We’re all just so busy. Working, studying, raising kids, planning for the future. Sometimes, for those of us tethered to all these activities by the computer, it can seem like we just don’t get enough time to unplug – literally or figuratively. Here are a few tips on how to reclaim the spare time you may recall having once had to spend on yourself. These come courtesy of Kari Henley and you can read her whole article about Reclaiming Spare Time here. Kari says:
Email Self-Control — Declutter your inbox by unsubscribing to anything you don’t need or read regularly, and try not to continue long email conversations that aren’t necessary. One of Therese Borchard’s tricks is to take weekend breaks from her computer. Imagine! This is a great way to scrounge up a ton of free time — think of it as email Sabbath, (Reading this column, however, is an acceptable exception).
Social Networking is junk food, plain and simple. Let’s face it — Facebook is the Doritos of friendships and Twitter is a super size box of Fries. Both are tempting, and both are ultimately not all that healthy. Take the time for some “slow food” — home-cooked friendships that require face-to-face time. If you are IM’ing someone in your office, get up and try walking over for a change. Facebooking your best friend? Pick up the phone or stop by; imagine how you look from space, hunched over terminals sharing the daily chatter.
Find the “in-between” moments of the day to embrace as spare time. Driving is a great opportunity to do some deep breathing, turn off the noise in your head, and notice the scenery around you, rather than listening to talk radio, eating, or talking on the cell phone. Find the moments in the shower, doing dishes or walking the dog to flatten out as buffer zones of nothingness.
Force yourself to be bored. Remember being bored? It is the MacDaddy of spare time. Kids today think five or six seconds of spare time equals being bored, and many adults’ tolerance for unfilled moments is not much better. Set aside several hours once a month with nothing particular to do and see how it affects you.
The old saying goes, “I used to complain I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” Regardless of how tough your believe your circumstances to be, there is always a way to persevere. If you’re struggling with unemployment and making ends meet while you study to get your medical billing and coding certificate, keep up the fight. Take a cue from this courageous, young, Chinese man on “China’s Got Talent” (the Chinese equivalent of our “America’s Got Talent” TV program). He plays piano WITH NO ARMS. Yes, you read it right. Pianist with no arms!!! The English subtitles are a little jilted, but you’ll get the point. This video will renew your resolve to overcome whatever challenges you face.
On those days when you start to feel that your coursework is taxing your brain, take a moment to think about Alex, an African grey parrot, who was the subject of a thirty-year (1977-2007) experiment by an animal psychologist named Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard and Brandeis University. Before her work, scientists believed that a large primate brain was needed to deal with complex problems related to language and understanding and that birds were not intelligent and only used words by mimicking.
Pepperberg’s accomplishments found that birds may actually be able to reason on a basic level and to use words creatively. She reported that Alex had the intelligence of a five-year-old human and the emotional level of a human two-year-old at the time of his premature death (from an unexpected catastrophic event associated with arteriosclerosis) when he was about thirty years old (the average life span for African grey parrots is fifty years). At the time of his death, he could identify 50 different objects and recognize quantities up to six and could distinguish seven colors and five shapes. He understood the concepts of “bigger,” “smaller,” “same,” and “different,” and was learning “over” and “under.”
Among a number of his skills, he had a vocabulary of 150 words and appeared to have understanding of what he said. He could label an object when asked about its shape, color or material. He could also add to a limited extent, and understood the concept of zero, answering “none” when asked the difference between two objects if there was indeed no difference!
When the bird was tired of being tested, he would indicate that he wanted to go back to his cage by saying, “Wanna go back.” If he said, “Wanna banana,” and was offered a nut instead, he would stare in silence, ask for the banana again, or take the nut and throw it at the researcher before requesting the item again!
And talk about “famous last words,”Alex’s last words to Dr. Pepperberg were, “You be good. I love you.”
