Working Smarter < Working Brighter!
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When it comes to working smarter, not harder, there’s plenty of advice and honestly, it’s mostly quite sensible. For example:
(Nice to see they featured a method we talked about last week—great minds!)
But, as standards of productivity rise, the goalposts get moved too, and the treadmill just keeps on going…
- 49% of entrepreneurs say they’ve struggled with some kind of mental illness
- Millennial women are one of the workforce groups at the highest risk of anxiety
- About 7 in 10 millennials experience burnout at work
Not that these things are confined to Millennials, by any stretch, but Millennials make up a huge portion of working people. Ideally, this age group should be able to bring the best of both worlds to the workplace by combining years of experience with youthful energy.
So clearly something is going wrong; the question is: what can be done about it?
Workers of the World, Unwind
A knee-jerk response might be “work to rule”—a tactic long-used by disgruntled exploited workers to do no more than the absolute minimum required to not get fired. And it’s arguably better for them than breaking themselves at work, but that’s not exactly enriching, is it?
This is Brittany Berger, founder of “Work Brighter”.
She’s a content marketing consultant, mental health advocate, and (in her words) a highly ridiculous human who always has a pop culture reference at the ready.
What, besides pop culture references, is she bringing to the table? What is Working Brighter?
❝Working brighter means going beyond generic “work smarter” advice on the internet and personalizing it to work FOR YOU. It means creating your own routines for work, productivity, and self-care.❞
Brittany Berger
Examples of working brighter include…
Asking:
- What would your work involve, if it were more fun?
- How can you make your work more comfortable for you?
- What changes could you make that would make your work more sustainable (i.e., to avoid burnout)?
Remembering:
- Mental health is just health
- Self-care is a “soft skill”
- Rest is work when it’s needed
This is not one of those “what workers really want is not more pay, it’s beanbags” things, by the way (but if you want a beanbag, then by all means, get yourself a beanbag).
It’s about making time to rest, it’s about having the things that make you feel good while you’re working, and making sure you can enjoy working. You’re going to spend a lot of your life doing it; you might as well enjoy it.
❝Nobody goes to their deathbed wishing they’d spent more time at the office❞
Anon
On the contrary, having worked too hard is one of the top reported regrets of the dying!
Article: The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying
And no, they don’t wish they’d “worked smarter, not harder”. They wish (also in the above list, in fact) that they’d had the courage to live a life more true to themselves.
You can do that in your work. Whatever your work is. And if your work doesn’t permit that (be it the evil boss trope, or even that you are the boss and your line of work just doesn’t work that way), time to change that up. Stop focusing on what you can’t do, and look for what you can do.
Spoiler: you can have a blast just trying things out!
That doesn’t mean you should quit your job, or replace your PC with a Playstation, or whatever.
It just means that you deserve comfort and happiness while working, and around your work!
Need a helping hand getting started?
- Create your own self-care plan to avoid burnout
- ⏳ Complete your first “time audit”
- ❣️ Zip through to self-awareness with bullet-journalling
Like A Boss
And pssst, if you’re a business-owner who is thinking “but I have quotas to meet”, your customers are going to love your staff being happier, and will enjoy their interactions with your company much more. Or if your staff aren’t customer-facing, then still, they’ll work better when they enjoy doing it. This isn’t rocket science, but all too many companies give a cursory nod to it before proceeding to ignore it for the rest of the life of the company.
So where do you start, if you’re in those particular shoes?
Read on…
*straightens tie because this is the serious bit* —just kidding, I’m wearing my comfiest dress and fluffy-lined slipper-socks. But that makes this absolutely no less serious:
The Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM) and WorkPlace Wellness Alliance (WPWA) might be a good place to get you on the right track!
❝IHPM/WPWA is a global nonprofit enterprise devoted to establishing the full economic value of employee health as a business asset—a neglected investment in the increased productivity of human capital.
IHPM helps employers identify the full economic cost impact of employee health issues on business performance, design and implement the best programs to reduce this impact by improving functional health and productivity, and measure the success of their efforts in financial terms.❞
The Institute for Health and Productivity Management
They offer courses and consultations, but they also have free downloadables and videos, which are awesome and in many cases may already be enough to seriously improve things for your business already:
Check Out IHPM’s Resources Here!
