Many Americans these days seem to be logging longer and longer hours, as well as longer and longer commutes. Spending anywhere from eight to twelve hours away from home, can make workday nutrition an afterthought. It doesn’t have to be! With a little prior planning, a healthy diet plan can fit into every busy lifestyle.
Prep – The most critical element to weekday nutrition is planning ahead.
- Spend a couple hours, just once a week to plan a weekly menu and take a trip to the store.
- Look for sales and specials on versatile foods that can be utilized in multiple components of the weekly menu. Ex: A $1 bag of whole carrots can make a delicious Carrot Curry soup, add crunch to a Thai Stir-fry, and be cut into hunger-satisfying snacks for break time. Buying on sale and in season each week, can help keep things nutritious while breaking up the monotony of a packed lunch.
- When you get your groceries home, prep ‘em! Pre-wash and cut vegetables and fruits, and place into individual serving containers for on-the-go ease.
Breakfast – Whether you eat first thing in the morning, just after a morning workout, or while checking email at the office, make sure you don’t wait until lunch to feed that grumbly tummy. Eating breakfast wakes up your metabolism, helping your body use food as fuel, instead of precious brain power.
- Oatmeal is a great morning go-to during the workweek. An entire batch can be made on Sunday night, minimizing the need for cooking in the morning. Just pop a serving in the microwave, top with almonds, fruit, and your choice of milk for an easy, nourishing breakfast.
- A good ratio of complex carbs and protein help you function at capacity, as well as stave off hunger pangs before lunch. Good options are, two hard-boiled eggs with a piece of fruit, a Greek yogurt with low-sugar granola or cereal, or even the PB&J standby (on 100% whole wheat bread, of course)!
Lunch – Again, a good mix of carbs and protein is the way to go. Portion sizes are also key. Too little at lunch can leave you feeling drained and lead to afternoon sugar-snack attacks. Too much can set you straight into food coma, inducing grogginess.
- Layered salads are all the rage! Start with a tall container or jar. Place heaviest, sauciest, and most acidic toppings in the bottom. Placing greens on top keeps them crisp. Whip up a batch of a simple vinaigrette and go! Great salad proteins include chicken breast, tuna fish, shrimp, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, kidney beans, grilled tofu, nuts and seeds.
- Leftovers! Once or twice a week, take the time to make yourself and your family a healthy and nutritious dinner. Make at least one extra serving and immediately pack into a single serving container for the next day’s lunch. Excess portions can be frozen into single servings, for those “Omigod I slept through my alarm” mornings.
- Who doesn’t love a bowl of warm soup on a cold Winter workday? On a lazy weekend day at home, simmer a pot of your favorite soup, chili, or stew and portion out into lunch servings for the week, or to freeze for future use. A hearty bowl of soup and whole wheat pita can make the perfect, healthy and nutritious lunch to keep you going until the end of the day.
Snacks – Need a little something in between meals? Don’t run to the office vending machine. Munch on something healthy to keep you functioning at your prime!
- Greek yogurt has become increasingly popular in the U.S. And for good reason! It is highly packed with protein and comes in a rainbow of flavors for every palate. At 100-200 calories per serving, it makes the perfect indulgent snack
- Try keeping shelf-stable snacks in your desk or car. Almonds and whole wheat crackers can satisfy that afternoon crunch-crave while filling you up on “real” food, rather than sodium filled junk.
- Instead of heading out for your afternoon java with all the fat-filled fixings, take a break from your desk and make yourself a hot cup of green tea. It is a good source of cancer-fighting antioxidants, can help to speed metabolism, and with roughly half the caffeine of coffee, won’t keep you awake when your day is finally done.
It can be tough to make workweek nutrition a priority. By incorporating a few of these tips into your workweek routine, you can enjoy our mornings with less stress, save more of the hard-earned cash, and watch your health improve!
You schedule alot of your life as it is, we do it when you go to the doctor, dentist, hair dresser, massage therapists and maybe even your fitness trainer, so why should it be so hard for a online business owner? There are a ton of great tools out there, some cost an arm and a leg, others are inexpensive and others are free. Fortunately, I have done the research for you and have 11 awesome appointment scheduling tools you can implement into your business that are free and also have upgrades available should you need to grow with it. Each of the 11 that are listed below has some pros and cons— and while some work with a range of calendar applications, others are narrowly focused to just one or two, it really just depends on what works best for you. One thing they have in common though is they’re a lot easier than playing email tag.
The Dos
We are all guilty of it. We all have tried to “multitask.” It doesn’t work. You cannot do your best on more than one task at a time. Limit your distractions for periods of “focus time.” Set a timer for 50 minutes, close all the distractions (other open programs, emails, phone etc.), and just work on that one thing for the 50 minutes. Then take a 10-minute break. You can check in on your distractions, walk away, or get a drink, but take that break. Those uninterrupted focus periods allow you to put all your efforts in to one spot. You will get more done just working on that one thing. You can then come back to that task for the next focused period or move on, whatever the case will be, but give you undivided attention to a task for a set period.
Calls and emails are the biggest distraction for many people. You can spend a lot of time just putting out the fires that come in on email and take that unexpected call. It also means that you didn’t get your tasks for the day completed with focused, uninterrupted time. Find the time best for you and schedule in your day an hour here and there to just return emails and calls. You can use a focus period just to respond to email.
