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Strange& CharmedIssue 3 Jan/Feb 2013

The Resolution Issue

Productivity

Health StressManagement

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Welcome to Issue 3 of Strange & Charmed

Magazine! We hope you have a

wonderful time!

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Table of Contents

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article

Letter from the Editor

Staff Resolutions

Staff Picks: Organizers & Planners

5 Tips for Success: Health

5 Tips for Success: Productivity

5 Tips for Success: Stress Management

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article

Arts & Entertainment: Must Read Books for 2013

Six Pairs of Comfort

The Next Big Thing is the iPad Mini

Must Have iPad Mini Cases

Skimming for Time

Picking the Perfect Planner

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article

Digital vs. Analog

Must Have Apps for a Successful New Year

Upgrade your Pedometer

Get Board to Reduce Stress

Horoscope Survival Guide: New Year’s Resolutions by Star Sign

Mantra: Simple Yoga Breath to Relieve Stress

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Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the third installment of Strange & Charmed Magazine and to the New Year 2013! Since the New Year is always considered a fresh start and an opportunity for person-al growth and betterment, this issue will be centered around our collec-tive New Year’s Resolutions. When I sat down to think about the most popular resolutions, three immedi-ately stood out in my mind; health, stress management, and productiv-ity. Every January more and more people sign up for a gym member-ship, only to let it go to waste in a matter of weeks or months. They

buy books on productivity only to let them sit unfinished on the shelves and join a yoga class only to see their money go to waste. Why is it that we can’t stick to our own per-sonal resolutions year after year? The reasons are many and vary by individual, but I think the best way to make a resolution and to stick to it is to surround yourself with the tools you need to succeed. So, in this issue, Strange & Charmed will be arming you with some great tools to set you up for success whether you are resolving to be healthier, re-solving to succeed with stress man-agement or resolving to increase your productivity. Inside these pages will be apps, books, websites and more to give you inspiration and some great tips and tricks to achieving your resolutions in 2013!

xoxoAlexis Giost ra

Editor in Chief

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Staff Resolutions: Alexis Giostra

1. Cont. Developing Strange & Charmed.

2. Network with more Writers.3. Do more side projects I enjoy!

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Staff Resolutions: Kate Marshall

1. Send Out Stories for Publication.

2. Look for more Professional writing opportu-nities.

3. Have Fun!

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Staff Resolutions: Mike Cousineau

1. Make smarter choices for eating.

2. Be more proactive in helping around the house.

3. Be the best husband I can be.

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Staff Pick’s: Organizers & Planners

Gallery Leather Large Monthly Planner

Moleskine Large Horizontal Weekly Planner

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Filofax Metropol Personal Organizer

Quo Vadis Hebdo Planner with Club Cover

Moleskine iPad Cover with Volant Notebook

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Resolution: Health

I resolve to be healthier by...

Drinking water. Hydration is a key piece of the health puzzle and by drinking enough water each day you can prevent dehydration headaches, pains of hun-ger (that are actually thirst) and help remove toxins from your body. Although they say drink 10 8oz glasses a day, the best rule of thumb is to take your body weight and di-vide by two to get the minimum ounces you need a day.!

Parking further away. If your primary means of transportation is driving, try parking a little fur-ther from stores and restaurants to get some extra walk-ing in. Not only will you find parking easier, but you can burn off a few calories and breath the fresh air in your way.

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5 Tips for Success{ }

By: Alexis Giostra

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Taking the stairs. Whenever you are out and about and you have the option if taking an elevator or the stairs, opt for the stairs as often as possible. It may take you some extra time but walking up and down stairs is a great way to burn some quick calories and get your heart pumping.

Wearing comfortable shoes. For women, its very easy to pop on a cute pair of heels to go to the office, but usually heels and other types of shoes are very uncomfort-able to walk and stand in, which means you may stick to your desk more than you should. Switch to some cute and com-fortable flats and boots, and I bet you will find yourself get-ting up from your chair much more often!

Leaving a little food. Portion control is a key part of keeping control of your weight. Whether you are eating at home or out at a restaurant, make it a habit to not finish all your food. Try keeping a small portion for left-over’s and this will save you some calories and cash because you can save your portion for the next days lunch or snack!

