Are you bored in this COVID-19 PERIOD? Use it to your advantage

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One is too busy to get bored, while the other slowly but surely no longer knows what to do with himself. Do you recognize yourself in the latter? Then this is the time to look at the deeper layer that lies beneath your boredom. If you get bored you can easily use that to your advantage, you just have to know how.

Researchers around the world are trying to figure out exactly what causes boredom, what we can do about it and whether there is a link between boredom and depression. Lead researcher and psychology professor James Danckert describes boredom as follows: “We define boredom as an uncomfortable desire to be busy with something, but fail to fulfill that desire.” So this definition may well explain why you might get bored during this corona crisis, since your routine is upset and your sense of freedom is limited. You are not alone in it, me too and more people around the globe.

Emotions

Before we can get deeper into boredom, ask yourself if you are really bored. You can also confuse boredom with emotions such as fear or fatigue. Try to identify what you feel to find out.

Change it

In essence, boredom tries to tell you that you don’t spend your time the way you actually want it to. It is an important signal that you want to change the situation. Whenever you get bored, remember that you probably need and can change something about the situation. What counts is the action you take after this awareness, which can keep you busy and make you a more creative and successful person.

BOREDOM – AN EXCELLENT TIME FOR INTROSPECTION.

And we don’t like that very much, because who knows what deep-seated problems will emerge as soon as we take the time to get bored.

We don’t like boredom for three reasons:

  • First of all, boredom gives us a sense of concern – “something is missing”. We are so used to being amused by a constant stream of external stimuli that when they are missing we experience the feeling that something is not right.
  • In addition, boredom triggers our ‘fear response’ . We find it scary to be alone with our thoughts, fearing that they would be confrontational. To keep out the mirror that keeps boredom out, you stay busy – whether it is really productive or fun .
  • Finally, boredom forces you to step out of your comfort zone , which feels unnatural. As soon as you realize that you may have to do a number of things differently , in order to feel lively – for example, even after starting to read/write that book – it is safer to maybe watch some good series after all.
  •  

To shake off these feelings above, you should therefore quickly turn to external stimuli such as Netflix, your smartphone or another distractor to avoid feeling this boredom 

So a luxury problem, boredom. We have so many options to choose what we want to spend our attention and time on that we get overwhelmed when we don’t use it – we get bored .

That’s why you take every opportunity to stay busy. You do not notice the boredom (and dissatisfaction) and therefore do not have to be alone with any confrontational thoughts.

So in order to reap the benefits of boredom – an opportunity for introspection – you should not look for more stimuli and novelty, but as little as possible.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED IN YOUR BOREDOM

So you are not going to build a vegetable garden. What is it? Absolutely nothing except a good put to reorganize your thoughts in order.

  • Meditate regularly – make room   for confrontational thoughts.

Meditation would have been the last thing on your mind if you wanted to tackle boredom.

Now that you know that boredom is a mental state , it may make sense that meditation helps you see boredom differently. It helps you to understand that boredom is not a threatening thing, and it helps you place those negative and confrontational thoughts.

Meditating gives you the opportunity to look at the underlying causes why you avoid rest and are always busy.

And that doesn’t have to be lengthy sessions –   5 minutes a day is enough to use the unrest that boredom creates as a moment of introspection.

  • Get creative with your thoughts –   let them run wild.

Instead of looking for external stimulus, use your boredom to feed your brain with creativity. After all, as soon as you are bored, your thoughts get the chance to roam freely – allow it.

So stop entertaining yourself with your smartphone and see where your thoughts are stranded. Write them down, articulate them using ‘free writing’ or capture them in color – in a mind map for example!

  • Get creative with your thoughts –   let them run wild.

Instead of looking for external stimulus, use your boredom to feed your brain with creativity. After all, as soon as you are bored, your thoughts get the chance to roam freely – allow it.

So stop entertaining yourself with your smartphone and see where your thoughts are stranded. Write them down, articulate them using ‘free writing’ or capture them in color – in a mind map for example!

Who knows what brilliant ideas you come up with during the CORONA LOCKDOWN!

Let me know in the comments how you solve your boredom things.

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My 5 tips to get through home isolation as a family

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Due to the corona crisis, we are instructed to stay at home as much as possible. It may be quite a challenge to get through a longer period of home insulation, especially if several people live in one house. With the following tips you can keep a cool head as a family in the coming period.

