by having a clearer concept of what you will want the room to look like. Draw up a floor plan and identify which furnishings and decor you are going to look for. You can print off photos from the Internet and clip out pictures from magazines for inspiration.
Adapt for the Future
Remember that although your little princess is only eight now, in a few years she will be turning into a teenager and she will not want to have Disney characters plastered all over her walls and furniture. Bunk beds might seem like a great choice for your young boys but when they hit a teenage growth spurt they could be six feet tall, making these beds very impractical. Make sure that you choose furniture that will grow with your child and that the bedroom design that you decide on can be easily adapted when your child’s interests change.
Create Practical Storage Space
You can help your child keep their room tidy and reduce the number of times you have to nag them to clean up by creating lots of practical and easy to use storage space. Bookcases, drawers, desks, and closet organizers will give all toys and clothes a place to go rather than being thrown on the floor.
These are just a few tips to help you with decorating a stylish and functional bedroom for your child.
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