We all have a time of the day that is the slump. Some people are early morning people, some of late night people, some are guaranteed to be napping after lunch. Know where your weak point is and plan for it. If you are an afternoon slump person, know it and own it! Prepare for it by having that cup of coffee, or schedule your passion project during that time. If you aren’t prepping and working on something you don’t want to do at that time, you will not work efficiently.
They say however long you give yourself to do something is how long it will take. Put a little pressure on yourself to get things done. You might surprise yourself what watching the clock will do for you. Set a deadline for yourself to wrap up a project and hold yourself to it.
Eggs are one of the best 
Fatty fishes are excellent for promoting productivity! Salmon, however, is the best of them all. Salmon has high omega-3 fatty acids content, which is useful for improving memory and mental performance. These fatty acids can help depression and fatigue, which can both inhibit productivity immensely. Fish has also been proven to improve concentration and your overall mood. Other fatty fish include trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards, and kipper. Although eating freshly prepared fish is the best method, a fish oil supplement can be taken to achieve a similar result.
Avocados are a natural stimulant for promoting blood flow. Consistent blood flow through your heart and brain fires up your brain cells. This is another healthy, fiber packed fat that improves your overall focus. The best part? There’s so many delicious ways to prepare an avocado but their buttery flavor is amazing on their own!
Green tea is a natural energy enhancer and it comes without the negative side effects of other energy sources, such as the caffeine crash you get from coffee or energy drinks. However, the best (and more delicious) way to consume green tea is Matcha. Matcha is unique because it’s the entire leaf ground into a fine powder then made into a creamy tea, whereas other teas the leaves are steeped in hot water. By consuming the leaf as a whole, it provides fiber and polyphenols, a family of powerful antioxidants. It’s also a lot tastier—green tea ice cream is made from Matcha and if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.
Finally, water. Now I know this isn’t a food, but it is important to mention that the amount of water intake significantly influences your health and productivity. Our body is made up of over 70% water and throughout the day, the water in our body slowly depletes. If you don’t drink enough water to replenish the lost liquid, your brain and other functions suffer the consequences. By devoting the energy to ensure you are drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day will give your brain the fuel it needs to be more focused and think more clearly.
commitment. While it’s usually recommended businesses maintain a blog, it’s not always feasible for every company. In those situations, publishing to LinkedIn is a great alternative. Employees can publish from their LinkedIn pages and then share to the company page to gain benefits of content marketing with less of a time commitment than maintaining a company blog.
view a blog post given the high volume of spam posts and not secure websites on the Internet. Posts published on 
Every good 
Now let’s get down to the fundamentals of the proposal. This is where you will outline exactly what they are going to receive in a way that makes it irresistible to them. As a 
This is a chance for you to describe what you and your business are about, stand for, offer, and can contribute. Make sure you weave in full information about your business so they get a great picture of you as well.
Tie it all together. Create a sincere conclusion saying how excited you are that they have come to you and why you would be such a great fit. A good closing paragraph might look something like this: “I believe we are a good match and if you feel the same, let’s move on to the next steps.”
This seems like a no-brainer but as a small business owner, it’s easy to put the equipment aside, forget about it and worry about all the other things on your to-do list. Then when push comes to shove, you set up last minute only to find out– %$#@! Technical difficulties! Please get your video, microphone, and programs all set-up well in advance and practice using them with friends and coworkers! That way if you come across any issues you can call over your techie friends to help you set it up and you’ll know how everything works before the big day comes. It is best to make sure you are super confident in the 
Let’s face it, you’re not a jack of all trades, and you are definitely not a designer! Designing and digital marketing are really in-depth processes, and when they are done right, it is very successful! Leave this to the pros to help 
Different States, Countries, and Time zones – Oh my! The number of guests you will be interviewing during your summit may be shocking. Four to Five speakers will not suffice. Expect to be interviewing around 25-30 people in your industry. Trying to 
Unlike podcasts, a virtual summit requires a webcam. High quality helps to engage and keep your viewers interested. While most laptops, desktops and phones do have a webcam built in, they are usually not the best quality. Some smart phones do have a great camera, but lack in microphone quality. Besides, it’s much easier to manage broadcasting when you have a set-up at your computer station. Trying to do it all mobile proves to be a challenge.
Webcams almost always come with a built-in microphone, but again the quality will never be as good than if you invest in a separate USB microphone. A microphone is just as important as your video; what good is a virtual summit if nobody can understand a word you are saying? You do not need to dive into professional recording equipment for this. Just look for a microphone that is recommended for podcasts and gaming with noise cancellation.
It doesn’t matter what video editing software you use. It is up to you to use whatever tool you feel most comfortable working in. There are complex video editing software costs hundreds of dollars, but there are many free options as well. If you have a Mac computer your computer already comes with
You might have to get creative in how you sell your all-access pass because your customers will need a way to log-in to the membership site. An example could include adding these customers to a separate mailing list and giving them a log-in and password to the membership site. This same mailing list could be used to market a new product/service as mentioned in the last article.
An all-access pass is to your virtual summit as Netflix is to tv shows. This is the most popular way you can increase your revenue via virtual summits. Some people will not able to attend your virtual summit during your limited broadcasting event due to a busy schedule, sickness, or anything else life throws their way. However, these customers still crave the information!
In essence, your virtual summit is an event. This is an amazing opportunity for companies to financially support you in exchange for publicity. There’s a few ways in which you can implement this, either by displaying their logo on your home page or making mention during your interviews.
After your summit is done broadcasting, you will have a shiny, new, email list of followers! They will be enthusiastic to learn more about your topic and seek more of the content you offer. This is absolutely a great opportunity to influence this email list and