I don’t know about you, but I can feel quite stressed, down or burnt up at times. I’d like to share some useful tips that’ll get you back on top! Learnt by experience, falling down and crawling back up…

Tip #1 – “Music”

You might have heard this one a few times already, but playing some great happy tunes can really lift your spirits!

It’s not always something that comes to mind when you’re worried or feeling down but it works for many! It’s cheap and doesn’t require any effort so definately worth a try!

My personal tip: just put on some “Kylie Minogue” and let the music play!

Tip #2 – “Friends”

Sure, a funny episode of “Friends” might help… but that’s not exactly what I had in mind. =-)

This one requires a little bit of effort.

Sometimes you just feel too tired to go out and be social. But when you make the effort and meet some friends… most of the times, even when you weren’t in the mood, you’re glad you did!

So why not invite some friends and play board games, catch a movie, grab a bite, do sports… or just have a good talk?

Tip #3 – “Mindfulness”

“Mindfulness” works like a charm for me and many others!

What’s it about? Well just “Let it be”… nothing has to happen, but it would be nice if it did… That’s kind of the philosophy of mindfulness.

Basically you lie down or sit and you concentrate on your body and your breathing.

For me it feels like my batteries are all charged up after “laying down on the floor” for thirty minutes.

Basically you teach yourself to relax with “mindfulness”. It takes some time and effort but it’s certainly worth the investment!!

Personally I don’t have the discipline to do it daily, I sometimes even skip a few weeks… but it certainly helps the times you practice it. When you’re starting out, daily practice is necessary if you’d like to enjoy the effects though.

You can find more information about “Mindfulness” here.

Tip #4: Get in touch with the “real you”!

If “Mindfulness” or meditation isn’t your thing, we can keep it simple.

Try to get in touch with yourself in a more rational way. Just ask yourself “How do I feel and what do I need?”.

We’ve al learnt it as a child. Hungry? Well, eat!

And yet in these modern, hasty times we ignore our needs and the limits of our body and mind an awful lot.

When I get out of bed and feel tired, I ask myself: “hmm…What can help me out here?”.

Instead of rushing to work, grabbing a Coke and a donut when I get to the office… I get 15 minutes early, get myself a nice cup of tea and enjoy it fully. Off course that tea comes with a healty breakfast too.

That’s something else we need, structure in our lives, having breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon, diner in the evening is very basic and necessary. Culturing certain habits is a good thing… a warm bath before getting into bed? A nice cup of hot milk? When you enjoy it, then certainly do!!

And that brings me to tip #5…

Tip #5: Structure your day!

Plan ahead, don’t stress and reward yourself from time to time.

I never hold on to a rigorously strict schedule.

Instead I plan ahead with lots of natural pauses, meaning if you’re done early: Enjoy! If it’s taking a bit longer, no worries, ease up and take your time or reschedule it to a later time.

What you definately do need is, as mentioned above a strict timeframe for eating and sleeping. It may vary depending the needs of the day, but preferable an hour tops!

More great stuff that helps me a lot:

And finally don’t expect too much at once. Be happy with the smaller things and the big ones will follow!

Have you got something that helps you cope with fatigue and stress?
Something that lifts your spirits?
Please share them in our comments section below!

Then I’m the exception, I kept wounding myself with every shave. Even electric razors can hurt me! (Maybe a good idea for M. Night Shyamalan’s next movie? After the trees, the shaving machines did it!)

But hey I’m getting better with every shave!

Here are some helpful do’s & don’ts:

• Shaving wet
  • Shower or wash your fash with warm water first.
  • Don’t rub it dry with a towel, immediately apple shaving foam or gel
  • Follow the contours of your face
  • follow the hair growth (don’t go against it)
  • the latter, shaving againtst your hair growth only works well if you’re shaving your neck & chest hairs.
  • Shaving gel ensures a smoother result then foam according to NIVEA specialists.
    (Haven’t compared yet but I’ll let you know!)

• Shaving Electric?
  Don’t wet your face before shaving. Contrary to shaving with a blade it makes it harder to remove the hairs.

Best results

Personally I’ve had the best results with:
1. The Venus ladyrazor – 4 blades with gelpads – my girlfriend bought me
2. Gilette Fusion… 5 blades and counting!

I’ve also got the Gillette Fusion with vibration function but that doesn’t help one bit, on the contrary. In my opinion it’s just a waste of money.

Then there’s also the ongoing discussion of which electrical shavers are best. Personally I’d swear with Braun shavers. But apparently men with longer hairs and heavy beards get better results with the rotating blades of Philips devices.

Well, I didn’t shave this morning – so I guess i’ll have to do it now… hoping for a smooth and woundfree shave!

> What do you prefer? Electric shaves or not?
Got some useful tips? Share & enjoy!