Pause, reflect and stay home': how to look after yourself and ...

According to studies, three basic psychological needs can be disturbed by living in isolation for a while. These needs are autonomy, commitment and ability.

Routine

Do you have children over the age of three? Then make a schedule If you make good agreements, rhythm and structure contribute to stability and rest. Let the children think along with the schedule, this gives them autonomy. As a family you do not have to follow the schedule very strictly, because this can actually infringe on their autonomy.

Move

Home isolation does not have to go hand in hand with just sitting still. Exercise is always good for every family member. Schedule exercise moments, play an active indoor game, take a daily dance quarter or let the kids play in the garden or on the balcony. 

Get satisfaction from other things

Some people no longer feel satisfied when they no longer have a full working day. Because competence is an important part of your basic needs, you can choose to get satisfaction from helping and supporting your children. It is a great achievement for the society to ensure that the virus does not spread as quickly. Completing fewer work tasks, but supporting your children, is an important part of the bigger picture. You can be proud of that.

Take a rest

During home isolation, everyone needs their moments of rest. Think of ways in which you can show each other that you don’t want to be disturbed; think of certain areas where someone can take a break in peace or put on headphones that indicate that you do not want to be disturbed. Also give your mind some rest, and do not search all day for news about the corona virus, this can be mentally stressful.

Ask for help

It is important to ask for help if you find that you can no longer cope. Do not hesitate to knock on the door for psychological help, digital help can work just as well as a physical consultation.

Enjoy your home isolation. Make it the best time

The Caribbean Blog Authority

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Best Case Scenario Climate 2050

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Two founders of the Paris Climate Agreement and chief UN negotiators, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, released the book The Future We Choose on 25 February 2020. In it they outline, among other things, a scenario of a future world that they believe we should create. The translation of the book appeared on February 27: We determine the future. Team Blogzynergy shares some passages from this ‘best case scenario’ for the climate in 2050.

The world we have to create

It is 2050. We have managed to halve emissions every decade since 2020. We are on our way to a world that will be no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer in 2100.

In most places in the world the air is humid and fresh, even in cities. It looks like you are walking in a forest and you probably do that too. The air is cleaner than it has been since the industrial revolution. For that you have to thank the trees. They are everywhere.

Afforestation was not the only solution, but the trees gave us the time we needed to overcome carbon emissions. Donations from companies and individuals provided funding for the largest tree planting campaign ever. When we started, it was purely practical, a tactic to combat climate change by moving the carbon: the trees removed the carbon dioxide from the air, separated oxygen and returned the carbon where it belongs: into the ground. Of course this helps to reduce climate change, but there were more benefits. At every sensory level, the feeling of living on what has again become a green planet has changed completely, especially in cities. Cities have never been so good to live in. With more trees and much fewer cars, it has proved possible to make entire streets suitable for urban agriculture and playgrounds for children. Every empty spot and every dark, dead-end alley has been given a new purpose and is now planted with a shady grove. A vegetable or flower garden has been installed on every roof. Blind walls that were once filled with graffiti are now covered with green climbing plants.

For the developed countries, the general change that required a shift to renewable energy was sometimes an uncomfortable transition, as old infrastructure often had to be adjusted and old things had to be done in new ways. But for the developing countries it marked the beginning of a new era. The majority of the infrastructure needed for economic growth and poverty reduction was built according to the new standards: low carbon emissions and a high capacity for recovery. In remote areas, the billion people who did not have electricity at the start of the 21st century now get energy from the solar collectors on their own roof or from jointly managed wind turbines. This new access opened the door for so much more. Large population groups have made a leap towards improved sanitation, education and health care. People who only had trouble getting clean water can now provide the entire family with it. Children can also learn in the evening. Hospitals can now also work efficiently in remote areas.

Construction works all over the world make more of what they need than just electricity. All buildings collect rainwater and manage their own water use. With sustainable electricity sources, local desalination became possible, which means that clean drinking water can now be produced wherever needed in the world. We also use this water for hydroponics (growing plants on water to which nutrients have been added), flushing the toilet and for the shower. We have successfully rebuilt, organized and structured our lives to live more locally. Although energy prices have fallen enormously, we still opt for life and work close to home rather than commuting. Thanks to the better connections, many people now also work at home,

We make communities stronger. As a child you may have seen the neighbors only fleetingly. But to make things cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable, every part of your life is now more locally designed. Things that you did alone are now being carried out jointly – growing vegetables, collecting rainwater, composting. Resources and responsibilities are now shared. At first you resisted this solidarity – you were used to doing things yourself and within the privacy of your own home. But soon the camaraderie and the unexpected new support network started to feel good, something to hold high. For most people, the new way of life has proven to be a better recipe for happiness.

International air traffic has changed completely. Biofuels have replaced kerosene. Communication technology is now so advanced that we can participate in meetings anywhere in the world without having to travel. Civil air traffic still exists, but is used much less and is extremely expensive. Thanks to the fact that a lot of work is becoming more and more decentralized and can be carried out almost anywhere, people save for their ‘big vacation’: international journeys of weeks or months instead of trips of a few days. If you live in Europe and want to visit the United States, you can even plan to stay a few months or longer and view the entire continent using local public transportation with zero emissions.

Although we have successfully reduced carbon dioxide emissions, we are still confronted with the effects of record levels in the atmosphere of the past. The poorly degrading greenhouse gases can go nowhere else than to our already highly polluted atmosphere and they cause increasing extreme weather conditions – albeit less than if we had continued to burn fossil fuels. Glaciers and polar ice are still melting and the sea level keeps rising. Severe droughts and desertification are taking place in areas such as the western United States, the Mediterranean and parts of China. The constant extreme weather and the decline of resources continue to reinforce existing differences in income, health, food security and water availability. But now governments have acknowledged the factors of climate change as the amplifiers of the threat they are. Thanks to that awareness, we are now able to predict problems and to fight them before they end up with humanitarian disasters. So while many people are still in danger every day, the situation is not as dramatic or chaotic as it could have been. The economies in developing countries are strong and surprising global coalitions have formed with a new sense of confidence. If a population needs help right now, there is political will and money available to give that help. Thanks to that awareness, we are now able to predict problems and to fight them before they end up with humanitarian disasters. So while many people are still in danger every day, the situation is not as dramatic or chaotic as it could have been. The economies in developing countries are strong and surprising global coalitions have formed with a new sense of confidence. If a population needs help right now, there is political will and money available to give that help. Thanks to that awareness, we are now able to predict problems and to fight them before they end up with humanitarian disasters. So while many people are still in danger every day, the situation is not as dramatic or chaotic as it could have been. The economies in developing countries are strong and surprising global coalitions have formed with a new sense of confidence. If a population needs help right now, there is political will and money available to give that help.

The refugee situation that has lasted for decades is still a source of disagreement and conflict. But fifteen years ago we stopped calling it a crisis. Countries agreed on guidelines for controlling the influx of refugees – on how to assimilate populations without problems, on how to distribute aid and money, and on how tasks should be distributed within a certain region. The agreements are adhered to most of the time, but occasionally problems arise when a country tends to fascism after a few elections.

The spirit of the times has also changed enormously. How we think about the world is now very different. And unexpectedly how we think about the other person.

When the alarm bells started to ring in 2020, mainly thanks to the youth, we realized that we had gone too far with our consumption, competition and greedy self-interest. Our dedication to those values ​​and our pursuit of profit and status had led us to deal with our environment like a steamroller. As a species, we continued uncontrollably, resulting in the near-demise of our world. We can no longer close our eyes to what is happening on a tangible, geophysical level, if you despise recovery, cooperation and a sense of community: imminent destruction.

To withdraw ourselves from this self-destruction would have been impossible if we had not shifted our mindset and priorities, if we had not realized that doing what is good for humanity goes hand in hand with doing what is good for the earth. The most fundamental change was that we, collectively, as governments, citizens and companies, started to adopt a new adage: “Is it good for humanity?”

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Improve by 1% Percent at a Time

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For people who would like to improve on a personal level, there is a widely used Japanese method: Kaizen. Kaizen revolves around the small steps that must be taken to realize the biggest plans. In my daily activities I am using the KAIZEN spirit and techniques to become better: Getting one percent better every day is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals.

Kaizen spread to the rest of the world thanks to American experts such as Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Frederick Winslow Taylor. They were already at the forefront of research into effective work in the 1920s and their knowledge was the basis for Kaizen. In post-war Japan, a way was sought to increase the effectiveness of employees. This way was found in the idea of ​​Kaizen, freely translated: good change or continuous improvement.

More than just improvement

Kaizen has a goal that goes beyond just improvement. It is a daily activity and a process that can make people more human. It eliminates unnecessary work and teaches people to see wastes and remove them. A commonly used definition is ‘disassembly and reassembly in a better way’. What is taken apart is usually a process, system, or service in a company. In personal development, an action or habit will be reassembled.

Accessible

Continuous improvement works by sticking to three conditions. Set a goal for one percent improvement. Decide how often you will work on the goal and stick to that plan, focus on the one percent improvement. Stay with this process until you reach the end goal. By not focusing on the end goal but on the one percent goal, improvement can be achieved in an easily accessible manner. By working in small steps you build a solid foundation for a great future.

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The Circular Labor Market

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Stimulating a circular economy is an excellent way to make society more sustainable. Particular attention is paid to making material flows more sustainable. However, the possibilities to make the labor factor more circular are often underexposed.

With a circular economy, the intention is to make material flows not circular, but circular. This is done by making optimum use of the value of all materials. Examples of this are extending the lifespan of products, reusing materials and handling everything we use efficiently.

A circular economy creates new jobs, but it cannot be filled just like that, says Hans Stegeman, head of Research and Investment Strategy at Triodos Bank. For this, the labor market must also be made circular. The labor market is currently still too linear. If people do not fit the linear model, they lose value because they cannot perform optimally.

Optimal value

This applies less to a circular labor market. For example, people who lose their jobs are not immediately ‘lost’, but quickly find work again. This means that the value of manpower can be used optimally. This is important because the approaching aging wave will put more pressure on the working part of the population.

One way to get employees to work optimally is by having them retrain or retrain, so that they have more knowledge to do their job or have them change jobs if necessary. The happiness experienced by employees at work is of great importance for optimum output. If people are not satisfied with their job after a while and cannot change jobs, their productivity decreases.

Flexible employer

In a circular labor market, it is also important that knowledge that is available to employees is not lost. Perhaps the knowledge gained can be used in a completely different field. This requires a new balance between job security and flexibility. This balance can be achieved with flexible employership, whereby someone with certain characteristics is taken over by another employer with the same employment conditions. This keeps employees motivated.

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WHY NUTRITION, SLEEP AND EXERCISE ARE IMPORTANT FOR SUCCESS

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No matter who you are, but as human I like to share the following with all of you…

Be honest: how well do you take care of yourself? Or are you also such a hard worker? The care for your health should actually come first, even before your work. If you are not healthy, you can not be successful. In this way, nutrition, sleep and exercise (not) contribute to your success:

 Nutrition If you are at work from early in the morning, you will have a raging hunger at lunchtime. You long for a hearty lunch, such as a thick slice of bread or pasta salad. Whether you give in to high-calorie food, such as a croquette. Recognizable? Have you ever thought about what a carbohydrate and calorie-rich lunch does with your productivity? A few hours later, the inevitable energy dip follows. For that reason, many people drop in at noon. Research shows that if you eat more fruit and vegetables during lunch, your afternoon is not only more productive. You also feel more involved in your work and even happier. The best you can eat in the course of the morning,so that you have enough of a tasty salad with fresh vegetables or fruit during lunch.

Sleep
Work can take a lot of time. Do you already work before the sun goes up and do you stop working when the sun is (almost) under? Do you check your email in the evenings or do you just walk behind the computer to finish something after dinner? Small chance that your body gets enough rest. Rest is important, because a sleep deprivation can not only lead to more stress. You can also suffer from your cholesterol. A lack of sleep can even lead to reduced cognitive abilities. In other words, your performance will suffer if you do not get enough rest. What to do? Maintain fixed work and sleep times. Get up when the alarm goes off and plan some time at the end of the day to let go of your work. Avoid sleeping late, because then you disturb your sleep rhythm.

Movement

Exercise helps to relieve stress and to get away from daily worries at work. In addition, sports protect you from depression and other mental barriers to success. Often it does not work to allow yourself to go for a walk during the lunch or to exercise as soon as you get home. In the issues of the day you forget your intention easily. In the evening you often give priority to your work (or TV). Therefore make movement a part of your daily schedule. Put in your agenda for half an hour to an hour and stick to it. After exercising you feel lighter, more energetic and happier. You can do more physically and also mentally you can have more. That too contributes to success.

What are you doing to take care of yourself? Share it below in the comments!Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail