Author Archives: Jeffrey Scott Thomas

Avoiding Winter Burnout at Work and Home

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With winter officially here, it can be easier than ever to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and even depressed. About 5% of adults experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), making this time of year hard enough to deal with, already.

On top of the typical pitfalls of the winter season, this year has truly been unlike any other, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still going strong for many people across the country.

Between the aftermath of the holidays, the cold, dark days, the endless negative news cycle, and feeling overwhelmed at work, it’s easy to experience burnout. That can leave you feeling tired, gloomy, and unmotivated.

Thankfully, there are some things you can do to avoid burning out both at work and at home. Giving your mental and emotional health a boost can help you to get through this season, and even learn to enjoy it. Let’s look at a few ways to accomplish that this year.

Learn to Manage Your Stress

Everyone deals with stress. So, it might feel impossible to get rid of it, completely. But, too much stress can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health, contributing to everything from heart disease to high blood pressure. Excessive stress can also lead to mental health conditions like depression or anxiety.

While you may not be able to eliminate stress and anxiety from your life this season, there are ways to reduce them. One of the best things you can do is to avoid as many triggers as possible. Determine what it is that causes you to feel stressed and anxious. Some common causes include:

  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol
  • Family
  • World issues
  • Money problems
  • Health problems

Problems with work or even the death of a loved one can also contribute to stress and anxiety. This year, more than ever, many people have experienced multiple triggers on that list, as well as more personal factors that have contributed to higher stress levels.

If you can’t completely avoid these triggers, finding ways to reduce your stress levels is important. Keeping your home clean and organized can help, as well as spending time with family members and other people you love (safely). Being able to talk about how you’re feeling can make a big difference, so don’t hesitate to create a plan of action when it comes to directly battling stress.

Make Your Home a Sanctuary

Many people have had to combine their work and home lives this year. You may have had to start working remotely for the first time. While that can sound appealing at first, it can be difficult to achieve a healthy work-life balance when your office is in your living room. One way to spark creativity and make you feel more motivated about working, whether you’re home or in your actual office, is to make a few simple upgrades. Get a standing desk to keep you moving throughout the day, or decorate your office in a way that inspires you and makes you feel more energetic.

If you’re working out in the field, or you’re a frontline worker of any kind, it’s extremely important to be able to separate your work life from your home life. Many frontline workers, like nurses, have to deal with immense amounts of daily stress as they see the firsthand effects of this pandemic. One of the ways to manage that stress is to get a full night’s sleep.

Whether you need to separate your remote working life from your free time or you’re an essential worker who needs to feel relaxed at home, taking the time to turn your living space into a sanctuary can be worth it!

You don’t have to make major changes to your home or routine to achieve a spa-like experience. If you’re trying to find more ways to relax and pamper yourself, consider:

  • Aromatherapy and bath oils
  • Body scrubs
  • Clay masks
  • Hand and foot care

Turn on some soothing music, draw a warm bath, and light some candles. By creating an environment of pure relaxation, you can almost immediately reduce your stress, feel more energized, and get better sleep, which can keep you going throughout the day no matter what career path you’re on.

Practice Self-Care

Self-care has become a popular buzzword over the last few years. Unfortunately, because of its popularity, it’s lost some of the true meaning. Self-care is more than just an idea, it’s something that needs to be put into practice. It also might look different for everyone, since we all enjoy different things.

Taking care of yourself can help to reduce stress levels and promote mental and emotional wellbeing. Again, it’s different for everyone, but there are a few common threads of self-care that can benefit almost anyone, including:

  • Eating well
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Drinking plenty of water (yes, you still need it in the winter!)
  • Keeping up an exercise routine
  • Being aware of any deficiencies in your diet

By taking care of your mind and body throughout the winter, you can beat the fatigue and exhaustion that sometimes tries to pull you down.

All of these solutions are beneficial when it comes to managing the winter blues and feeling as though you could burn out at any moment. While this year has been harder than most, these tips can still help you to get through the snowy season, so you can feel more energetic, motivated, and upbeat.