What can you do to make your working life better for you? We’d love to hear about any changes you make inspired by Brittany’s work—you can always just hit reply, and we’re always glad to hear from you!
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Bitter Melon vs Winter Melon – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing bitter melon to winter melon, we picked the bitter.
Why?
Did you remember the “bitter is better” dictum that goes for most plant-based foods? It certainly stands in this case!
A note on nomenclature before we begin: these two fruits are also known as the bitter gourd and the wax gourd, respectively (amongst many other names for each), but we went with what seems to be their most common names.
In terms of macros, the bitter melon has more than 13x the protein (and actually adding up to a meaningful amount, at 5.3g/100g), as well as more fiber for the same carbs, making it the better choice all around.
When it comes to vitamins, the bitter melon has a lot more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, and C, while the winter melon boasts only more vitamin B5. As in, the vitamin that’s in all foods (even its scientific name means “from everywhere”) and in which it’s pretty much impossible to be deficient unless literally starving. All in all, an easy and clear win for bitter melon.
In the category of minerals, we see a similar story: the bitter melon has very much more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while the winter melon has a modest double-dose of zinc—hardly comparable to, say, bitter melon having over 100x the potassium content, and indeed, in all minerals except zinc, bitter melon had 4x–100x more. Another clear and overwhelming win for the bitter melon.
Looking up polyphenols, we see that the bitter melon also wins in that regard, shocking nobody, with an impressive polyphenolic profile, especially rich in luteolins and catechins of various kinds.
In short, enjoy either or both, but there’s a clear winner here, and it’s the bitter melon.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain
Enjoy!
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From Strength to Strength – by Dr. Arthur Brooks
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For most professions, there are ways in which performance can be measured, and the average professional peak varies by profession, but averages are usually somewhere in the 30–45 range, with a pressure to peak between 25–35.
With a peak by age 45 or perhaps 50 at the latest (aside from some statistical outliers, of course), what then to expect at age 50+? Not long after that, there’s a reason for mandatory retirement ages in some professions.
Dr. Brooks examines the case for accepting that rather than fighting it, and/but making our weaknesses into our strengths as we go. If our fluid intelligence slows, our accumulated crystal intelligence (some might call it “wisdom“) can make up for it, for example.
But he also champions the idea of looking outside of ourselves; of the importance of growing and fostering connections; giving to those around us and receiving support in turn; not transactionally, but just as a matter of mutualism of the kind found in many other species besides our own. Indeed, Dr. Brooks gives the example of a grove of aspen trees (hence the cover art of this book) that do exactly that.
The style is very accessible in terms of language but with frequent scientific references, so very much a “best of both worlds” in terms of readability and information-density.
Bottom line: if ever you’ve wondered at what age you might outlive your usefulness, this book will do as the subtitle suggests, and help you carve out your new place.
Click here to check out From Strength To Strength, and find yours!
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The Liver Cure – by Dr. Russell Blaylock
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We’ve written before about How To Unfatty A Fatty Liver, but there’s a lot more that can be said in a book that we couldn’t fit into our article.
In this book, Dr. Blaylock looks at the causes and symptoms of liver disease, the mechanisms behind such, and how we can adjust our dietary habits (and other things) to do better for ourselves.
While the book’s primary focus is on diet, he does also look at medications (especially: those that hinder liver health, which are many, including simple/common stuff like Tylenol and similar), and the effects of different lifestyle choices, including ones that aren’t diet-related.
Because most people’s knowledge of liver disease starts and ends at “don’t drink yourself to death”, this book is an important tome of knowledge for actually keeping this critical organ in good order—especially since symptoms of liver disease can initially be subtle, and slow to show, often escaping notice until it’s already far, far worse than it could have been.
Many people find out by experiencing liver failure.
The writing style is… A little repetitive for this reviewer’s preference, but it does make sure that you won’t miss things. Also, when it comes to supplements, he repeatedly recommends a particular company, and it’s not clear whether he has a financial interest there. But the actual medical information is good and important and comprehensive.
Bottom line: if you’d like to keep your liver in good health, this is a book that will help you to do just that.
Click here to check out The Liver Cure, and keep yours working well!
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Rise And (Really) Shine!
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Q&A with 10almonds Subscribers!
Q: Would love to hear more ideas about effective first thing in the morning time management to get a great start on your day.
A: There are a lot of schools of thought about what’s best in this regard! Maybe we’ll do a main feature sometime. But some things that are almost universally agreed upon are:
- Prepare your to-do list the night before
- Have some sort of buffer between waking up and getting to productivity.
- For me (hi, your writer here) it’s my first coffee of the day. It’s not even about the caffeine, it’s about the ritual of it, it’s a marker that separates my night from the day and tells my brain what gear to get into.
- Others may like to exercise first thing in the morning
- For still yet others, it could be a shower, cold or otherwise
- Some people like a tall glass of lemon water to rehydrate after sleeping!
- If you take drinkable morning supplements such as this pretty awesome nootropic stack, it’s a great time for that and an excellent way to get the brain-juices flowing!
- When you do get to productivity: eat the frog first! What this means is: if eating a frog is the hardest thing you’ll have to do all day, do that first. Basically, tackle the most intimidating task first. That way, you won’t spend your day stressed/anxious and/or subconsciously wasting time in order to procrastinate and avoid it.
- Counterpart to the above: a great idea is to also plan something to look forward to when your working day is done. It doesn’t matter much what it is, provided it’s rewarding to you, that makes you keen to finish your tasks to get to it.
Have a question you’d like to see answered here? Hit reply to this email, or use the feedback widget at the bottom! We always love to hear from you
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The Secret to Better Squats: Foot, Knee, & Ankle Mobility
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We’ve talked before about how Slav squats, Asian squats, deep squats, sitting squats, or various other things they might by called (these are all different names for the same thing), are one of the most anti-aging exercises, if not outright the most anti-aging exercise. Yet, how to get good at them?
“Just squat more” is fine advice and will get you there eventually, but there are ways to shorten the time it takes, by unlocking whatever part(s) might be holding you back:
Piece by piece
The key to improving the whole is to not neglect any of the parts—so here they are:
- Foot rolls: roll your foot onto its outer and inner edges to stretch; repeat for both legs.
- Toe lifts: lift your toes up and down while keeping your legs straight.
- Toe curls: curl your toes to engage foot muscles.
- Foot circles: rotate your feet in circles; repeat for both legs.
- Heel raises: stand tall, raise your heels off the ground, and engage your core.
- Tibialis anterior exercise: lean against a wall or similar, and lift your toes off ground to strengthen your tibialis anterior (important and oft-forgotten muscle, responsible for more than people think!)
- Heel drops: perform dynamic heel drops with your feet back, to stretch your ankles.
- Hamstring curls & leg extension: curl your leg back toward your glutes, and then extend it forwards; alternate legs.
- Dynamic calf stretch: bend and straighten your knees alternately in a forward lunge position.
- Squat to heel raise: perform squats with your heels lifting off the floor and your arms raised.
- Banded ankle dorsiflexion: use a yoga strap or towel to stretch your feet, calves, and hamstrings.
- Seated feet circles: extend your legs and rotate your feet in outward and inward circles.
- Dorsiflexion/plantar flexion: alternate one foot up and the other down dynamically.
- Seated knee flexion & extension: alternate lifting your knees and extending your legs, while seated.
Note: “seated” in all cases means on the floor, not a chair!
For more on all of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
What Nobody Teaches You About Strengthening Your Knees ← about that tibialis anterior muscle and what it means for your knees
Take care!
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Avocado Oil vs Olive Oil – Which is Healthier?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Our Verdict
When comparing avocado oil to olive oil, we picked the olive oil.
Why?
Avocados and olives are both very healthy foods. However, when they are made into oils, there’s an important distinguishing factor:
Olive oil usually retains a lot of the micronutrients from the olives (including vitamins E and K), whereas no measurable micronutrients usually remain in avocado oil.
So while both olive oil and avocado oil have a similar (excellent; very heart-healthy!) lipids profile, the olive oil has some bonuses that the avocado oil doesn’t.
We haven’t written about the nutritional profiles of either avocados or olives yet, but here’s what we had to say on the different kinds of olive oil available:
And here’s an example of a good one on Amazon, for your convenience 😎
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