When we’re happy, our body produces hormones that increase our mental clarity, reduce fatigue, and improve our overall well-being. The four “happy hormones” that we particularly produce are:

• Dopamine – the “feel good” hormone associated with pleasurable sensations, along with learning and memory.
• Serotonin – helps regulate sleep and other essential bodily processes.
• Oxytocin – the “love hormone” that helps promote feelings of trust, empathy, and bonding.
• Endorphins – which is the body’s natural pain reliever. 

We can hack these hormones by getting enough sunlight, eating a well-balanced meal, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly. We can also induce the production of these hormones by engaging in activities that help produce them. Happiness is not a destination, but a journey. Here are 30 tips to do to help your body produce these natural mood boosters. Take the 30-day happiness challenge and see how it changes your life:

• Start journaling – a “brain dump” or corralling your thoughts to keep them from buzzing inside your head is a good way to relieve anxiety and ensure mental health.
• Meditate – choose a quiet place and let your thoughts pass you by.
• Prepare a cup of herbal tea – green tea and green tea extract help produce dopamine and serotonin.
• Give yourself a compliment – start by noticing when you’ve done a great job.
• Learn something new – new activities always give us a rush of dopamine.
• Go outside for a walk – exercise helps you produce endorphins, plus getting enough sunshine increases serotonin production.
• Listen to nature – while you’re out on a walk, listen to the sounds of nature to help calm your senses.
• Call a friend – or a loved one to reduce anxiety and stress.
• Watch your favorite movie – this helps improve your mood by boosting endorphin levels.
• Start a garden – like meditation, starting a relaxing hobby can help calm your senses.
• Practice mindfulness – and be deliberate in what you do.
• Take a short nap – a short nap boosts serotonin levels. Make sure it’s no more than 20 mins to get the maximum benefits.
• Declutter your room – visual clutter does not help relieve anxiety. Organize your space.
• Try a new recipe – certain foods can boost our happiness hormones.
• Create art – or listen to music to help increase your dopamine levels.
• Buy a meal for someone – kindness always gives you a happy hormone boost.
• Go to a new place – the new surroundings and experience will help increase your dopamine levels.                             
• Give yourself a pep talk – affirmations will not only help you feel good but also inspire and motivate you.
• Treat yourself – make sure you’re taking care of yourself well and putting your well-being first.
• Dance.
• Play with your pets – this releases oxytocin.
• Create an inspiration board – a reminder of your goals and dreams helps you visualize them better.
• Exercise for 5 mins –  start with 5 mins and increase accordingly.
• Watch a sunrise/sunset.
• Celebrate your achievements.
• Make your bed – and you’ve already completed a task at the start of your day.
• Help someone out – the best way to get out of a slump is to help someone out.
• Take yourself out on a date – a lunch or dinner date will reinforce your feel-good hormones.
• Unplug from social media – a social media fast will regulate your dopamine levels. 
• Remove toxic energy from your life – remove energy that brings you down.

What are your happiness tips? Add them to this list and share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

To keep our energy at optimum levels, we rely on three things: a well-balanced diet, enough sleep, and regular exercise. The precarious balance of all three helps ensure that we are functioning at our very best and have no energy dips throughout the workday. However, the rigors of ensuring optimum energy levels and a balanced lifestyle can take a toll and we sometimes drop the ball on one (or all) of them. It happens that we don’t get enough sleep, exercise, or are unable to eat well-balanced meals – we all succumb to the occasional donut and cookies. It’s a good thing that there are supplements that we can take to ensure that we get the nutrition and energy boost that we need. For those who need a little help maintaining their energy levels, here are some supplements that can help:

