Author: Mars Salazar Page 3 of 29

Marianne is Nixplay's Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

how to stay productive during summer

4 Secrets To Staying Productive During Summer

It’s not easy to stay focused and productive during the summer months. Fortunately, it’s not impossible. Whether you’re focused on your studies or holding down the fort at the office, here are a few ways you can stay on track during the next few weeks.

Remember Your Goals

Staying motivated can be difficult when it seems like everyone around you is on vacation mode. It’s never been more important to keep track of your goals. Write them down and stick them somewhere you’ll always see. Keep the ball rolling by focusing on self-improvement: Learn a new skill, improve on your favorite hobbies, and take on more responsibilities. 

Stick To A Routine

A routine can make your day-to-day more efficient. A set schedule may seem dull for some, but blocking specific hours to eat, rest, and work on certain tasks can help you feel more in control, keeping your mind clear and allowing you to stay productive. It’s also great for starting new habits.

Try The Pomodoro Technique

The temptation to slack off can spike during summer. You could be physically at work, but your mind is probably in a tropical paradise somewhere, sipping a fruity cocktail poolside. Stay focused by using the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes straight, take a short break when the timer rings, then dive into your next task. It’s simple, inexpensive, and does the trick. You’ll be done with your to-do list in no time!

Make Time For Fun

All work and no play can make a person feel dull and miserable, especially when the sun is shining outside your fluorescent-lit workplace. If you feel like you’re on the verge of burning out, take advantage of your personal leaves and take a day off–just make sure to delegate your tasks before you go out and have fun!

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Quotes about Friendship

10 Quotes That Perfectly Describe Your Bond With Your Best Friends

There are few things in life that are more precious than loyal friends–the ones who will pick you up during your low moments, lift you even higher during your victories, and stay by your side through thick and thin. If you’re lucky enough to have one (or several) of these one-of-a-kind folks in your life, let them know how much they mean to you with these sweet quotes about friendship. 

“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” – Woodrow Wilson

“Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.” – Misty Copeland

“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.” – Winnie The Pooh

“Friendship is not about whom you know the longest. It is about who came and never left.” – Paulo Coelho

“A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” – Charles Darwin

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” – Linda Grayson

“There are three things that grow more precious with age: old wood to burn, old books to read, and old friends to enjoy.” – Henry Ford

Here at Nixplay, we recognize how important these bonds are. Celebrate International Friendship Day with us and get up to 25% off selected frames, only for a limited time!

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

7 Things You Should Organize this Summer

7 Things You Should Organize this Summer

The first principle of organizing is not deciding how to store your belongings—it’s deciding whether or not you need all your belongings to start with. First, decide if you really like it or need it, and then part with it if necessary. Once the stuff you don’t need is gone, organize what’s left. Your summer will be a lot easier if you have less to put away.

Tackle Piles of Paper

Create four piles: Recycle, Shred, File, and Urgent.Sort through any stacks you’ve accumulated around the house, and arrange or store as needed. Place important bills in an undeniable spot, with the goal that you won’t disregard them.

Smooth out Your Digital Storage

Taking 30 minutes to clean up your home PC will streamline your everyday more than you’d might suspect, and the association procedure is straightforward: Either document or erase. You likely have various arbitrary things spared to your work area (screen captures, old transportation names, tickets) that can be destroyed, and when you minister envelopes in clear manners (Kids, Home, Work), you’ll generally realize where to search for significant records.

Fix Your Fridge and Freezer

In case you don’t know what’s hiding at the rear of your cooler (like lapsed fixing bottles and questionable bundles of soy sauce), it’s an ideal opportunity to address your ice chest and cooler compartments. Initially, toss out the undeniable stuff (whatever’s lapsed or mildew covered) and consider throwing half-utilized containers of food that are in fact still great, yet that you have no plans of cooking with once more. In your cooler, junk any cooler consumed food or things put away for a stormy day—in the event that you haven’t had any desire to eat it by this point, it’s simply occupying significant room.

Sort out Your Closet

Seriously investigate your storage room. A decent storage room cleanse is one that numerous property holders maintain a strategic distance from, yet the system is shockingly straightforward: If you haven’t worn it in a year—since it doesn’t fit, shows extreme mileage, or you simply don’t care for it that a lot to begin with—you have to either toss it out or part with it. Tackle dress first, trailed by shoes and embellishments. Try not to haul everything out of your storeroom and dump it on your bed to sort; that progression can make the venture overpowering, and may make you surrender too early. Simply haul things out that you realize you don’t need; you’ll be amazed at how rapidly your storage room increases some breathing room.

Give Away Items Your Kids Have Outgrown

Children’s spaces frequently contain a huge number of modest knickknacks (hi, cheap food toys)— things that children play with for a couple of moments and dispose of. As opposed to handling the entire room, plan a speedy, easy decision clean up: Get a cardboard gift box prepared, go into your youngster’s room or den, and pull out five to 10 things that you realize they don’t play with or don’t care for. You can even make it a game with more established children, requesting that they assist you with picking the things to offer away to youngster out of luck. In the blink of an eye by any stretch of the imagination, your children’s space will unexpectedly appear to be somewhat more smoothed out.

Check Under Your Sinks

Set a clock for 15 minutes, and give that chance to your under-sink zones. There might be various things sneaking there—void bathroom tissue moves, old cosmetics, cleaning bottles with a quarter-inch of arrangement left in them—that you can throw without another idea, in a split second opening up a huge amount of space.

Don’t Forget About Your Outdoor Space

Stroll around the outside of your home and check whether you can spot whatever simply shouldn’t be there—like a messed up hose, a feeble (and unusable) stepping stool, or a heap of plastic plant compartments. Pack littler things, and convey the rest directly to the check. You don’t have settle on important choices about bigger things, similar to old barbecues or rusting porch furniture—this isn’t the chance to totally re-try your yard—yet your yard will in a flash vibe cleaner without each one of those littler bits of garbage jumbling your line of vision.

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

5 Ways To Spruce Up Your Work From Home Station

5 Ways To Spruce Up Your Work From Home Station

For a lot of people, working from home isn’t all that it was cooked up to be. We’ve spent a lot of time defining the lines between “work mode” and “home mode”, and our private spaces are meant for refuge and relaxation. With the lines blurred, it’s understandably a bit difficult to get pumped up to work when your bed is only a few steps away.

Taking the time to create an efficient home office setup is crucial to staying productive. To get you more excited to work remotely, we’ve outlined below a few ways to upgrade your home office. Read on!

Designate a workspace

First things first: having a comfortable, well-organized place to work is essential. A desk designated for working alone will help you avoid the distractions that other mixed-use areas might bring. If you have the budget, get a standing desk–this lets you stretch out, helping prevent the dreaded backaches caused by sitting all day.

Invest in an ergonomic chair

If you have a desk, you’ll need a chair as well. A chair that’s designed to support your back will help minimize pain and let you concentrate fully on the task at hand. While it’s pricier than ordinary office chairs, it’s an investment that you’ll be glad for in the long run.

Keep some plants

It seems like everyone’s turning their homes into pocket jungles these days. This is a fad that you should get behind: plants filter the air, add color to your space, and help you refocus your energy. If it’s your first foray into kingdom Plantae, a low-maintenance plant, such as a succulent or a snake plant, should be easy enough to maintain.

Add personal mementos

Personal mementos add a touch of charm and whimsy to your workplace. Add a vinyl toy of your favorite cartoon character, a small souvenir from your last vacation, or a digital frame filled with photos of your family and friends. These serve as physical reminders of the things that drive you to work hard and will help you keep your eyes on the prize.

nixplay secret sale

Speaking of personal mementos, the Nixplay Frame certainly fits the bill! We’ve got a Secret Sale going on until July 19–enjoy up to 25% off selected frames, only until supplies last!

Install a whiteboard or a corkboard

When it comes to mapping out ideas, nothing beats the connection between good old pen and paper. Incorporating a whiteboard or a corkboard can stimulate creativity by giving you more real estate to brainstorm and put up outlines, goals, to-do lists, doodles, and diagrams. It also injects a touch of playfulness to your workspace while letting you make better visual connections between ideas.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

july 10 journal prompts

5 Fun Journal Prompts For The Summer

With so many summer plans put on hold, it’s easy to think that this is the worst time to keep a journal. What could you write about when there’s nothing going on?

On the contrary, this time of introspection is the perfect opportunity to dig deep and flesh out some new journal entries. There are several topics that you can jot down–here are a few to get your started.

List the places you’d like to visit.

Since non-essential travel is still discouraged, most of us are stuck at home, wishing we could hop on a plane and fly somewhere, anywhere. But while this isn’t possible yet, why don’t you list down the exotic destinations you’d visit immediately the moment you get the chance to do so? Take it one step further by detailing the sights you’d like to visit, the restaurants you want to dine at, and the experiences you want to try. And when things go back to normal, make sure to turn these dreams into reality!

Draw the food you ate today.

Here’s a simple way to flex your creative muscles: keep track of the food you eat every day via illustrations! Draw the overnight oats you had for breakfast and the pasta you had for lunch in your own style, using whichever medium you want. It’s a great way to add color to your journal while keeping your artistic skills up to par.

Create a bucket list for the month.

Being cooped up at home shouldn’t be an excuse to be unproductive. Make a list of the things you’d like to achieve each month–bake the perfect chocolate chip cookies, finish an online course, clean your closet. Aim as high as you want, as long as you abide by the imposed health and safety regulations. And remember: no dream is too small!

Write down the things you’re grateful for.

Another easy journal prompt is to list down the things you’re thankful for. Even if the world’s going a bit crazy at the moment, there’s still a lot of good to go around. We’re not expecting big, grand things here–this exercise is about finding the little things in life that are worth living for and being thankful for. Whether it’s an online delivery that arrived earlier than expected, a moved deadline, or a colorful butterfly that found its way into your garden, there’ll always be plenty to smile about.

Stick on printed photos of your day-to-day activities.

Your day-to-day is only as mundane as you declare it to be. Just like photography, it’s all about the framing. With the right mindset and the right outlook, you can find plenty of things worth journaling about. Take it up a notch by taking photos of your daily routine–a nicely plated meal, a pre-video call selfie, your cats climbing around your living room, your families’ smiles. These are little reminders that even though life is a bit dreary at the moment, there are still lots of things worth smiling about.

nixplay secret sale

Print these photos out and stick them onto your journal, or better yet, display them on a Nixplay Frame! Get up to 25% off selected Frames with our Secret Sale, only until July 19!

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

Page 3 of 29

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén