Month: October 2015

First 1 Star review.

Lost Youth: A True Story (Audiobook)I got my first 1 star review today. The anonymous gift giver left no witty remarks, no useful critique, nothing other than the internet equivalent of a flaming turd on my doorstep. They couldn’t even bare to ring the door bell. But does a one star review on performance mean anything? What does it translate to? How do you quantify it? How I could I use that to improve my work? The fact is, I can’t. It’s just a flaming turd on the porch and once the fire goes out, I’ll probably run the hose over the spot where it landed and go on about my day.

I don’t expect everyone to love my work (wait, scratch that. YES, in fact I do) but realistically, statistically speaking, it’s just not going to happen. Do I suck? Maybe. But I did what Mr or Mrs one star didn’t want to do and that is to try. I tried to do my best work and my best wasn’t good enough. It’s bound to get better. And even then, I’m bound to have somebody find fault with it. I’ll hope I don’t get many more but if you’re itching to leave me one, follow the link and buy the book so at least I can get paid for it.

Can’t Sleep

Sometimes I can’t sleep. It’s plagued me as long as I remember. If you suffer from poor sleep, no sleep or high stress, read thsnoremanis great article and try some of the suggestions. It will make a difference for you. Some other things that you can do right now, today will help you to sleep better are:

  • Exercise. Regular exercise. (A healthy lifestyle includes a healthy diet, too.) 30 minutes a day.
  • Keep regular sleep schedules. Stick to them. Yes, even on weekends. You crazy kids!
  • Make your bedroom a “sleep only” environment. No regular TV watching, nothing but sleep.
  • Lights out! We’re tuned to respond to “mood lighting.” Turn the lights down low and your body automatically knows it’s bedtime. Turn off (or cover) any device that produces light. Light, tells your body, “hey, time to get up.” So, forget the ipad, reviewing text messages from last Thursday.
  • Don’t dwell on stressful things. Refocus your mind. Audiobooks can really help!

Sleeping well isn’t a random act. You can’t make it up. If you plan for a good night’s sleep, you’ll probably get it. It takes time to build good routines, healthy habits and yes, there will always be setbacks. Don’t let let one bad night turn into two. And get an audiobook or two to keep in the cue…