These important life events become more attainable when our finances are in order. Establishing a strong financial foundation allows for a more secure and stable future. Here are eight financial essentials to get in order as you approach 30.

You Should Know Whether to Rent or Buy

Deciding whether to rent or buy a home is a critical decision every 30-year-old should consider. The choice between renting or buying a home is complex, with no universal answer, despite common advice like Uncle Bob’s pro-property buying stance.

Both renting and buying have their financial merits, depending on individual circumstances.

Considerations for Buying

When thinking about buying, you need to assess everything from the housing market conditions (are prices in your area inflated?) to your long-term commitments in that location (are you planning to stay put?). You can explore more factors affecting this decision here.

If you decide to buy, ensure you can manage the additional costs of homeownership, such as insurance, maintenance, renovations, and taxes.

Prepare an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, like sudden repairs or emergencies.

Considerations for Renting

For renting, ensure that your rent and potential increases do not surpass 30% of your net income, a widely accepted guideline for rental affordability.

While renting saves on many homeownership costs, it does not result in owning an asset.

Which is better? To understand which option might be more economically viable in the long term, consider using a rent vs buy calculator.

Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle

Living paycheck to paycheck is a common scenario for many, often depicted in popular media as a normal part of young adult life – think Lena Dunham’s Girls.

However, existing from one paycheck to the next is far from ideal as you approach 30. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of using credit cards and payday loans for quick financial relief.

What Can You Do About It?

• If your income is limited, begin by taking a detailed and honest review of your spending habits.
• Be ready to eliminate unnecessary expenses with determination.
• If you’ve already tightened your budget and find yourself short at month’s end, consider seeking a higher-paying job or starting a side gig (more on this later).

Building an Emergency Fund

Emergency funds are essential because, as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Life’s unpredictability means that despite your best plans, things can go wrong and they often involve unexpected expenses.

Imagine your car breaking down at the worst possible time, suddenly developing allergies, or your dog needing urgent care after eating your hidden chocolate (poor Fido).

What Should You Do?

Start saving now. It’s crucial to have your emergency funds in liquid form (easily accessible cash). If you haven’t started an emergency fund yet, aim to save at least $1000 initially.

Managing Your Debt

Debt, particularly student loans, is a common burden, with 7 out of 10 graduates carrying some form of debt post-graduation. Credit card debt and the need for payday loans are also prevalent, both of which come with high interest rates.

The average credit card interest rate is around 15% according to Creditcards.com, while payday loans can have annual interest rates as high as 582% in some states like Idaho according to USA Today.

The current financial system unfortunately makes it very costly for those less affluent to escape debt.

What Should You Do?

Finance expert Dave Ramsey recommends the debt snowball method: start by clearing the smallest debt first and then move on to the next smallest, creating momentum as each balance is cleared.

Expanding Your Income Streams

For those actively working on their savings or debt repayment plans, it’s wise to consider multiple sources of income. Welcome to the world of side hustles, a vibrant part of the freelancer economy that is currently thriving.

The options for earning extra money are vast. You might need to take some time to focus on just one or two that fit your skills and interests. Opportunities vary from freelance writing to design, and even unique gigs like dog-walking or house-sitting.

What Should You Do?

Explore lists of side hustles that are easy and affordable to start (here’s one list). Identify a few that might work for you, then begin offering those services to people you know.

After a few months, evaluate and discontinue any side hustles that aren’t profitable enough; concentrate on the ones that are successful. Improve your skills in these areas to potentially increase your rates.

Preparing vs. Buying Meals

Food is a basic necessity, yet the economics of preparing versus buying meals can vary. While the common advice is to cook at home, there are times when buying meals might be more economical.

Perform a cost analysis to see what’s best for you. For example, if your side hustle earns $100 an hour and cooking takes 2 hours, it may be more sensible financially to earn $200 instead of saving on a meal.

However, for most people, cooking at home is generally more cost-effective. Buying pre-prepared meals can also include hidden health costs – such as increased risks of diabetes and heart disease due to unhealthy ingredients.

What Should You Do?

Adopt frugal cooking techniques like slow cooking, meal prepping, and a mainly vegetarian diet, which are easy to learn. BudgetBytes offers great resources for starting.

Cooking in bulk can save significant time. Preparing multiple meals in a few hours and storing them for the week can free up more time for earning additional income, while still ensuring high-quality meals.

Financial Considerations

Is choosing a life partner also a financial decision? Absolutely. Money issues are a top reason for disputes among couples – a survey revealed that 70% of couples argue about money more than other topics.

It’s not advisable to end a relationship over financial issues like student loans or poor credit scores, but these are not factors to overlook. They can significantly influence your ability to achieve financial stability, start a family, or buy a home.

What Should You Do?

If you are in a relationship, it’s essential to engage in a sincere and thorough discussion about finances, covering topics such as:

• What are their views on money management?
• Do your spending habits align?
• Is there an unmanageable shopping habit that could strain your finances?
• Consider future health needs – will they require substantial medical planning?

For advice on how to approach financial discussions with your partner, check out this resource: Handling Money Talks with Your Significant Other.

The Importance of Paying Taxes

As contributing members of society, we all have the duty to pay taxes. Avoiding taxes is not only illegal, but also ethically questionable as it impacts the nation’s development.

While no one enjoys paying taxes, especially those critical of the tax system, we’ve all benefited from previous generations’ tax contributions. Whether it was attending public school, enjoying public parks, or driving on highways, these are all funded by taxes.

What Should You Do?

Paying taxes helps support future generations, but if you need further convincing on the importance of tax contributions, you can find more information here. Additionally, here are some tips to simplify the tax filing process.

Conclusion

Becoming an adult means realizing that following financial advice is up to you; no one else will do it for you. There are no punishments or stern warnings to coerce you into making wiser financial decisions.

It may be a challenging path for some, especially those in environments that do not promote financial success. This is why it’s called self-improvement.

Remember: Money is a tool. Some may feel they are naturally not good with money, but this is a misconception. As humans, we excel at using tools. You can learn to manage your finances effectively. Now, it’s time to take control and master your financial destiny.

The post Financial Tips: 8 Key Things to Know by Age 30 appeared first on Hongkiat.

While a significant part of the responsibility also lies on individual employees to integrate well with their colleagues, these efforts often don’t compare to how effectively a boss can manage differences among the workforce.

One such difference is the generation gap — here’s an earlier post I wrote on the various ways Generation X and Millennials behave in the workplace. Now, let’s explore how to turn this dynamic to your advantage.

Steer Away from Stereotypes

Generalizing the members of a group for the sake of understanding is fine, but when these generalizations become ingrained, stereotypes form. The idea that Generation X dislikes technology and avoids using it while Millennials are gadget enthusiasts are examples of common stereotypes about these two generations, and neither is entirely accurate.

In my view, a boss must first overcome any preconceived notions about these generational groups to become a better manager. Instead of assigning certain traits to an entire generation, try to get to know each person individually.

Once you clear your own mind of prejudices and stereotypes, it becomes easier to promote the concept of generational neutrality to your staff. The boss’s role here is to encourage collaborative diversity and steer employees away from tags and labels.

Assign Mutually Interesting Tasks

There’s a famous saying: “You only truly know someone once you live with them or work with them.”

While expecting your employees to do the former is neither practical nor appropriate, you can make them work together.

Instead of sending dry office memos and emails urging collaboration, a better approach is to assign tasks that interest both generations.

For instance, for a project that involves desk research and fieldwork, you can form a team of Xers and Millennials. This isn’t about stereotyping, but rather recognizing that Generation X might prefer research tasks, while Millennials might enjoy fieldwork and some fresh air.

Create Learning Opportunities

An essential aspect of intergenerational harmony in the workplace is to create opportunities for employees to learn from each other.

From my personal experience, when someone teaches me something, it naturally fosters a sense of respect for that person. This can also create a feeling of indebtedness, often leading to a desire to reciprocate the favor.

In this way, cross-generational mentoring can open numerous doors of collaboration for these two generations.

For tasks involving the latest technology, you can suggest a Generation X employee seek help from a tech-savvy Generation Y colleague. Similarly, for a project assigned to a Millennial that requires basic institutional knowledge, propose asking for assistance from an experienced Generation X employee.

Customized Management Style

As I mentioned in a previous article, Generations X and Y grew up experiencing significantly different events that have shaped their professional values and perception of work.

Since their values differ and their professional DNAs don’t match, why should the management style used on them be the same?

For a more productive workforce, a boss should tailor their management style to each group’s values and characteristics, and to further narrow it down, to each individual employee.

For instance, Xers and Millennials prefer to communicate differently, so offering a variety of communication tools, from face-to-face meetings to emails, telephones, and even instant messaging, can be beneficial. In terms of working style, you can even allow employees to choose the method that suits them, provided it doesn’t affect their productivity.

Set a Personal Example

In addition to using personalized management styles, as the employer, you need to set a personal example. This is crucial because your behavior and conduct around the workplace are reflected in your employees.

If you want your employees to be free from prejudice and work smoothly together, you must first overcome your own biases.

In a place where people of different ages, qualifications, and backgrounds work together, conflicts can arise. Be aware of these conflicts, but don’t take them on by yourself. The market is a jungle where only the strongest survive, and your team can only be as strong as you are.

Wrapping it Up

Diversity in the workplace means you have a full deck of cards to play with in the business game. However, it also often means complexity and friction among employees.

In the workplace, the saying “age is just a number” holds true, as it’s not about age differences but differences in the core values of each generation.

You will find people with poor work ethics in every generation, just as you’ll find both young and old employees who are outstanding workers.

As the boss and leader of the organization, successful collaboration between Gen-X and Millennials is in your hands. Every employee brings something to the table, even Gen-Z, who are entering the market soon, if not already.

However, it is your task to make use of these talents the right way and to motivate your employees to build functional workplace relationships for the collective success of the organization.

The post Working Across Generations: Gen-X and Millennials appeared first on Hongkiat.

The reality is, while some individuals find complete satisfaction in their current roles, others may feel trapped, achieving neither their professional nor personal goals. If you’re in the latter group, it might be time to think about leaving your job—a job that brings you more dread than satisfaction. There are several factors to consider before taking this significant step, and we’ll explore them in this article. Keep reading for more insights.

If you do decide to move on, make sure to check out my previous post, “7 Great Ways to Get Your Resume Noticed“, for tips on landing your next great opportunity!