1. Vitamin B12 – B vitamins help facilitate a lot of metabolic processes from releasing energy from carbohydrates and fat to breaking down amino acids and transporting oxygen and energy-containing nutrients around the body. What’s special about Vit B12 is that it specifically helps increase your energy levels by transforming the food you eat into energy that your cells can use. It also helps prevent a type of anemia that can make you weak and tired. 
2. Iron – There is a protein found in red blood cells called Hemoglobin that transports oxygen from your lungs to the organs and tissues throughout your body. What iron does is that it helps our red blood cells effectively carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. A deficiency in iron can lead to anemia (a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells) which can leave a person feeling weak and fatigued. 
3. CoQ10 – Coenzyme Q10 is produced naturally by the body and is found in all cells. They help cells produce the energy needed to grow and stay healthy and protect the cells against oxidative damage. A decline in the production of CoQ10 may contribute to fatigue and energy dips.
4. Melatonin – This is a hormone released by the pineal gland to control the sleep-wake cycle. It is also associated with defense against oxidative stress. Its primary role is the regulation of sleep. Not getting enough sleep at night has a huge impact on our energy levels throughout the day. Melatonin can help regulate sleep patterns thus improving concentration and energy. It also helps reduce fatigue.
5. Caffeine With L-Theanine – We all know the effects of caffeine on our energy levels, and we also know about the side effects of a caffeine crash that happens right after the energy boost it gives. But do you know about the effects of L – Theanine? It is a naturally occurring amino acid that helps promote relaxation without the effect of drowsiness and is also shown to improve memory and decrease mental fatigue. Taken together, L – Theanine is believed to counter the unwanted side effects of a caffeine crash. Best of both worlds, right?

What supplements are you taking to get that much-needed energy boost? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Almost anything we do online requires us to have some kind of log-in credentials or some type of password for gatekeeping purposes. Even newsletters and grocery apps require passwords. 

Not all accounts are created equal. Some are just throwaway accounts that you used to sign up once to get that free item or a discount code and some accounts contain very sensitive information that you would guard with your life. You don’t use the same password for both of these kinds of accounts, do you? If you use only one password for all your accounts – PLEASE DON’T. In the immortal words of the Spice Girls “stop right now!” It’s a very, very bad idea to reuse passwords let alone use 1 password for ALL your online accounts. 

People are still terrible at passwords

The bad news, it’s 2023 and people are still using terrible passwords like “1234” or “password”. I’m not saying that’s you. I’m sure you’ve mastered the art of a strong password by now. A strong password, as I’m sure you know, has a combination of these:

• Upper case
• Lower case
• Numbers
• Special characters

You deserve a safe d digital life

Aside from good password management, here are some simple ways to secure your digital life:

1. Use different passwords – you already know that it is a big no-no to reuse passwords. Use a different password for every account you create, otherwise, if one account is breached, other accounts could easily be compromised. 
2. Use MFA – MFA means Multi factor Authentication. This security feature adds another layer of protection (like a token or a mobile phone app) in addition to your username and password.
3. Use advanced authentication methods – aside from MFA, other advanced authentication methods include: biometric verification (like thumbprint verification or Windows Hello facial recognition). For next level security, you can use a Yubikey.
4. Secure your mobile phone – you may have strong security protocols in place but if your mobile phone is not secure, that could be a point of failure. So, secure your mobile phone with extra strong passwords, MFA, and advanced authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition).
5. Avoid storing passwords – avoid storing passwords either digitally or on paper. Use a password manager like the ones mentioned in the previous article or if you’re just looking for basic features, use your browser password management features. The convenience of using password managers is that you only have to remember one password, the one that lets you access your password vault. If you haven’t used a password manager before, you can watch an overview of how it works here. (Not advertising this service but it’s the one I’m using.) 

Stolen or weak passwords are still the most common reason for data breaches, so it’s a must to pay attention to the passwords you keep and create and make sure they are strong and secure.

What are your tried and tested security tips? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Once upon a  time, multi-tasking was a badge of honor. The more tasks you can do at the same time, the more impressive you seem to be. But now, we all know the multi-tasking myth. Try task switching instead. That’s when you transition from one task to the next.

Here are 8 tips to help you master task switching:

