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#1 Time management ’systems’ often fail because they are born of perfectionism and unrealistic expectations.

For instance, some people don’t initiate a time management approach until they’re already falling behind in their work; they undertake time management as a means of catching up.

Their initial plans tend to cram in everything they have to do without appropriate regard for the time required. The unrealistic plans that emerge from ‘catch-up time management’ amount to little more than an expression of renewed motivation for change but without the structure to support it.

Those who try to follow crammed schedules often fall seriously behind their intended pace and abandon the plan altogether, resulting in continued time trouble. Some conclude somehow that these strategies of planning don’t work for them.

But, what is important isn’t being perfect, it is making and using a plan that helps you accomplish your goals. One of your best options for time management systems is to begin with the process of goal setting to establish a context for managing time.
I find that I have to stay on top of lots of different types of news and content that fit with the different types of people that I meet. My company pulled together a website for me that pull’s in RSS feeds, news and articles for dozens of different topics. We created an info section on our web page for me to quickly review. This saves me time, I don’t have to search. It’s in one place for me.

What’s your business plan? Even if you don’t own a business lets assume that your life needs to be run efficiently and organized and that you need a return on investment (ROI). Step one is goals, both long term (5 years) and short term (1 year). Let’s get started. Stop reading this article whenever you need too. First you need to create a sheet with 2 columns and 2 rows. Label the columns professional and the other personal, then the rows under them should be labeled long term and short term. Know what you want to achieve in life. Remember balance in life as well. Do your goals include exercise, financial, career, education, entertainment, religion, charity? List all that fit. Make sure that each goal is clear, positive and achievable. But, reach and grow, don’t set the goals to low. Remember and learn to celebrate your success too. As you achieve these goals take time to enjoy the satisfaction of your achievements.

This section of the program should take a few days. Get started on your goal list today, come back and visit it a couple of times to really make it the best that you can. After you have revisited it a few times now prioritize and number the list in the order that is most important for you to achieve over all success. Adjust how you think about time, improve your awareness of how you use time, and make change for peak performance. As you encounter time troubles, keep in mind that some are predictable, some are not; some are controllable, some are not. For those that are not controllable, keep your cool and get back on track as soon as possible. For time troubles that you can control, and particularly those that occur predictably, deal with them directly and forcefully so that they don’t prevent you from achieving your goals. Examine the following list of troubles: the tips and strategies associated with each one can help you shift your time back to your goals.

Procrastination often emerges as a means of distancing oneself from stressful activities. If you’re overwhelmed by the volume of work on your to-do list, you might benefit from making a ‘one-item list’: re-write the top item from your list at the top of a blank page and work the task to completion, then repeat.

It can be difficult to start working. Most of the time, however, not starting seems to be related to fear of poor results or negative evaluations than it is to the actual difficulty of the work. Aim to subdivide tasks into small steps and convince yourself that to get started all you need is 10 full minutes working on a task. Often, the 10 minutes will elapse and you’ll be right into the swing of things, prepared to continue on productively.

#2 The next phase of the system involves tracking time and developing awareness for where you spend your time.

How do you currently spend your time? You need to know. For the next week you need to keep a log of what your whole day looks like. Take a notebook and make notes all during the day. Also make a note in the logs about your moods. Don’t rely on your memory, that doesn’t work very well. After the week is over you’ll need to really dive into the log and split the entries into professional and personal. You might be surprised as to how much time is spent on reading junk mail, and chatting with the office chatterers or doing less than organized activities. It’s interesting to compare your energy levels when you review the logs. Productivity may be tied into your eating habits. Now how much is your time worth? Take your pay or if you’re at home, what your pay should be and divide it per hour, ½ hour and each 15 minute section. Examine the log and how much does it cost for you to deal with that junk mail or chatting and being social in non-productive discussions? Of course we all realize that we are human, and need social interaction. This is just a guide of what time management means in terms of costs. Here’s where your return on investment is important. You’ll return to this log to restructure your day.

#3 The third phase of the cycle is plan making, and this could include making to-do lists, weekly plans, monthly plans and longer-range plans.
Your new plan. Using the log to analyze your time you’ll now need to see where you can improve on your time management. Remembering the goals that you created in step one as a guide, we need to start using a to do list. You’ll need to revisit your master goals list several times during the year. Those goals are not carved in stone and can be changed as your life becomes more organized. Many people talk about multi-tasking, but be sure that you schedule quality time to complete your tasks completely. Your to-do list is your business plan of essential tasks for the week or for the day. Set time aside just once per day to process your postal mail, set time to read and responded to e-mail, unless you are in a service position that requires it more than once. As you look at the tasks that you need to schedule think about if this is a task that you enjoy and are you good at it? Are there some tasks that just should not be on your to do list? Would your personal ROI be better served if you showed someone else how to do this task? This is important because you will be more effective on the important tasks that fit your role in the organization and or family. It will also increase your satisfaction of a day well spent. Your new business plan should concentrate on your strengths and tasks that really matter to your job and home life and support the goals that you identified in step 1. In order for you to do this well you may need to review your job description purpose and meet with others to learn what is most important in increasing your value to them. How would you be able to exceed expectations? Consider this as you create your to do list. What are the most important deadlines? Are you part of a team and how does your time management skills relate to projects. You should know if there are resources and budgets available to you to support exceeding the expectations. If you manage people or are a family caregiver this all needs to be scheduled. This is a lot to consider and should be done over a period of time, perhaps a week. But, don’t procrastinate. Let’s get it done. Time management is important. What type of to do list will work best for you? Choose either a weekly or daily list based on the method that will be most effective for your management style. As you create your list consider that:

1. It makes sense that the person with the time, skill, talent and knowledge does each job. Bear in mind however that one person can not do everything.

2. Teach the person how to do the job, including shortcuts.

• Have the best tools, supplies, and equipment for doing the job.

• Consider what jobs people already do.

• Never re-do a job (unless health and/or safety is threatened). If you do, you’ll get the job back.

• Realize others may not meet your standards, but if you have truly given up the job, accept that your standards no longer apply.

• Praise people; let them know their work is appreciated.
3. There are plenty of people who would enjoy being paid for a job you would rather not do.

4. Apply the motto ‘Less is Best,’ so you have fewer possessions to manage. Evaluate if the world will come to an end if the job just does not get done.

Divide your goals into time frames – and then subdivide into manageable pieces.

While it may seem challenging to take in the whole scope of that convergent goal, thinking of your goals in this way helps to reinforce the idea that there is a connected path linking what actions you take today and the successful completion of your goals.

Seeing these connections can help you monitor your own progress and detect whether you are on track or not.

The final phase of the cycle is time shifting and adjusting (i.e., changing where you spend your time to better match your intended use of time) in which you make corrections to the system before starting the cycle again at goal setting.

Taken together, these phases permit you to initialize a process of gradual, performance-based improvement in time management skill.

Everybody wants the ‘quick fix’, but the complexity of changes involved in really getting a grip on your time management process will take some time to move through.

Resist the urge to cast aside strategies that don’t promise instant results; like it or not, change takes time.

Now make the to – do list. Once your list is complete prioritize the list using numbers where #1 is most important. As you implement your new business plan start with most important. If at the end you don’t get to do the least important tasks examine how important they are and if you are the right person to be doing the task. Can you and should you delegate that duty?

#4 Now that you have your list created use technology and tools. How do you schedule your time? Do you use a calendar, a daily, weekly, monthly planner? Do you use computer software, pda, or smart gadget? If you have these tools but don’t know how or do not use them, make time on your list for this learning. If your life is fast paced or stressful, remember to allow time for balance. For many people, sports are a fun activity. We created a fun website that’s a sports portal for when you only have a few minutes. We called it adventurezonesports. It’s a great collection of extreme sports. It’s a fun few minutes escape from work. If you need a walk or workout time schedule this, don’t try to do it while you’re eating lunch! Quality time management includes:

Physical (exercise, nutrition, sleep)

Intellectual (cultural, aesthetic)

Social (intimate and social relationships)

Career (school and career goal directed work)

Emotional (expression of feelings, desires)

Spiritual (quest for meaning)

It is important to keep in mind that the purpose of scheduling is not to enslave you to your planner, but rather to record your decisions about when certain things should happen.

The weekly objective list is a to-do list with additional features to further decompose tasks into smaller units and to record time estimates for the task.

Construct your plan to follow a rhythm.

Pick a time each week to plan your schedule. Even with unexpected occurrences that can impact your schedule you assist yourself in making decisions that are governed by your desire to reach your goals.

Once your week is planned you will experience clarity of focus, your tendency to be distracted will be reduced and you will be certain of your reasons for doing the things you had planned. Committing yourself to a plan you’ve made represents a renewal of your motivation for the goals and tends to increase your time on task.

#5 The last phase of the system is self-monitoring your action. Self monitoring involves paying attention to how well you are working your plan, how accurately you have planned, how well you have forecasted for various events and so on
For many people motivation isn’t a prerequisite to action…it is a result of it!

You’ll spend a lot of your time waiting in lines. At the library check-out, waiting for the bus, waiting for the light to turn green at an intersection, buying tickets, and even waiting for the professor to arrive at class… you find yourself just waiting. If you carry around a book, some photocopied reports, spreadsheets, your pda smart gadget with this MP3 management program you could be actively using time that would otherwise escape you. Plan ahead with an activity to fill this empty time.

The key to commuting time is, simply, use it or lose it. Books on tape or MP3 training are a wonderful way to multitask if you are driving, or if you are riding, the list is endless of little chores that can be accomplished. The challenge is to use that time for something productive.

Helpful tips:

OFFICE
When chatterers show up unannounced in your office be firm but polite. Suggest that you wish you had time to chat right now but absolutely do not. You realize that it’s important to get together and take your calendar out and suggest a time that might work for you because with your new time management program right now you have something scheduled.

Always putting out fires? Maybe others in your office or family need to learn how to have better time management. Chaos is normally due to poor planning. Offer to schedule a team time management planning session.

FOOD
Develop and use a rotating menu system which can include complete meals or just main dishes.
Photocopy a master shopping list so you just have to check off needed items.
Buy and cook in quantity.
Do only one large shopping trip each month for basics and staples?
Prepare quick and easy but nutritious breakfasts only.
Use food preparation and storage equipment to the maximum such as a slow cooker, freezer, microwave, food processor, and pressure saucepan.
Prepare as much in advance as possible such as lunches the night before and quantity cooking on the weekends.
Get everyone in the habit of rinsing dishes immediately after use.

CLOTHES
All family members above the age of three put away their own laundry.
Multiple hampers or baskets coded for the type of washing machine settings such as ‘warm wash, cold rinse’ or ‘cold wash, cold rinse’ cuts sorting time.

Locate laundry near the bathroom or the kitchen.
Put away coats, boots, etc. as soon as possible when entering the house.
Make it a house rule that what goes into the laundry basket inside out, gets washed and dried inside out — socks, underwear, T-shirts, etc.

HOUSE
Set Friday night or Saturday morning as house cleaning time for everyone.
Develop a flexible cleaning schedule so everything eventually gets done.
All family members over the age of three are responsible for their own bedrooms.

Use shelves instead of cabinets or drawers for storage; it’s easier to put something away if you don’t have to open a drawer or door.
In each room have either all or no carpeting.
Decorate with darker colors especially in high traffic areas
Use quilts or sleeping bags for easier bed making.
Wipe the bathroom sink after each use.
Clean the tub or shower before you get out of it.
Make the bed right after you get up.
Use throw rugs with rubber backs in heavy traffic areas.
Change filters on the heating/cooling system frequently to cut down on the amount of house dust.
Keep multiple sets of cleaning supplies and equipment especially if the house has more than one level.

YARD
Simplify landscaping; consolidate several flower beds into a large one.
Use low maintenance plantings.
Keep lawn care equipment in top-notch working order.

CAR
Schedule the next routine car service appointment each time you pick up the car left for servicing.
Develop a car care calendar for routine service and seasonal maintenance.
Use a master calendar to schedule chauffeuring of family members.

SHOPPING
Run several errands at the same time.
Have a morning ‘launching pad’ as a place to collect backpacks, briefcases, papers, money, etc. the night before.
Carry a list of current sizes for everyone in the household when shopping. Do as much routine shopping (bedding, underwear, footwear, etc.) as possible by telephone or mail.
Buy an entire season’s clothing in one trip.
Buy duplicates of gifts, cards, etc.
Organize important papers and records in a filing system.
Use ’sticky notes’ on the bathroom mirror or by the door to remind someone of something they tend to forget, or use magnets to hold notes on metal surfaces.

By Bob Therrien
© 2005, 2006
President
TrainingPASS Sales Corp.
http://www.trainingpass.com

Bob Therrien has more than 20 years experience in training others in marketing, managing, mentoring, leading, supporting, selling, and servicing business needs. Bob is the president of http://www.TrainingPASS.com

The recommended food pyramid provides a simple guide to establishing healthy eating habits. The food pyramid was originally established in the 1960s in response to the increase in heart disease, and to help people understand what it takes to stay healthy. There are several facets of the food pyramid, which help you to analyze what you are eating and what you need to change in order to maintain your healthy eating habits.

The base of the pyramid is the bread & grains group. There are a variety of different types of foods that fall into this category. According to this pyramid, a healthy diet contains six to eleven servings of a breads & grains per day. An example of a single serving would be half of a cup of rice, cereal or pasta or one slice of bread. Another thing to consider is the type of grain. The pyramid recommends at least half of the bread & grains you consume are whole grain, such as whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, or oatmeal.

From here, various versions of the pyramid split. Some versions pyramids include fruit and vegetables in a single group, others split them into two groups. For the vegetable category, it is important to add two to three servings of vegetables to your daily diet. A serving generally consists of a cup of vegetables or vegetable juice. It is also key to eat a variety of different types of vegetables over the course of a week. The typical food pyramid groups vegetables into five groups:

* Dark green: such as broccoli and spinach.

* Orange: pumpkin and sweet potatoes

* Dry beans and peas: navy beans, kidney beans, lentils, tofu

* Starchy vegetables: corn, potatoes, green peas

* Other vegetables: cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes

(Note: While we have given examples of the members of each group, it is certainly not an exhaustive list)

With fruits, a cup of fruit or fruit juice, or a half-cup of dried fruit counts as a serving. Recommendations are one to two servings of fruit each day.

The next part of the food pyramid is the milk and dairy section. This group includes milk (including lactose-free), yogurt, cheese and other variations of this type of product. About three servings per day is the recommended amount. A typical serving of dairy would be a cup of milk or yogurt, 1½ ounces of natural cheese or two ounces of processed cheese.

Next to last is the meat and beans group. This group contains meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and dried beans. Choosing low-fat cuts of meat and poultry are key to a healthy diet. Five to six ounces of mean and beans each day is the recommended daily intake for this group.

The highest level of the food pyramid is the oils and fats level. While there are different types of oils and fats, this food group should be the smallest portion of a healthy diet. General recommendations are five to seven teaspoons of fats or oils per day; not very much. An ounce of nuts, such as peanuts or almonds, contains three teaspoons of oil. A tablespoon of mayonnaise contains about two and a half teaspoons.

The food pyramid can provide excellent guidlines to ensure that your meals will be more balanced and nutritious. Though the number of servings in each group will vary based on your age, body type, activity level and other individual needs, the food pyramid can help you on your way to developing a pattern of healthy eating.

About the Author: Elizabeth Radisson is the editor of Nutrition.OurGoodHealth.org. For more nutrition related articles, head to Nutrition.OurGoodHealth.org. For more general health information, see http://www.OurGoodHealth.org

The idea of having your will or estate go through “probate” conjures up visions of money that should have gone to your heirs being peeled off and divided up for the state’s administrative services in seeing to your last wishes. In addition, the process of probating a will or estate can be a lengthy one, particularly trying for a spouse or children who have to wait until it is finished to gain clear title to a home or access to bank accounts.

Consequently, attorneys and financial planners often encourage people to structure their estates in ways that will avoid probate. That may or may not be beneficial, given that probate court systems in many states have been restructured in recent years and there are only certain types of assets that aren’t required to be probated.

What is probate and how does it work? There are actually two facets to the process commonly referred to as “probate”. When a person dies, his/her will must go through a formal process of being finalized. The probate court, depending on the state, determines that the will is your last statement confirming the disposition of your estate and officially appoints the person or business that you have already chosen to administer the will (your executor). In cases where a person dies intestate (without a will), the state court may appoint an estate executor, generally an attorney or agency that specializes in such matters.

In addition to the formalities, the term probate is also applied to the whole process of gathering and paying any final bills and taxes that are filed against the estate, as well as distributing the remaining assets to the heirs. The executor is supervised, or at least reports to, the court, and may come under close scrutiny by the will’s beneficiaries. Because the executor performs a number of tasks that can be technically difficult and time consuming, he/she is also entitled to be paid a reasonable amount for services rendered. The actual amount of compensation may be provided for in the will, or could be a percentage established by the particular state’s probate laws. In either case, it does constitute a certain portion of a person’s net assets that subtracts from the amount eventually dispensed to the heir(s).

There are certain assets that are exempt from probate. Those include life insurance or retirement plans that pass to a specific, previously named beneficiary and real estate held jointly by the deceased and the beneficiary. In addition, bank accounts or brokerage accounts that are jointly held and which specify the right of survivorship do not have to be probated.

A living trust, which passes property to your heirs prior to your death is often marketed as a way to avoid probate. However, that assertion may not be entirely true. It is only rarely that some part of a living trust does not have to go through probate, despite the original intentions. Any property that has not been transferred to others prior to your death is generally willed to the trust itself, then transferred to the heirs via a trustee who very probably charges fees, after he or she pays any outstanding taxes from the estate. It is the very process of settling those same taxes and administrative details that can delay and extend the process of probate. Thus, depending on the state where the property is being dispersed and the extent of the estate, the actual time frame and cost of probate can potentially be less than those involved in the distribution of a living trust.

Probate, therefore, is generally a necessary court procedure through which a person’s final will is confirmed and the proceeds from it are distributed. Because states have been working toward simplifying the procedures involved in probate, it is not something that must necessarily be avoided at all costs.

About Ronald E. Hudkins

Ronald Hudkins retired honorably from the U.S. Military Police Corps in 1993. He has just completed a mini book listing foundations that provide wish and dream fulfillments for adults faced with terminal illnesses, disabilities/challenges and/or are senior’s on limited incomes. The book also features a massive listing of organizations that provide adults with basic needs and other things. For more information visit http://www.adultwishfoundations.com

How does one measure health? It depends on who you ask. A physician may measure health in terms of lab values – cholesterol, blood sugar and so on. A personal trainer might tell you that your body fat percentage is the best indicator of good health. You might base it on what the scale tells you or how your clothes fit.

I’m a big believer in monitoring all of these things and then some. Seems like a big job, but really it only takes a few minutes to do each one, involves inexpensive equipment or can be a regular part of a visit to your physician. I call them ‘The Big Ten Health and Fitness Measures.’

1. Weight
2. BMI (Body Mass Index)
3. Body composition
4. Measurements
5. Resting and target heart rates
6. Cardiorespiratory fitness
7. Energy level
8. Blood pressure
9. Glucose & cholesterol
10. Pain

Why keep track of all these things? First, because there isn’t one single good way to define what makes a person healthy or fit. For instance, just because you are at a healthy weight, does not mean that you don’t have high cholesterol. Also, it can be discouraging to use just one method. You may find yourself in a situation where even though you did not lose any weight in a given week, you may have lost inches.

Monitoring several indicators of health and fitness helps you to get a well-rounded picture of your entire self. We do not judge our children in just one subject at school right? And just because the child does poorly in math does not mean he won’t excel at other subjects. And just because you have not lost any weight on the scale does not mean that your waist isn’t getting smaller.

Secondly, we have all heard the adage, ‘a problem defined is 95% solved.’ Knowing your target ranges for health indicators like weight, body fat and BMI can help you to define what you need to work on. You avoid unnecessary changes and difficulties by having the correct information. For instance, someone with good cholesterol levels has no need for an ultra-low fat diet.

Third, it serves as a point of inspiration to see how far you have come. Since the changes you are making will be small and incremental, it may be discouraging at times not to see overt progress. However, by keeping track of a variety of fitness indicators, it is easier to see, in black and white, all of the progress you are making.

Jennifer D. Wetmore, DPT has been involved in health and fitness for over a decade working with a range of clients and patients from health clubs to hospitals. Dr. Wetmore is the author of ‘Small Changes, Big Results: The Health and Fitness Manual with the Secrets to Working Smarter, Not Harder.’ Please visit http://www.LifeHealthPT.com for more information about the Big 10 Health and Fitness Measures.

It isn’t just the US Government waiting out there to grab a chunk of your hard earned estate when you become incapacitated or die. Strangely enough, state coffers are frequently enlarged through the mechanism of Medicaid. When someone requires long-term care in a nursing home, unless he or she has a private long-term care insurance policy, their whole estate may belong to the state when they pass on.

Nursing home care is not free, even in county or state operated facilities. Someone, somewhere, has to foot the bill. If you, or your family, does not have resources to pay for the care, Medicaid steps in. While Medicaid is a federal program, funds are allocated to the states for administrative purposes and are subject to state rules and regulations.

People who apply for Medicare aren’t always aware of exactly how the program works, but even more sadly, most people who are forced to apply for Medicare really have no other choice, so it doesn’t matter how it works. By the same token, Medicaid rules have been revised so that if one half of a married couple requires nursing home care, the other spouse doesn’t have to sell the house and live on the street.

Under the most recent Medicaid rulings, when one spouse has to be in a nursing home for 30 days or more, the couple’s assets are assessed and some assets are excluded by virtue of “spousal impoverishment” rules. The couple’s residence is excluded from the asset evaluation, along with household furnishings and personal effects. In some states, the remaining spouse’s IRAs are exempted, as well. The non-ailing spouse is then entitled to half of any remaining assets, subject to minimum and maximum limits, while the other half must be spent on the nursing home care.

In addition, income like Social Security, some pensions, and some interest dividends are subject to “maintenance allowance,” rules designed to allow the healthy spouse enough money to live on. If, for example, the Social Security Income or other pension income is in the remaining spouse’s name, he or she is entitled to keep it for living expenses. In some cases, the spouse at home can receive more than half of the marital assets, particularly if his/her income falls below minimum levels.

If there is no spouse, in many states the individual requiring nursing home care is required to sign over his or her home to the state to reimburse Medicare. When the nursing home stay is not permanent, the Medicaid recipient is allowed to live in the house until death, but cannot pass it on to children or other heirs, because it actually belongs to the state, not to the individual.

Estate planning, particularly if it involves some sort of long-term care insurance, can alleviate or eliminate some of the worries associated with the potential for requiring nursing home care. Talk to your attorney or other estate planner about what can be done to protect your remaining assets if you have to go to a nursing home.

About Ronald E. Hudkins

Ronald Hudkins retired honorably from the U.S. Military Police Corps in 1993. He has just completed a mini book listing foundations that provide wish and dream fulfillments for adults faced with terminal illnesses, disabilities/challenges and/or are senior’s on limited incomes. The book also features a massive listing of organizations that provide adults with basic needs and other things. For more information visit http://www.adultwishfoundations.com

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say that! When I ran a support group for my local infertility organization, practically every woman in the group who got pregnant said that very thing.

Infertility chips away at your self esteem and it makes you believe that you’re unworthy of the most basic of human needs. If you’ve been struggling with infertility for over a year (or two or three), you begin to believe that getting pregnant is this impossible dream - it’s soooo way out there that you’ll never achieve it. Well…it may be helpful for you to know that almost everyone in your situation has felt that way.

A couple of weeks before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I was ready to throw in the towel. I told everyone in the support group I was moving on to childfree, and my husband and I started making some real plans for the future. For the past six years our lives revolved around timing intercourse, taking pregnacy tests, having miscarriages (and sometimes surgery to remove them), and spending every waking moment wondering if I had done everything possible to conceive.

And then, just when I had made peace with my decision to move on to childfree, the ‘impossible’ happened - I was pregnant. Why is life like that? Why did I have to get to the point of hopelessness before I suceeded? Well, my theory boils down to this: When you lower your resistance, you make room for success. So what does that mean? When you want something so bad, and it’s not happening, you focus more on what you don’t have instead of what you do have or what you want. You try to force things into place.

When you finally give up, the flood gates open. Your dream starts chasing you instead of the other way around. I’ve had so many people say, ‘You are so lucky to get pregnant naturally at your age’. Well… I have something to say about that too. I truly believe that you make your own luck. Yes, getting pregnant naturally at the age of 44 with only one tube had an element of luck, but it probably had more to do with preparedness meeting opportunity. I had refined my pregnancy protocol over six years and I think I had fine tuned my body to the point that I had a high liklihood of success give the right conditions.

So when I say ‘If I can get pregnant, anyone can’, I mean it. Prepare your body, do everything you can to optimize your chances of conception, then get out of the way! Don’t try so hard that you sabotage your success. Things will happen when the time it right.

Copyright © 2006 Sandy Robertson

Sandy Robertson is the author of “You Can Get Pregnant Over 40, Naturally”. She is a stay-at-home mom who also writes and teaches part-time at a local community college. She has volunteered for her local infertility organization as the women’s support group leader and continues to speak to women and couples struggling with infertility and miscarriage.

Many people who sell an investment property believe that federal capital gains from that sale must always be handed over to the IRS. This is not always the case. IRS Code Section 1031 offers investors the opportunity to reinvest federal capital gains from a sale if you swap that property for another…and it does not always have to be for ‘like property’ either! Instead, as an investor, you could have that money work for you rather than end up in the hands of the IRS. Further, you do not have to sell your property for the exact same type of property either!

The 1031 Code indicates that no gains or losses will be recognized on the exchange of any type of business use or investment property for any other business use or investment property.

So what does this mean? How can this help you?

If you own a business or an investment property you should consider a 1031 exchange. You would be able to defer 100% of both federal and state capital gains tax. 1031 Exchanges in essence become interest free loans; where the principal may increase through future exchanges allowing the Exchanger to never pay back, if the transactions are planned well. Along with the guidance of an experienced realtor, this can be one of the most profitable ventures you will ever enter into.

Are you apprehensive about the 1031 Exchanges? Here are some interesting facts, which will make the decision easier.

1) At one time, exchanges were only done to switch like investment properties to the same person swapping for your own, but this is not the case anymore. In fact, you can sell your own property to someone who does not have a relationship to the person from whom they are purchasing the replacement property.

2) It is important to know that like-properties once met the same, condo for condo, empty lot for empty lot but that is also no longer the case. If you have invested your money in an empty lot but wish to exchange for an apartment building, this too is possible and again, no taxes would be paid for the sale of the vacant land when following the guidelines of the 1031 exchange. In fact, the owner of the empty lot can even sell that one lot and then purchase several others or just buy one and then sell others. Note, 1031 Exchanges only apply to investment properties and not residences.

3) Many believe only investors of large commercial properties can utilize a 1031. One of the greatest features about a 1031 Exchange is that it applies to all investment properties, large and very small. 1031 Exchange works the same way for a corporation selling a large shopping mall as it would for an individual selling a single-family property used for rental or held for investment in a resort area.

4) Many believe 1031 Exchanges are very complicated and not worth investigating. Consider working with a qualified Realtor® who can offer you professional advice and direction. 1031 Exchanges is a relatively smooth process and definitely worth considering but sound advice from an experienced Realtor® is the key to profitability.

5) The Exchanger can acquire a replacement property with greater income potential. For example, raw land can be sold to acquire income-producing property or a larger or more ideally located property. A duplex rental property can be exchanged for a 4-family investment property offering greater income.
Should you wish to increase your buying flow due to greater cash flow, exchange investment or rental property for that with a greater income, acquire investment property that is easier to finance, or should you have the need to relocate or the desire to increase your current business or investment space for a larger area, the 1031 Exchange can accomplish any or all of these goals.

Because a Realtor® is generally not licensed nor qualified to provide legal and/or tax advice, the above statements should be verified with your own competent tax and/or legal advisor who has specific information about your particular situation. You should only rely on your own competent tax and/or legal advisor’s advice. Nothing noted above is tax and/or legal advice. The above information is general in nature and is for general informational purposes only.

Michael Trust is a native Angeleno having been born, raised, and educated in Los Angeles. A homeowner himself, Michael is familiar with the challenges of buying, selling and owning real estate in the Greater Los Angeles area. Read more about Michael Trust on his blog at http://www.realtownblogs.com/?u=mtrust
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Michael and his Team specialize in residential, residential income, and commercial sale and lease properties along with Reverse Mortgages and 1031 Exhanges. Michael and his Team are backed up by a staff of assistants with specialties in marketing, transaction management, and general administrative support so that you can receive the best possible service. Michael Trust Realty uses technology to the fullest to make your experience a smooth one. For more information, please contact Michael through http://www.michaeltrustrealty.com/‘>http://www.michaeltrustrealty.com/. CA DRE Broker No.: 01421287

Your mind, body & spirit are woven together in a wonderful pattern. Yet we live in a culture that SELLS ‘health’, ‘beauty’ and ’slenderness’.

‘Health’ is often identified as using massive supplements, buying over the counter products, using pharmaceuticals, and being medically uninteresting.

‘Beauty’ is shown as purchasing the latest face creams, cosmetics, hair products, freezing our faces with a poison (Botox), injecting our faces with foreign substances (collagen, restilin etc), being knocked out (anesthesia), cut open, tissue removed or sucked out (cosmetic surgery), sewn up with a needle and thread (surgical stitches) and all of this repeated several times in a life-time.

‘Slenderness’ is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Yet we are fatter than ever!! We have lost touch with our normal body rhythms, hunger, need for movement, rest and sex.

Self-loathing, distorted body image (seeing yourself as bigger than you are), continued yo-yo dieting frequently lead to greater levels of weight gain.

STOP! BREATHE!! Before you spend one more dime, dollar or $29.95 on the next weight loss product, stop & think.

You are wonderfully, joyously & miraculously made. Your body has an amazing capacity toward health, healing & vitality. YOU can discover what is right for you without beating yourself up or putting your mind, body or spirit in jeopardy.

Over the next week, try this simple process.

1) Check in with yourself several times a day and ask a few questions. How do I feel? Is there anything I need right now to feel happier or have more joy? Do I need to eat? If so, what would taste good and feel good? Do I need to move, stretch, or walk? If so, what can I do right now so I feel good? Am I thirsty? Am I tired? Would water help hydrate me? Do I need to rest for awhile or go to bed earlier?

2) Next do the thing(s) that you’ve determined will help you feel well.

3) In about 20 minutes check in with yourself after you have eaten, drank, rested, moved or whatever you determined to do. Do you have more or less energy? Do you feel calm or hyper? Are you focused or scattered? Do you feel more balanced or more stressed?

4) Make a mental note or write down your check in. Also note what you did that lead to you experiencing more wellness or feeling more unsettled.

Now, it’s time to make this a daily practice. You DO have the capacity to become your right weight over time. This requires patience, self love and the ability to listen to your own voice.

Experiment with different foods. If you have a sweet craving and usually eat chocolate or sugary treats, then try some fruit. If that doesn’t satisfy the craving, have some chocolate. Try some rich, dark chocolate from Whole Foods or Trader Vics (60-75% cocoa). It has less sugar, more cocoa and often satisfies the craving with a smaller portion. If you are craving salt, try a couple of olives. If you are craving fat, try a healthy fat like a couple slices of avocado or some nuts.

Use this process on a daily basis. Be kind with yourself. It takes awhile to tune back in. It also takes some energy, awareness & dedication to NOT go unconscious about the whole process.

Remember to be gentle with yourself. You will have some slips, falls and out and out failures. That’s OK…and to be expected. You are remembering how to eat naturally.

Take your time. YOU can succeed! You can be healthy, vital and joyful. You will come in alignment with your natural weight. You ARE beautiful!

Free Newsletter with up to the minute coaching on business, marketing, networking, self empowerment and successful living. http://www.irisfanning.com

Dr. Iris Fanning is a Nationally recognized Success Coach. Dr. Fanning is a graduate of Coach University, holds an Honorary Doctorate in Divinity, a M.A. degree in Psychology, Counseling & Guidance and a B.S. degree in Psychology. Additionally Iris is the self published author of ‘Change Your Life Right Now’ c 2006 and ‘Do What You Love & Get Rich’ c 2006. Dr. Fanning is also an in demand public speaker. Individual and group coaching is also available. Contact: coachiris@hotmail.com Please place Coaching in the subject line.

In case you have been hiding in a mud hut in Namibia with Angelina and Shiloh for the past month, Phil Mickelson came to the 72nd hole at Winged Foot last Sunday, slipped on a banana peel, fell sideways into the pond and drowned. He only needed to par 18 to win the U.S. Open. Only. The hole was a 450 yard par 4 into the wind on which the average score on the hole among the leaders on Sunday was 5.8. The accusation against Phil is that he should have forsaken his new longest ever shafted Driver and gone with the 4 wood.

Why?

He had hit 2 fairways that day. Who says that he couldn’t hit a third? Johnny Miller absolutely crucified him for this decision and Phil Himself crucified Himself as being the biggest idiot since Roberto DeVicenzo signed his scorecard incorrectly at Augusta thereby costing himself the tournament. Phil over cut his driver onto the roof of the hospitality tent and the ball kicked back in bounds into the rough. Phil had no sickle and was caught in a big pickle. Earlier in the round he had tried to hit a 4 wood out of the rough from 140 yards and whiffed. Perhaps he felt that the 4 wood had cost him enough shots that day.

Had Phil Mickelson hit one good drive on 18 then today and for the next month every golf blogger on earth would have been cheering him on wildly for the next month as he went to Liverpool going for the Tiger Slam and then the real slam. Phil Mickelson is The Modern Bobby Jones aka The guy who has brought unheard of excitement to golf for the first time since Arnold Palmer went for the first green at Cherry Hills, or somewhere, I wasn’t there, I wasn’t alive, I didn’t do it.

Who says that Phil didn’t do it on purpose? The crucifixion didn’t hurt Jesus’ popularity. Jesus didn’t have to go into the Temple in Jerusalem and tell all of the Priests to take a hike, and threaten the rule of the Roman’s puppet Governor Pontius Pilate. He could have stayed silent, or moved to Egypt, or India. He could have taken Paul’s advice and Let it Be. Would Michelle Pfieffer have left Don Johnson and bedded Kevin Costner if he had layed up on 18 in Tin Cup? I am you and you are me and we are all together, We are the walrus, coo coo coo choo. Speaking of Semolina Pilcher, Golf is like life only on a larger scale. People from every country get along like gold on the golf course and at the Olympics and the World Cup but in real life Geoff Ogilvie’s caddie Kim Jong Il is strapping on a suicide bomb and running into the hospitality tent. Golf Bloggers are screaming that because he smiles on the course Phil Mickelson is an evil megalomaniac. Phil Mickelson smiles to trick his body from total fear into relaxation because Bob Rotella told him it works and this trick came one hole from giving him his third straight major.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If we had listened to the global warming scientists like Stephen Hawking instead of the Exxon executives running the United States White House, Congress, and Supreme Court then we wouldn’t all now be facing an extinction level event - the thawing of the Arctic Siberian Alaskan Permafrost which will instantly release the carbon from the twigs and bones in the Permafrost up into the atmosphere releasing 1000 times the amount of carbon dioxide already up there and turning the Arctic into Phoenix in the summer. The Arctic and Antarctic Ice will soon melt completely and the earth’s one ocean will rise 50 feet and Denver will be prime beach front property. You would think from reading the golf blogs that Phil Mickelson had caused 911, the war in Iraq, global warming AND betrayed Jesus Christ.

Lets look more deeply at the root of what really is going on here. We all have a killer instinct. We needed to kill animals in the jungle for 5 million years to eat. We needed to kill other tribes for land to survive. We are all also racist. People will admit that they have a killer instinct but not that they are racist. White people have not had a heavyweight boxing champion for 75 years. They had to invent Rocky Balboa who won the title 5 times. Shaq and Michael took over basketball. Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron took over baseball. Tiger Woods took over golf and married a Swedish Supermodel to boot. The white male ego is so wounded now that Sigmund Freud, Bob Rotella and a case of Prozac couldn’t heal it. Then along comes Phil Mickelson and gives white males the sense that maybe just maybe they aren’t totally useless. And then he blows it. He blows the chance at the slam. Then all of our pent up fears and anxieties over Al Qaeda and Bin Laden and trillion dollar deficits and global warming and Twin Towers imploding come flooding out like a Tsunami washing Phil Mickelson into the Indian Ocean blogosphere.

The sick thing about golf is that no matter how successful we are in real life we tie our sense of self worth right to our latest score. Isn’t Geoff Ogilvie white? Didn’t he make the best chip in on 17 since Tom Watson? Yes, but he isn’t American. He wasn’t about to become the great white hope legend. Look at Monty? Americans hated him until only Britain joined them in Iraq. Now they love him. Monty stands on 18 tied for the lead in the center of the fairway 160 yards out for 10 minutes holding a 6 iron. At the last second a thought comes into his mind that the adrenaline will give him another 20 yards, switches to a 7 iron, comes up 20 yards short in the junk, and makes the same double bogey as Phil. If he had stayed with 6 iron he would have hit his normal fade stiff and gone from being Tom Weiskopf into becoming another Phil Mickelson. What was Jim Furyk doing out there, the salsa? He backed away from his 5 footer on 18 more times than Sergio Garcia used to regrip his club and then choked the 5 foot putt that would have put him into the playoff. Is there a point to any of this? Yes. We did fine without cars for 5 million years, we know that if we keep driving we will go instinct, yet we keep on driving SUV’s that get 9 miles per gallon. Human beings are the most intelligent and the least intelligent species on the planet. Would a Panda have hit Driver?

The Temple of Love – The World Peace Religion makes peace among and unites Christianity Islam Judaism and Everyone else and the countries they all live in as the first step towards World Peace. This is a good thing because as every nuclear scientist knows, including Dave Pelz, Phil’s short game coach, Nuclear World War 3 and its aftermath nuclear winter then ultraviolet summer will have exactly zero survivors and we are now involved in a world war in case you hadn’t noticed because you were too busy blogging about what an idiot Phil Mickelson was.

The good news is that The Temple of Love is the first Religion in which golf figures prominently. You don’t even need to believe in God. You just need to follow the rules of nature carved in stone by your own God Himself just like golfers do in the legend of Bagger Vance. You cannot break the rules of nature but if you do it will break your back. We are too technologically advanced for Nuclear World War 3. Like Monty we have outsmarted ourselves. All we are saying is give peace a chance. We are calling upon the golfers of the world to lead the people of the world away from world war to the safety of world peace.

Karen Fish is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California. The Temple of Love http://www.thetempleoflove.com/

Often overlooked, but one of the most important aspects of the performance and level of comfort in any room is the pitch of the ceiling fan blade. Hardly noticeable to the eye a change of a few degrees can drastically change the airflow produced by a ceiling fan blade. Too steep of pitch and the room may be overwhelmed with the force of the wind or not steep enough and you will barely notice the breeze, even if the speed of the ceiling fan blade is turned to the fastest setting.

Many ceiling fan blades have a pitch of 13 or 14 degrees, which seems to be appropriate for most situations. The extremes of this are low of 11 degrees and up to 22 degrees, with some specialty fans offering even a broader range. There is no absolute right or wrong in picking the degree of your ceiling fan blade, rather it all depends on the location, application and personal preference.

When choosing a ceiling fan most people start with a general style or theme, and then match the ceiling fan blade span to the room size. Last but not least find out the pitch of the ceiling fan blades. If all the above is taken into consideration you will enjoy years of increased comfort and energy savings with your new ceiling fan.

Randy Heslip is a regular contributor to http://www.ceiling-fans-info-source.com where you can find more information to help you choose a ceiling fan to match your home décor and how to install a ceiling fan for optimal performance.