Deciding to Leave: What’s Your Reason?

Instead of asking if you should quit, perhaps the better question is, when is the right time to quit your job? It’s normal to dislike certain aspects of your job, as every job comes with its own set of challenges. It’s crucial to weigh the good against the bad before making your decision.

For many, the main reason to work is to cover expenses and live comfortably. This is perfectly valid. However, remember that there might be a more fulfilling job out there that not only suits you better but can also support your lifestyle.

Understanding Your Needs: Maslow’s Hierarchy

In order to ground this conversation in something solid, let’s turn to a famous concept by the esteemed psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If you’re not familiar with this framework, it’s a pyramid-shaped model that categorizes human needs.

According to Maslow, we are all driven to satisfy specific needs, starting with the most basic physiological necessities. Only after these needs are met do we aim for higher goals like safety, love and belonging, esteem, and, ultimately, self-actualization at the pyramid’s peak.

Given the significant portion of our lives we spend working, it’s appropriate to consider a job change based on how well a job can help us climb to the top of the pyramid.

Viewing the decision to quit from this lens offers a novel way to evaluate your career path. It’s about asking whether your current position fulfills your most essential needs.

Addressing Basic Needs: The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is a fundamental physiological need we often overlook. Racing against deadlines or catching up on work can lead to insufficient rest. Over time, this lack of sleep not only affects our work performance but also spills over into our personal lives, causing difficulty in concentrating and increased irritability. Eventually, the accumulated sleep debt will present serious consequences.

If you believe that sleep deprivation isn’t significantly impacting you, then it may not be an immediate concern. However, if insufficient sleep becomes a persistent issue, it’s crucial to evaluate whether your job is truly compatible with your long-term wellbeing.

Securing Your Foundation: Financial Security

While many jobs offer some level of financial security, the key question is whether a job provides enough income to meet daily needs without the fear of hunger or homelessness. Financial stability is essential because without it, it’s hard to focus on higher-level needs.

The reality is stark if a job does little more than keep you fed. Therefore, it’s vital to find employment that not only covers your basic needs but also allows you the surplus to chase after more fulfilling goals or save for future financial emergencies.

Fostering Connection: The Role of Work Culture

How well do you align with your workplace’s vision and values? Are you in harmony with your colleagues and superiors? These are crucial questions when assessing if your need for social connections and a sense of belonging is fulfilled. While it’s possible to function in a job without feeling a part of the organization, thriving without mutual trust and team cohesion can be challenging.

There are those who believe they can perform effectively even if they’re not well-liked at work. While this may be true, it necessitates finding emotional support and a sense of belonging outside of professional settings, whether through family, friends, or even social media during work hours.

Nonetheless, the trend in workplaces is shifting towards valuing connection and collective effort. Solitude is becoming less acceptable as most jobs require interaction with others and place a strong emphasis on teamwork.

Consider whether an incompatible work culture might hinder your ability to meet higher-level needs and limit your overall growth and satisfaction.

Building Self-Worth: Respect & Achievements

On the journey up Maslow’s pyramid, achieving self-esteem isn’t just about personal success and confidence; it also hinges on mutual respect. Climbing the corporate ladder at the expense of others might lead to success, but it won’t foster self-respect or the respect of your peers.

Essentially, how you view yourself in your role is key. A supportive environment that provides a sense of belonging is foundational to earning respect for your contributions.

Beyond that, finding a role that encourages your growth and builds confidence is critical. This path not only leads to personal achievement but also cultivates humility and respect for others. This level of esteem is where true self-respect is distinguished from mere ego.

Consider whether your current job offers the opportunity for such growth and the development of a healthy self-esteem. It’s also worth reflecting on whether you see a path to excellence in your work.

Reaching Your Peak: The Journey to Self-Actualization

At the pinnacle of Maslow’s pyramid lies the essence of true happiness: self-actualization. This stage represents the height of life satisfaction, where an individual fully realizes their potential. However, achieving this level of fulfillment is rare, with Maslow suggesting it’s attained by less than 1% of adults.

This stage challenges you to reflect deeply on where your true passions lie. Assuming your job already meets your basic needs, offers supportive relationships, acknowledges your achievements, and garners respect from others, the next step is to discover what you truly love doing. It’s one thing to be skilled at something, but do you have a passion for it?

Discovering your passion is crucial, but it’s also important to assess the practicality of pursuing it as a career. If you’re contemplating a job change to follow your passion, make sure that it will still satisfy your lower-level needs. Each level of Maslow’s hierarchy builds upon the previous ones, so ensuring these foundational needs are met is key to pursuing higher goals without jeopardizing your overall fulfillment.

The post How to Navigate Career Crossroads with Confidence appeared first on Hongkiat.

Many clients feel compelled to involve themselves in the design process, whether it’s appropriate or not. What drives this behavior, and is it justified? In this article, we will explore this complex issue and discuss strategies designers can employ to manage it.

Setting Boundaries for Productive Collaboration

One effective way to address this challenge is by educating your clients on why their interference can be counterproductive. While the adage “the customer is always right” holds some truth, is it essential for clients to grasp the intricacies of your creative process?

Generally, when people hire experts for specialized services like back-end programming, they don’t feel the need to understand every detail—that’s why they hired a professional in the first place. However, design seems to be an exception to this rule. Let’s delve into why this is the case.

The Allure of Design

In previous articles, I’ve discussed how a large number of individuals aspire to be creative, particularly in our modern world filled with eye-catching advertisements, sleek websites, and engaging media. The appeal of minimalistic and elegant designs often leads people to underestimate the complexity behind seemingly simple designs.

Most clients aren’t intentionally disrupting your creative flow. They simply lack an understanding of the hard work that culminates in the final product they admire. While it may be frustrating to articulate the extent of your efforts, it’s crucial to remember that people often undervalue what they don’t comprehend. In the freelance world, this perception of value can significantly influence your compensation.

Misunderstanding Breeds Doubt

Clients can become perplexed by a designer’s objectives, particularly when technical or industry-specific language is used. It’s crucial to minimize the use of jargon when communicating with clients.

Employ straightforward language to provide clients with a basic understanding of the project’s scope, the effort involved, and the time commitment on your part. While it’s important not to grumble, keep in mind that your value is only recognized when you make it known.

Avoid Over-Explaining Your Process

Be cautious not to divulge too much about your working methods to a client. The reason is straightforward: clients may take your detailed process and hand it over to a design student or a relative who they believe can execute it at a lower cost, thereby eliminating the need for your services.

If you’ve never experienced this, consider yourself fortunate. Clients who demand explanations for every minor action are a significant red flag. After all, they engaged a designer, not an instructor. If they’re genuinely interested in design, there are educational blogs, like this one, to which you can direct them.

View It as an Opportunity, Not a Burden

When faced with an overly inquisitive client, many designers’ instinctive reaction is frustration. However, it’s worth noting that these clients wouldn’t scrutinize their gardener or repairperson in the same way. Constantly having to justify one’s work can dampen a designer’s enthusiasm.

When this occurs, rather than becoming irate, see it as a chance to enlighten someone about the intricate world of design. Adopt the role of an “industry advocate” and integrate client education into your workflow. Doing so will not only increase their respect for your expertise but also make future referrals more manageable.

Final Thoughts

While no one appreciates overbearing, self-proclaimed designer clients, it’s also true that clients are not fond of aloof, unapproachable designers. Freelancing is a two-way street, and the more clients understand the essence of design, without necessarily knowing the specifics of your approach, the better the industry will be for all designers.

The post Do Designers Need to Explain Their Creative Process to Clients? appeared first on Hongkiat.

These individuals transcended their initial roles to become iconic figures who have influenced millions of lives through their innovative inventions, groundbreaking business models, and visionary approaches, all while freelancing.

This isn’t merely a tale of accumulating wealth or gaining prestige; it’s a narrative of adding substantial value to humanity. For instance, Andrew Carnegie leveraged his innate ability to connect with people to establish a timeless legacy through various enterprises, libraries, and charitable foundations.

Similarly, people like Bill Gates, Aaron Montgomery Ward, and Sam Walton have shown that freelancing can transcend the notion of self-employment. It involves developing self-discipline, responsibility, and a strong work ethic.

Once you have mastered these attributes, you can then use them to positively affect an ever-increasing number of lives.

And that’s how legacies are made. It’s the greatest gift you can offer both yourself and humanity.

Andrew Carnegie

Freelancer in Business Consulting and Networking

The story of Andrew Carnegie is a textbook example of a “rags-to-riches” tale. Born in a single-room weaver’s cottage in Scotland, Carnegie went on to become one of the wealthiest individuals in history. His humble beginnings make his extraordinary achievements even more remarkable.

In 1848, Carnegie’s family migrated to America in search of better opportunities. At just 13 years old, Andrew found himself working as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill, working grueling 12-hour shifts six days a week.

Though a freelancer, it was not by choice but out of necessity. He had only his time to sell. By age 15, he was working as a telegraph messenger.

Master of Networking

During his free hours, Andrew would frequent prominent businesses in Pittsburgh and make an effort to get to know the owners. He’d share information about other important business figures he knew, aiming to build valuable relationships.

His commitment and skills as a telegraph boy – being able to translate telegraph signals without writing them down – did not go unnoticed. He earned a promotion and eventually landed a job with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at 18 years old.

Carnegie quickly climbed the corporate ladder and formed a close relationship with Thomas Alexander Scott, the company president. This connection allowed him access to insider knowledge and investment opportunities, although some were ethically questionable.

The Gift of Influence

Andrew’s knack for influencing people helped him accumulate working capital by making smart investments and forming alliances with influential individuals. This ability also enabled him to orchestrate a significant business merger between Woodruff’s and Pullman’s companies when he was just 25.

Despite amassing unparalleled wealth and establishing the world’s largest company, the US Steel Corporation, Carnegie had a complex view on the subject of wealth. He was involved in the largest personal commercial transaction ever, worth $480 million, but his thoughts on wealth were far from celebratory:

“Man must have no idol, and the accumulation of wealth is one of the worst forms of idolatry! No idol is more degrading than the worship of money. Whatever I engage in, I must push extraordinarily; therefore, I should be careful to choose a life that will be the most uplifting in its nature.”

Bill Gates

Freelance Programmer and Innovator

Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft, a name that has become a cornerstone in the world of computing. Although he has often been dubbed the richest man on Earth, Gates actually hails from a middle-class background in Seattle.

