HOW TO: Avoid Getting Sick

I have an exciting week coming up - tomorrow, I get my nephew and on Thursday, I'm going to New York. So the last thing I want is to get sick. But, I've been working so much and the weather keeps changing that I got that tickle in my throat on Friday.

Not trying to jinx myself, but I feel great and here's why: 

1. Gargle Warm Salt Water 

This one sucks while you're doing it, but the moment I get that tickle (And you know the one - the one that's telling you you're about to get sick), I warm up some water, add some salt, and then gargle. 

2. Cold-eeze

These are disgusting. My mom always tells us "They're not meant to be candy." It's marketed as a "cold prevention" and I'm fairly sure it's just a super dose of vitamin C. Oh well. Whatever it is, it seems to have worked its magic. 

3. Vitamin C 

During the winter, I always take vitamin C pills, so I just stuck with that. Especially in Arizona with the weather changing so rapidly, it's worth it to invest in. 

4. Water

Drink lots of water. Over the weekend, I always had a cup of water next to me. 

5. Sleep

I wish I could follow this advice, but I've been working so much that sleep wasn't in the cards for me. However, if you're starting to feel sick, going to bed early is always helpful. 

Now that I've saved everyone from those winter to spring colds, I want to talk about BlogGo. 

This app allows me to post directly to my Blogger blog from my iPhone. It's available at the iTunes Store and I cannot recommend it enough. 

I just wrote this post using BlogGo and t was incredibly simple to use. Check it out! 

Texting Etiquette: The Group Message.

Group Texts are great for making plans. Or discussing a big event with a few friends in the middle of the work day.

Anddddd......

That's about it. What else do you need Group messaging for?

Well, apparently baby pictures. This is when things start to get messy. This kind of mass text goes out to everyone - Aunts, friends, whatever. And the people included often don't know each other. So, when one person makes that fatal mistake of responding, you suddenly have a text message from a number you don't know. Don't do that.

I learned my lesson after my Uncle had a baby. He sent us a picture with the weight and length and time. And, considering I was a little intoxicated, I just replied right back and said, "What a cute baby! Congrats!"

As soon as I sent that, I got a response from a random number - this was to the entire group - that said, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Whoops.

So, unless you know everyone included on the Group Message - do not respond. You can create a new text to the sender and let them know.

This post was brought to you by the stupid amount of New Years Eve texts I got.

Online Organization: A How-To.

1) Inbox Victory.

Inbox Victory is when you finally get your Inbox empty. Yes, it is just as ridiculous as it sounds, but it's such a relieving feeling.
You know the saying, "A place for everything and everything in its place." Well, this is it's email equivalent.

Essentially, the idea is to create Folders via Gmail to place all emails in. I like to leave things I need to reply to or take care of in my inbox and put everything else in its folders.

I currently have...

- Accounts. This is my folder for all my online account information. Whenever I get a confirmation email about an account or anything like that, I put it in this folder so its easily searchable incase I need to remember my username or if I have an account.

- Blog. All things to do with my blog go into this folder, including things I'd like to post about later.

- Funny. All funny emails go here in case of a pick-me-up later down the road. 

- Personal. Pretty self-explanatory, huh? I have some cute exchanges between my ex and I. A few happy emails from friends. That kind of thing. 

And as I previously mentioned, all emails that require any kind of action - they stay in the inbox until they're handled. This ensures that they will not get lost in the shuffle.

2) Just Unsubscribe.
Everyday, the bulk of my email comes from online stores offering me "Great Deals!" It's definitely one of the hardest things to see while I'm trying to be good and continue my Spending Diet. So, at the beginning of the year, I decided that instead of sending all these emails straight to the Trash - I would take the time and unsubscribe. I don't use them. They're just annoying.

Just find the link at the end of the email and click it. It's usually that simple.

3) Dropbox.
When I was in school, my saving grace was Dropbox. This is a free service that allows you to use their Cloud and save documents, pictures, etc. and you can access them from any computer. Simple, huh? I used to leave my MacBook at home and just carry my Netbook to school and with Dropbox, I had access to all the same files on each device. It was especially helpful with the iPhone App because I could access my files on the go with my iPhone.

4) Create an Email Draft for Recipe Ideas.
I've been doing this for years. When I find a recipe I'm interested in making, I add it to an email draft with all the ingredients there. That way, when I'm at the store, I can easily see what I need to make specific recipes.

And, as a draft, I can easily add and remove different recipes.
This isn't the best way, but so far, it's been the best way for me because what's the one thing I'm always going to have with me? My phone.


Do you have any organizational tips for easier online living? Do you have a way to finally get my Bookmarks simplified? Or a way to reduce the number of tabs I have up (I'm currently at 20)? Let me know in the comments!

Traveling Tip: Charging Your iPhone and other electronics

Most hotels have an abundance of plugs, but if you're missing one, most newer televisions have a USB port. You can charge your iPhone that way.

And my Kindle Fire has been having a hard time charging through the traditional plug, so that's how I charged it.

Have any tips and tricks for me? Let me know in the comments. 

To-Do List Hell.

I wrote out this long, extravagant to-do list.

And hardly anything is done. Procrastination at it's best? Worst? Who knows.

Here are some tips for you to beat procrastination (and tips I should probably follow):

1) Create a to-do list. With small, tasks. I even usually put on there "Create a To-Do List" so I can cross it off when the list is over. That way, it doesn't seem as daunting.

2) Reward Yourself. I try to tell myself that if I finish at least 5 of the items on my list, I will treat myself. Like, with that last pumpkin muffin I have in the fridge.

*Do NOT reward yourself with things that will keep you from finishing your list. I know if I reward myself with an episode of tv - that one episode will turn into about 4 hours of television and nothing will get done.

3) Schedule things. One of the things on my list is to get my oil changed and I should have scheduled a time to do it. That way - you can't avoid getting it done.

4) Do what works best for you. Do you like to have everything on your phone? Then put that list in your phone. You can even have Siri (if you have an iPhone) remind you to do things when you reach certain locations. Or, if you're like me, you like to have everything handwritten out. I love the feeling of crossing something off the list. It doesn't matter what way you do it, but the actual list is really important as is the ability to add and to check things off.

5) Include fun things. Add a few fun things in your list -- this helps make the list more bearable and gives you more reasons to cross things off.

How do you beat procrastination? Any tips for me? Let me know in the comments.

I'm about to go start running all my errands. Here's hoping I manage to get everything done today.