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Cell phone de-stress

Are you handcuffed to your cell phone all week and then all weekend long?  Do you take it with you to the bathroom to check your e-mail?  If you do, you may need to manage your cell phone instead of letting it manage you.  Remember the old days when phones were not mobile?  You could have some peace and quiet to drive your car or have a relaxing dinner.  Maybe you don’t remember those days because you were born in the age of technology where we are all connected, all the time.

The stress of always being connected to the world around you is well-known but do we do anything about it?  If you would like to try, I have some suggestions for you.

*Consider turning your work cell phone off when you are off of work.  I know that some people have to be on call but really examine if it is necessary for you to be connected and instantly responsive to every request, all day and all night.  Think about if your employer pays you to work all those hours.

*Try putting your personal cell phone in a basket with your keys by the front door or somewhere out of your direct view in the evening.  You can leave it on so if it rings you can get to it but it is out of sight so you don’t feel the urge to check it all the time.

*Try leaving your cell phone in your locker when you go to the gym.  Don’t you deserve to have an hour of uninterrupted time to take care of your health?  You can deal with whatever shows up on your phone when you are done.

*Think about getting a watch.  Watches have become a thing of the past because we all have our cell phones attached to us with the time.  Getting a watch allows you to know what time it is without looking at your phone because once you look at it, you will want to check your e-mail or something else on your phone.

*Think about turning your cell phone off completely on the weekends.  You may only be able to do it for a couple of hours at first but you may want to try to work up to an entire day without your phone.

Give just one of the tips a try and see if you feel less stressed.  If so, you can add on and try another one.  If you slowly change your habits, it will be easier than going cold turkey.  Think about what you could accomplish with the extra 20, 30 or more minutes a day where you use to be checking your phone.

What do you do to disconnect from your cell phone?  Let me know!

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Getting online recipes in line – finally

Most people who cook today in the technological world we live in, get recipes online.  It is convenient and people post how they liked the dish, whether it is too spicy or bland and how easy it was to make.  People also list additions, subtractions or problems that they had with the recipe which can save you a lot of time and energy when making it for the first time.

I usually print the recipe to put into my recipe holder and at the same time, I copy and paste the recipe into an e-mail that I send to myself.  It is important that you don’t just e-mail the link to the recipe.  A lot of websites that provide recipes give you an option to do this but a lot of them do not allow permanent access to their recipes.  Instead, they are just available for a period of time.  I keep a folder in my e-mail marked recipes and I always put the recipe title on the subject line.  I have found this to be very useful for many reasons. 

If something happens to the printed recipe, you always have a copy to refer to and reprint.   Also, if anyone wants a copy of your recipe, you can just e-mail it or print it for them on the spot.  If you put all your recipes in a folder in your e-mail, you can use the search function on your e-mail to find a recipe quickly. 

I hope that you will incorporate my technique of e-mailing your online recipes to yourself and keeping an e-mail folder for them.  I think you will find it to save a lot of time, energy and unneeded searching when you need to get down to the business of cooking.