At the young age of 13, Gates showed early signs of entrepreneurial spirit. He sold items at a school rummage sale to fund computer time on a General Electric system. There were no personal computers back then, but Gates was determined. He self-taught BASIC programming and began to master the machine.

Early Ethical Hacker

Gates was so proficient that he, along with three friends, managed to hack a PDP-10 system owned by the Computer Center Corporation (CCC). Upon discovery, they were banned from the system. However, Gates turned the situation around by offering his programming skills to identify other vulnerabilities in CCC’s system, in exchange for more computer time.

That’s when Bill Gates officially stepped into the world of freelance coding.

He continued his freelance programming work for Information Sciences, Inc., developing a payroll program in Cobol at the age of 16. The next year, he worked on software for class distribution among students.

Early Entrepreneurial Ventures

In the same year, Gates and his friend Paul Allen started Traf-O-Data, a tool for traffic analytics. The project didn’t succeed, but that didn’t discourage them. They approached MITS, a company that was developing a computer using the Intel 8080 CPU. Despite having no finished software, Gates and Allen convinced MITS President Ed Roberts to meet them by saying they were close to completing compatible software.

The duo then hastily wrote the code they had initially lied about, leading to a successful meeting and the birth of their company, which they named “Micro-Soft.”

Read Also:  The Beginning of Famous Tech Companies in 40 Classic Photos

Aaron Montgomery Ward

Freelancer in Copywriting and Direct Mail

Aaron Montgomery Ward would likely be hailed as the master of sales letters if he were around today. As the pioneer of the mail-order business, he revolutionized the way people bought products. His beginnings in the business world, however, were quite humble.

Ward entered the workforce at just 14, performing the unglamorous job of stacking bricks in a kiln. He eventually transitioned into sales, peddling various goods. By 1865, he had taken on a freelance role, working on commission to sell products for Case and Sobin, a lamp company.

Innovator of Direct Mail Sales

While working in dry goods sales for Field Palmer & Leiter, Ward conceived the groundbreaking idea of direct mail sales. He saw it as a way to reduce costs and simplify the role of salespeople.

Ward had a grand vision: to make manufactured goods accessible to everyone, even those living in rural areas. Despite skepticism from his peers, he took the plunge. In 1872, Ward launched the world’s first general merchandise mail-order catalog, featuring 163 items. He wrote all the product descriptions himself, effectively making him the world’s first freelance copywriter in this niche.

Sam Walton

Freelance Salesman Turned Entrepreneur

Walmart stands as the largest public corporation on a global scale. As of 2013, it surpassed giants like Shell and Exxon, employing a staggering 2.2 million people and generating nearly $500 billion in revenue. The man behind this retail behemoth is Sam Walton, who began his journey as a freelance salesman.

Sam Walton grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and started working at a young age to support his family. One of his earliest gigs was milking the family cow and delivering the milk to various customers, effectively becoming a freelance milkman in his youth.

The Hustle of a True Freelancer

During the tough times of the Great Depression, Walton took up various roles to make ends meet. He delivered newspapers, sold magazine subscriptions, and even worked various sales jobs, including waiting tables to pay for his meals. Walton epitomizes the hustle and determination characteristic of a true freelancer.

By the age of 26, Walton was ready to make his big move. With a loan of $20,000, he purchased his first retail store. This was the humble beginning that would later blossom into a retail empire. After expanding to multiple locations, he inaugurated the first Wal-Mart store in 1962 (now known as Walmart) and the rest is history.

The post People Who Started as Freelancers and Changed the World appeared first on Hongkiat.

We will delve into some common characteristics of such individuals and discuss ways you can potentially reach that stature.

Excel as a Designer

Producing high-quality work is the primary key to becoming a leader in any industry, particularly in the design field. Your work should essentially speak for itself. No one will heed a designer whose work lacks quality. While not everyone may agree that your design solutions are the best for the problems you address, almost everyone can acknowledge a high-quality design when they see one.

The significance of this trait cannot be overstated. Designers can be a very discerning, highly critical group – it’s part of the job. Getting unanimous agreement that your work is “good” may never happen. However, they can concur that you’re a seasoned professional who is proficient in tools like Photoshop or Illustrator.

Mastering your craft and honing it to perfection is crucial if you aspire to lead others in the industry.

Be Visible

To be heard, you need to be visible to others in the design world – not just within your specific niche, but anywhere your ideas can make an impact.

If you’re a web designer, this means print designers, software designers, product designers, and anyone else related to your industry should also be aware of you and able to engage with your ideas.

Strive to spread the word about yourself and get people talking about you. This could be through blogging, social media, or even going viral on YouTube.

Promoting yourself is a constant challenge that every designer could do more of, but it’s particularly crucial if you want to be a thought leader. If no one knows who you are, then your words will only matter to you. And perhaps your parents.

Be Accountable

Your credibility as someone worth listening to is built on how accountable you are for your words. If you voice opinions anonymously and never respond to challenges to your ideas, people will notice, and at best, you’ll be ignored in the design world, or at worst, ridiculed.

This doesn’t mean you have to disclose every single thought you have on every topic. In fact, that’s likely an imprudent strategy if you’re trying to build a reputation as someone worth listening to. However, you should aim to own your ideas and make it clear to others that you can support and defend them if necessary.

Continually strive to raise the standard, not just with your work, but also with what you communicate to fellow designers. Once people recognize you as someone who always fosters engaging conversations, they will be inclined to participate and respect your ideas.

Have an Opinion

This is a given. If you don’t have any opinions about design or designers, or if you never express them, you’ll remain in obscurity.

It doesn’t matter if your opinion is controversial or even upsets some people – the design community needs to be continually challenged and introduced to new ideas for designers to maintain their “edge”. Even – no, especially – if those ideas provoke them or make them think.

As I mentioned earlier, designers can be judgmental and somewhat harsh at times. And honestly, you wouldn’t want it any other way. If the design community passively accepted every idea with equal regard, the quality of the designs being created would significantly decline.

Designers need some resistance for their ideas; constructive criticism makes youa stronger and more innovative designer. As a thought leader, when you voice a controversial opinion, designers will either strive to prove you right, or they’ll attempt to prove you wrong. Either way, they won’t remain idle.

Be Patient

Lastly, remember that becoming a thought leader in the design community is not an overnight process. It will take years of building your reputation and becoming widely recognized enough to not only be heard but also respected by your fellow designers. Remember, being an exceptional designer comes first, and everything else follows.

The post How to Establish Yourself as a Leader in Design Thinking appeared first on Hongkiat.

If you’re looking to get your hands on a book like that, take a look at this list of best and latest personal development books. These books focus on different themes and take varied approaches, so pick the one that relates to your situation and may prove helpful to your cause.

“Girl, Wash Your Face”

Author: Rachel Hollis

An amazing book that talks about several lies and misconceptions that keep us from living a happy and fulfilling life, Girl, Wash Your Face is written by Rachel Hollis – the co-founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company – in which she opens up about the problems of her own life and how she coped with them.

Packed with honesty, motivation, encouragement, and humor, this book inspires women to deal with life issues with determination and find their own true happiness.

“Unfu*k Yourself”

Author: Gary John Bishop

Unfu*k Yourself is a handbook of simple and straightforward motivational statements by Gary John Bishop. Focused on people who always find themselves in the worst circumstances, the book endeavors to strengthen your confidence and self-esteem by discouraging self-pity and negative attitude in order to achieve your goals in life.

“Get Over Your Damn Self”

Author: Romi Neustadt

If you’re a victim of negative attitude that over-complicates even the simplest tasks in your life, then this book is the one you should read. Written by personal development coach Romi Neustadt, the book will guide you in making direct sales and network marketing that’ll ultimately lead you to greater financial freedom and more time for yourself.

“I Am That Girl”

Author: Alexis Jones

Being a woman with layers of responsibilities towards family and household, we often tend to forget our true ambition or things that we’re passionate about. In this book, Alexis Jones encourages girls and women to rediscover their passion and unlock their potential to live a life of their dreams.

The writer tells girls to stop allowing other people’s negative energy to flow into their own lives and don’t be bothered about how they look, where they work and if their relationship is perfect or not. I Am That Girl has been reviewed and endorsed by many famous Hollywood actresses and successful women in business as a great, funny, and helpful guide for girls about their lives.

“100 Days to Brave”

Author: Anne F. Downs

The writer Anne F. Downs was faced by many difficult challenges in life that kept her from living life to the full. 100 Days to Brave tells about her journey of overcoming fears and inspires readers to take similar steps of courage and confidence in the face of most troublesome times.

Through humor and honesty, the book will help you experience a fearless, productive and joyful life in thickest of the times.

“The Virgin Way”

Author: Richard Branson

Richard Branson, founder of the British Virgin Group containing more than 400 companies such as Virgin Media and the Virgin Atlantic Airways is probably one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our times.

He lives a vivid social media life, and he has also published some great books in which he shares his unique and unconventional views on management, entrepreneurship, and business.

The Virgin Way: If It’s Not Fun, It’s Not Worth Doing is his latest book on management and entrepreneurship in which he gives an inside look at his insanely successful style of leadership that is primarily driven by the art of listening and keeping people engaged.

Branson has such an out-of-the-box personality that he even dares assert that "you’ll never have to think outside the box if you refuse to let anyone build one around you."

“The Essential Drucker”

Author: Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker was a legendary professor and management consultant, or a “social ecologist” as he described himself, who founded the theory and practice of modern management. Although he died in 2005, his books have stood the test of time, and you can gain a great amount of knowledge on economics, business and leadership by reading them.

The Essential Drucker is an insightful collection of the best essays by the prominent business philosopher, published over a span of more than 60 years. In this book, you can learn about the basic principles and concerns of management, its best practices, main challenges, core problems, and most promising opportunities. For samples of his writing, follow this link.

“Work Rules!”

Author: Laszlo Bock

Laszlo Bock, the author of this amazing book currently works as the head of Google’s People Operations team that is basically responsible for the Human Resources of the company. Work Rules! published in 2015 is his first book that quickly became a bestseller of The New York Times.

Work Rules! gives many thought-provoking insights into the human resource and talent management of Google, including topics such as giving more power to employees over managers, avoiding a dehumanizing company culture, transparency, the best usage of data, how to calculate more motivating, performance-based salaries, and many more. It’s a must-read to everyone who manages humans and wants to take leadership seriously.

“The Alliance”

Author: Reid Hoffman

The Alliance is authored by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin, Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh, all of whom are successful entrepreneurs and mentors. The Alliance analyzes the problem of the employee-employer relationship that has become broken in our fast-changing and insecure modern world.

If you run your own company, or you work as a manager, this book can give you excellent tips on how to recruit, manage, and retain amazing people at your company in a connected world where companies can’t afford to offer lifetime employment anymore.

The book has many interesting ideas, such as how employees should be treated as an alliance between independent players rather than a transactional relationship, and many others. To learn more about this awesome book, download the first chapter for free, and check it out for yourself.

“Thinking in Systems”

Author: Donella Meadows

Donella Meadows was an influential environmental scientist who became famous with her first book, Limits to Growth which was about the consequences of an uncontrolled growth on a finite planet. She researched the feasibility of sustainable systems at all levels of society, from local to global.

Thinking in Systems, a later work of hers describes how to develop system-thinking skills critical for dealing with the complexity of the 21st century life. Donella Meadows thinks that the biggest problems in the world such as poverty, hunger, and war are system failures that cannot be solved in isoation from others.

This book is not only theoretical though, as it provides you with useful methodology to help you improve your problem-solving skills, which is one of the most important areas of personal and professional development.

“Nonsense”

Author: Jamie Holmes

Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing is a fascinating book that claims it’s not IQ, willpower, or self-confidence that matters the most in today’s increasingly unpredictable world, but how you deal with new things you don’t necessarily understand.

The author, Jamie Holmes approaches the subject of uncertainty from the aspect of social psychology and cognitive science and introduces you into the upsides of ambiguity such as creativity, empathy, personal development, and inspiration for learning.

Not only that, but he also teaches you new skills to use uncertainty to your own advantage. He uses awesome real-life stories throughout the book to make you engaged and entertained.

Performing Under Pressure

Author: Dr. Hendrie Weisinger, and Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry

Have you ever had to deal with high-pressure situations such as job interviews, hard exams, sales presentations, price negotiations with clients, and the like? According to Dr. Hendrie Weisinger and Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry, the authors of Performing Under Pressure, people don’t perform better at all under pressure, as it’s frequently claimed by many.

This brilliant book introduces you into the intriguing concept of pressure management and offers both short and long-term practical solutions tested on over 12,000 people to help you overcome the paralyzing effects of pressure and stress.

“Disrupt Yourself”

Author: Jay Samit

Disruptive innovation is a quite successful strategy in the contemporary business arena, just think about companies like Uber, AirBnB, or TaskRabbit. Disrupt Yourself, written by Jay Samit serial entrepreneur describes the unique method he has used to invent new products and launch, grow, and sell businesses in industries such as e-commerce, social media, digital video creation, mobile communications and software development.

If you have a big idea but are not sure how to apply it, or just got stuck in your life and seek personal transformation, you must read this engaging and perspective-shifting book.

“Losing the Signal”

Author: Jacquie McNish, and Sean Silcoff

If you like rise and fall stories told in an engaging, juicy way, you need to check out this fascinating book about Blackberry’s rise and fall, written by the two prominent business writers of the Canadian The Globe and Mail, Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.

Not so long ago Blackberry was the favourite gadget of high-profile professionals, CEOs, and presidents. In 2009 the company controlled about the half of the smartphone market. By 2015 this number fell to less than 1 percent.

Losing the Signal investigates the story, and presents the reasons of the rise and the fall in the form of a modern tale. If you want to understand how to avoid failure in a superfast, information-ridden, innovation-hungry business world, and want to acquire this knowledge in a really entertaining way, this book was written just for you.

“The Organized Mind”

Author: Daniel J. Levitin

In his new book, The Organized Mind, Daniel J. Levitin, bestselling author, neuroscientist, and professor at McGill University shows you how to handle the constant flow of information your brain encounters in today’s insane deluge of data.

You can learn new practical methods about how to organize your personal and professional life in an environment more complex than ever before, through entertaining real-life examples, such as how not to lose your car keys, how to manage your kitchen junk drawer, how to establish a productive office workflow and many others.

The recommended methods are backed up with the latest research on the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory.

The post 15 Personal Development Books to Read For Self-Improvement appeared first on Hongkiat.

Luckily, it’s not that hard to keep your design files under control. Some common sense, with a dash of self-discipline, and repeat. Just like brushing your teeth: once you get into the habit of doing these things, you won’t even notice it. You’ll just naturally keep your computer and design files under control.

Alright then, here are the 5 effective ways to keep your files under control.

1. Ruthlessly delete unnecessary files

This one might seem forehead-slapping obvious, but sometimes the most common-sense steps are overlooked. Forget any productivity software, and file streamlining workflows, and any other pat-on-the-back productivity nonsense: simply delete old and unnecessary files.

It’s the same as cleaning your room or organizing your physical files. You go through your stuff, and when looking at an item, you decide: is this relevant to something important? If not, you ruthlessly throw it away. That’s how you stay organized: by minimizing the number of stuff you have. No tricks or secrets.

Similarly, when you’re going through the files on your computer, decide if each one is still relevant or important. If it isn’t, ruthlessly delete it – you won’t need it again, and it’s just cluttering up your digital workplace. Usually, these files are old project files such as earlier drafts or outdated designs.

That’s nice and all, but when should you ruthlessly delete old and unnecessary files? After all, practically everyone hates cleaning their room.

Well, just like the way you can minimize having to schedule cleaning your room is by taking care of an object as soon as you encounter it, so too should you decide if you need to delete a file when you encounter it. This leads us to #2…

2. Take immediate action on files you encounter

The best way to avoid having to schedule sorting and cleaning of your computer design files is to not have it be necessary. Each time you encounter a file, take immediate action on it.

But no doubt you’ve got things to do, places to be. You can’t drop everything you’re doing and take care of each file you encounter. So how do you decide when to take action? Use the 5-minute rule: if taking immediate action on the file will take 5 minutes or less, take care of it as soon as you encounter it.

Sound familiar? It’s because this is “influenced” by David Allen’s popular book GTD: Getting Things Done. In it, he says you can avoid accumulating a long to-do list by immediately taking care of a task you encounter as long as it’ll take no more than minutes.

This applies to your computer design files as well:

• Found a half-finished logo? Wrap it up and send it off.
• Almost done with a piece of code? Finish it.
• Have a group of files you’re not sure you need anymore? Go through them, decide, and delete if necessary.

3. Consolidate files when possible

This is a simple one. If you can somehow consolidate two or more files into one, then you’ll naturally have fewer files. And fewer files equals less clutter.

The other benefit of consolidating files is it becomes easier to find what you’re looking for. Your files become more organized. How? You’ll naturally have relevant content all in one file, so no need to hunt multiple files that pertain to the same project.

How do you go about consolidating your files?

• For text, simply copy/paste related content from multiple files into one main text file.
• For visual designs, you can copy/paste different elements and variations into one main graphic file.

Every major and minor graphics app supports layers and the labeling and grouping of them, so take advantage of that. It can be variations of a logo, or multiple aspects of a bigger design – all in one graphics file.

Granted, not every type of file or content can be consolidated. Code, for example. So that’s why the above is titled “when possible” – do the best you can, and any amount that helps to reduce the number of files is a net gain.

4. Have as few folders as possible

Create only a few folders for your type of work, and be as general with the category as possible. Instead of getting a niche with countless folders being broken down, just have things like ‘logos’ and ‘websites’. Or you can have folders for each project, and any type of file that’s related to it goes in there.

Why do this? Two reasons:

1. No indecision paralysis: is the file a logo, website stuff, or part of a project? Just throw it in the respective folder and be done with it.
2. Anti-too-many-files filter: when you see the folder filling up with too many files, you’ll be more inclined to delete old and unnecessary ones. Similar to seeing too much stuff in your room, rather than hiding it in drawers and other rooms.

Avoid getting too specific with folder names and categories. The more specific you name a folder, the more categories you’ll have. And with more categories, you’ll have to decide where the new file goes.

Chances are it won’t neatly fit into just one of them, so you’ll arbitrarily pick one. Then when it’s time to organize more files, you’ll think back to which category you choose with a similar file last time. Not to mention not clearly knowing which category each file belongs to.

Why not just use some tagging system? Then you can do away with folders altogether, right? While in theory, this should work, in reality, it’ll encourage you to create and keep way too many files.

Here’s what will happen:

1. You tag your initial files, feeling good that you’ll be able to easily find them later by searching via tags.
2. You become liberal with tags by creating too many tags that are too specific – this is due to indecision paralysis since you couldn’t choose between two tags and decided to create a new one specifically for that one file.
3. You end up having too many tags which become overwhelming to find stuff with.
4. What’s worse is since you didn’t feel the need to keep your file count low, you now have more files than if they were constantly visible in a general folder you looked in.

5. Ditch auto-organizing features

Auto-organizing features (think iTunes’ auto-rename-and-sort feature but applied to all files) are the nemesis to keeping files under control. They encourage liberal file creation and saving. While it seems fine at first, the more files you have, the less you’ll know where everything is.

Why not just delete files when they’re old or unnecessary? The auto-organizing feature will encourage you to not delete. Sort of like Gmail’s never-delete-just-search feature. But unlike email, where you only have one type of content (text) and thus easy to search, your files are hard to search this way.

There’s no simple way to search inside the content, especially for visual and audio files. So the only thing you’ll have to work with is filenames and maybe some meta description tagged onto it. That’s a recipe for file overload.

By not using any auto-organizing features, you’ll be accountable for every file you create. You’ll see it and pay attention to it at least once, so you’ll be more conscious of each file on your computer. This way, you’ll get a better feel for when your files are getting out of control – and when you need to ruthlessly delete them.

Conclusion

Hopefully these 5 ways were more than just productivity tips: things to read to avoid doing actual work that gets you desired results in your life. No, these were written with the intention to be actionable things you can start applying now to keep your computer and design files from getting out of control.

No one actively wants to organize and manage their computer and design files. So these 5 ways will help you to form habits that’ll avoid needing to do that. And as with any habit, the most important thing is to just start doing them.

Your turn: what other ways have helped you to effectively keep your computer and design files under control?

The post 5 Ways to Keep Your Files Under Control appeared first on Hongkiat.

In the last 45 years alone, global suicide rates have increased by 60% and some 350 million people worldwide suffer from some form of depression. Is it really that hard to be happy? Or are we looking at all the wrong places?

