Auto Pay

Paying bills isn’t any fun, so why spend more time on it than you have to? By setting up automatic payments for your bills you can save yourself time and avoid late payment fees.

Many companies have the option of setting up automatic payments. Some don’t, but that’s okay, because in many cases you can set up an automatic payment through your bank. It only makes sense to pay through your bank if the amount due is the same every month, though. If the amount varies, you have to go in and change it every month anyway.

Keep a master list of any and all automatic payments you set up. Keep track of the amounts due, when they’re paid, and what account the money comes out of. This master list will come in handy if you ever lose your credit card or switch checking accounts. I worked as a collections agent for a while, so I can tell you that many past due accounts were caused by expired credit cards. The master list allows you to update your payment method easily without any bills falling through the cracks.

Avoid fees. Some companies will charge you a “convenience fee” or something similar if you use a credit card for your auto pay. Usually using a checking account instead is enough to avoid the fee. Just read the fine print and ask questions to make sure there are no hidden charges.

Keep a little extra in your checking account. Since payments are made without you checking your account balance, you could get into a sticky overdraft situation. I try to stay 1 month ahead in my checking account. This reduces the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck, and I don’t have to worry about my electric bill causing me to overdraft.

So, for this week’s ten minute fix. Choose a couple of bills you pay every month and do some research to see if you can switch them to auto pay. Setting it up won’t take much longer than paying the bill itself, and when next month comes along, you can just file the bill away without worrying about it!

Stop Junk Mail

Ten Minute Fix: Opt out of credit card offers.

It's easy! You'll have less junk mail. You'll lower your risk of identity theft. And you can always opt back in if you decide you miss discover, visa, and mastercard's daily greetings. 

Here's what you do.

1. Go to this address www.optoutprescreen.com. It's run by the people who are making money off of these offers, so they'll try and convince you of the many benefits of receiving junk mail. Don't bother reading any of it because it's all complete garbage.

2. Click the "Click Here to Opt-in or Opt-out" button at the bottom of the page.

3. Choose "Electronic Opt Out for Five Years" (This one can be done online. For a permanent opt out you can send something in by mail, but I like to save the stamp and just do it again in five years)

4. Fill out the form with the required information and click the "confirm" button.

If you want to reduce junk mail even more, go to www.dmachoice.org. Here you can set preferences with the Direct Marketing Association which represents 3,600 companies that like to send you junk mail.

EQC - Emotional Quality Control

Emotions. They can be wonderful blessings that allow us to assign meaning and feeling to everything around us. Or, they can be terrible curses that control our lives and prevent us from being who we want to be. This week's Ten Minute Fix is intended to help you gain control of your emotions and ensure their quality as a force for good in your life.

Emotional Quality Control (EQC) - Let's define this as the act of controlling and developing emotions so they may have a more positive impact on one's life.

Making an EQC Grab Bag

1. Start by making a list of positive emotions you either already enjoy or would like to experience. Examples: Gratitude, Ambition, Love, Empathy, Awe, Devotion, Hope, Peace, etc... 
2. Write them out on strips of paper, pieces of felt, rocks, or whatever you have lying around.
3. Put them in a bag.
4. You're done!

Using an EQC Grab Bag

Every morning, grab an emotion out of the bag and make it your focus for the day. Do your best to explore the feelings associated with the emotion. Seek out opportunities to express the emotion. Think about how this emotion enriches your life and/or makes you a better person. So, if you grab gratitude, you can think about everything you're grateful for, express gratitude, and notice how being grateful impacts your life and the lives of those close to you.

If you want to make sure you get to every emotion you can leave it out of the bag so you won't draw the same one twice.

It's great to feel! Emotions are so much more complex than the usual happy, sad, stressed, or bored. Explore your world with a new emotional lens every day and you'll begin to discover a whole new depth to your reality.

Plutchik's wheel of emotions

Rein In Computer Time

Once upon a time, TV was the classic time waster, but I am willing to bet that the internet has taken it's place. Sure, there are great uses for the internet like reading this blog and getting into arguments with complete strangers while leaving comments on news stories, but let's put a time limit on our online lives, so they don't interfere with our offline lives.

If you need some help, in ten minutes you can download, install, and start using a program that will keep track of your computer time and blank out the screen when time is up. Here's a link to a free one that I found while wasting time on the internet :)

http://www.mediavention.com/groundhogmain.html

This program is called GroundHog and was created by a dad who wanted to set time limits for how long his kids can spend on the computer. If you want to limit your computer time to 2 hours a day, just log in and set the timer. It will keep track of the time for you and let you know when it's time to come back to the real world.

Breakfast

I tend to like sleep so much that breakfast pays the price. I have my morning routine planned to the minute and a good nutritious meal just doesn't fit into it right now. Well, these facts should change my routine as well as the routine of anyone like me.

A healthy breakfast means...

• Improved concentration and performance
• More strength and endurance
• A healthier weight (That's right. People who eat breakfast tend to weigh less than those who skip it)
• Oh yeah, and not sitting around starving and watching the clock until lunch time

Here are 9 Fast, Healthy Breakfast Ideas from Real Simple. Follow the link for more pictures and more info about the breakfasts below.

1. Fruit and Cheese
2. Peanut Butter Waffle
3. Plain Doughnut with Chocolate Milk
4. Strawberry Shake
5. Morning Pizza
6. Energy Bars
7. Egg McMuffin
8. Cereal Sundae
9. Huevos Rancheros

Use one of these ideas, or create your own fast and healthy breakfast. Wake up ten minutes earlier, or get ready ten minutes faster to eat a good breakfast and enjoy the benefits.

Your Coaching Journal

Ten Minute Fix: Start your very own coaching journal.

Everything becomes so much more real when it's in writing. Thinking, "I should learn to play the bagpipes" is great and all, but what are the chances of me actually doing anything about it? If I write it down in a permanent place, and review that place often enough, and remind myself frequently enough that playing the bagpipes is THE thing I need to accomplish in life, you may see me performing on stage with Lady Gaga some day. I'll be the one wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes. She'll be the one wearing the bagpipes and playing a kilt.

Please take a moment to get that image out of your head... Better? Okay, let's continue. It's important that you choose an appropriate medium for your journal. Sticky notes, note cards, and napkins won't work, unless you have a great way to keep them all in one place and organized. Dry erase boards and chalkboards are no good since they aren't permanent enough. Tattoos are very permanent, but you'll need more surface area than the typical human has available. I think a regular old notebook is probably the way to go. You could also keep a folder on your computer or start a blog if you don't mind sharing your journey with others.

A good coaching journal should be...

Easily Accessible - If it's hard to get to or out of sight, you'll never use it
Permanent - You should be able to track this down 20 years from now
Expandable - For a notebook you can simply start in a new one and store them together

A coaching journal is a place to record your goals along with what you are learning while participating in coaching. It's also a place to do written activities and brainstorm. What if you aren't currently participating in coaching? Well, you're reading this blog aren't you?! I'm going to be providing weekly writing prompts or activities that you may use as inspiration for entries into your coaching journal.

Writing in your journal will make your goals and desires official. It takes them from nice thoughts, to plans of action. Reviewing your journal shows you how far you've come and reminds you of goals you may want to revisit.

Next week I'll post the first writing prompt, so get your journal ready!

1. Choose the type of journal you want (notebook, blog, folder, etc...)
2. Write your name, start date, and the purpose you believe this journal should serve
3. Find a place to keep your journal. Someplace where you'll see it and remember it often.

Love Languages: Shotgun Style

Disclaimer: This ten minute fix is written as advice for a husband (cause we need it), but is easily adaptable to a wife as well. 

Have you heard of the five love languages? If not, here's a watered down summary.

Everyone is different and everyone prefers to receive and express love in a different way.  These preferences are catagorized into five love languages.

Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

If you show love by buying gifts, but your spouse only understands love through quality time and words of affirmation, you'll both be frustrated and confused. You'll think, "How can she say I don't love her? I buy her flowers, chocolates, and jewelry. Of course I love her!" She'll think, "How can he love me if he comes home and goes straight to the TV, ignores me, and never says a nice thing about me?"

Feel free to stop by the library or Amazon to pick up a copy of the book The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman or check out www.5lovelanguages.com to learn more and take a quiz to find out your spouse's love language. But for now - just for fun - let's try a different approach: The Shotgun Approach.

Here's the challenge. In ten minutes, express your love to your spouse using all five love languages. The plan is to fire a point blank shotgun blast of love that has no way of missing her specific love languages (I never meant for that to sound so violent, but let's go with it). What's more, the other love languages will have more meaning to her when in context with her specific language. Giving her a dozen roses and then watching sports for three hours may not mean much to her, but giving her roses in the context of an evening of quality time spent together will mean the world to her.

You can have more than ten minutes to prepare, but the execution needs to take place in a ten minute time frame. So in ten minutes you have to sincerely...

Tell her how much she means to you
Make the ten minutes true quality time
Give her a gift
Serve her
Give her a big hug and a kiss

After the ten minutes are over you can go back to watching football. NOT! The hope is that as you focus your mental and emotional energy on the feelings you have for your wife, you'll be inspired to once again do whatever you can to make her feel loved and appreciated.

Later, talk to your spouse about love languages and have an open discussion about how you each prefer to receive love. You'll hopefully avoid a lot of frustration and greatly improve the feeling of love in your relationship. If you want more help figuring out communication in your marriage or just want you and your spouse to be on the same page, sign up for couples coaching. You'll receive a free introductory session and affordable rates as you build a framework for a better marriage together.

Learn Something New

For this week's Ten Minute Fix, learn something!

First, try to remember that thing you were wondering about earlier today or earlier this week. Then take ten minutes to learn about it. The internet is so amazing! Believe it or not, I'm old enough to remember the world before the internet. There were these things called encyclopedias where you could learn a little bit about a couple of things. There were these things called libraries where you could find out a few more things, but only if you were brave enough to face the dreaded card catalog. There were these things called tabloids that you had to read in line at the supermarket to get your celebrity gossip. Now with the internet you can find out pretty much anything in a matter of minutes!

If you don't have anything you're dying to know, you can check out the featured articles on Wikipedia. You could also take a look at some sample questions to open up your inquisitive side.

What's the oldest nation? 

Should you use "a" or "an" in the following? "I must be leaving. I'm terribly late for a(n) NRA meeting." (I have my opinion, but I'll keep it to myself. I try to steer clear of controversial topics.)

Do they still wear powdered wigs in British Parliament? If so, ....why? 

What percentage of people can touch their nose with their tongue? 

Which is the healthier meat? chicken, beef, ostrich, or bison 

If you stacked all the free CD's that AOL gave out in the 90's, would they reach the moon?

If you're anything like me, these questions inspired you to see how much it would cost to buy a powdered wig and some powder to go along with it. Turns out this question takes longer than ten minutes to figure out.

Set the Table

I know when I set the table I get out a plate, a fork, and if I remember, a glass for everyone who will be eating. Occasionally; however, I like to get fancy. That's when I bust out my 17th edition of Emily Post's Etiquette by Peggy Post. The 18th edition is available for pre-order and comes out in October if you're interested. You can also go to www.emilypost.com. So in ten minutes (probably less) you can learn to set the table properly and even teach your kids. Here is the information from the Emily Post Institute for a basic table setting. (Click Here to see a formal setting)

For a basic table setting, here are two great tips to help you -- or your kids -- remember the order of plates and utensils:

1. Picture the word "FORKS." The order, left to right, is: F for Fork, O for the Plate (the shape!), K for Knives and S for Spoons. (Okay -- you have to forget the R, but you get the idea!)


2. Holding your hands in front of you, touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your forefingers to make a lowercase 'b' with your left hand and a lowercase 'd' with your right hand. This reminds you that "bread and butter" go to the left of the place setting and "drinks" go on the right. Emily Post could have used that trick -- she was often confused about which bread and butter belonged to her -- and sometimes she used her neighbor's! In which case, when it was called to her attention, she would say to the dismayed lady or gentleman, "Oh, I am always mixing them up. Here, please take mine!"

Some other things to know:

• Knife blades always face the plate


• The napkin goes to the left of the fork, or on the plate


• The bread and butter knife are optional

A Smile's Worth a Thousand Words

For this week’s ten minute fix you’ll need the following supplies… 

• Pen and Paper (or the computer equivalent) 


• A face (preferably with a mouth) 


• Other People (friends, family, or acquaintances) 

Now follow this procedure… 

• Write down 3 or more people you want to smile at 


• Make a conscious effort to show them those pearly whites throughout the day. 


• Record your thoughts on smiling. 

1. How it made a difference for you. 


2. How you think it may have made a difference for the recipients of your happy smiling face. 


3. Was it hard? 


4. Did your smiles feel sincere? 


5. Did people smile back?

A smile makes me feel pretty darn good. When someone looks genuinely happy to see me, I like them. I guess I’m pretty easy to win over in that way. All you have to do is pretend to like me and I’ll like you back. But I don’t think I’m the only one. We like to be liked and like those who like us. Just try to ignore how selfish and egotistic that sounds.

Receiving a smile isn’t the only thing that makes me feel good. The act of smiling alone is enough to brighten my day. It’s especially powerful when I’m smiling at someone else. That’s because when I smile, they get the impression that I like them, so they smile, and I get the impression that they like me, and we all feel great! (Of course, when I say “like” I mean accept, tolerate, have a good feeling about, appreciate, or love depending on the situation. I say this just to clarify that a smile to or from my wife means something different than a smile exchanged with the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart.) 

I even smile on the phone. It keeps me in the right mood during a coaching session. I pace around my little office smiling, and talking with my hands as if my client were standing in front of me. It keeps me engaged and helps me listen better. 

What are your thoughts on smiling? I'd love to read them in the comments!

Free Credit Report

We're Moving! Starting tomorrow the VLC blog will be located at blog.vaughnlifecoaching.com (there's nothing there right now, but there will be) please update your bookmarks and links for a smooth transition. 

In just ten minutes you can get a copy of your credit report to check for accuracy, but I'll let you in on a little secret. If you want a free credit report DO NOT go to FreeCreditReport.com. Their commercial jingles may be catchy, but they pay for those commercials by making suckers out of you and me. They sneakily sign you up for a credit monitoring service (whatever that is) and automatically charge you every month.

This is What You Do
Go to www.annualcreditreport.com. You can request your credit report for free once every 12 months from each of the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). So you could order all three, wait a year and then order them again, or you could order one every 4 months, or whatever other combination you want.

They won't ask for a credit card. That's because they won't charge you anything! Ever!...unless you want your credit score to go along with the report.They'll charge you 8 bucks for that, but if you want a FREE credit score read the next paragraph.

Free Credit Score
Go to www.creditkarma.com. This site is completely free (makes money off advertising) and allows you to update your credit score as often as you'd like. They also provide tips on how to improve your credit.

Don't worry about dinging your credit because all these credit checks are "soft" inquiries vs. "hard" inquiries. Hard inquiries are made by banks and other institutions before they give you a new line of credit and too many of them can lower your credit score. Soft inquiries won't show up on your credit report.

Even if you're a hardcore Dave Ramsey fan who only pays in cash, you should still check your credit report to make sure there isn't any fraudulent activity that could give you a real headache down the road.

