Never late is better: 7 ways to stay punctual

Is being more time efficient one of your new year’s resolutions? Or doyou simply want to stop being late for school or work? Here are a few simpleand doable tips to help save you a couple of precious minutes in the morning.

1.     Go to bed early.
That’s a given. But if you can’t help staying up late or if you are the typewho keeps pressing the snooze button, move your alarm clock out of your bedsidetable and keep it a few feet out of reach. This way, you’ll really have to getup to switch the alarm off.

2.     Have everything ready the night before.
Keep your keys, wallet, cell phone, etc., ready and in a specific andaccessible place. You wouldn’t want to be wasting time looking for your officeID at the last minute.

3.     Minimize the things you have to do in the morning.
Does blow drying your hair take too long? Wash and dry your hair the nightbefore. Do you find yourself grabbing a quick but unhealthy food item from aconvenience store or end up not having breakfast at all? Prepare the mostimportant meal of the day in advance and pre-pack your lunch baon aswell.  Store single servings of cereal, granola or instant oatmeal inindividual plastic containers and add pre-cut fruit the night before. Keeppre-cut ingredients (mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, etc.) ready in a zip lockbag so they will be all set to be tossed on to the pan with eggs for quick omelettes.If there leftovers from dinner you’d like for lunch the next day, set themaside in containers you can grab and go.


4.     Plan your daily wardrobe ahead of time (including undies).
Most women waste precious time deciding what to wear. If possible, lay out yourwardrobe for the entire week.  Then, hang the blouse you intend to wear onMonday next to the trousers you plan to wear it with. Don’t forget to includethe cardigan, belt, other accessories and yes, even the appropriate underwearfor your outfit.  (What’s the point of planning your clothes ahead of timeif you’ll eventually end up scouring your underwear drawer for the nude lacecamisole that goes well with your sheer top?).     

5.     Organize and edit the contents of your dresser.
Lay out daily beauty products in the order that you use them, instead of havingthem randomly scattered in a drawer.  

6.     Gas up and prepare toll money ready the day before.
You may even go the extreme of preparing and keeping the exact amount inindividual envelops or a segmented purse. Not having to wait for change cansave you a few minutes on the road. 


7.      Review your floor plan and rearrange your furniture.
This may sound absurd at first, but time is wasted by a house that’sinefficiently laid out. Clear high-traffic areas such as hallways and foyersfrom anything that blocks your movement. In your bedroom, keep similarfurniture together. For example, it’s best to have your closet, shoe cabinetand full length mirror close to one another instead of having them located onopposite sides of the room. Otherwise, you may find yourself going back andforth or retracing your steps to access, say, the 

How To Keep Your Cool Under Pressure

There are days when you feel your buttons are being pushed way too hard.But the last thing you want to do is detonate in bad language and angrygestures! So here you go – our tips on how you can keep cool in varioussituations and come out of it smiling (even if you were boiling inside to beginwith!).

How to keep cool… with your kids
One for the moms: Like it or not, but kids can have a knack for bringing outthe worst in adults. And it may seem easier to just give up and throw in thetowel when dealing with a difficult child, or lose your temper, which isn’texactly ideal.

So how do you keep your cool when your temper is red hot? Try this: Look at thesituation in perspective. Your child may have a reason for lashing out or couldbe having an off day, which is completely normal as we are all entitled. Soinstead of being angry, take a breather and know that your child doesn’t intendto drive you crazy; he or she just needs a little more attention than before.

The other thing that works? Get goofy! Nothing works like being silly. Thisprovides a great distraction and soon everyone–kid and you included–will forgetwhy you’re angry in the first place. Sing a silly song, dance crazily, or justhave a tickle fest. It works all the time.

How to keep your cool… with annoying colleagues
We all have them–annoying colleagues who just say the wrong thing and do thedarnest thing to get on our nerves. From not meeting their end of the bargainto simply not knowing when to shut up, we don’t blame you if there are dayswhen you feel like using the tape to seal your colleague’s mouth shut.

Wait, let go of that masking tape and opt out of violence instead. You don’twant to blow up and be known as the “Crazy One” at work. First things first, toremain calm and to keep your composed professional self–breathe. While yourfirst instinct may be to snap back at your colleague, you’re better offstepping back and taking a deep breath instead. This buys you time to stop youfrom saying something you will regret. If you must, vent to a friend (someonecompletely out of your working zone) over a cup of coffee. Just being able tolet it all out can do wonders to your mood.

Still annoyed? Find your happy place. Whether it is a few minutes on yourfavorite website or moving on to the next level on Candy Crush, taking time outwill distract you from what’s bothering you in the first place, lets you easeyour stress, and help you get back to work in a better mood.

How to keep your cool… when fightingwith your partner
You’re both raising your voices and tempers are rising. But before that fightwith your boyfriend or your husband turns into an all-out argument where you’llboth regret the things that come out from your mouth, try this.

In the article Fighting Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Bernstein from online.wsj.com, Dr. HowardMarkman, professor of psychology at the University of Denver as well asco-author of Fighting for Your Marriage, calls it the “speaker-listenertechnique”. In this technique, Bernstein explains that Dr. Howardsuggests  “couples who have adisagreement should call a couple’s meeting,set a time limit of 15 minutes, and discuss the issue at hand. He even suggestsflipping a coin to see who gets to speak first.”

After stating your piece, you should then give your partner the chance tospeak, explaining one’s position. “A lot of times, all you need is to belistened to,” says Dr. Markman. Through this exercise, the resolution will thenbecome obvious, says the good doctor. If not? It’s time to schedule anothermeeting.

Remember the few golden rules of fighting: don’t make it personal, stop tryingto win all the time, and make sure to listen. You’ll soon realize that theargument was for nothing.