Consider this: whenever we get the recognition, achievement, material possession, etc. which supposedly are the things that can make us happier, it wouldn’t be long before our satisfaction fades and we go about setting new goals to strive for in our lives. This in psychology is known as the happiness treadmill.

We work hard in the hope to lead happier lives, but only to realize that we are still at the same spot on the treadmill. To be truly happy, we need to know how to get off this treadmill.

Hedonic Treadmill or Adaptation Theory

Coined by Brickman and Campbell in 1971, this theory suggests that people adapt quickly to circumstances in life and eventually return to their baseline levels of happiness.

In a study by Brickman, the happiness levels of lottery winners and paralyzed accident victims were found to be no different than the general population after some time from the event.

The treadmill actually acts like a set-point for our happiness level. Whatever we encounter or experience in life, after a brief moment of happiness or sadness, our emotions will return to the baseline.

While this protects us from being overwhelmed by negative events and getting stuck in depression mode, it is also the reason why we won’t be able to get our happily ever after.

Our initial happiness and excitement will dissipate, and off we go looking out for the next opportunity which we believe will make us happy again.

Prepping To Be Happy

The Easterlin Paradox (proposed by economist Richard Easterlin in 1974) revealed that people in wealthier countries were no happier than those in less wealthy countries. A recent US research also found that beyond an annual income of US$75,000, any further increase in salary has no significant impact on our happiness level – at least for the Americans.

Does this mean that money and other materialistic pursuits do not serve any long-term purpose in achieving happiness? Of course not. Having more money can make you happier.

"The human animal is incapable of being satisfied except for brief moments. Once satisfied, it moves to the next need it needs to be fill."

More often than not, money is particularly helpful at the bottommost two layers of needs in Maslow’s pyramid.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs

Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed in his hierarchy of needs theory (what you see below) 5 levels of fundamental needs. At the bottom of the pyramid is physiological needs, what we need to stay alive: air, food, water, sleep etc. Above that, safety, which includes personal security, financial security, health and fitness, etc.

With our two bottom layer needs answered for through monetary means, we gain a greater sense of control and certainty over our surroundings. Beyond these two needs, we would attain the right frame of mind to look for and have happiness.

Such peace of mind sets the stage for us to enjoy life’s moments and connect better with people, both of which are crucial components for beating that tricky treadmill.

Going higher up the levels, money may not have the same impact on our well-being much longer. We can’t really fulfil love/belonging, esteem and self-actualizing needs with money, can we? But at least now, we are ready to be happy.

The Secret To Being Happy

According to University of California Riverside psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky‘s bestseller "The How of Happiness," a good 40% of how happy we are actually depends on what we choose to think and the activities we engage in on an ongoing basis.

This is where what we choose to pursue in our lives matters and has the potential to help us escape the treadmill phenomenon. Depending on what we prioritize on in our lives and the decisions we make on a daily basis, our happiness set-point can change.

Trapped Like Rats

There was a second part to the Easterlin’s findings in that what we earn actually is linked to our happiness. To be specific, Easterlin concluded that the relative income between us and the people around us is what determines our happiness.

For example, if you earn $60,000 a year, you are happier in a country where the average annual income is $20,000 than if the average is $80,000. Sounds like a case of keeping up with the Joneses? You bet.

What You Can Do To Be Happy

Well, first of all, we should experience the present moment in our lives rather than focusing too much on the future or ruminating on our past. The present is what we truly possess and it is those activities which we choose to engage in that’s going to make us happy beings.

So what can you choose to do today?

1. List Your Blessings

In a psychology experiment by Emmons and McCullough, a group of participants were asked to write down 5 things which they are grateful for, once a week. After doing so for 10 weeks, the group ended up feeling better and more optimistic about their lives, and experienced fewer physical symptoms of illness.

Check this benefits of gratitude list out to see what science has to say about the power of gratitude.

2. Physical Exercises

This one also has some scientific truth in it. Exercise has been found to improve your mood, sleep and is a great stress reliever (as it reduces cortisol levels in the body).

Exercising also releases endorphins and dopamine, the "happy chemicals" or neurotransmitters in our brain that allow us to feel pleasure and induce in us a sense of well-being.

Check out more about this with regards to runner’s high, how moderate aerobic exercises can elevate moods, why physically active people experience more enthusiasm, and how exercise helps with depressed patients.

3. Performing acts of kindness

Research has shown that performing random acts of kindness makes you happy. Actually, "altruism" should be the one getting the praises but in both cases, the key is to do random acts, not scheduled ones (which would dilute the effects).

It’s probably no coincidence that most, if not all major religions endorse kindness and forgiveness as one of their core teachings.

The best part about all this is that research has also shown this to be some sort of self-perpetuating loop: doing kind acts make us happier which makes us more inclined to do even more kind acts! Check this post out for ideas for random acts of kindness

4. Make Social Goals

If you are working hard for a pay raise only to make it a materialistic pursuit (do you really need another smartphone?) then you are still trapped, but if you are aiming for it to spend on day-to-day activities or to build social relationships then research says that you are on the right track.

Research has shown that people are happier when they make purchases to acquire life experiences (e.g. traveling, dinner with friends, etc) as compared to material possessions. The shared experiences embedded in our memory bank have a longer-lasting effect compared to one triggered by materialistic pursuit.

Don’t Go Looking for Happiness

Despite all the research findings and tips by experts, saying goodbye to that cunning hedonic treadmill for life remains a herculean task. We may find ourselves never finding a good answer to what life and happiness is about, and in turn, find the pursuit of happiness a lost cause.

To that end, psychologist and Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl has this to say:

"Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself."

In the 3 years as a POW in nazi concentration camps, he discovered that inmates who found meaning in their suffering and maintained hope of being released were the ones who eventually survived. After his liberation, Frankl went on to establish that the "will to meaning" is critical in attaining fulfillment in our lives.

Happiness Should Happen

The emphasis lies not on oneself, but that of finding meaning in the day-to-day demands. It means taking responsibility in our actions and fulfilling our duties to the fullest. It means living in the present and answering life as it unfolds.

Happiness is not to be seen as an end itself, but rather as a byproduct from having meaning in life through the choices we consciously made. If all that sounds too philosophical for you to digest, here’s another take by a politician on how happiness should "happen" rather than be attained:

"Happiness is like a cat, if you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you’ll find it rubbing against your legs and jumping into your lap."

The post The Pursuit Of Happiness (& How To Be Truly Happy) appeared first on Hongkiat.

Then, there are artists that create art out of non-regular materials, they create animal sculptures from fruit, silky and flowy sculptures from wood, and life out of inanimate resin. In this post, we’d like to look at 20 more artists who use very unconventional mediums to portray their love of art and skills.

Toilet Paper Rolls

Anastassia Elias uses toilet paper rolls to create miniature scenes of life. She cuts out the scene from paper and places it inside the roll creating a silhouette of life inside a paper roll.

Image Source: Anastassia Elias

3D subjects

Alexa Meade paints humans or objects to look like 2D photographs. She paints directly on her subjects and manipulates the shadows in a way that when it is photographed, it turns 2D. Want more? Check out these artworks that are totally not photographs.

Image Source: Alexa Meade

Human Body

Cecilia Webber uses human bodies to create her digital photographic images, specifically naked human bodies painted strategically to create repetitive patterns that reflect a plant or creature for one of her many masterpieces.

Image Source: Cecilia Webber

Dice

Frederic McSwain created this portrait as a tribute to his friend, Tobias Wong, a Canadian artist and designer who died from suicide (while sleepwalking). The portrait was made using 13,138 dice – one for each day of Tobias’ short 35 years.

Image Source: Miller Taylor

Land

Cornelia Konrad’s works are inspired by land art, and she is widely known for her site-specific art. She brings art outdoors by choosing a specific place and installing her structures, floating in mid-air!

Image Source: Cornelia Konrads

Cassette Tapes

Erika Iris Simmons uses old cassette tapes to create popular celebrity portraits. She likes to preserve old technologies such as cassette tapes that are no longer being used. With the tapes, she recreates portraits of celebrities such as John Lennon or Marilyn Monroe.

Image Source: iri5

Matchsticks

Stanislav Aristov uses burnt matchsticks and bends them to his desired shapes before editing photographs of them via Photoshop.

Image Source: Stanislav Aristov

Paper Books

Guy Laremee erodes paper books in defiance of how everyone else uses books as a way to accumulate knowledge. Nonetheless, the beautiful sculptures he makes out of these books can really blow your mind. More book art sculptures here.

Image Source: Guy Laremee

Pencils.

Jennifer Maestre has always been attracted to sea urchins because of its beauty despite their dangerous spikes. A less-dangerous artificial alternative, sharpened pencils have thus become her main material for creating sculptures.

Image Source: Jennifer Maestre

Old Watch Parts

Susan Beatrice uses old watch parts to create steampunk sculptures. She mainly uses recycled parts, which coincide with her love for nature. More amazing recycleables here.

Image Source: All Natural Arts

Light and Shadow

Kumi Yamashita manipulates light and shadow to cleverly produce amazing shadow art. She places her solid materials in the direction of light and captures the shadows produced from the interaction. More beautiful shadow art here.

Image Source: Kumi Yamashita

Sand

Kseniya Simonova uses sand to create animated stories. From a pile of sand, Kseniya can push, rub and pinch sand into accents that translate into beautiful depictions of stories. A quick rub and she can start from a clean slate and start telling stories with sand again.

Image Source: Simonova TV

Leftover Objects

Wolfgang Stiller uses leftover objects such as bamboo and head molds to create Matchstick Men, large wooden matchsticks that have faces on the burnt ends.

Image Source: Wolfgang Stiller

Chewing Gum

Here’s one with a slight eek factor: Maurizio Savini uses chewed bubblegum to create sculptures. He likes using chewing gum because of its versatile nature, working on the gum with a knife while it is still hot.

Image Source: Etgallery.co.il

Beer Cans

Paul Villinski is a visual artist that uses discarded materials such as beer cans to bring out his artwork in meaningful poetic ways. His concern for environmental issues can be seen as he often uses recycled materials and gives them a new breath of life as art pieces.

Image Source: Paul Villinski

Resin

This is not a photograph of fish swimming in a barrel. It is a 3D sculpture of fish swimming in a barrel, recreated layer by layer in resin, a product of the genius that is Riusuke Fukahori. Each layer will be poured in, dried, painted on, and the process will be repeated until the full 3D painting is finished.

Image Source: Riusuke Fukahori

Dirty Car

In Moscow, you may be given a fine if your car is too dirty, but Scott Wade purposely makes his car dirty (sometimes using artificial dirt) so he can create wonderful "dirty" art on the back of his car window. Find more dirty car art here.

Image Source: Scott Wade

Nails

Vlad Artazov bends nails to portray scenes from real life but it is our imagination that helps his photographs come to life. Fancy uses two bent nails to depict a young couple in love.

Image Source: Vlad Artazov

Iron Chains

While most people would not usually look at iron chains as an art material, Seo Young Deok uses iron bike chains to create lifelike human sculptures.

Image Source: Seo Young Deok

Paper Strips

Yulia Brodskaya uses the quilling process (coiling, shaping, and manipulating) of paper strips to create this breathtaking look of an old man and his guitar.

Image Source: Yulia Brodskaya

The post 20 Artists That Took Art to The Next Level appeared first on Hongkiat.

The good news is that there are also several other scientifically-proven activities which, when done habitually, can help us in our quest for happiness.

After looking through many of these suggestions supported by studies and experiments, I want to share the following 8 with you. Feel free to share your comments in the comments section below.

1. Practise mindfulness

In a comprehensive research to study the level of happiness of 2250 participants, Harvard psychologists contacted the participants at random intervals during the day to find out the activity they were engaged in, their feelings and their thoughts.

The responses revealed that half of the time, the participants were not paying attention to what they were doing. Those who daydream, and thus are not concentrating at the task at hand, were reported to be less happy. It is this wandering of the mind that is causing them to be gloomy.

Rather than focusing on what was happening right at that instant — living in the moment — some of the sadder participants were thinking about the past or something that had yet to happen.

Mindfulness living

Mindfulness living is about living consciously, and according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

The ability to concentrate well requires repeated practice. One way to do that is to practice mindfulness meditation: sitting down with our eyes closed and observing our physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions from a distance without judgment. Label them as an “itch”, a “thought” or anger, for example, as they come and go in our consciousness.

When we can do this 20 minutes a day, often enough, we will start to realize that we are not our thoughts or emotions, and we will be less affected by them. That’s when we’re able to stay focused on what we do at any moment and become more present with our lives.

More: Apart from engaging in daily mindfulness meditation, here are 10 steps suggested by Reader’s Digest on how you can start living mindfully as well.

2. Have sufficient quality sleep

Most of us are aware of the importance of sleep on our health. After all, it’s a fundamental “physiological” need under Maslow’s hierarchy.

Yet, many of us are still stubbornly putting off going to bed early in the name of productivity. Some of us may actually consider “adequate sleep” as a luxury, thanks to our tight work schedules and project deadlines.

However, psychologist Norbert Schwarz from the University of Michigan had found that getting just an extra hour of sleep every night will make you happier than earning a $60,000 raise for the year!

Considering how the lack of sleep can negatively affect our mood the following day, it perhaps makes more sense to get enough of it every day, become happier, and consequently increase our productivity at work.

But that doesn’t mean you need more sleep. An analysis of the lifestyles of some 4,000 adults found that the happiest of the lot get an average of 6 hours 15 min of uninterrupted, quality sleep each night.

According to another study by Cornell University, happy people tend to sleep better as well. It’s a loop: resolve to get more quality sleep, become happier, sleep even better!

More: To kick-start, this awesome habit, check out this great list of 33 Secrets to a Good Night’s Sleep by Dr. Mercola.

3. Buy some experience

In my last post, I wrote that money is better spent on acquiring life experiences rather than for material possessions. Well, another study from Cornell University reaffirmed this, by proposing that acquired experiences are less tangible (compared to physical pursuits) and hence, harder to subject to social comparison.

The result is that our happiness level doesn’t adapt to such personal experiences as quickly as we habituate to purchased goods.

Aside from strengthening social relationships, the experience also becomes more and more memorable as time passes. Our minds naturally reinterpret our experiences retrospectively and holistically in a positive manner.

For instance, each time we revisit our cherished memories of the last vacation trip we took with family or friends, the hassles and frustrations experienced during the trip are conveniently forgotten.

So, go ahead and plan your next trip on some tropical island now. There is already research showing that anticipation itself will give you a boost in your happiness, as mentioned by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, authors of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.

They even found one study which pointed out that not only does delayed pleasure increases your excitement, it can even make it more pleasurable when you’re finally experiencing it.

4. Cut down on traveling time

Previously, I have also mentioned that certain events in life could permanently lower our happiness baseline. Chronic long commutes are one such event.

Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert puts it succinctly: “You can’t adapt to commuting, because it’s entirely unpredictable. Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day.” No wonder daily commute has been ranked last among all daily activities.

A telephone survey conducted on about 170,000 employed adults showed that a third of those who took over 90 minutes to travel to work are more likely to have high cholesterol and chronic physical symptoms such as back and neck pains.

40% of the same group were also found to experience worry for most of the day, as compared to just 28% of those who commute to work in less than 10 minutes a day.

Before accepting a new job offer, take into account how much time you need to take to get to work each day. If, however, you’re already stuck in one which requires you to drive for an hour or more each day, you might want to consider other available means of commute.

In Portland, Oregon, it was found that bicycle commuters are the happiest lot, followed by people who walk to work. Lone drivers are the least happy of all.

5. Smile!

According to one of the earliest research on the effects of smiling on our mood conducted by psychologist Robert Zajonc, who had participants say out the vowel “e” to make them smile, and the German vowel “ü” to make them pout. Those who “smiled” reportedly felt good while those who “pout” felt worse!

Numerous similar studies claim that smiling relieves stress and anxiety. Like one from Michigan State University, found those city bus drivers who “smile for the sake of smiling” throughout the day had their mood worsened and withdrew from work. The effects were found to be especially true for women.

When we smile, there are some biological processes that somehow trick our brain into thinking we’re happy. For this reason, our moods are lifted reflexively.

Of course, this is just a brief intervention that is only effective momentarily and not something that can make you happier as a person in the long run.

Nevertheless, if doing something as simple as smiling could help us feel a wee bit better about our lives and get other people to smile as well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it more!

More: Curious about the science behind smiling and how it makes us happier as well as other interesting tidbits? Check out this refreshing post by Leo Wildrich of Buffer.

6. Get a pet

Most pet owners would agree that their pets have brought them joy and good memories. Amazingly, researcher Allen McConnell has even found that social support provided by pets is comparable to that from a fellow family member.

McConnell also showed that among other benefits, pet owners tend to have greater self-esteem, are less depressed and less lonely — they even exercise more!

However, don’t go rushing to buy one from the pet store if you know you’re using it as a substitute for your less-than-perfect social life. Further observations made by McConnell indicated that the effects of pets on our health and happiness are stronger when we already have a good social life.

After all, having a pet will not change things much unless we build a positive relationship with it.

If we are already on good terms with people we care about, it probably proves that we have the necessary traits to have good relationships with pets as well. It’s a two-way street: The amount of happiness that they can bring into our lives depends very much on our commitment level.

7. Know and spend time with happy people

Happiness is contagious. The Framingham Heart Study that followed 4,700 people over 20 years revealed that a person’s happiness level can influence up to three degrees of separation, which means our happiness is partially affected by our social network (not the Facebook kind) of up to the level of our friends’ friends’ friends!

Specifically, we are 15.3% more likely to be happier when we know another happy person directly (1st degree), followed by 9.8% and 5.6% for 2nd and 3rd degrees, respectively.

Moreover, it was also found that physical distance matters, particularly when a friend of ours who resides within a mile from us becomes happy, the probability that we are happy increases by 25%. Interestingly though, such effects are not reflected between co-workers.

Happy people are often the center of social networks that comprise of similarly delighted people. The reasons why positive emotions trickle down from the happiest people to others are not determined in the study.

However, it’s suggested that this group of people could have a tendency to be more generous, friendlier, and nicer as a whole, cascading positive feelings down the levels and inducing those affected to act in the same positive manner to others.

8. Have at least 10 good friends

In order to be happy, we will first need to have at least ten good friends before reaching the minimum “happy” level.

After surveying over 1,700 people on their satisfaction with their lives and their friendships, a study from Nottingham University found that those with five friends or fewer were more likely to be unhappy than to be happy. Those with 5 to 10 friends were equally likely to be either.

The good news is that the happiness of the participants did not depend on whether the friends they had were childhood friends or those that came into their lives much later. This means to say that we’re never too late to make new friends become happier!

Making new friends isn’t all to it, though. If taking care of our pets requires commitment and continuous effort, friendship would logically requires much, much more.

As Dr. Tunney puts it, “Whatever the reason, actively working on friendships in the same way as to maintain a marriage is a prerequisite to happiness.“

Having too many friends poses the danger of having “surface friendships” since it will be quite challenging for one to maintain close relationships with all of them.

If you are somehow able to find the time and means to manage them, you’ll probably be like the happiest participants in the study who had dozens of friends!

The post 8 Proven Ways to Increase Your Happiness appeared first on Hongkiat.

Each year, more than 1.5 million MBTI personality tests are conducted across different individuals to help them explore various goals.

It’s usually employed by companies to assess the job-fit of a potential candidate, improve their communications with their colleagues, and to enhance team unity in an organization. This is achieved by increasing one’s self-awareness of his or her strengths and weaknesses through personality type identification.

Here, we go through the basics of the MBTI assessment and highlight some careers for selected personalities among the 16 possible MBTI types.

We will look at a brief introduction to the comprehensive personality tool that can help you with a career choice. There are plenty of free online MBTI assessment tests (like this one), although you can get more accurate readings from the real thing itself.

What is MBTI assess?

The MBTI is based on the idea that our personality is made up of 4 dimensions, which have two opposites (dichotomies). We can be:

• Extraverted (E) or introverted (I)
• Sensitive (S) or intuitive (N)
• Thinking (T) or feeling (F)
• Judgmental (J) or perceptive (P)

The MBTI test requires the test-taker to answer 93 forced-choice questions (choose 1 of 2 possible answers) to determine which of the two sides we lean more towards in each of the four aspects.

In the end, each individual receives a unique profile set type out of the 16 possible combinations, such as “Introvert-Sensing-Thinking-Perception” or “Extravert-Intuition-Feeling-Judging”.

Our “type” helps us understand our preferences, strengths, weaknesses, and compatibility with others and thus can affect the career path we choose to undertake.

Breaking down the aspects

Let’s take a look at what these aspects mean.

Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)

“Outward-turning” (extraversion) refers to the tendency to be sociable and energized by action and people, while “inward-turning” (introversion) refers to the tendency to be more thoughtful and preferring to have deep conversations with fewer people.

It is a case of either focusing on the internal world of ideas and reflections, or to experience life through the external world of behaviour, action, people, and things.

Perceiving: Sensing (S) – Intuition (N)

How do we perceive and make sense of the world around us? Sensing people prefer precedents, facts, and details. On the other hand, intuitive people love to explore relationships, patterns, and imagination.

Being dominant in one area significantly affects how we habitually see things.

Judging: Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)

This part of the personality predisposes us to how we make decisions on a regular basis. Scoring high for thinking (T) means that one is able to stay consistent, logical, and objective during the decision-making process while people who prefer feeling (F) will consider the emotions and the needs of other people.

Put simply, thinking people emphasize tasks while feeling people are more into social relationships.

Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

The last dimension of personality involves our preference for either Judging (Thinking – Feeling) or Perceiving (Sensing – Intuition) when it comes to dealing with the outside world (i.e., behavior, action, people, and things).

A judging individual will want things to be settled quickly and will exhibit either thinking or feeling styles in their decision-making process, whereas a perceptive individual will be more open and flexible to views and less interested in coming up with conclusions.

He or she is more interested in perceiving the world through either sensing or intuition.

Personality types & career choices

Upon identification, the individual’s personality profile is presented as four-letter acronyms such as “ISFJ” or “ENTP”. Here is a distribution of MBTI Types (based on U.S. Population in 1996).

Everyone falls into one of these combinations, and the resulting personality that arises from their interactions creates the 16 unique profiles we see from the table above.

The following are just a couple of career descriptions and the specific personality types which I believe would fit them.

Do check them out after you’re done with the actual MBTI or the online version. If not, try having a look to see which of these descriptions resonate with you.

ISTJ & INTJ – Software Engineers / Computer Programmers

Dealing mostly with codes, software engineers and computer programmers tend to work alone. Therefore, Introverts would probably fit well.

Depending on the nature of their work, they can lean to either sensing or intuition, each with their own benefits.

For work involving maintenance and enhancement of software systems, a tendency towards sensing is advantageous since they generally favor working within pre-existing structures or systems and coming up with practical solutions.

For those who do more research and developmental projects, an intuitive mind is key as they typically provide the innovations required during the early stages of a fresh project.

They also have to be technically oriented and stay logical and objective in their work. Individuals who function independently and are adept at regulating their internal emotions are often in demand.

This is because they need organized and decisive people who are disciplined enough to see through laborious projects.

Individuals who score high for Judging often desire achievement and strive to seek closure to any projects through comprehensive planning.

ESTP & ISTP – Computer Technical Support Specialists

The important thing for a computer tech support specialist is to have a liking for hands-on experience. They must be able to sense what technical problems are occurring and troubleshoot it in the quickest possible manner.

Because the problems they face are typically immediate, what is imperative to them is the here-and-now and how they actually resolve urgent issues.

As most of their workplace problems are solved through their logical and objective diagnoses and analyses, computer tech support specialists are less concerned about their own emotions or other people’s.

Even when asking clients questions while investigating the source of the problem, their focus stays on the accurate interpretation of the issue.

For the computer tech support specialist, they just need to maintain their objectivity in their communication.

Since there is usually more than one method to troubleshoot an error, computer tech support specialists also have to maintain a Perceiving frame of mind and consider multiple problems causes before coming up with a variety of potential solutions.

ENFP & ENTP – Marketers

Excellent social and communication skills are a must for any marketer as they meet with various individuals within the company on a regular basis and typically engage in persuading existing and potential clients. Hence, people with an extraverted outlook who can make conversations with different types of people are ideal.

As marketers are responsible for forecasting demand, they need to be insightful enough to set their eyes on the future and recognize opportunities for the organization. They’re expected to unleash their creativity and think out-of-the-box when it comes to marketing strategies and advertising. Therefore, individuals would preferably have an intuitive mindset.

In decision making, there are two possible kinds of marketers: one who listens to their emotions and pays attention to the feelings of others, and another that relies on their sense of objectivity and practicality. Both are equally competent.

Marketers as a whole are expected to be highly adaptable to the changing business landscape. They should be flexible with their thinking and habitually keep an open mind.

ESFP & ISFP – Artists

Artists love to observe and interact with the world using their senses and are hence very perceptive to their environment. Such sensory acuteness is a testament as to why they favor hands-on experience.

They prefer to enjoy life as it unfolds instead of leading a structured and routine life. Just as how a painter embraces each and every stroke of his or her brush tip on the canvas.

Their keen sense of aesthetics and beauty is rooted in their deep self-awareness of their own emotions. It even extends to the feelings of the people they interact with, so much so that artists are capable of picking up the subtlest emotions conveyed through body language.

This inclination towards sensory perceptivity and their heightened awareness of emotions leads them to create expressive art pieces.

As artists, they are very creative and innovative individuals who often choose not to conform to societal norms and experiment with new experiences and/or ways of doing things.

ENFJ & INFJ – Designers

Introverted or extraverted designers have their own communication methods when dealing with clients and creative directors to determine the requirements of their end product.

More importantly, though, designers of any field need to understand the relationships between information and data and connect the dots before they can come up with good designs.

While graphic designers need to grasp what appeals to the intended audience and effectively deliver the messages that their clients wish to convey, a fashion designer is also expected to be skilled at discerning existing fashion trends and making future fashion predictions.

All in all, they need to see beyond what is already out there and imagine new possibilities, and this is done through their intuitive sense. They also need to understand the emotions and needs of their end-users as it gives them an edge in their designs.

Designers have to consider the clearly-defined goals involved in different stages of the design process before they can even begin their work. Their work performance is, therefore, highly dependent on their judgment and decision-making abilities.

INFP – Writers & Editors

A lot of reflection and thinking happens in a writer’s head before they can express themselves adequately with words. To do that, a writer spends time alone with his thoughts and ideas. Without a propensity for introversion, it might be hard for someone to enjoy the writing process.

At the same time, writers tend to be idealistic and forward-looking people. They’re always looking for ways to inspire others with their writing. As abstract thinkers, they’re very interested in what their subconscious mind is telling them.

Writers tend to be in touch with their own emotions as they normally write their pieces with the intention of arousing the reader’s emotions. Their great sense of self-awareness of their own feelings helps them relate to how others feel.

They would rather not jump into conclusions too quickly, preferring to stay curious and to indulge in their imagination.

Since they don’t make decisions hastily, they would rather not work under deadlines and have greater autonomy for their work. Such open-mindedness facilitates their generation of ideas in their mind to help them write better.

The “INFP” profile is notably known as the personality type for many of the greatest writers in the world. Some famous individuals who’ve been said to be INFP are George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Edgar Allan Poe, and J.K. Rowling.

Here are the ESTJ, ENTJ, ESFJ, INTP & ISFJ career profiles.

I’m an INTJ. What About You?

Personally, I think that even though the MBTI does speak volumes about our individual tendencies, we are still influenced by our peers, the media, and other cultural and social factors. It’s easier for us to pursue careers that are best suited to our temperaments, but only if we actually love the work we do.

Fortunately, we have the conscious choice to do things differently from what our personality dictates.

Just as a leopard never changes its spots, one’s personality may be harder to change, but you can work hard to align yourself to the expectations and demands of your dream career and remind yourself to cultivate the right habits.

Take these words from the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, as parting advice:

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become a habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

The post Maximizing Career Choices with MBTI Personality Type appeared first on Hongkiat.

Mijlo, a Dutch-based collective which has a backpack project you can back on Kickstarter, has reached out to a group of creatives from all over the world, asking them the essentials they have in their bags. On their site you can find about 100 of these designer bag exposés, so what we have here is just a sneak peek into what you can probably find in a designer’s bag.

Jiani Lu

Juani Lu is a designer, photographer and bookbinder from Toronto, who currently lives in Dubai. It is evident just how passionate she is about her craft with the particular items she uses for her craft like thread and the paper cutter. The camera, and a set of pens and markers in her bag complete her artistic endeavours.

Fabrizio Querida

Fabrizio Querida is a designer at a graphic design bureau based in Barcelona called Querida (which means lover in Spanish). The array of things featured in the picture display a quirky sense of style as well as humor. The subtle nods to pop culture are pretty cool as well.

Leta Sobierajski

Leta Sobierajski is a designer and Creative Director based in New York city, which explains the mug. What makes this display unique is the different combinations of item that seem to go together such as the radical pineapple with sunglasses and the lipstick holding figurine.

Amanda Cole

Amanda Cole is a graphic designer and illustrator from Newcastle, Australia. She is also co-founder of the Shorthand design studio. Instead of going the conventional route and taking a picture of her items, Amanda went with what she knew. You can really tell that she dials it back down to the real essentials.

Justin Broadbent

Justin Broadbent is an artist based in Canada. Judging by his collection of items military bag, Justin is a fan of coffee and skateboarding. It’s highly likely that he’s 32 years old and dabbles with different mediums of art.

Jordan Blyth

Jordan Blyth is the owner of a small design studio, JB Studio, that specializes in identity design and brand development. His fairly minimalistic style is depicted here by his choices which are black and white in color.

Ed Nacional

Ed Nacional is a freelance designer and illustrator from Brooklyn, New York. As you see, Ed is a fan of trade marks and symbols. He also uses the stylish field notes notebook and only takes a few things along with him.

Daniel Brokstad

What really strikes a person about this photograph is the arrangement of the stuff Daniel has. As a freelance graphic designer that also works in photography and illustration, the Norwegian has a particular elegant style that’s depicted by his accessories.

Kasia Kurek

Kasia is a Melbourne based freelance graphic designer. She is inspired by various people like Wes Anderson and Saul Bass and loves to experiment with different creative elements. Her playful and creative nature comes alive through her things in this photo.

Calen Knauf

Calen Knauf makes up half of the Knauf and Brown studio based in Vancouver, Canada. The contents of his bag are kind of weird: a pocket camera, notebook, sunglasses, a handy pocket knife and an old cell phone.

Adam Gray

A quick glance at the contents inside the bag and you can tell that Adam Gray is someone who loves the outdoors. The artist from San Francisco has a huge imagination as indicated by his selection. Definitely someone with a wide range of interests.

Polly Stanton

Polly uses photography, videos and sounds to reflect her view of the way human’s experience the world with all its features. In addition to her art, she also works in film and television which is reflected in the items that she carries in her bag.

Thorbjorn Gudnason

Originally from Denmark, Thorbjorn Gudnason is a New York based designer. He has a fondness for creating ideas that combine both Scandanavian simplicity and New York mentality which we can see. The contrast between his passport and the rest of his items which are black in color really highlight his taste.

Levi van Veluw

Levi van Veluw is a Dutchman who has produced varying artworks in a combination of different disciplines. The powertools displayed here showcases just how much he plays around with all sorts of materials.

Thibault Zimmermann

French artist Thimbault Zimmermann is a part of the Zim&Zou brand. Their specialty lies in creating wonderful installations out of phsycial objects although their preferred medium is paper. Thimbault’s vibrant personality comes through below.

Joe Perez

Joe Perez is a creative director and graphic artist based in Los Angeles, California. His clients consist of a lot of well-known musicians if you didn’t guess by the guitar and his general style.

Yah-Leng Yu

Yah-Leng Yu has worked with some renowned names in fashion. Currently she is one of the co-founder’s and a creative director at Foreign Policy Design, which is based in Singapore. You can sense the tropical vibe by the garments pictured below and the particular rustic sense of asthetic.

Adriana Barros

Adriana is a founder and award-winning designer of Scene 360’s Illusion. Scene 360 is a magazine featuring art, design, and films. As one would expect, as someone who is in charge, she needs a lot of tools in her bags, be it make up or artistic tools.

Amy Woodside

Amy Woodside is an artist and founder of OKREAL, a site which features stories of everyday women from all over the globe. Her own story unfolds her before our eyes. She comes across as down to earth and someone who appreicates the simple things in life.

Davy Rudolph

As the current Interactive Art Director at Apple, Davy Rudolph is someone who understands what the company is about. His Californian roots are showcased here in the form of the sunglasses and shoes. A fusion of elegance and simplicity.

Share with us what you have in yours in the comments below.

The post What These Designers Carry Inside Their Bags [Photos] appeared first on Hongkiat.

In this article, I’m going to talk about how we are turning into machines without realizing it, the impact this has on our global society, and a potential solution to break out of this. My goal is to help you to take charge of unnecessary machine-like demands that modern computer technology has been imposing on us.

Hi, I’m Luis. First off, I don’t hate technology. In fact, I make a living teaching it to my students. I am a Professor of Communications Media at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and I study the impacts of technology in learning.

I gave a TEDx Talk titled, “Breaking Free From Technology” at TEDxPhoenixville in the United States. In it, I presented research results on the impacts of technology on human behavior along with a provocative thought that when you use computers excessively, you won’t be free of side effects.

Not safe from turning into computers

The human brain wasn’t made to process large amounts of information continuously without rest. Our brains have limited capacities, will get tired, and break down over time if we continue to abuse them. It isn’t rocket science or science fiction; it is plain common sense. The idea that we can emulate the machine, without experiencing side effects, is dangerous.

In reality, societies are already emulating the pace of living of the machine and setting societal norms based on computer behavior. We are using smartphones and iPads at the dinner table, tweeting about an emergency first before calling for help, and working not from 9-to-5 but 9-to-forever.

We are constantly being bombarded by email alerts, Facebook notifications, tweets, texts, etc. and working during vacations and almost always well into the night. And we let that happen to us.

Man and computer are different

If you haven’t noticed, the human brain wasn’t made to work on a constant flow of information overload. It is a major error to comparatively measure the speed and processing power of modern computers with our working brains, especially as a means to dictate work productivity levels and expectations.

Man and machine, they are very different. When our computers don’t perform to our expectations, we put in more RAM or simply get a faster computer. But when we’re talking about humans, we can’t be working 60 hours a week, even though this is the accepted reality of our times today.

Being connected is actually forcing us to work longer and faster than before. Thus we force our brains to work constantly like a computer. Ironically, computers must function logically to work. Humans often behave illogically, but amazingly, we “work” even under these circumstances.

What’s in store for us?

Our relationship with computers will take us through three phases:

1. Process of transformation

We are living now in the middle of what I call the process of transformation. It is a period where humans are starting to become robotic in behavior due to high frequency and extended exposure of computer use – the higher the frequency and exposure, the quicker the transformation.

In this phase, humans are more humans than the machine (in behavior).

3. Computer Robot Syndrome

After the transformation process, the global community will exhibit computer robot syndrome. It will also be a temporary phase, but different from the process of transformation, humans will behave more like machines, resulting in high levels of logic, immediacy, and quick behavioral responses.

During this phase, creativity will take a significant dip.

3. Total burn out

In about a decade, computer use will accentuate to a level that the human brain won’t be able to catch up, resulting in a total global burn out era. I call this phase the human reversal phase. 

As soon as our society experiences a mass epidemic of anxiety, millions are going to burn out and realize that computers are not an extension of man, but a tool that reminds us how human we are.

In the end, machines will end up reinforcing our humanity – making us realize our limitations, and how human we are. It is in this phase that humans will behave more like humans as we understand and question machine behavior.

The bad news is that until the human reversal phase arrives, we are temporarily going to behave like a machine and see no wrong with it, working ourselves to death, and accepting it as a fact of life.

Final words

Thanks to God, I experienced my technology burn out. As a consequence, I have personally experienced the human reversal phase. I am not a machine, and no computerized device is an extension of me. I am now 25 pounds lighter, still, work long hours but will take breaks in between, honor my wife, and can even find time to go to Church on Sundays, and exercise.

You don’t want to be an extension of anything, especially of a machine, trust me. Taking a step back from using the computer is like taking an aspirin when having a fever. It helps, but it doesn’t solve the problem. It only fixes the consequences.

It is only after a total technology burns out from mental exhaustion and fatigue that folks will stop their computer-like neurotic behaviors. Brace yourselves; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

The post Man to Machine: How to Reboot Your Humanity appeared first on Hongkiat.

This interesting group of people who blow their nose loudly in the class and show their gratitude to the teacher by knocking on the desk when the lecture ends, also possess sharp self-organizing skills embedded in their personalities.

Coming from a ‘go-with-the-flow’ kind of culture, I was initially irked by their disciplined demeanor. But with the passage of time, I saw in them these little things that helped me get my life together, not just during studies but later in personal and professional life as well.

The following is a summary of my observations and experiences regarding self-organization that I learnt from my fellow German students.

Read Also:  15 Examples of Obsessively Organized Photography [Photos]

Never mess with Mr. Uhr

Punctuality is actually one of the most important aspects of self-organization that vouches for a person’s credibility, trustworthiness and his level of commitment towards a task.

Although everything and everyone in Germany observe punctuality, German students follow Mr. Uhr (Mr. Clock) with almost religious fervor. You would not expect them to be late in reaching the class. Even for parties and dinner invitations, they would reach right on time.

Inspired by my German friends, I started taking punctuality quite seriously. Initially, it was hard, but with the passage of time I devised my own method to avoid being late.

For instance, for each appointment I make mini-timelines that don’t just include when to leave the house, but smaller milestones like when should I be dressed already, and by what time should I be finished with breakfast, etc.

This way I am seldom late in reaching somewhere and never have to mess with Mr. Uhr again.

Life has no meaning without a pocket planner

One thing you will find in every German student’s bag is a pocket planner. From classes and sports activities to family gathering and even dates, these small colorful diaries carry all sorts of appointments and upcoming engagements.

They even put in recurring tasks in their pocket planners so one appointment never converges another.

I personally adopted this habit a little differently. As my bag is already pretty stuffed, I don’t opt for a pocket planner but prefer to do all the scheduling through my phone’s calendar.

This small habit has saved me from embarrassment and panic of overlapping appointments so many times, and the blank spaces in the schedule remind me about all the free time I have for myself and my family.

The word ‘laser focus’ was invented for them

We read the word ‘laser focus’ a lot these days, in management articles and motivational speeches etc. But if you want to see an embodiment of this word, then German students are the right specimen. They have a strong tendency to fix their focus on one goal and seldom look sideways.

Today’s world is full of distractions and keeping a sharp focus can get pretty grueling. But through observation, I realized that with certain small practices can help you focus better.

• Set realistic goals for your tasks. If your goals are realistic and achievable, you’ll be more focused towards completing them successfully.
• Putting your mobile phone on silent mode can do wonders with your concentration.
• Take short breaks during a task. You will always come back to work with a fresh mind and a focus reload.
• A simple habit of list-making is a killer focus technique that not only eliminates stress and anxiety, but also gives a boost to your memory.

Recommended Reading: 5 ways to keep yourself focused at work

Coordination is the ‘Hauptsache’

During the student years we often had to do group work with our German counterparts. I didn’t mind it, but the thing that annoyed me to the core were group meetings.

No matter how trivial an assignment is, my German classmates always insisted on frequent group meetings, and after each meeting one of us was required to send ‘minutes of the meeting’ to the rest of the group.

Irritated, I once asked one of my German friends why they hold so many meetings, some of which last no more than five minutes. He replied, "Koordination ist die Hauptsache" (Coordination is the main thing).

His answer made total sense, that it’s not the meetings or emails, the purpose is to keep everyone in the group on the same page.

The lesson I took from it was that apart from group work, coordination also has a big role to play in a person’s self-organization. For instance, I found that when it comes to a task or assignment, staying in communication with your teacher produced better results.

Similarly in the professional life, keeping your boss or manager in the loop of communication on a certain project makes sure that you’re going in the right direction.

To sum up

Who doesn’t like a clutter-free organized life? The problem however comes when people actually try to get their life organized but don’t really know where to start.

I was once like that, lazy and demotivated. But when I started observing my German classmates around me, I realized as how much I was missing.

From this article I certainly don’t mean to suggest that German students are the perfect specimen of super human beings. In fact, some of their attributes are totally bizarre on so many levels.

However, if you see something good in someone, always make it a point to appreciate it and if possible, try to integrate it in your personality.

The things that I have mentioned above are seemingly minor activities, but if taken up seriously, they have the ability to turn the tables in your life. In today’s interesting world there are a hundred tools and tactics to keep yourself organized, however they all require you to first take control of your life.

The post Self-Organization Lessons You Can Learn from German Students appeared first on Hongkiat.