1. Write it down – what were you doing when you were interrupted or distracted? Write it down so that you can pick up where you left off and easily resume your work. 
2. Edit yourself – take away distractions and major time suckers. The usual are: social media, emails, youtube, apps. But there are hidden distractions too like visual clutter, and if you work from home, the bed and fridge may be pitfalls too.
3. Rank ‘em up – discuss your priorities with your boss so that you both know what needs to get done as a matter of importance. If you work independently, write down your tasks and rank them according to importance. Knowing which tasks are important by ranking them, encourages you to focus on the crucial tasks and respond appropriately to distractions.
4. Schedule communications – make those phone calls and emails at a scheduled time rather than waiting for others to reach out to you spontaneously when they are most likely to interrupt your workflow.
5. To-Do lists are gold – think of them as bookmarks, goal posts, or milestones  that will help you switch (instead of multitask) and not lose your focus. They also serve as a running log of accomplishments which in turn will help motivate you to finish more tasks.
6. Have a routine – create a signal for starting deep work or switching to a new task. For example, you can do shoulder rolls when you’re switching from answering emails to doing research work. Or you can take 5-min pomodoro breaks when switching from one task to another. Some people do jumping jacks before they lock in to a “focus” task, I water my home office plants before I switch to a concentrated task. 
7. Celebrate your wins – start by noticing when you are able to successfully switch tasks instead of doing multiple tasks at the same time. Recognition is the first step to cutting the multitasking habit. Then once you finish a task, celebrate by getting a drink or a snack or listening to a song, getting some coffee or just getting up and going outside for a break.
8. Set yourself up for success – batch your task by similar characteristics – same skill set, same resources, same amount of time it will take to finish, etc. By batching similar tasks, you help your brain transition smoothly through tasks by reducing the mental resources needed to shift from one kind of work to another.

Does multitasking work for you? Have you tried task switching? What are your task switching tips? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Our energy levels dip at certain points in the day depending on our circadian rhythms. It makes it harder for us to focus on tasks and some even get cranky when this happens. Here is a list of some energy boosters that might be able to help you during the energy slump:

1. Fresh fruits – fresh fruits are nature’s portable healthy snacks that are not only filled with fiber and nutrients but are great energy boosters as well. If you’re going through a midday slump, try eating a banana or an apricot. They are filled with B vitamins and potassium that help promote sustained energy and muscle function. In fact, pai your banana with low-fat milk or yogurt for an energy combo packed with fiber and protein.
2. Unprocessed food – that cheeseburger and fries combo may increase your energy levels for now but the crash will leave you drained shortly after. It is the same with other processed foods such as canned goods, candy, boxed meals and other foods filled with preservatives, sodium, and trans fat. Your best bet is to stick to unprocessed food which, pound for pound, gives you more nutrition value than quick fix meals.
3. Magnesium – magnesium is needed to facilitate more than 300 biochemical functions in your body – including the breakdown of glucose into energy. Low magnesium levels mean a drop in energy. That’s why if you feel a little low in energy for more than a few days, it could be that your magnesium levels have dropped and you need to increase your magnesium intake. The recommended daily intake (RDI) is 300mg for women and 350mg for men.
4. Nuts and seeds – speaking of magnesium, you can get that and more from eating a handful of nuts and seeds such as almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, chia seeds and pumpkin seeds. Adding nuts and seeds to your diet will boost your mineral and fiber intake and help sustain energy levels. 
5. Power naps – ah, the power nap.  What is the recommended amount of sleep that counts as a “power nap?” Amerisleep recommends 20 mins: “A 20-minute power nap is best for your body and mind. You wake up feeling more alert and refreshed. Sleeping more than 20 minutes can make you feel sluggish, groggy, and more tired than before you napped, but if you have time, you may sleep for 90 minutes to complete a full sleep cycle.”
6. A short walk – you may feel that more movement will drain you of your energy but the reverse is true. A short walk 10-minute around the block will help you feel refreshed and revitalized. The effects last for 2 hours, just enough time to get you over the midday energy slump. 
7. Not skipping meals – especially breakfast as it provides a jolt of fuel that sets the energy for the day.
8. Reduce stress – stress is one of the biggest energy zappers. It also wrecks your immune system and makes you susceptible to illness. You uts can’t win with stress. We all have stressors but the key is to manage them to a level that doesn’t zap our energy out. A tiny amount of stress is actually good to keep us on our toes but chronic levels of sustained stress erodes our energy levels and affects other bodily  functions. So try to keep your stress levels low.
9. Less sugar – sugar has become the new enemy. This white crystal is the new culprit for all kinds of not-so-good things, from insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, to impaired concentration and memory. Aim to eat more whole grains for a slower and more steady release of fuel instead of eating sugary foods that provide short bursts of energy followed by a rapid crash that can leave you feeling drained.
10. Caffeine – too much caffeine will leave you feeling wiped out, so be careful about your caffeine intake. However, small amounts of caffeine can provide you with just enough jolt of energy. And if you make it a latte, all that milk turns your coffee into a protein drink that not only provides extra energy but a calcium boost as well.

What are your energy booster go-tos? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp