The Don't Series: Things Not to do in the Kitchen

1) Don't put an unbroken egg in the microwave.
2) Don't put metal in the microwave.
3) Don't allow kids in the kitchen.
4) Don't boil milk.
5) Don't put the salt in the water before it starts boiling.
6) Don't plug too many electronic devises into one socket.
7) Don't keep the fire unattended.
8) Don't forget to put on oven mitts.
9) Don't deviate from the recipe if it's your first time doing it.
10) Don't keep pets in the kitchen.
11) Don't forget to wash your hands.
12) Don't fry anything without sleeves on.
13) Don't start making anything unless you know you have all of the ingredients.
14) Don't forget about something in the oven.

The Don't Series: Things Not to do When Shopping For Clothes

1) Don't wear uncomfortable shoes. (We advise you to wear shoes that are easy to take off.
2) Don't impulse buy.
3) Don't buy something on sale just because it's on sale. (S is guilty of that)
4) Don't buy items without trying them on.
5) Don't go without a budget.
6) Don't go shopping without knowing what you want.
7) Don't have a heavy meal before shopping.
8) Don't go shopping on an empty stomach.
9) Don't go shopping in clothes that are uncomfortable, tight and hard to get out of (or ugly).
10) Don't buy something that feels wrong or uncomfortable.
11) Don't pay with credit cards. (Or just try not to)
12) Don't buy something because something thinks it looks good. Buy something because you think it looks good.
13) Don't buy pants without pockets.
14)Don't (Or try not to) have young kids with you.

In July of 2009, "Frenemy" was one of the many words added to Webster's dictionary. It's basically a combination of the words "friend" and "enemy," and is used to refer to two people who pretend to be friends but really hate each other, or extremely competitive friends.
The word comes with bad connotations, and I've decided to bust some of them, because having a frenemy or two isn't really that bad. In fact, it can actually be beneficial, in certain situations.

1) A good reason to have a frenemy is competition. Let's say Mary and Adrian are frenemies. Mary decides to lose ten pounds. Adrian's been trying to lose weight for quite some time now, but has never fully applied herself. Mary loses 5 pounds and is looking better by the day. Adrian looks the same. What does Adrian do?
Try to outdo Mary, of course!
Now, I'm not saying trying to one-up each other is something we should all strive towards, but wanting to do better is human nature. If having a frenemy will motivate you to do that through competition, why not try to do better?
A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, right?
2) Patience. It's pretty well known that when you're confronted with someone annoying (as frenemies usually are), you'll want to punch them.
Key word there? Want.
Many people will be patient with their frenemies and refrain from hitting them. At the time, this may seem a nuisance, but in the long run it will help them exponentially, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult people.
3) It'd be nice to believe that we are the best at everything. Sure, you can be the best when it comes to social anthropology, but then there'll probably be someone better than you at physics. If you're a world-renown public speaker and excellent when it comes to relationships and spirituality, then there'll probably be someone better than you at maths.
See where I'm going here?
Humans, unfortunately, can't have it all.
And this is where your frenemy comes in.
It's highly unlikely that any two people will have the exact same strengths and the exact same weaknesses.
Person A will always be better than person B at something, and person B will always be better than person A at something else.
In having a frenemy who's better than some things than you, you'll be able to use your strengths to your advantage.

So, after reading this, don't you think a frenemy would be a good idea?
Comment with your views!

The Don't Series: Things Not to Do When Dealing With a Salesperson

1) Don't leave without saying thank you
2) Don't break things and not pay for them
3) Don't treat salespeople as if they're uneducated
4) When the salesperson is doing something for you, don't keep checking your watch impatiently
5) Don't roll your eyes
6) Don't forget to smile
7) Don't get mad at the salesperson when something isn't their fault
8) Don't avoid looking at the salesperson
9) Don't talk to the salesperson without saying "hello" or "excuse me" first
10) Don't threaten to never come back. Chances are, the salesperson won't care
11) Don't threaten to sue.
12) Don't lose your temper
13) Don't be disrespectful if you're in a hurry
14) Don't forget that salespeople have feelings too

The Don't Series: Things Not to Do When Meeting People

1) Don't make fun of politics or religion
2) Don't stare them down. Eye contact is a good thing, but not when it's creepy
3) Don't shake hands too hard or weak
4) Don't avoid eye contact
5) Don't fidget
6) Don't appear nervous
7) Don't try to impress someone with false information
8) Don't pronounce their name wrong
9) Don't act as if you like them when you don't. They can tell
10) Don't answer phone calls in their presence unless you really have to
11) Don't excuse yourself and never come back
12) Don't be arrogant, shy, or negative
13) Don't be void of emotion
14) Don't laugh at everything they say. Laugh if you find it funny.

How to Do More in Less Time

You know how some people seem to have it all? They're productive at work, they have excellent relationships with family and friends, and yet they still seem to have time for themselves.

Here at TheBlog, we decided to figure out their strategy. So, after researching and reading blogs, magazines, and books, we found five tips that made their way into most lists and that have worked for us personally.
Here are the top five:

1)Prioritize

When you get the more important things done, you'll have more time to do the things that you love because you won't be worrying about anything important that you didn't do. When things seem to be getting easier, you do them faster and build momentum.

Ex. Hypothetically, if you had to do homework and study for a quiz and a test, you'd do the homework first, study for the quiz next, and then finally study for the test if you weren't prioritizing. In doing so, there's a high chance that you'll procrastinate while doing your homework in order to not have to study for your quiz and test. But if you were prioritizing in order of test, quiz, then homework, everything will get progressively easier.

2)Be Focused

By being focused, you'd be doing the task better and more effectively, and being focused would decrease your chances of doing something wrong that would take more time to fix later on.

Ex. Lola was doing her math homework while thinking about a book report. She made careless mistakes that she later had to fix. Correcting the mistakes took her double the time it would have taken her to do the homework while completely focused.

3)Motivate/Reward Yourself

It's been proven that when you have something to look forward to when you finish a task, you'll do it as quickly as possible and will not procrastinate as much as opposed to if you had nothing to look forward to. (Warning: make sure to be focused while still being quick)

Ex. Roberto's boss asked him if he could finish his report before lunch. In order to please both his boss and his stomach, Roberto used lunch as a reward for finishing his report, thereby finishing the report in less time.

4)Break It Up

If you think of a 4-hour task as a 4-hour task, there's a higher chance of finishing it is 4-5 hours because of the human tendency to procrastinate. However, if you break a 4-hour task into a series of 10-minute, 15-minute, and 20-minute segments, you'll probably finish in 3 hours, including breaks. This is because you'll be more focused on the task at hand than on the task as a whole.

Ex. Rose had to write a 50-page essay one day, and decided that instead of focusing on the essay as a whole, she'd focus on writing the essay in two-page chunks. In doing so, she finished the essay in a much shorter time.

5)Form Habits

If there's a task you have to complete often or everyday, make sure to do it in the same place and time, because then after a while, it'll seem routine and not like a chore. This will make it easier to focus and follow through.

Ex. After deciding to lose some weight, Dante thought he'd take up running. He started out at seven minutes per mile, and decided to make running a habit. Dante got so used to it and improved so much while doing it every day that within the space of three months, he was able to run a mile in half the time it took him when he got started.

There's a reason these five techniques are so popular when it comes to time management.
Because they work.