How to Greatly Reduce the Stress in Your Life

Matt McGrath on December 18, 2019

One thing that is almost impossible to avoid at one point or another is stress. It comes in all forms and it can build up over time or be placed in your lap with no warning at all.

How we handle stress when we come face to face with it will often dictate the outcome. Some are able to calmly handle any stress that comes their way.

Others aren’t able to handle it so easily and instead of doing anything they let it continue to build up. If you do this the weight of it becomes too much to handle and it can cause you to collapse.

Here are some easy ways to help reduce the stress in your life.

Get a Deep Comfortable Sleep Each Night

One of the biggest contributors to stress is a lack of proper rest. Many people will not be able to sleep if they are stressed and over time this just snowballs into a major problem.

You have to make sure your bedroom is comfortable. Comfortable mattress, nice quiet environment. A nice temperature that allows you to relax. If that means getting some HVAC services done to make your AC work better then do it.

It’s also a good idea to create a sleep schedule and try to stick to it. If that means going to bed at a dedicated time every evening, make the effort to make sure it happens.

Supplement Your Diet

The foods we eat also come into play. If you eat a lot of bad foods or sugars, for example, it can cause you to be moody and can also prevent you from sleeping well.

Consider more natural products, like hemp oil, which has many benefits tied to reducing stress. There are many ways to incorporate this into your diet, and many natural food companies are now making products that contain this ingredient for exactly this reason.

reduce stress

One trip to a Whole Foods will introduce you to an entire line of natural and healthy foods you can eat, that will contribute to both living a healthier life as well as reducing your stress naturally.

There are also many healthy food blogs you can read to get some inspiration and food ideas from. It can be quite a chance for some so sometimes it’s best to introduce a new diet slowly.

Be Active

Did you know that by working out every day or incorporating some physical activity into your life can combat stress? Lifting weights is a great way to disconnect from stressful situations and it also has a natural effect on removing that stress.

Whether that means going to the gym, participating in sports or just hitting the track after reading a BetEasy review, you have to get out there and make an effort to be more active.

See what works best for you. Some might prefer to hit the gym early in the mornings, while some might like a night workout, as they are able to fall asleep faster and get a higher quality rest every night because of it.

Top Tech Apps to Improve Your Organization & Productivity

Matt McGrath on July 6, 2019

Modern technology has given us so many options when it comes to apps. There are some designed for entertainment purposes, as well as ones that help to enhance our everyday lives. But, as business owners, there are several available that can have a positive impact on your overall productivity and organization.

But, with thousands of options available in all of the app stores, how do you know what ones are worth your time? How do you know what ones will help you get more done, and not suck up more of your time trying to learn and master?

We recently spoke to a handful of business owners and entrepreneurs to find out what their favorite apps for improving their productivity and organization were. Here is what they told us.

Hootsuite

“Social media marketing is something that all businesses must participate in these days. It’s not only one of the most important marketing channels, but it’s also very important when it comes to customer service. The trouble can be finding enough time to create enough content across all of the popular platforms.

Hootsuite is a tool that allows you to schedule posts in advance. If you spend a day creating posts in advance, you can get an entire month’s worth of content loaded up. Rather than scrambling each day to figure out what to post and when to post it, this makes sure you always have content going up that will help attract new followers and give your current followers something to engage with.” – Michael Herron, Law Offices of Michael R. Herron

Slack

“Slack is a great app, and not just for tech teams. I feel a lot of the news around Slack has it pegged as a productivity app for tech startups, but in reality it can be used by any company with multiple team members.

With so many companies allowing employees to work from home and building virtual teams, this really helps to keep everyone on the same page. When you are able to eliminate questions and guessing, keeping everyone on the same page you get more done as a company.

It’s very easy to set up and your team members can access it via their desktop, laptop or mobile devices. It’s really helps to keep everyone connected and on task.” – Pat Skinner of Answer First

Trello

“This is an organizational app that works off ‘boards’ which can be created for projects and tasks. It’s such a simple concept, but it’s so effective when you are able to look at everything in one place and see everyone’s input, feedback and notes in one place.

Forget having to dig through notes, or old emails. Everything is in one place. You can also set permissions, which allows certain team members the ability to create new boards, while limiting others. This can help to reduce clutter and unnecessary noise.” – Tad Thomas, Managing Partner of Thomas Law Offices

My Fitness Pal

“Sticking to a healthy eating and exercise program is something most would like to do, but it’s not always convenient, especially when you are running a business. I have found that when you can make some aspects of it easier, like prepping meals in advance, for example, it helps you keep on track.

My Fitness Pal is an app that helps you track your daily macro nutrients, and when this is done consistently it leads to a healthier lifestyle and weight loss. You can set it up to already include your favorite meals, or you can easily add to it throughout the day. Tracking everything keeps you focused. You will feel better and have more energy, and this translates over to your business, allowing you to get more done.” – Ignacio Soria, CEO of Cann & Co.

HelloSign

“Think of how often you have to sign documents and how much of a pain it is when someone sends you something in a file format like Word and is expecting a signed and executed document back. Well, with HelloSign it makes signing any document very easy.

These days, electronic signatures are accepted as valid agreements, so why not take full advantage of this convenience. Most people have heard of some of the popular e-signature platforms, but it requires both parties have accounts and it isn’t always convenient. This app is the easiest way to execute electronic signatures on any document format imaginable.” – Chris Moberg, President of Slumber Search

EverNote

“Many people to this day still rely on note taking. Not only is it sometimes mandatory to jot down notes, but many people retain information much better when they do this. Well, no longer do you need to carry around a notebook and then attempt to translate your chicken scratch handwriting later on.

EverNote is a simple notetaking app that allows you to easily create and organize notes. With so much communication taking place via email and text messaging, most people can type on a mobile device or laptop just as quickly, if not quicker, than they could using a pen and notebook. It will take a little while to break the habit of a traditional pen and notebook, but once you master EverNote you will never go back.” – Chad Gaynier of Clarity Clinic

Unroll.me

“How much time do you waste in your email inbox dealing with emails that you have no interest in, but still receive because at one time you subscribed to an email list or were added based on a purchase. Using Unroll.me will help unsubscribe your email from all of the unwanted lists you are receiving emails from.

When you eliminate all of this it ends up saving you more time, as you don’t have those messages sending you notifications and requiring you to open, read and then delete. Then, use it on a maintenance basis to keep your email inbox free of unwanted emails. Most websites will automatically subscribe you to lists when you make a purchase, so it’s a good idea to use Unroll.me on a monthly basis to cleanse your preference.” – Hyung Park, President of Abraham Lincoln University

Zapier

“Zapier is one of the most valuable yet most overlooked apps available. What it does is essentially connect any app or program to another app or program, making custom integrations possible. Let me explain.

Let’s assume that you have an e-commerce website and you want to put each new customer into multiple marketing channels. You can use Zapier to create flows that will place the customer’s email address into one app, and then also push their contact info into another app that you use for customer success management. It helps to streamline several aspects of your business.” – Christopher Kerr, VP Marketing at Earnhardt Lexus

Dropbox

“Data security is such a major focus and concern for businesses of all sizes. You have to make sure you know where any kind of company information is being stored and how it’s being accessed by everyone on your team. Dropbox is a cloud storage program that keeps everything in one place.

With many companies operating remotely, this means that some employees are working from personal computers. The last thing you want to do is allow them to store and save anything related to your business on their devices. Dropbox gives everyone a central location to access and store documents and data.” – Christopher Dziak, CEO of Pure Nootropics

LastPass

“How many times have you tried to login to a program or app and end up having to reset your password because you forgot it? With most applications requiring difficult passwords, the days of using a simple ‘password123’ type, it can make remembering them hard. You end up wasting so much time having to reset the password, only to have to repeat the process next time when you forget it again.

LastPass is an app that automatically logs you into all of your programs and apps. You only have to remember one password from here on out, and this app uses encryption to make sure your passwords remain safe, while making it very convenient for you to login to everything with ease. It might not seem it, but this will end up saving you so much time, not to mentions the headaches of having to constantly change your passwords.” – Paul Kelly, 247 CCTV Security Ltd