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Resolution: Productivity

I resolve to be productive by...

Writing everything down. This may seem simple, but think of how much information you forget simply because you thought you could remember it rather than write it down. Carry a notebook with you or your smartphone and take notes or voice capture information you need to refer back to later.

Waking up earlier. Do you know how much you can get done with an extra 15 minutes? Probably more than you think, and 15 minutes is a lot of extra time in the morn-ing when we are all rushing around to get out the door to work or get our days started. Try waking up 15 minutes earlier each day and see how it affects your productivity..

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5 Tips for Success{ }

By: Alexis Giostra

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Taking shorts breaks throughout the day. You may think that taking a break from your work is counterpro-ductive, but taking short 10-15 minutes breaks every hour or two will actually help you recharge your battery through-out the day and help you stay fresh. You can take this up a notch and read productivity articles or play a quick brain teaser game on your smartphone to help keep you sharp!

Centralizing tasks to one location. Often we have multiple streams of information hitting us at one time with various tasks and information we need. Email, phone calls, and texts can hit us all simultaneously, so keeping your to-dos in one spot can save you the headache of finding information. Make a habit of sending all your tasks to one place, like a file on your computer so you don’t miss anything. Writing down all your tasks in a notepad may also help you keep track of things easily.

Scheduling chores. You may not want to come home after a long day and have to clean your house or apartment, but if you leave it all to the weekend, you will have a lot to clean at one time. Try to schedule certain chores for certain days of the week so you can do 15-30 minutes of cleaning a day instead of a few hours at once.

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Resolution: Stress Management

I resolve to manage stress by...

Breathing. Sometimes its the simplest things in life that are the most effective. Breathing is something that comes so naturally to all of us that we hardly notice we are doing it. When your feeling stressed out, make sure to breathe to keep yourself grounded. For more information on a great breathing tech-nique, check out the Mantra section for a simple yoga breath.

Going to bed earlier. One of the best ways to manage frequent stress is to ensure you are sleeping well and regularly. Its easy to get into the mind set that if you are stressed out you should try to get more done in a day to combat it, but the fact is that day to day tasks are always there waiting for you. You can’t do it all in a day! The best thing to do when you are over-whelmed at the end of a long day is get yourself to bed as early as possible to get the maximum benefit from your night’s sleep.

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5 Tips for Success{ }

By: Alexis Giostra

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Stretch. Stress can take a major toll on your body physically and can manifest itself in the form of sort mus-cles in the neck and back most frequently. If you are feel-ing tense in your neck and shoulders, be sure to stretch of-ten by doing some neck rolls and simple arm stretches. You can find some great free print outs on easy office stretch-es by googling “Office Stretches,” at home or at work.

Keeping a gratitude journal. You may recall that we covered gratitude journals in the Mantra section of our last issue, but they truly are a great tool to help manage stress. The simple act of writing for a few minutes a day is a great stress reliever and to reflect on all the good things in your life will really help keep your stress in perspective. I find it particularly helpful to try to find the good in whatever is stressing you out at the moment. For example, work may be a major source of stress, but perhaps if you focus on how grateful you are to have a job when many are out of work, you can make peace with your stress and work through it.

Reading. Reading is a great stress reliever and a great activity to do during your break times. I like to read productivity or stress management articles when I take short breaks at work to keep my mind fresh and help give me great tips to manage myself and my work.

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Arts&

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inment

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I resolve to be healthier by reading...

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Don’t let the title of this book fool you, because this is much more than a management book! If you think about it, your health and wellness is all part of the habits you have constructed for yourself. Don’t like to exercise? Can’t con-trol your eating? These are all hab-its and the more you understand the way habits form and function in your mind, the better equipped you will be to totally rewire your mind and form new habits. Al-though this book could be used to help you change any habit, not just your health and wellness hab-its, I think that when it comes to sustaining health, habits are what will make changes last a lifetime, so get ready to rewire your brain to get yourself where you want to be.

Must Read Books for 2013: HealthBy: Alexis Giostra

Arts&

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I resolve to be productive by reading...

By: Alexis Giostra

How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed by Ray Kurzweil

Our minds are our source of greatest potential and this book explores the concept of reverse-engineering the brain for use in ar-tificial intelligence to solve all the worlds problems. Not so much a guidebook for productivity as it is an enlightening read on how our minds work, this book has a great capacity for changing the way we think about our minds and our own potential and limitations.

Must Read Books for 2013: Productivity

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I resolve to manage stress by reading...

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff... and It’s All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson

Probably one of the best known books on managing and under-standing stress, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and it’s all small stuff is a great read for anyone who a wake up call to manage and reduce stress in their lives. As this book explains, most stress in our lives is created by our own worrying and isn’t worth our time. We need to focus on the positive aspects of our lives and keep our wild emo-tions in their proper perspective if we want to live a stress free life.

Must Read Books for 2013: StressBy: Alexis Giostra

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Six Pairs of Comfort

Simple and Sparkly, these flats can go from work to play and night to day!{Tom’s Silver Glitter Flats $54}

Comfortable and cute, these are one pair of heels that won’t have you sit-ting out all day! {Aerosole’s Roler Rink Heel $79}

These slouchy boots are a stylish statement for a long day of wear!{Lower East Side Rory Boot $40}

There will be no reason to sit out while you’re wearing these comfy beauties!{ }

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A simple ballet flat is so feminine, no one would know you were wearing them for comfort!{JCrew Classic Leather Ballet Flats $125}

These shoes may look weird but they feel great as a casual walking shoe!{Vibram FiveFingers Entrada $75}

Who could say no to a comfortable furry moccasin for a casual day at the office?{Airwalk Furry Moc $27}

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A few months ago, Apple held a press event. No, not that event, the one about the iP-hone, but one a few weeks lat-er that completely escaped my notice. I came home one day from work to find that Apple had done it, they announced the release of a gadget that many had guessed at and I completely dismissed as a fig-ment of our collective imagina-tion. The iPad mini, however, is real and I almost immedi-ately knew I would have to own one. So, I preordered two

at 3 o’clock I the morning on October 26th; one black, one white, both 16gb Wifi Only. My husband and I had decid-ed that he would sell his first gen iPad and unused 2nd gen iPod Touch to make way for a black model for him, and I would just go all in and get my-self the white one. No, I didn’t sell my now outdated 3rd gen iPad that was preordered and delivered in March, only a few short months ago. In fact, I am writing this article on my max-iPad as I have come to call it,

The Next Big Thing is the iPad Mini By:

AlexisGiostra

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and after a weekend with my new iPad mini I know I want to keep this big guy around!The iPad mini really is a very advanced and very amazing device. Size wise, it is perfect, as even I can hold the device in one hand with my freakishly small hands! It is so well built and sturdy compared not only to other tablets on the mar-ket but also the larger iPad, as I feel no compulsion to wrap the iPad mini in a protective case. It really feels sturdy and so well built that it clearly is a high end device worthy of the price tag. The screen is so large on this little guy too! It really doesn’t feel much smaller than the full sized iPad screen, but I attribute that to the thin-ner edges that give the screen more real estate on the device. One thing that is surprisingly smaller, however, is the home button. It appears to be about two thirds of the size of a home button on an iPad or iPhone. Why is the home button so dif-

ferent? Well, it appears to be proportional with the lower bezel of the device which is thinner than a iPad, but ap-pears to be the same size as an iPhone 4S. Since I don’t seem to have any logical answer for this mini home button, I am going to leave it as one of the mysteries of the world and to the proportion of the display which is really something to be in awe of. After all, the iPad line is all about the display, so lets get to the heart of how the mini stacks up against its big-ger brother. The display is surprisingly bright and vivid. I guess one would expect no less from Ap-ple, but it surprised me mostly because in-hand the device felt like a kindle or e-reader with its thin body and ultralight frame, and to see this beautiful, bright screen was a bit of a surprise. The resolution on the display isn’t bad, either. It certainly isn’t retina quality as going from a retina iPad or iPhone

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to the mini shows a drastic dif-ference, but in its own right the resolution is not unacceptable. The major flaw of the screen however is very evident when using iPhone applications on the mini. I do use a few iPhone only apps on my iPad, for ex-ample Instagram, and on my r e t i n a iPad the app isn’t too bad s c a l e d up be-cause of the high q u a l i t y display, but on the mini the app looks terrible. It’s not completely unusable but the pixels are so obvious that us-ing the app is not the same as on my phone or iPad. Now, this of course could be cured if Ins-tagram had an iPad app, and I am still hoping that they create one to fix this issue and to give

iPad and mini users a better experience when using the app on larger screened devices, but the issue remains that iPhone only apps just look bad on the mini. When running iPad apps, however, the mini does an ex-cellent job and looks great. I

have en-j o y e d u s i n g some of my usu-al iPad apps on the mini, s p e c i f i -c a l l y g a m e s because

I get the best of both worlds when it comes to the screen quality and size of the device itself. I can play action games with more ease because of the size and weight of the mini. Even non gaming apps are easier to use because you can hold the device in one hand

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and use the other to select or scroll. That was always a little difficult on the iPad because I needed two hands just to hold it sometimes. As to the size of the device and weight, I think Apple hit a home run. Although there are many similarly sized tab-

lets and e-readers on the mar-ket, none quite have the iPad mini’s perfect proportion. Yes-terday, I was incredibly excit-ed when I put my mini down for a rest on top of my agen-da to find that the device was a perfect match to its dimen-sions. I know this may seem

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like an odd thing to be excited about, but when you think of it, these large sized agendas and notebooks have become a standard size for a reason, they fit in well on a desk or in a bag, and in the hand! I think it was great that Apple went with this proportion that fits well in everyday life. It helps that the side bezel is much thinner in portrait mode, because it gives the mini the illusion if a wider screen than it would if the bezel was proportional like the full sized iPad. Personally, I have not had a problem with the thinner side bezel of the mini causing my fingers to make accidental selections. I know Apple improved the finger re-jection aspect of the software and it seems to be working as I make far more accidental taps with my iPad than I have so far with the mini. Overall, the performance of the mini is on point with what we have come to expect from an iPad. Apps run great,

web pages load in good speeds, and despite the fact that the home button is inexplicably tiny, it fits in well with Apple’s portable device line up. I did, however, mention that I would not be trading in my retina iPad anytime soon, and that speaks to the biggest flaw of the mini, the resolution. It really seems like a step back from the prod-ucts apple has been putting out lately and I feel as though Apple made a mistake failing to give this little guy a retina display that all of the current devices use. I am certain that next year the iPad mini will come with a retina display standard, but this first genera-tion has been slightly crippled by this oversight. It is a high end device, however, and it re-ally feels like this was the de-vice the iPad was meant to be all along, sturdy, lightweight, and ultra portable, definitely worth the price and an Apple product none the less!

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Must Have iPad Mini Cases

DODOCASE Classic for iPad Mini $59.95

X-Doria Smart Jacket for iPad Mini $34.99

Slim and Protective with a lot of Style!

For the bookish!

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Gumdrop Shockdrop case for iPad Mini $59.95

Apple Smart Cover for iPad Mini $39.00

For the bookish!

Quirky & Colorful!

Versatile, yet minimal!

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iFrogz Breeze case for iPad Mini $29.99

Incase Book Jacketfor iPad mini $49.95

For the rebel spy in you!

For the modern professional!

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If you are someone who spends a good chunk of time each morning reading the newspaper to keep up on the latest news to be a more intelligent and informed citizen, there is a great subscription ser-vice that promises to do all the work for you and for free!The Skimm is a daily (Monday-Friday) subscription based email newsletter that brings you the most important news stories of

the day, the important facts you need to know and situations in which you could bring up each story. The good folks at The Skimm have ‘skimmed’ the news for you each day and you get a fresh email each morning at about 4-5am. So, by the time you wake up (for many of us) you can check your email and skim the news in a matter of minutes! This is also great for people who don’t cur-rently read the news but would like to start getting a daily dose of condensed news to keep them in the loop. After all, if you are a working professional, having knowledge of the news keeps you in on the conversation with your co-workers and superiors, which is a surprising important skill to have in the professional world.For more information, or to sign up for The Skimm, visit-----> www.theskimm.com

I resolve to be productive by Skimming

Skimming for TimeBy: Alexis Giostra

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As we turn the calendar page to the New Year, we are all faced with a fresh start. By that, I of course mean that we need a fresh new planner for 2013 since 2012’s is filled to the brim with notes and to dos and appointments! Date-book, calendar, organizer, agen-da, whatever you call it, these next few pages will be devoted to helping you figure out what type of planner you will want to use for 2013. I know many of us use the same planner format year after year, and perhaps that system is working for you and you already know exactly what you will be us-

ing, but for some, things change from year to year and what we need from our planners change as well. So, whether you are looking for a new planner or not, I think it would be helpful to learn what your options are because, who knows, maybe you have been us-ing a pocket weekly planner when what you really need is a personal daily planner with pockets and you didn’t even realize it!

TerminologyI will be using a lot of jargon to describe the types of planners out there and all your options. So let

Picking the Perfect Planner

By:Alexis

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me run through a few key descrip-tors that should help you better understand the options.

Size Pocket: A small size planner that normally fits in the palm of the hand and can easily be car-ried in a pants pocket. Generally 3”x5”. Personal: A medium sized planner that can fit in the hands but is too large to pocket in cloth-ing. Generally 5”x8”. Desktop: A large planner that is too large to hold comfort-ably while writing but is perfect for taking notes and recording in-formation while seated at a desk. Generally anything larger than 8”x10”.

Template Styles Daily: A planner that is for-matted to devote a page per day or sometimes two pages per day. Weekly: A planner that is for-matted to devote one or two pages to a week. Monthly: A planner that is formatted to devote two pages to a month. Ruled: A planner that has ruled lines for you to write in.

Un-ruled: A planner that has no lines, but usually boxed areas in which to write.

Binding Styles Bound: A planner that is bound like a book. Ring-bound/Spiral Bound: A planner that is bound by rings so that you can turn pages flat or fold the planner back so that only one page is active at a time. Refillable: A refillable plan-ner is often spiral bound in one-way or another and allows you to add and remove pages easily. These types of planners often come with multiple template styles and can also include extra inserts for pockets, mirrors, calculators and more.

Selecting the right size Size is probably one of the most basic aspects of selecting an planner, however, it is very im-portant to give a lot of thought to what size you will need and how you will be using and storing the planner. Each size has its own benefits and limitations, but your needs will dictate which is right for you. A Pocket sized planner is great

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for people on the go and for those who are constantly being given in-formation while away from their desk. Their small size makes them easy to take along, in a pocket or in a bag or purse, so that you nev-er have a reason to be without it. However, these smaller agendas often have less room to write in, so if you take a lot of notes all the time, they are probably not the best option. Where they do shine, however, is as appointment books for those who just need to track meetings and important dates. So, if you currently use a planner and write about 2-5 items per day as reminders, a pocket planner may be a good choice for you. A Personal sized planner is probably the most versatile and functional size. Although it isn’t small enough to fit in a pocket, you it is still the perfect size to carry around and easily portable in a bag, purse, or briefcase. It is large enough to write a good amount of notes and tasks in without getting cumbersome and is also small enough that you can keep it close and not worry about others peer-ing at what you are writing. If you are using a smaller planner and find that you need to make long

lists or need more space to write, upgrading to a personal size may be a good choice. The Desktop sized planner is the largest and most cumbersome and is best left at a desk or at the office for those who work at the same place all day long. Because they are large, you can get a lot of writing done and these types of planners are great for someone who needs to write a lot of detail or plan out projects. With these larger planners, a combination of writing, sketches and images can be put together very easily on the larger format. For these types of planners, the standard A4 is often used to denote the universal size 8.3x 11.7. If you are interested in this larger size planner and par-ticularly, using a refillable large binder of this size, sticking to the A4 size will be an easy way for you to find refills and accessories across the board.

What will you need from your template? Template styles are impor-tant because they are the primary way you will be organizing your information and time. Choosing the right template style for you is

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probably the place where you will need to spend the most of your thought when selecting a planner because making the wrong choice will be a waste of your time and money. Although for some people, the wrong choice may not neces-sarily cause any issues, for some the wrong template could cause organizational chaos. So, take some time to think about your cur-rent system if you have one, what your needs are and what makes the most sense to you. The Daily template is a good choice for those who have multi-ple engagements or tasks to com-plete and track on a daily basis. Having the ability to devote one or two pages to a day can keep you organized if you go from meeting to meeting, have a lot of informa-tion you need to record or mul-tiple tasks and projects to man-age on any given day. These daily templates are often broken down by time of day from 6am to 6pm so that you can track your tasks to the hour and are usually ruled for the purpose of writing informa-tion in an orderly fashion. The Weekly template is a good choice for those who like to see how their week is shaping up

at a glance. It’s optimal for menu planning if you are someone who plans out meals a head of time for grocery shopping. It’s also a great format for those who have a few appointments and key tasks they need to keep track of (i.e. ‘Quarter-ly budget due Thursday’ or ‘School Play Saturday.’) If you are someone who has minimal appointments or entries to make, perhaps just a handful a day, a week per page template may be great for you be-cause this is generally a slimmer planner, but if you need that ex-tra space to write, a two page per week template is probably your best bet. These templates can be either ruled (usually for two pages per week) or un-ruled (for a week per page.)

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The Monthly template is probably the most limited choice for long term planning. It gives you a good overview of a month at a glance, but no real detail can be captured in this format. Its great for tracking birthdays and special events, but there are very few month-only planner options out there. Usually you will find monthly pages for planning as a separate section in a weekly or daily planner. Can be ruled or un-ruled depending on the manufac-turer.

Keeping it all together The binding of your planner is another important choice you will have to make. This choice factors more around where and how you will be filling your planner so that you can decide the best choice for you. A Bound planner is a good op-tion for people who want to keep their planner as light and thin as possible. Because these sorts of planners are bound, they cannot get any larger, and even types like Moleskine’s that include pockets and a strap to hold loose papers and such inside can’t get too out of control. They are usually much

more discrete and you don’t have to worry much about loosing any notes or pages. The major down-side to a bound planner is that they are finite. Once you run out of pages you can’t add more. Some people save their old bound plan-ners to catalog them if they include important material to be refer-enced in the future. Also scanning is an option for saving data, albeit a time consuming one. A Ring-Bound or Spiral plan-ner is perfect for those who do not like the rigidity of bound note-books. If you do a lot of writing while you are standing, it is often easier to use a ring-bound plan-ner so that you can fold it and write on one side at a tine. Ring-bound options also have the sin-gular ability to lie completely flat on both the front and back cover, which makes it easier for some to write in them. Ring-bound plan-

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ners are not always refillable, but many popular brands are and those types are unique enough to deserve their own section below. The spiral bound variety is usu-ally not refillable, however, they often include perforated pages so that important information can be removed without ruining the binding of the planner. The Refillable planner is per-fect for those who enjoy person-alization. With the many refill-able ring-bound options out on the market, there are nearly infi-nite possibilities when it comes to creating your own style planner. With these planners, you can of-ten create a mix of daily, weekly and monthly planner pages to fill your precise needs, and these style planners also include many accessories and extras. Pocket pages, ruler inserts, portable hole-punches and tabs bring organiz-ing your organizer to new heights. Mirrors, secure zippered inserts, calculators, maps and more make your planner an attaché case while on the go. The major downside to these types of planners, how-ever, is the inevitable bulk. With so much to add, it’s easy for your planner to grow out of control and

need constant maintenance. Re-member, refillable planners mean you need to refill them and that can take time that perhaps you’re not interested spending.

Planner Blogs & Communities You may think it strange, or perhaps natural that there are multiple blogs and community web sites devoted to the topic of planners. It seems that each brand has their own following and I thought I should share these links with you in case you would like to join one yourself. If you do end up choosing a new planner type or perhaps want to learn more about your current organizer and how to make the most of it, these links will help you find some tips, tricks and hacks to keep you more orga-nized than you ever thought pos-sible!

http://www.moleskinerie.comhttp://philofaxy.blogspot.comhttp://www.plannerisms.comhttp://quovadisblog.com

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Digital vs Analog: External Hard Drive vs. Filing Cabinet

Small and portable

Searchable filing

Holds large amounts of data

Copies must be printed

Requires a computer

External Hard Drive

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Digital vs Analog: External Hard Drive vs. Filing Cabinet

Physical PaperDocuments are protected

Can’t Erase with a click of a button

Electricity freeOn demand, no print time

Filing Cabinet

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Digital vs Analog: Digital Calendar vs. Paper Planner

Digital Calendar

Compact

Endless storageMulti-function

Multiple calendar viewsRelies on Electricity

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Digital vs Analog: Digital Calendar vs. Paper Planner

Paper Planner

Permanent

Shatter-proof

Not a theft riskCan’t recover information if lost or damaged

In-Expensive

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Digital vs Analog: Digital Pen vs. Notebooks

Digital Pen

Light and portableSaves all your notes

Requires batteriesEasy to misplace

Creates searchable entries

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Digital vs Analog: Digital Pen vs. Notebooks

Notebooks

Saves all your notesSusceptible to damage Low profile

Can be stored in a collection

Easy to share or borrow

Can’t malfunction

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Must Have Health Apps for a Successful New Year

If you are trying to watch your weight this year, try using Lose It! to track your food intake. Experts agree that the best way to help you loose weight is to take an accurate inventory of what you are eating, that way you can see what good eating habits lead to the best results and ex-plain what bad eating habits you need to overcome.Price: Free

Lose It!

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Must Have Health Apps for a Successful New Year

Want to workout, but aren’t sure which moves will help you tighten your tummy or help trim fat from your underarms? Use Workout Trainer to help develop your own custom workouts. It’s like having a trainer with you wherever you go so you have no excuse not to workout, even on the go.Price: Free

Workout Trainer

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Need to Scan docu-ments while you are out and about? Or perhaps you don’t feel comfortable us-ing your office scan-ner for personal doc-uments. Hey, we have all been there, but with Doc Scan HD you don’t have to worry about a thing. With this app and your iP-hone or iPad camera you can quickly snap a hi resolution picture that you can save as a PDF. It doesn’t get easier than that!Price: Free

Doc Scan HD

Must Have Productivity Apps for a Successful New Year

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Evernote is a portable note taking app available for your iOS devices and more! It allows you to quickly create a note, snap an image or save a picture file into your Evernote da-tabase. Now, with a new line of Evernote Moleskine’s, you can make digital backups of your physical notes and cata-log them automatically in the app! That’s digital and ana-log working together like never before!Price: Free

Evernote

Must Have Productivity Apps for a Successful New Year

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Yoga HD is a great app that allows you as the user to either pick from a selection of pre made yoga routines or design your own from their over 300 poses. As you workout, you will be guided with audio and visual explanations of each position. This is like a portable yoga studio in your pocket!Price: $.99

Yoga HD

Must Have Stress Management Apps for a Successful New Year

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This interesting app is actually an ambient sound generator with brainwave stimulation. Choose the time of day, an ambient sound like rain falling or waves crashing on the shore and set the timer for a set length for you to relax. You can adjust the brainwave stimula-tion and the ambient noise volume to create your perfect zen media-tion. I suggest using headphones to give yourself a private and dis-traction free experience!Price: $.99

Zen Meditation

Must Have Stress Management Apps for a Successful New Year

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Upgrade Your Pedometer

Fitbit One, Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker$99.99

Jawbone Up Wristband$129.99

Pedometers have been a great tool for people seeking to lead a healthier lifestyle. With modern technology, however, its not just about how many steps you take, but about evaluating your activity in a holistic way. Modern devices like the Fitbit One and Jawbone Up wirelessly track your activity and sleep patterns and transmit

the data to apps where the user can evaluate their data and what it means to them. So, if your try-ing to live healthier and get a bet-ter understanding of your own physical habits, try upgrading to one of these pieces of wearable technology and see how it im-pacts your understanding of your own habits!

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One great way to combat stress and bring more balance to your life is through good old fashion human interaction! So, gather up some of your stressed and over-worked friends for a game night with a few not so usual board games! These two are a great addition to any collection and certainly not as overplayed as

Monopoly or Sorry! Never un-derestimate the power of laugh-ter and conversation to cure even the most stressed out soul! And there is certainly something to be said about stepping away from the computer or television screen and focusing on flesh and blood for a while!

Get Board to Reduce Stress

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^ a

c`

_ b

Aries Resolve to be

more patient.

CancerResolve to

control your moodiness.

Taurus Resolve to be less

stubborn

LeoResolve to act less pretentious.

GeminiResolve to settle down and be less

restless.

VirgoResolve to go with the flow and

be less fussy.

Horoscope Survival Guide: New Year’s Resolutions by Star Sign

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d g

e h

f i

LibraResolve to show your deeper side and not your superficial one.

CapricornResolve to trust

others.

Scorpio Resolve to

control your jealousy.

AquariusResolve to stop

the frequent sarcasm.

Sagittarius Resolve to open up emotionally

to others.

PiscesResolve to make decisions, even

tough ones.

Horoscope Survival Guide: New Year’s Resolutions by Star Sign

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Mantra: Simple Yoga Breath to Relieve Stress

For this issue, our Mantra section is going to focus on an easy, simple to master breathing technique that I call the Simple Yoga Breath. This technique can be used at practically any time if and when you are feeling the negative affects of stress or if you simply want to begin a quiet medi-tation to clear your mind. Breath-ing is one of the most important natural reflexes we have. We do it without even thinking, and in situation when we get excited or nervous we experience shortness or quickening of our breath. To bring ourselves back to normal, we must be mindful of our breath-ing and this Simple Yoga Breath will force us to pay attention to our breathing for a few minutes to bring ourselves back to our emo-tional equilibrium.

Step 1: Take a comfortable position.

It is best if, before you being this technique, you get into a comfort-able position either sitting or lay-ing down. It is possible to stand and practice this technique, how-ever, I think until you know how this will affect you, it’s best that you sit so you don’t get light head-ed and fall over.

Step 2: Breathing InBreathing in through your nose, you will want to be mindful and deliberate about the amount of air you take in. Do not simply in-hale quickly, but slowly bring in air and settle it into your lungs, as though you are trying to care-fully fill a water balloon with water. While you are breathing in, make sure to watch to make sure your chest and not just your stomach is rising and expanding. Breathe in for a slow count of 3. 1 Mississippi… 2 Mississippi… 3 Mississippi.

By: Alexis Giostra

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Mantra: Simple Yoga Breath to Relieve Stress

Step 3: Breathing OutBreathing out also from your nose, you are going to exhale, slowly and deliberately for the count of 6. It is very important that you exhale for twice the length of your inhale and that you exhale in a controlled manner. Do not simply force all the air out of your lungs as this defeats the calming action of the slow exhalation. Ex-haling make sure to use the same slow count as above for 6 counts. 1 Mississippi… 2 Mississippi… 3 Mississippi… 4 Mississippi… 5 Mississippi… 6 Mississippi.

Step 4: Continuing the CyclePerhaps you weren’t able to in-hale for 3 counts and exhale for 6 counts that first round. Don’t sweat it! Continue the breathing cycle of inhale for 3 and exhale for 6 until you get it right. You may feel a little light headed while do-ing this, as it can take a bit for you to get used to this sort of slow, deliberate breathing. Continue

this cycle for a few minutes and if you feel like your lungs are strong and you are able to control your breath, try increasing the breath count to 4 second inhale and 8 second exhale, and then gradually to 5 second inhale and 10 second exhale.

{IMPORTANT NOTE: I am in no way a physician or a licensed, trained or certified Yoga instruc-tor. Although this activity may seem innocuous enough, if you have any health problems that limit or prevent you from physical activity, or if you have any illness or breathing related problems, please consult a physician before you attempt this technique. }

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Until Next Time!

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Until Next Time!

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