Life Hacks

Why Some People are Opting for Tiny Homes

With sky-high home prices – along with interest rates – tiny homes are making a comeback!

That’s because the average cost of a tiny home is 87% cheaper than a standard home.

And if you’re building one from the ground up, the timetable from breaking ground to move-in is around a month, with an average cost between $30- and $60-thousand dollars.

But keep in mind that a tiny house means exactly that! It’ll be 600 square feet or less. The majority of tiny homes are being purchased by Millennials……But retirees want them, too.  so tiny homes are back…they may be tiny  but they are hugely popular right now

How to Reboot Your Brain and Focus on a New Goal

To reboot your brain, and focus on a new goal, wash your hands!  The act of washing your hands can cleanse your brain of old ideas. 

Researchers at the University of Toronto discovered that hand washing – or even using hand sanitizer – can make prior goals seem less important and new goals more important. It helps us shift our priorities. That’s because wiping away dirt becomes a physical trigger for psychological cleanse – making it easier to separate old and new ideas.  

So, if you’re trying to shift your focus to something new, go wash your hands. You’ll find it easier to let go of the recent past and move on.

Are you sick of the color gray?

Don’t shoot the messenger here if you’ve just finished painting your bedroom Thunder Gray or Silver Half-Dollar Gray, for example… But according to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, so-called “gray fatigue” is real!

Which may not be surprising, considering that since 2008, nearly EVERYTHING has been turning gray. It was THE top selling shade for cars, shiny new tech gadgets, stainless steel appliances, and more. Interior designers also found that if they painted homes in pale gray shades, the color was “neutral” and inoffensive enough that homes would sell much faster – compared to if they were painted white, beige, or something more colorful.

So, what happened? Well, when the pandemic hit, and many of us started spending more time at home, a lot of people looked around their gray rooms and decided their interiors reminded them of gray hospital walls or prison cells!
And it’s why most paint companies and interior designers are now seeing a spike in interest in using more colorful shades……

ANY color… as long as it’s not gray!

There’s a stress relief tip that’s going viral on social media……

It comes from Dr. Karan Rajan , a lecturer at the University of Sunderland in the UK.  He says the key to calming down, and improving your resilience to stress, can be found in your throat!

Because by singing, humming or even gargling water you cause  your heart rate and breathing to slow down, which reduces anxiety and promotes relaxation.

And the more easily you can put yourself in this state, the more capable your body will be of adapting to stressful situations.

Amazing effect just from just spending some time humming, singing, or gargling!

Making a Big Change in Your Life

If you want to make a big change in your life, new research shows it helps to visualize your “possible selves.” That’s a concept that describes how people envision their futures: what you want to become, or even fear becoming!

The official term for this is “self-perception,” which refers to our ability to see what we might become – for better or worse. And according to Dr. Hazel Markus, a psychology professor at Stanford University, self-perception is a powerful motivator to make big changes and achieve our dreams! 

As an example: In my case, I imagined what Dr. Markus would call my “hoped-for-self,” where I saw myself as a successful musician, instead of the guy reading celebrity birthdays on TV! 

But surprisingly, Dr. Markus says it also helps to imagine our “feared self,” or the version of ourselves that we most dread. Because fear can also be a powerful motivator. But both a positive and a negative “possible self” are equally motivating. 

How to Cut Out Unhealthy Food

If you’re trying to eat better, and cut out fast food and unhealthy snacks – this will make it easier……

We can train ourselves to crave healthy foods. That’s according to nutrition scientist Dr. Susan Roberts from Tufts University. She says the brain can be rewired to prefer things like fruits and vegetables. 

Here’s how to do it: You simply have to choose to eat good-for-you foods when you’re absolutely starving. Because true hunger will help form neurological connections that’ll make you associate the taste of healthy foods with the pleasure of satiating your hunger.

So Dr. Roberts says just reach for a healthy snack the next 10 to 15 times when you’re really hungry and that’ll solidify a new habit. And Dr. Roberts says she’s had patients who have changed their cravings in as little as 2 weeks.

The Best Phrase to Say to Your Partner

The health of your relationship could boil down to 4 words: “How was your day?”

Marriage counselor Sharon Rivkin has been helping couples for over 30 years – and she says she found that a full 90-percent of them have stopped asking: “How was your day?” 

Dr. Rivkin believes this phrase is as important as “I love you”. And she says she has found that without daily conversations – that aren’t about chores or bills – resentment will build, your bond will weaken, and eventually, there’s a much bigger likelihood  of a  break up! 

So Rivkin says even if you don’t feel like there are any issues in your relationship, it’s still a good idea to start having daily check-ins with your partner. All you have to do is ask, “How was your day?”

How would you like a 5-figure salary boost? All you have to do is exercise regularly! We all know that exercising provides tons of health benefits. But, according to the Journal of Labor Research, there’s a direct correlation between exercise and earning power, too! 

The study looked at thousands of people who regularly exercised and thousands who did not. The result? The study found that, on average, those who exercised regularly made $25-thousand-dollars more per year.

And what if you’re doing high-intensity interval training? Those who go at it hard make an additional $13-thousand-dollars more per year than people who did low-intensity workouts. 
The study also found that people who exercise regularly describe themselves as happier, more optimistic, and a lot more sociable. 

So what’s the connection? It’s all about the personality traits of people who prioritize fitness. It’s indicative of dedication, goal setting and good decision-making. And all of those qualities can help you excel on the job…….as well as in the gym.  

Again there’s now a direct correlation between exercise and earning power.

Traveling is Great for Your Brain

In case you need another reason to plan a vacation: Traveling is really great for your brain!

That’s according to neuropsychologist Dr. Paul Nussbaum, founder of the Brain Health Center in Pennsylvania. He says ANY time you expose your brain to new environments, your brain becomes more alert……and the more unusual the environment, the more areas of your brain will be activated.

That helps build new neural connections,. And Dr. Nussbaum says that’s an important way to ward off age-related cognitive decline…That’s why he recommends planning vacations that take you OUT of your comfort zone in some way……Whether that means trying new activities and cuisines, or immersing yourself in cultures and languages you’ve never experienced before!

Because bottom line: The more novel and complex your travel experience, the better it is for your brain!

Is “Faking ’til You Make it” Good or Bad? Along the lines of “fake it ‘til you make it”…… Believing you’re creative can make you more creative! That’s according to researchers at the University of Maryland. 

They found that believing you’re creative increases your ability to come up with inventive solutions and original ideas. 

The researchers gathered hundreds of college students. One group was told to imagine themselves as a creative professional – like an artist, writer or designer. The other group was told to take on the mindset of someone in a more conventional, traditional profession – like an accountant or librarian. 

The students then completed the “Uses of Objects Task,” which is a standard psychological test measuring creativity. Basically, you brainstorm various alternate uses for ordinary objects – like a coffee mug or a brick. 

The result?

The students who imagined themselves as artists or writers were able to think of more uses for the objects – and more original uses – than the students who imagined themselves as accountants. 

Again from the study… believing you’re creative increases your ability to come up with original ideas.