How to Network like a Pro besides a Busy Schedule

Many of us have really busy schedules and have a million things to do with no time at all. We at times need to cancel the most important of tasks in order to accommodate other things. In this little time of twenty-four hours, we sometimes even do not get the time to meet with the important people. Hence, following are a few tips that will help you network like a pro within time of 24 hours:

1. Interact with the People that do not Waste your Time

Value those people who respect you and your time. Interact with the co-workers who understand the demand of your busy schedule and who would come to work and leave at the same time as you do. As for the people who do not; weed them out, as they are going to slow you down.

2. Schedule Meetings

Schedule every meeting perfectly. As in when people need to meet up and when the meeting would start etc. In case you do not define the timings properly and just throw the timings up in the air, chances are everyone will show up late. In case the meeting is at 3pm, people need to hear that it is at 3pm. Making a phone call or sending an official email will make this time even more concrete.

3. Host a Video Conference

It is comparatively more convenient to get people in front of a camera instead of getting them in all in a room at the same time. Hence, utilizing web tools like Skype and Google Hangout etc, to get them involved in the meeting.

4. Feedbacks and Ideas

In order to be efficient, you need to provide valuable feedback and not something that floated over your head a few seconds ago. Spend some time to think about the minutes of the meeting and what you have to say about it. If you take time to think over what others had to present, they will favor you with the same attention.

Four Traits of Punctual People

The current young adult generation (15-30 years of age) suffers from an epidemic of compulsive tardiness. It is very safe to assume that everyone is going to show up late and every task is going to be completed later than it was promised. However, a very few people do exist in this society that are punctual. Following are some traits that these people share:

1. Keep a Buffer Time

These people would always keep buffer time for themselves. If they need to go someplace 15 minutes away, they might even leave 20-25 minutes before they need to reach there. The duration of the buffer time is directly proportional to the severity of the task. The buffer time gives these people the opportunity to be on time even if something else comes up in the last minute. Even if they get to the destination before time, they would not mind waiting a couple extra minutes.

2. Organize

Punctuality is not only about reaching places in time. It’s more of a lifestyle. These people are very good at a set of skills that actually makes them punctual. For example, punctual people are excellent at organizing. In addition, they don’t only have their minutes calculated, but they even have most short term and long term events timed down on their calendars.

3. Realistic about Timing Events and Activities

These people can actually calculate how much time it will take them to finish a task or an activity. This is one of the traits that is directly linked to these people for making them punctual.

4. They do not Procrastinate

These people would not procrastinate in general. People, who try to time their work and finish it before time, would not procrastinate and are least likely to scramble their work at the 11th hour. These people are easily stressed when they are running behind.

5 innovative Health Benefits of Epsom Salt

The global consumption of the Epsom salt is about 2.3 million tons per year. Most of it is used in agriculture. However, Epsom salt can also be used for a number of domestic uses. A few of these are discussed as follows:

1. Epsom Salt Foot Scrub

The Epsom salt is an excellent exfoliative. It would effectively remove any hard or dead skin. Soaking the feet in warm water before applying a handful of salts will do the trick. In addition, soaking for an additional 20 minutes will eliminate any foot odor and relieve off any aches and pains.

2. Sprains, Bruises and Aches

Epsom salts are very good at removing any toxins from the body. Adding two cups of Epsom salts to a warm bath would relieve you of any swelling, aches and bruises.

3. Sunburn

Applying a solution of one tablespoon Epsom salts in half a teacup of warm water, to the sun-burnt areas would sooth the skin immediately.

4. Greasy and Lank Hair

Epsom salts can also be applied to greasy hair to absorb all the grease out of it. Adding nine tablespoons of Epsom salt to half a cup of your shampoo and then using the solution would do the trick.
In addition, making a solution of equal parts of salt and conditioner, warming it and then applying to dry hair will also deal with the dryness. Only keeping it on for 20 minutes before rinsing can make them much bouncy and voluminous.

5. Weight Loss

Epsom draws out toxins and treat constipation and bloating. This will keep the bowels healthy, therefore speeding up the weight loss process.

Note: Use only the amount of salt suggested. Excessive use of the salt can cause side-effects.

Beet Juice Nutrition

Beetroots have always been known to be nutritional powerhouses. A recent study however, looked at the effectiveness of the beetroot juice in terms of athlete endurance. The study suggested that the athletes that had beetroot juice regularly had a stronger and longer run than the rest.

The beetroot juice is a really good source of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide for better blood flow and lowered blood pressure. It is hence, a natural remedy to high blood pressure as well. Besides its amazing qualities, researchers have placed a specific emphasis on drinking beet juice instead of eating beetroots. This is because cooking beetroots hampers much of its nitrates.

Furthermore, it says that the optimum results from beet juice are obtained 2-3 hours after drinking it. The minimum amount of oxygen required for exercise decreased after consuming beet juice. Hence, it took much less energy in physical endurance thanks to this drink.

Beet juice is available at almost any fresh-fruit juice bar. Moreover, you can drink it straight like a shot, or even mix it with other fruit juices as per your taste buds. Athletes on average recorded that their performance had increased by 1-2% and they even felt stronger upon using beet juice.

Some people have even reported to feel reactions after directly drinking beet juice. Hence, it is advised that you try a small amount, like half a cup before you opt to drink a glass full. In addition, beet juice has a strong color, which can easily stain your skin, let alone your clothes. Therefore, be extra careful when you are preparing or consuming beetroot juice.

Weight Loss does not directly induce Happiness

Gymnasiums and other fitness programs mainly target happiness and a better future through weight loss in their promotions and advertisements. It has been so, since the beginning of times. However, a recent study suggests that weight loss does not necessarily directly relate to happiness.

Even though our society largely values looks, weight and body aesthetics; since the criticism is on only upon excessive fat, many people had started to relate fat loss to happiness. A study released in University College London said that people who had lost at least 5 % of their body fat were 53 % more likely to be depressed than the people that maintained the same weight whilst working out.

Another misunderstanding that most people maintain about exercise is that it would force weight loss nonetheless. However, this is not true and weight loss is only possible if people start dieting accordingly. The purpose of regular exercise and workout is to maintain a healthy body. Hence, if you want to become healthy maintaining your current body weight, eat as much as you like. It will start replacing your fat with protein by building muscle on you.

There are different cases regarding weight loss, but much of them consider the outcome to be unfavorable. For example a blogger who wrote about his weight loss on the internet commented that he had become weak after the weight loss. He would have rather not started dieting in the first place. He said that he had understood the benefits of workout properly after he had started regular diet again.

In another case, a girl who wanted to become as good looking as a model said that she had started weight loss routines. However, her saggy and loose skin looked nothing like the models.

Domestic Uses of Coconut Oil

1. Hair Treatment

Coconut oil is really helpful in reducing protein loss. It can be used as both a pre and a post treatment. The best way to apply is to add ½ of a tablespoon of the oil to the roots before you let it work down the ends. Keep it on for an hour or so before you rinse and wash.

2. Skin Moisturizer

Coconut oil is an effective skin moisturizer. It helps reduce scaring, prevent sagging skin and heal stretch marks. It is a natural miracle worker on the skin.

3. Eye Makeup Remover

Eye makeup is usually very difficult to wash. So after you have washed your face and removed rest of the makeup, use coconut oil to remove the remainder off the eyelids.

4. Shaving Legs

Women often use coconut oil before they shave their legs. This helps maintain a smooth and baby-soft skin post-shaving.

5. Oil Pulling

Oil pulling is a traditional and old-schooled method to cleanse the mouth from any bacteria. Ideal way to use coconut oil for oil pulling is to start your day with it. Swish a teaspoon of coconut oil in the mouth for preferably ten minutes or more.

6. Frizz Remover

Coconut oil is also an effective solution for removing any hair frizz. Just apply a little to the hair and then massage the head for a while. Avoid putting on too much though as it will give your hair an oily look.

7. For Cuticles

Massaging your fingernails and toenails with coconut oil will help in keeping the rugged cuticles clean. Its anti-fungal properties will also help avoid any fungal infections on the toenails.
Coconut water will also work similarly for the nails. However, coconut oil can be used for many other purposes too.

Chinese Government ends Apple Imports

Security concerns in China have compelled the government to remove all Apple iPads and Macbook laptops from the government’s procurement lists. The news was released by few government officials on the condition of anonymity.

In the procurement list released this July 2014, ten of Apple’s products were not marked. These included iPad, iPad mini, Macbook Air and Macbook Pro. The information is still not made public. The officials said that other American products including Dell Inc, Hewlett Packard Co and the Lenovo group are still on the list.

According to the Ministry of Finance China’s website, Apple did not make it as either of the two winning bidders to provide desktop and laptop computers to the Chinese government. The contracts instead went to the Chinese company Tsinghua Tongfang Co and Lenovo.

The news has still not been officially released and therefore it is still unknown whether iPhones have been removed from the procurement list too. In addition, this act has also raised security concerns among other countries concerning import of foreign IT products.

According to a TV program on a Chinese national channel, iPhones if used by government officials could threaten security of the country. Fang Xingdong, the founder of Chinalabs.com (a high tech think tank) called for a ban on the usage of iPhones by civil servants.

As a result, in May 2014, Chinese government started to vet major IT products and services that were being used by the government and other public entities. They then banned the use of Windows 8 on any platform in a pursuit for national security. Subsequently it has now also banned Symantec and Kaspersky (Software developers) and eventually these Apple products discussed above.

This ban of IT products will highly impact the value of Apple in the stock market and on a bigger picture, the ban will also impact the American GDP.

Basics of Tattoo Creation

About a decade or two ago, tattoos were mostly associated with bikers, sailors and other artists etc. However, in the recent years, they have evolved to become more popular with each design and style of the tattoo defining its recipient. Some people who despised tattoos are also getting permanent make-up to emphasize their lips or eyes these days.

Tattoos are created as a result of injecting ink into the recipient’s skin. In order to do so, an electrically powered tattooing machine is used which sounds much like the dental drill. The machine penetrates the skin 50 to 3000 times in a minute. The needle goes in as deep as a millimeter into the skin to deposit a drop of ink each time.

The tattoo machine was originally invented by Samuel O’Riley in the late 1800s, which is unchanged till date. The design of the tattoo machine was based on the mechanism of the autographic printer invented by Thomas Edison. The printer was originally invented to engrave writing into hard surfaces, while O’ Riley modified the same machine by changing it to the tube system and modifying its rotary-driven electromagnetic oscillating unit.

Most modern tattoo parlors have the following basic components in their machines:

• Sterilized needle
• A tube system to draw ink through the machine and into the skin
• Electric motor
• A pedal controlled at the foot to regulate the needle’s vertical movement.

A person’s visible tattoo is the ink that we can see through that person’s epidermis (the outer layer of the skin). The ink is actually situated in the dermis, (the second layer of the skin), whose cells are very stable. This also assists the ink to stay in place without any major dispersion throughout the recipient’s life.

Microsoft Delve

Satya Nadella’s latest vision to convert Microsoft into a “Productivity and platform company” revolves around his new idea of Delve. He has been working on this novel search tool for years now. This means that Microsoft will focus more on the software and OS development rather than hardware.

He wants to build a system where your phone, tablet, PC or TV knows you and your preferences. They will cater to the consumer’s needs before a command is even issued. Nadella announced a few Microsoft technologies that will assist Nadella to bring this vision to reality.

As a result of this reality, people will communicate and collaborate more effectively. Ideas will be expressed in new ways and they will enjoy ambient intelligence with Cortana and Delve. “Cortana” is the Microsoft’s version of Siri, which is available in the latest Windows phones.

Delve, which was previously code-named Oslo, is Microsoft’s own search engine. Microsoft has been working on it for years now. It is a different type of search engine that will search results through your Office 365, social networks, emails and corporate documents. It uses Machine learning and artificial intelligence to track down documents, people and messages. According to Microsoft, it will basically highlight the information you are interested in, based on what people around you have been doing and what you have been working on. If this search engine becomes a hit with organizing people’s work lives, it would validate and ensure Nadella’s vision.

Strategies to Supercharge Social Media Activity

The first step at successful execution of a social media campaign is to follow all the steps on the STOP acronym, i.e. segmentation, targeting, objective setting and finally positioning. All these fundamental marketing strategies should be incorporated even when working for successful social media marketing.

When segmenting and targeting, the online audience will be considered. There are multiple methods to segment the audience, for example, the audience can be divided into activators and non-activators. Moreover, there are other methods, which can be used to segment the market and each method is beneficial for different types of companies and industries. Targeting should also be done keeping in view the requirements of the company.

Next, the objectives are a signpost to the future goals of the company and hence, must be considered on all stages of the planning process. While lastly, positioning is very important for the brand as consumers on a later date will  perceive better the brand that  it was positioned earlier. 

Once the STOP acronym is dealt with, the digital marketing campaign must also have an offline element. The offline element is an additional aspect to keep the consumers engaged to the physical aspect of the product or service. Keeping them only digitally engaged  may or may not (depending on the type of the campaign) keep the digital aspect connected with the actual product.

In addition, it has long been noticed that empowering the employees of a company is highly beneficial in increasing the dialogue and interaction between that company and its consumers. Once the employees own the brand name and the company profile, they would communicate with the consumers as if they themselves are the brand.

Hence, in addition to the strategies mentioned above, companies can take benefit from their human resource and work to empower employees as social media advocates. Using the employees to promote the product online is a very good strategy due to a number of factors including:

• They’re already using the internet and social media.

• They know about the ins and outs of the brand and can conveniently speak about it.

• The consumers of the product can also empathize with the employees.

• Employees have an access to more people than the corporate accounts.

All these strategies will add up to leading a successful social media campaign.

5 Traits of People with Effective Communication Skills

If you are dialing 911, ordering a pizza, or maybe just talking to a friend; effective communication will be your friend and guide throughout your life. The human life revolves around socializing and hence, communication is essential. While some people have a few inherent socializing skills, some people actually need to work to attain perfection and then practice. Following are a few communication skills that can be practiced to become a socializing expert:

1. Listening

Good listening is an essential if you want to become good at speaking. Being able to absorb and adjust with others’ speeches, expressions and the appropriate reactions is a skill that will eventually build up to excellent speaking. This is because the people who do not listen properly and are always in a rush to speak, often do not understand what is being said or expressed. They don’t learn much that way.

2. Relate to others

People with good communication skills gather an understanding of their audience before they would customize the message specifically for them. This is because unless you can attract the audience with something that interests them, your words will be useless to them.

3. Simplify the message

A good speaker would always simplify the message for the audience. Consider a mathematics teacher giving an algebra lesson for the first time. If the teacher cannot explain the concepts in a simplified manner, the message will never reach the students.

4. Use right words at the right time

Speaking what is required at this moment and saving the good words for the perfect time is essential for good communication. If you have a really good idea and you pitch it to the boss when he’s mellow, it will yield in no result. Hence, you should know when to speak up versus the times when it is best to remain quite.

5. Practice confidence

Effective communication also encourages confident speaking. Vague and unclear language, confusion between words and not knowing what to say, are not the traits of these people. The audience trusts such a speaker because of the confidence depicted.