Archive for June, 2012

How to cope with Facebook craving?

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

EVERY half an hour, you find your fingers invariably typing Facebook log in on the search engine. You browse for a few minutes, type a few comments to friends’ photographs. Post an old college picture and wait for the comments to come. Share a video and watch the number of likes. You log out with a certain guilt lingering on your mind and a determination that you shall not touch it for the rest of the day. Yet, after half an hour, you are doing it again.

Yes, you are a Facebook addict. And just like any other addiction, this is elating at first and frustrating later. Also, just like every other addiction, you ought to push brakes before it kills a lot of your creativity. The biggest problem with Facebook addiction is that it totally kills your time. You keep thinking about issues which aren’t even important. The time you could have used for amusement, creativity or recreation is practically spent on Facebook.

What can you do? It is so tempting, compulsive and addictive. It almost always grips you and leaves you tied to it. There are things that you can practically do to fight off this addiction. Lets check them out:

Keep a maximum limit: Make a maximum limit of being on Facebook. Say once or twice a day. Do it religiously. You can check it in the morning and in the evening once. That way, you wont lose out on the updates of your friends while you also don’t waste a lot of your time. In addition, keep a maximum limit to the time spent on Facebook also. Make it 10 to 15 minutes each time. So you don’t end up wasting more than 30 minutes a day on it.

Read online: Instead of typing Facebook on Google, type a newspaper name or a blog name like The Times of India, The Hindu or Tech Crunch or Siliconindia. These area some of the great websites for amusing reads and information. Reading always adds to our personality and being aware is an asset.

Comment on blogs: One addiction that we all have invariably with Facebook is to want to comment on Facebook so badly. So replace that with commenting on useful or informative blogs. That way, you will make friends that would be great influence on your reading habits.

Keep a book/kindle: Always keeps a light book on your desk or carry your kindle with you to the office. Every time you crave for Facebook and resolve to read a few pages from the book. That would mean you have spent the time reading not Facebooking.

Chat up: Chatting with colleagues is way better than Facebook. You connect with people at a more personal level. So fight off the craving by walking down to a colleague’s cabin, find out what he or she is doing, exchange information or just a word of greeting.

Take a walk: Taking a walk is always great for health. Use the Facebook time to take a light stroll across your office premises. Physically fight off a craving is always more effective than virtual ones.

Draw, sing, paint: If you have any inclination for music or arts, use a few minutes of your daily life in pursuing your interest like drawing, singing, painting or playing an instrument. Most IT companies have recreation facilities like music and recreation rooms etc. Use these facilities to fight against Facebook addiction.

Every addiction has a foe. The above ways are just some of the foes that your addiction can face every day. Don’t give up too soon. And always use things in moderation. Anything extremely addictive is never healthy.

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Even diet can make you happy or sad

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

A VERY interesting research has found out a clear connection of your diet and your happiness quotient. ALW already has a concept of Happy Working and we believe in living life Hi5. Our Hi5 initiatives are designed to keep our team members really happy.

The new research has only re-established the belief that happiness and health are so intimately related. The research is saying that if your diet is full of a lot of fats, carbohydrates and sugars, it would leave you not only fat but also depressed and low.

But if you consume some of the ‘happy foods’, you may still be saved from the depression part. Here’s a list given by the study:

Sea food and potato: Sea food such as shrimps, fish alongwith egg, sardines and potato is your happy foods. The reason is that they are rich in iodine which has a direct connection with your thyroid. A thyroid which is not active usually will result in bad memory, depression, infertility, weight gain, low energy, heart diseases and even breast cancer. So if you want to keep yourself happy, include these iodine rich foods in your daily diet.

Get sun-tanned: Tanning is not all that bad afterall. Don’t hide yourself so much from sun. Expose your body with some sunlight once in a while. That is because sunshine can convert cholesterol into Vitamin D and it increases immunity too. Deficiency of Vitamin D causes cancer, depression and dementia. Do you understand now why we get sick very often during winter? Also, include in your diets all the foods that have Vitamin D.

Greens: Green leafy vegetables, fruits, oats and whole grains are just the greatest happiness foods because of their richness in fiber. Experts say that fiber cleanses intestinal tract, it reduces inflammation and reduces spikes in insulin and blood sugar. If your diet does not have fiber, you will feel more depressed.

Calcium rich foods: Milk, cheese, cabbage, yogurt, spinach and almonds are just some of the foods that are extremely rich in calcium content. It is said that dairy products are responsible for our energy levels and they release neurotransmitters to make the body feel good. Lack of calcium is responsibility for bad memory, irritability, depression and anxiety.   Among women, calcium deficiency results in hormonal imbalance too.

You just need to deliberately make efforts to include some of these foods in your daily diets. We already told you once that pizza can make you depressed. You already know why, because it is unhealthy. Hence, pay attention to healthy foods and you may be surprised to find yourself happier than before.

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Is your cubicle a snack place too?

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

TYPING constantly on the keyboard, or replying to client’s email, or constantly writing reports – all this for a few more hours and you bet you will be hungry. Cubicle cravings are pretty common among the techies. This can be much worse since they already lead a sedentary lifestyle. During the day too, if they hog on unhealthy foods, they are well on their way to develop serious health problems in future.

What are the possible foods that may come to mind of a techie dragging through his day? The first and foremost are the fried potato chips. Easy to get. Tasty and tempting. The next on the list is pizza or a burger or if not anything, chocolate. No need to mention that these are not the healthiest of things to munch on a regular basis.

So how do you really deal with cubicle cravings? Actually there are a lot of healthier ways. And if you consider some of these, you can rest assured that you will fulfill your hunger and take care of your health at the same time. A few tips that will help:

Carry an apple: What does it take to carry fresh fruits to office with you? Just a paper bag. Fruits like banana, apple, cucumber, grapes are easy to carry to work and whenever you are hungry, have the power to refresh you. You will feel the difference very naturally when you munch chips versus when you eat a fruit. On top of it, you will be treating your body with vitamins, minerals, water and fiber.

Home-made goodies: There are so many things that your mother keeps inside your kitchen just for munching. There is the home-made chivda, chikki, mathri etc that are healthier because they are cooked at home and are more hygienic than a baked samosa or a burger. Make a habit of carrying some of these things in your tiffin box.

Kitchen popcorn: Instead of ordering popcorn from your office, carry home-made popcorn with you. At home, you can always ask your mother or your wife to top it with your favourite spices or flavours. This is healthier.

Nuts, seeds, dry fruits: Isn’t that a wonderful idea to carry nuts, seeds and dry fruits along with you and munch them whenever you are hungry. Imagine how much of a treat this is to your body. They are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Dry fruits are  high on iron and they boost your metabolism too.

Fruit salad: Though it would need a bit of refrigeration, fruit salad can be so healthy, refreshing and tasty at the same time. It can give you a great mental break from work, you feel healthier and more energetic.

What to avoid?

  • Mithai, cakes and pastries, whether home-made or otherwise, is harmful if you consume them regularly. Never use them as a snack to munch at the office.
  • Even sandwiches with heavy potato fillings are bad for health. They must be consumed in very less quantities and that too occasionally.
  • Pizza, burgers and baked/fried samosa as a snack can be very dangerous. These are very high fat foods and can be more dangerous when consumed as a substitute to food.

Cubicle cravings are absolutely inevitable. And the best way to deal with them is to face them with healthier options. Remember, there are ALWAYS healthier choices available. You only need to select them.

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