A few of our most popular posts about conserving energy: physical, mental and environmental.

To Do List

Why You Want To Work In 20-Minute Spurts

Everything in your daily life—be it a physical or mental activity—can be vastly improved by working in 20-minute spurts.

Sensiclock

 

WORK SMARTER  | While there is proven science behind the idea that just 20 minutes of the right kind of daily physical activity leads to a longer, healthier life (read Gretchen Reynolds’s The First 20 Minutes, or an article on the book in the NYT), there’s no specific science I know of linking 20-minute chunks of mental focus to greater effectiveness at work. And yet I’m living proof that this is the case. Read more

Woman Jumping Rope

Just Jump—You Won’t Be Sorry

How to improve your mood, energy level, agility, cardiovascular system and bone density by doing this one simple thing.


Woman Jumping Rope

 

FIT IN A MINUTE | Gretchen Rubin, author of The New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project, wrote a blog post last December on the joy of jumping up and down. Gretchen claims that the simple act of jumping up and down—in street wear, no special equipment or gym strip required—relaxes and/or invigorates her, depending on the situation. Oh yes, and it makes her kids laugh too, something that contributes to a more lighthearted mood at home. Read more

Baby Drinking Coca Cola

To Break An Unwanted Habit, Do This One Thing

To break a single bad habit, use this famous technique to support your decision one day at a time.

 

Baby Drinking Coca Cola

 

SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE | I never make New Year’s resolutions (unless they’re the Babylonian kind, which are really all about settling up—CLICK HERE for the Frugalbits story), but on 01 January 2013, I decided to inch into the game. For years I’d wanted to remove (oh-so-bad-for-you) Coca-Cola from my diet but, for a million lame reasons, had never been able to go more than a few days without succumbing to the drink. Read more

Dirty Towels- 123rf

Yes, You Can Get Your Kids To Pick Up Their Dirty Towels

How to get your messy kids to stop leaving soggy bath towels in a pile in their room.

Dirty Towels- 123rf

 

NAG LESS| Have you ever experienced Disappearing Towel Phenomenon? This occurrence is not to be confused with Disappearing Object Phenomenon, a documented paranormal event where random objects mysteriously disappear and then inexplicably turn up later. In the case of Disappearing Towel Phenomenon, the objects are neither random nor their whereabouts unknown. Parents of teenagers know precisely where to look for their vanished bath towels: in multiple, soggy piles on the floor in their offspring’s bedrooms. Read more

Cracked pots for Craigslist.

How To Get Rid Of Old Stuff Quick—For Free

Here’s how to give away unwanted things at lightening speed to save the planet and avoid a dumping fee.

 

Stuff You Can Find For Free On Craigslist

 

OUT WITH THE OLD | As a murder mystery aficionado, I generally identify with the forces of law and order. Lately, however, I’ve felt a certain sympathy for murderers with awkward corpses to dispose of.

In the bad old days, getting rid of unwanted items was so much easier, cheaper and less guilt-ridden. Recently I found myself with a number of awkward corpses of my own to dispose of: dead trees I had felled before the winter winds did the job less carefully. Read more