Many online students point to the flexibility of online study as one of the main reasons they chose to go to school via the internet. It is true for folks who juggle work, family and studies, being able to allocate one’s own time and formulate one’s own schedule is invaluable to succeeding in all these important tasks. Sometimes, it is necessary to get creative with the schedule in order to accommodate the incidental issues that pop up in life. In these cases, you may find yourself pushing study time into the late night slot, or scheduling family breakfasts instead of family suppers. This may be a useful ability to have, but recent research seems to indicate that having a more stuctured daily routine is better for your mind and body. Follow me over the fold for a synopsis and links to the research in question. (more…)
Brazil Discovers an Even Better Exercise Program than Soccer
OK, so you’ve heard Wednesdays referred to as “hump” day because it is the middle of the work week and once it’s over, the diligent worker has made it over the metaphorical hump and it’s a downhill run to the weekend. Well, the Brazilian Health Minister has called for everyday to be hump day in his country in the name of public health. Follow over the fold for the best piece of legislation I have heard proposed by any government official in years. (more…)
This is your opportunity to steer the conversation here. It is a free discussion page or “open thread” for the regular readers of the Allen School Online Blog. Sound off in the comments about anything you may have on your mind whether its about learning, career, pop culture, movies, recipes or anything you’d like to bring to the community. Ask your fellow bloggers for their advice about things. You can learn from and help this community of folks, each of whom is involved in the same educational and career pursuits as you are. Or, share with me, your humble blogmaster, some ideas of what you’d like to see here on front page posts.
It keeps your pooch or pootie from freaking out at “back to school” time. According to Betsy Saul, founder of petfinder.com (link below the fold), back to school time frequently means empty houses once students return to classes and parents return to focus on work. Man’s best friend can often feel left in the lurch and anxious. Details over the fold. (more…)
This is an open thread for Allen School Alumni to gather, get back in touch, share post-graduation experiences and more. Topic of discussion is open to all users. Begin your conversations in the comments section.
This is an open thread for Allen School Alumni to gather, get back in touch, share post-graduation experiences and more. Topic of discussion is open to all users. Begin your conversations in the comments section.
Allen School’s brick and mortar campuses are in the greater New York Metro area. So many of us in this community are well aware of the logistics of getting around in one of the world’s most densely populated areas. But if you live in any major city, you know what it is like to drive or take transit during peak hours. It ain’t pretty! (more…)
This blog provides news, information, and perspectives about the world of medical billing, coding and Allen School Online. Visit this blog frequently for useful news and information. If you have anything to share about what you read here, join us by adding your voice to this discussion.
We’re all just so busy. Working, studying, raising kids, planning for the future. Sometimes, for those of us tethered to all these activities by the computer, it can seem like we just don’t get enough time to unplug – literally or figuratively. Here are a few tips on how to reclaim the spare time you may recall having once had to spend on yourself. These come courtesy of Kari Henley and you can read her whole article about Reclaiming Spare Time here. Kari says:
This is your opportunity to steer the conversation here. It is a free discussion page or “open thread” for the regular readers of the Allen School Online Blog. Sound off in the comments about anything you may have on your mind whether its about learning, career, pop culture, movies, recipes or anything you’d like to bring to the community. Ask your fellow bloggers for their advice about things. You can learn from and help this community of folks, each of whom is involved in the same educational and career pursuits as you are. Or, share with me, your humble blogmaster, some ideas of what you’d like to see here on front page posts.
It keeps your pooch or pootie from freaking out at “back to school” time. According to Betsy Saul, founder of petfinder.com (link below the fold), back to school time frequently means empty houses once students return to classes and parents return to focus on work. Man’s best friend can often feel left in the lurch and anxious. Details over the fold. 
This is an open thread for Allen School Alumni to gather, get back in touch, share post-graduation experiences and more. Topic of discussion is open to all users. Begin your conversations in the comments section.
Allen School’s brick and mortar campuses are in the greater New York Metro area. So many of us in this community are well aware of the logistics of getting around in one of the world’s most densely populated areas. But if you live in any major city, you know what it is like to drive or take transit during peak hours. It ain’t pretty! 