Interesting Ways to Update Your Home Using Paint

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Are you tired of the way your home looks? Adding more and more new details to decorate the space won’t fix the dull atmosphere; it will only create clutter. So, maybe it’s time to refresh your home. How can you do that without spending a fortune?

Believe it or not, you don’t have to buy completely new furniture to update your home. Use your imagination and work with what you have. Something as simple as paint can completely change the way your interior looks. Here are some original ways to use paint to refresh your home.

1. Paint the furniture

One of the easiest ways to refresh your home and update its interior design is by painting your wooden furniture. Whether you need to give your old chairs a new glow, or you’re considering repainting them in a new colour and giving them a makeover.

For a modern look, try to use brown or black tones for your wooden furniture. If you’re more into shabby and rustic style, try going for the white or blue colours that will remind you of hot summers at the beach. Don’t be discouraged if the old paint shows below your new one. Simply, give your furniture another coat, and it will look exactly like you’ve imagined it.

2. Paint the cabinets

Surely, you’ve noticed that your kitchen doesn’t look as new as it used to. It’s natural for cabinets to get worn out during time and lose its colour. So, give your home a makeover by refreshing the colour of your kitchen cabinets. It’s not much, but it will affect the way your entire home looks.

Pick a suitable colour that will match with the already existing furniture and atmosphere of the kitchen. If your kitchen is a bit rustic, don’t opt for the colours that won’t match in that scheme. Choose white, mint, or baby pink to complete the atmosphere. Try to match the styles for a more effective upgrade. That’s how you’ll achieve the dream look you’re going for.

3. Refresh the windows and doors

Even though it may seem like an unimportant venture, painting the window frames and the doors can entirely change the way your home looks and feels. Instead of purchasing new windows and doors, try to give them another chance in your home by repainting them.

To properly paint the windows, tape a duct tape around the frame on the glass to prevent the paint from smudging your glass. Pick a smaller brush for this venture in order to be as precise as possible. On the other hand, for door painting, you can opt for a larger paintbrush. Just make sure the paint dries well on both, doors and windows before you start using them again.

4. Paint the walls

Who would’ve thought that the new coat of paint on the walls can do so much for your space? Over time, the colour on our walls fades and they get dirty. So, naturally, your entire space will look worn out and dull. That’s when the paint comes and saves the day.

To paint your room, you first need to prepare your house for this venture. Remove or cover the furniture and all the other things you don’t want to get paint on. Surely you can get the painting done yourself. However, for effective and precise painting, consider contacting specialists for spray painting services who will be able to completely refresh and update your space. You wouldn’t believe how much a professional spray painter can do for your home.

5. Create stripes and frames

Painting a wall in one colour can be refreshing for your home. However, using paint to create something different can really highlight some of the most important parts of your rooms. So, instead of using one paint for the entire house, try experimenting by creating stripes and frames on the wall.

Use paint to create colourful frames around your windows or wall décor. It can be an excellent way of upgrading a boring space into a lively-looking room. Besides that, you can use different shades of paint to create stripes on the wall that will visually enlarge your room. Experiment with it, you can always paint over it if you don’t like it.

Conclusion

As you can see, little paint can do a lot for your home. It can change the way it looks almost completely, giving some of the old furniture a new glow. Even something as simple as having your walls painted can freshen up your room and update your interior design.

How to Learn Python Easily

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Python… The world’s quickest developing and most famous programming language among programming engineers as well as among mathematicians, information experts, researchers, bookkeepers, network designs, and even children! since it’s a very fledgling amicable programming language. Individuals from various controls use Python for a wide range of assignments like data analysis, Machine Learning, Artificial intelligence etc.

Reasons to learn Python

  1. Python is one of the most mainstream dialects for information examination and web improvement
  2. Numerous positions these days require python abilities: from information columnists to showcasing, and specialists.
  3. Google, Instagram, Uber, and a lot more organizations are utilizing Python.
  4. Decipherable and effectively justifiable help modules and energizes code reuse.
  5. Deciphered language – translator executes each line of code individually, making it simple to investigate.
  6. Open-source, so you can undoubtedly rehearse whenever you need. Cross-stage language – code once, run anyplace (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac, and so on… )

How to start learning python

Before you start how to  learn python  it, here are a few hints to make it simple for you –

On the off chance that you are a non-developer, have some additional tolerance. You will arrive without a doubt. Python is the least demanding approach to get into programming.

Learn Basics of Python Language

At an absolute minimum, you (and your asset) should cover the basics. Without getting them, you’ll struggle working through complex issues, tasks or use cases. Instances of Python basics include:

Variables and Types, Basic Operators, String Formatting, Loops, Functions Lists, Dictionaries, and Sets and etc.

Select Learning Resources

There is a lot of documentation and recordings accessible on the web so it’s exceptionally confounding that where to begin learning this language particularly when Python can be utilized in different fields. Comprehend that a solitary book or video course isn’t sufficient to show you everything in Python and at first as a novice, you will likewise get overpowered with endless ideas yet have persistence, investigate and remain submitted with it.

You can likewise go for some online video instructional exercises or courses yet the greater part of the courses will begin from the fledglings level (that is only wastage of time), still it’s rely upon you and your related knowledge in coding.

Don’t try to learn everything in one time

The most serious issue experienced by most learners is that they get befuddled about what all to cover. Attempting to learn numerous things all at once is just an exercise in futility. It can make you less profitable. You need to pick something that is a simple beginning stage for you. In the event that you dive all the more profoundly into any language you need to learn, the capacity to endure when things get exhausting makes you a decent engineer. Subsequently start with something that intrigues you.

This is successful as you realize precisely what you need to make it work. Learning with little ventures will keep you inspired.

On the off chance that you need to proceed with your excursion, it’s suggested that you look at this Python course, Learn Python from Scratch, which will cover everything referenced here in more prominent detail, total with code jungle gyms and tests to test your agreement.

 

10 Budget Home Designing Instagram Accounts You Can Check for Inspiration

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Since Covid-19 hit us, we’ve been all stuck in our home and there is no news when we’ll be able to walk freely. Now is the best time to decorate the interior and exterior of your home. But money is a true concern for pretty much all of us as home decoration is generally a costly affair.

A home’s not merely four square walls, it’s a place where you can get comfortable and relax. You might be thinking that there are various Instagram pages that are great for finding home decoration inspiration. Speaking of Instagram, when you open a new page, it’ll take time to gain followers. In fact, as per https://www.forbes.com, organic ways although successful, can take quite some time to boost Instagram followers. The best way to get likes on your post is to buy 50 likes on Instagram.

Here is a list of some Instagram accounts that not only offer great interior and exterior designs, but also inspiration, good suggestions, and cheaper but high-quality items. 

Room for Tuesday

Sarah Gibson, who shares great ideas for home renovation, design tips, DIY projects is the owner of this page. Whenever you observe her work, you’ll notice she focuses on both the interior and exterior of the house equally, so this account is really useful for those who own a bigger home or real estate. She has two cute puppies that she features in the majority of her images, which produces a different vibe for dog lovers.

Philip or Flop

There’s no doubt that there exists many more female DIY creators than male DIY creators. This proves that female DIY creators can offer much more fantastic home decoration ideas for budget-friendly decorations. However, Philip is amongst the rare male designers who can decorate both the interior and exterior perfectly. His ideas about interior designs are much more realistic than any female designer.

Angela Rose Home

Angela Rose, known as fearless DIY creator, uses power tools and design to transform your home. She decorates the interior of the house in such a way, that you’ll get so many decoration ideas just by scrolling through her IG feed. Her website, linked on her IG account, offers so many new ideas and detailed tips to accomplish her vision in your home. Until you check her IG account, you won’t be able to guess how cool and brilliant interior home design can be!

Budget Home Interior Design

This is a type of IG account that shouldn’t be missed. When you land on this page, you’ll notice one thing is common in every image despite the house, a splash of color offered by plants. You’ll also notice how the interior changes when a plant is around. Natalie, owner of the IG page only decorates the interior of houses, but in a budget-conscious way, even using simple items such as Washi tape, which is quite amazing.

Philip or Flop

There’s no doubt that there exists many more female DIY creators than male DIY creators. This proves that female DIY creators can offer much more fantastic home decoration ideas for budget-friendly decorations. However, Philip is amongst the rare male designers who can decorate both the interior and exterior perfectly. His ideas about interior designs are much more realistic than any female designer.

Jenny Komenda

Jenny Komenda, Founder and Creative Director of juniper print shop and juniper home, is a pure skilled artist. From designing the interior to the exterior, everywhere she proves that she focuses much more on details. You’ll see that in every post she shares, she offers some subtle tips that make a budget-friendly decoration so much simpler. There is also a touch of large and expensive items like furniture in her posts to remind you that accessories are like vitamins to fashion.

Grillo Designs

Medina shares her thoughts on interior designing on her Instagram page. Medina’s website, where she writes her own posts, has beautiful budget-friendly ideas, which is a key factor during this pandemic. Her style blends in every aspect of her culture. And it is also so fascinating to see that she prioritizes turmeric color to design interior homes, which will surely impress you the moment you scroll through her IG feed.

Making Pretty Spaces

The most lovable thing about this account is how small changes can bring so much glory and transform a space thoroughly. From changing a night lamp or a small bookshelf, Jennifer does it like a pure skilled designer. Her website is full of blogs and tutorials. Jennifer’s idea of making a small upgrade is to deliver a perfect and happy economical life. You’ll be so inspired by Jennifer that you might start purchasing small items to decorate your rooms.

Chris Loves Julia

This account has everything from budget-conscious designing to marvelous home designing ideas. They have linked their website on the IG page, where you’ll find all the details. The moment you land on their IG page, you’ll notice some video walkthroughs, which are not only extremely satisfying but also added a bonus to the fact that every image they share on their page is extremely stylish and looks fantastic.

Right Meets Left Interior Design

Courtney McLeos, the owner of the interior design company, showcases much from wealthy clients, but shares tips of interior designing in the caption of some images. Upon scrolling her IG page, you’ll notice beautiful highlights of the color scheme or how small pieces of furniture can help you achieve your desired look. Though the page showcases wealthy clients, much of what she shares can be used by budget-friendly followers, too.

Conclusion

Remember one thing, a home’s not merely roof and room. It is where you can bloom your heart and spend quality time with your family members. Home is sweet, and it is your responsibility to make it sweeter.

Best Things To Do With Your Family During The Coronavirus

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The family is like a ship in which we sail on the ocean of life. And during a pandemic, it became like an ark in which we save the most important thing — life, health, children. How to swim out of this period without losses? We will give you some ideas on what to do with your family and how to organise family life during corona.

Make an action plan

A) Plan for the entire period of self-isolation

Having a route makes travel predictable. Having plans reduces anxiety, gives a sense of control over what is happening.

The minimum plan during this period: just quietly go through it, remain safe and sound.

Maximum plan: take everything from life!

Use all the possibilities of this period: study online, make money online; develop online (visit virtual exhibitions, performances, etc.), use the emerging time for creativity, etc.

B) Action plan for every day

A certain regime, daily routine set the desired rhythm, relieve idleness, boredom and anxiety.

An example of a routine: getting up, exercising, having breakfast, distance learning for school children, remote work for parents. Dinner. Daytime sleep of babies (the rest — optional). Housework. Time for a walk, games, creativity. Dinner. Joint viewing of films and cartoons of your choice (online walks to museums, online travel). Reading together. Preparation for sleep. Sleep.

You don’t need to have a rigid attachment to time. But there is a certain sequence of things. It gives a sense of predictability and security.

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Cleanliness and order: ways to clean up with your kids in a fun way

Let your home — your main living environment in this time of crisis — give you a feeling of comfort, cosiness and reliability.

It’s great if all of your family crew members are involved in cleaning. It is important to talk about the need to clean up more during the period of self-isolation. And that mom really needs everyone’s help.

Each family member should have his own work scope.

Children are children, they love to do everything playfully. Make a cleaning quest for them. You can catch an enemy agent with them — dust with the help of a secret weapon — rags and a vacuum cleaner. Children put scouts — things from other rooms — in their places or help refugee things to return home.

You can be the employees of the cleaning company, who are tasked with laundering a room. The reward is gratitude, generous praise, as well as “goodies” in the form of a joint viewing of a funny comedy, ice cream, etc. The game turns cleaning from a boring obligation into a fun, interesting activity.

Chat! How to interview each family member

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, many household members become familiar strangers to each other. We manage to take an interest in the thoughts of loved ones only at a superficial level. “Did you eat? Did you do your homework?” – these are the questions that parents most often ask children.

The best thing about quarantine is that we are placed in conditions that facilitate closer communication with loved ones. Common meals, communication, hugs bring you very close.

And there are also games that help you become closer and dearer. Try those that consist of a joint discussion of questions about the inner world of each other. For example, about dreams, about a funny incident from childhood, about favourite games or favourite activities, about best friends, etc.

You can ask questions in different formats:

interviews ( use a cucumber or banana as a microphone. Pass it around. Everyone who takes a bite answers the question); fishing (put pieces of paper with questions in a hat. Each one pulls out a “fish” for himself – a question. Or you can attach paper clips to pieces of paper – and pull questions with a magnet on a rope); hot chair (one person sits – and everyone else asks him. It turns out in the form of a mini-press conference).

Get moving: 

In order to get out of the period of isolation with the least damage to your health, it is very important to include physical activity in your daily routine.

How do you get inspired to exercise at home?

Children are charged with the desire to practice for a long time after watching films (for example, “Faster, Higher, Bolder”) and cartoons (“KungFu Panda”) on sports topics;

It is interesting to work with coaches and fitness instructors (fortunately, now there is access to training videos);

You can arrange a competition in the number of steps, giving each household a pedometer for the day in turn;

The simplest thing: turn on incendiary music and dance together!

Day of records: everyone demonstrates their favourite physical exercises, achievements in strength and dexterity, flexibility and speed. Applause to all champions!

Fun competitions will not leave anyone motionless. For example arm wrestling with dad, jumping rope, standing on one leg, tennis with a balloon, etc.

Don’t forget about the importance of fresh air. Go for a walk, play volleyball outside or go biking. There is no child that doesn’t love bikes. And if you don’t have enough bikes for the whole family, it’s great that you don’t have to go to the store, but order from Bicycles Online.

Win! What heroes to take an example in self-isolation

Despondency, fear, anxiety are the enemies of this period. But there are remedies that are important to apply. In crowded places, we wear a mask to protect ourselves. It is also important to filter information, protecting yourself and loved ones from panic viruses.

Help the children see the good times every day. Create little joys and a festive mood. Share with each other what you liked about that day in the evening, replenish the family piggy bank of joys.

During this challenging time, it is very important to discuss with children the experience of coping with the difficulties of parents and grandparents. Tell them how you and your family won, coped, how you fell, but got up. Research confirms that the experience of ancestor victories becomes a pillar in the hour of trials for their descendants.

You can study with children how literary characters (for example, Robinson Crusoe) and living people (for example, astronauts) overcome the difficulties of isolation. Let their experiences inspire you to hold on and not give up.

You can discuss the goals, destinations of your family boat. What are you aiming for? What will you do after self-isolation? Will you appreciate things as simple as living with friends and family, walking and travelling more?

You can make a dream collage with the whole family – outline your goals with the help of pictures in terms of health, communication, finance, education, travel, etc. Such a conversation can help teenagers with a great desire to start studying (for example, to learn a new language, which is definitely needed when travelling abroad).

Conclusion

During this tough period, it is important to channel anxiety into action. During the war, people helped each other a lot, sharing even the little that they had. And now we can share words of support, sympathy, optimism with our friends and family. Stay in touch with them. Call your parents more often. Don’t isolate yourself mentally.

We wish your crews solidarity! We wish you to emerge from this period safely and sound, loving and happy!