Ten Minute Fix: The Junk Drawer

We all have one of these delightful drawers. It's a catch all for everything that doesn't have a place. Unfortunately, as time goes on, the amount of junk exceeds the capacity of the drawer and it becomes a place where things go to be lost forever. So, whenever you find yourself trying to stuff a double A battery that may or may not have any juice left into a drawer that may or may not contain a family of raccoons, it's time for this week's Ten Minute Fix.

Here's my junk drawer. It is home to things like a "welcome home" banner that we bought, but never used. Maybe whoever it was for never came home...? That's unsettling.

The fist step, of course is to empty the drawer completely. Take it all out. Don't hold back. This isn't the time for sentimentality.

Now that the drawer is empty for the first time since you moved in, take the opportunity to grab a rag and your favorite household cleaner to wipe out all the dust and raccoon droppings. Now that you have a clean slate, put back everything you use regularly or would like to have on hand for any time you do need it. The thing about drawers is they provide convenient and accessible storage for things we need. If you don't know what it is, or only use it once a year for the St.Patrick's day parade, it belongs in a box - not a drawer.

Okay, now we're to the hard part. Stay strong! First, there's bound to be plenty of stuff that can go directly into the trash. If you didn't miss it for the three years it was in that drawer, you probably don't need it. Of course there are some of those "maybe one day" items that you'll probably never use, but you know as soon as you throw it away a need will make itself known. If you really can't think of where to put them, a box in a closet is at least better than a drawer in your kitchen. For everything else, find a place, and put it away. Designate a place for batteries, miscellaneous nuts and bolts, business cards for businesses you'll never give your business to,  chargers for devices you probably don't even have any more, and wild animals that you've grown attached to.





So, my drawer ended up being a utility drawer, containing items I often have to grab for a quick project, but I'm  realistic. It's going to be a junk drawer again in a few months. That's okay though! Junk drawers are great. I'll just need to do another Ten Minute Fix around this time next year.

Ten Minute Fix: Listen

Echoic memory has saved my hide more times than I can remember. Let's say I'm sitting here writing this blog and my wife comes in and starts talking to me about our plans to hang out with some friends next week. Well, I'm in the middle of some brilliant synthesis that can't be postponed so I for some reason decide that the best thing to do is keep on typing and saying "uh huh" every once in a while. Inevitably the question, "Are you listening to me?" will be asked. Thanks to echoic memory, which we all have, I am able to recall 3-4 seconds of auditory information. So even though I wasn't listening when she said, "and don't forget the ice. It's really important." I am able to stop recall the last 3 seconds and respond, "Of course I'm listening. I won't forget the ice. I know how important it is." I have no idea when, where, or why this ice will be used, but she'll tell me again later...right?

This Ten Minute Fix is meant to give your echoic memory a break and practice LISTENING to people you're speaking with. It's simple. 

Dedicate ten minutes to listening carefully to what someone is saying. 

What is their body language telling you? Why are they saying what they're saying? What questions can you ask to gain a deeper understanding of their message?

Here are some tips to being a good listener that you can employ during these ten minutes.

1. Remove any distractions. Turn off the TV. Move away from the computer. Put down the chainsaw.
2. Make eye contact, but don't stare.
3. Keep your mouth shut. As the listener, you are only allowed to speak if you are summarizing what they said to make sure you understand, reassuring the speaker, or asking meaningful questions. Unless it's asked of you, now is not the time to share your own similar experiences. If you do share an experience, keep it brief and redirect the attention to the speaker.
4. Listen between the lines for what isn't being said directly.
5. Concentrate. Don't think about what you want to say later, and don't judge or criticize the speaker in your mind. 
6. Avoid any phrases that can make light of a problem. "It's not that bad", "You'll get over it", "Other people have it a lot worse".
7. Focus all your effort on making them feel understood and appreciated.

Ten Minute Fix: Jump Start

Who here has had a dead car battery? I know I have. The feeling of turning the key and having nothing happen is terrifying, but when you figure out it's just the battery because you forgot to turn your headlights off, some of the stress goes away. It's replaced with embarrassment, but that's another story. All you need is a jump start and you can drive off into the sunset.

Thanks to the alternator --the thingy in your car that charges the battery-- all you need is a little juice to get everything started.

That's the principle behind this Ten Minute Fix. Let's say you have some goals you know you need to work on, but the couch and remote control seem so much more appealing. What do you do? Spend your entire evening watching Seinfeld? No! It hurts to say this, but everything -- including  Seinfeld -- is best in moderation.

Try This
Dedicate ten minutes to working on one of your goals. It doesn't have to be completed in ten minutes; just worked on. Then after ten minutes you are free to go back to Seinfeld.

What you'll find; however, is that after ten minutes you suddenly feel like being productive all night. All you needed was a jump start and now your internal alternator has kicked in and is providing all the energy you need to continue.

P.S.  I could have also used static vs kinetic friction as my example, but my goal isn't to cause flashbacks to high school physics.

Ten Minute Fix: Honey, I'm Home

The basis of this Ten Minute Fix is an article written at Utah State University entitled, Honey, I’m home: Strengthening Your Marriage Ten Minutes at a Time. Here’s a link if you want to check it out.
The idea is that the fist ten minutes you spend with your spouse sets the tone for the rest of the day. Not only is this true, but I believe it can apply to children, coworkers, and other situations as well. The article puts forward a hypothetical situation that many people can relate to. A husband/ father returning from a stressful day at work and a wife/mother still dealing with a stressful day at home. They go on to show a productive way to spend the first ten minutes.

Instead of the husband asking why the house is such a mess and the wife responding by asking him if it would kill him to help out every once in a while, they talk about their days and ask how they can help each other.

So, in the first ten minutes, don’t discuss problems, criticize, act distant, or talk business. Instead, talk about each other’s days, relate funny stories, give a backrub, help out with the housework, or whatever else you and your spouse enjoy.

Not only does the first ten minutes set the tone for the day, but after time you’ll begin to look forward to being reunited everyday rather than being afraid of what new problem you’ll encounter. There will still be disagreements and challenges, but at least those first ten minutes you can show love to your spouse and remind yourselves that you’re on the same team and will face the challenges together.

Here is some advice from the article…

1. Prepare yourself mentally. When anticipating seeing your spouse after an absence, mentally prepare to give your spouse and family the best of yourself. There are likely problems and challenges that need to be discussed, but the problems and challenges will still be there later. During the first ten minutes, focus on having a positive initial greeting (i.e., starting off on the right foot) with your spouse. Later as a team, you will be able to address any problems and challenges more constructively because the negative emotions of the day will be decreased and the positive emotions of being together will be increased. Think of specific things you can say and/or do that will help make those first minutes a positive experience.

2. Understand the power in a smile (Gladstone & Parker, 2002). Smiling in and of itself can have a powerful impact on others’ reactions (Mackey, 1976) and their desires to connect with you (Guénguen, 2008). Even though the house may be a mess, you are exhausted from running after the children, and dinner isn’t ready yet, prepare to give a glowing smile to your partner. Your spouse will be better able to put aside his or her own stresses and focus on a positive connection with you. And you just might find that you feel better and can see the humor in the situation if you smile (even when you don’t exactly feel like it)!

3. Focus on the needs of your spouse first. Genuine interest in your spouse’s daily stresses will foster greater love and emotional connection (Gottman & Silver, 1999). Attempt to put aside your own issues for the moment and focus on reconnecting with your spouse, asking about his or her day, listening and responding positively. If both partners willingly commit to do this for their spouse, everyone will end up a winner!

4. Be prepared to help your spouse. Inevitably there will be times when your spouse is not prepared to optimistically greet you because of emotions associated with their specific life challenges. It can be easy to get angry, pull away, or become critical, but these are actually the best times to build trust and strengthen your relationship. You can do this by helping your spouse calm the overwhelming emotions (Gottman & Silver, 1999). Although you cannot fix all the struggles or change the negative emotions your partner may be experiencing (nor would your spouse probably want you to), you can provide key support by listening, empathizing and letting your spouse know you are on their side (Gottman & Silver). The daily struggles of life are rarely pleasant, but they can provide opportunities to develop patterns of turning towards each other, supporting each other (Voydanoff, 2005), and building trust and reliance in the relationship.

Ten Minute Fix: Take Joy in the Little Things

Our days contain hundreds, maybe thousands, of small simple things that have the power to make us happy. Unfortunately, these simple things are so small and so common that they are easily overlooked, ignored or forgotten. Let’s give them power again. Let’s allow the simple gift of daily living to bring us joy and enrich every aspect of our lives.

To make it happen, we need to recognize, enjoy, and remember the blessings we take for granted. Here are a few recommendations.

1. Be aware. Every once in a while, stop and look around you. What is going right in your current circumstance? What is making your life easier? What are you grateful for? Is there any beauty or inspiration you typically overlook?

2. When you recognize one of these simple joys, take a moment to appreciate it and think about how it makes you feel.

3. Write down everything you recognize and maybe some notes about why it makes you happy.

4. At the end of the day. Quickly review your list.

Here’s what I have so far for my list today…

- My wife sleeping peacefully as I get ready for work. I know that in a few minutes a screaming baby is going to disturb her rest and she’ll be changing diapers, wiping a snotty nose, washing spit up out of her hair, and just trying to maintain order all day, but for now she gets to rest, and that makes me happy.

- A serving size of ham is 10 slices. I typically eat double the serving size of whatever I’m eating. Do they really expect me to eat half a cookie? Come on! So I was really pleased to discover that while I normally put 5-6 slices of my deli ham on a sandwich, the serving size is 10. (I went ahead and put 10 slices on today. I can’t wait till lunch. Yum.)

- Heavy rain. I looked up and let it fall on my face for a few seconds and splash off my glasses. I enjoyed the feeling and the sound. It helped put things into perspective. It’s raining because it’s raining. The rain doesn’t care if the Democrats or Republicans are in power. It doesn’t care if we’ve built structures to protect us from it. It doesn’t care if I’ve just had my car washed. It reminds me that there’s a bigger world out there than the small bubble I’ve created for myself.

- The speed of the internet. I was curious to know how old Willie Nelson is. It took me less than 15 seconds to find out. Wow.

Your list doesn’t need to be this detailed. You just need enough information so that you can recall the feelings you had at the end of the day.

So what if things go wrong at work, allergies make me feel like a zombie, my car doesn’t start, and I miss Seinfeld? A serving size of ham is 10 slices and I choose to give that fact more power to make me happy than the power misfortunes have to make me sad.

Ten Minute Fix: Memo Board

Hey! My wife made a neat dry erase memo board that's really quick and easy to make. I decided to take ten minutes and make my own. I took some pictures to document it. For this project you need some paper, a picture frame, dry erase markers, maybe some scissors, and ten minutes. 

First I printed off a background for my memo board. I decided to make a task list so I can check things off throughout the day.

Then, I cut off some of the edges so it would be ready for the next step.

With my page the right size, I put it into this cheap dollar store frame.

Now it's ready for my tasks. I wrote down the most important ones with a dry erase marker.

When I'm done, it wipes right off with a paper towel or cloth of some kind.

If you like pretty things, you can get more creative too. This is the first one that my wife made. (Also pictured is my pathetic attempt at bubble letters)

Ten Minute Fix: Weight Loss

Weight loss isn’t a glamorous activity. It involves planning, discipline, and a little bit of misery (courtesy of our good friends Diet and Exercise). So, why not add a touch of glamour, ceremony, and fanfare to an otherwise mundane and miserable task?

Have you seen The Biggest Loser? It’s a two hour show, and it seems like half of it is the contestants weighing in. They step on this giant scale and it flashes random numbers, building suspense, while dramatic music plays, until it finally reveals their weight loss for the week along with everyone’s reactions to that weight loss. Never before has losing five pounds been so exciting!

In just ten minutes you can take the first step towards a new physique, a healthier lifestyle, and increased energy. Here are some suggestions…

1. Weigh in. Get your starting weight so you can track your progress in the coming weeks.

2. Measure your waist so you can have an objective measure of not just how much weight you’re losing, but also how skinny you’re getting!

3. Set Goals. How many pounds/inches/dress sizes do you want to lose? When will your final weigh in be? Grab that pair of jeans you want to fit and hang them up on the wall as a reminder.

4. Decide how you want to track your progress. Here are some ideas.

• Try making a paper chain of all the pounds you want to lose and pull them off as you go.
• Put $5 in a jar for every lost pound and then use the money for new clothes that actually fit your hot new bod.
• Get a big bucket and add a pound of lard for every pound of fat you lose (maybe that one’s too gross).

5. Plan the weekly weigh in ceremony. When will it be? Who will be in attendance? What music will you play? What will you wear?

There are a million exercise programs and diets out there. The funny thing is that they all work, as long as you stick to them. This ten minute fix will help out with the “sticking to it” part.

Ten Minute Fix: Out of Your Mind

Sure, you're brain is an amazing thing. It produces an average of 70,000 thoughts a day. In one day, one human brain produces more electrical impulses than all the telephones in the world. That's pretty cool, but don't you think you should give your brain a break every once in a while?

I find myself filling my brain with things I need to do. "I should buy milk, fix that shelf, apply for a job, call my parents, clean out the car, pay the gas bill, plead guilty in that court case, fire my attorney, exercise more, and get season 3 of Seinfeld."

Every time an "I should" phrase pops into your head, it sticks around, even if you don't remember it. When enough of these "I should" statements pile up, you're stuck with STRESS.

So, get all these thoughts out of your mind and onto some paper. Take ten minutes and...

1.  Write down everything you need to do, should do, and will do.

2.  Now keep that paper close to you and well guarded because the next step is to...

3.  Forget it. Forget all of it! Your brain is now free to tie up all those loose ends, because the information is stored securely offline where it can access the information when it needs it.

This is especially helpful for those times when you can't sleep because your mind is racing about all the things you need to do. Sure, you have a test tomorrow, but you're too tired to study and sleep is all you really need right now. So, instead of tossing and turning or burning the midnight oil, just get up and write down your plan. You'll wake up an hour early, skip the shower, and go straight to the library for your last minute cram session. Now your brain knows that there's a plan in place and it can forget about it and worry about those other 69,999 thoughts it had that day.

Ten Minute Fix: Plant Some "Flowers"

I either heard or read a talk about 8 years ago that I’ve since thought about several times. I can’t remember who the speaker was and I can’t find a copy of it online, so if anyone out there has an idea, be sure to let me know.

Anyway, in the talk he (I’m pretty sure it was a “he”) was talking about repentance. He compared repentance to gardening and that it’s more than just pulling weeds. Sure, a big part of repentance is putting an end to bad behavior, but that can’t be all. That’s like going to a dead flower bed and pulling all the weeds only to be left with a patch of dirt. You have to plant flowers! So, what I took from it is that you can’t just stop bad behavior. You have to replace it with good behavior.

I apply this to more than just repenting of sin in a religious context. For example, if you are trying to break a smoking habit, replace it with an exercising habit. If you find yourself always snacking on junk food, replace the junk food with healthy food. If you are currently watching Desperate Housewives or any other show on television, replace it with Seinfeld. If you’re rude or short tempered with your wife, don’t just stop being rude, be extra nice and loving. Take her out on a fun date, give her a foot massage, and just let her know how much you love her.

Take ten minutes to do the following activity.

1. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns

2. Label one column Weeds and the other column Flowers

3. In the weeds column, list your bad habits, behaviors, thoughts, etc…

4. In the flowers column, list good habits, behaviors, thoughts, etc… that can replace the bad ones.

5. Set some goals to get that flower bed into shape!