More Successful Outcomes At the Doctors Office

It’s easy to become flustered once you’re in an exam room, and the questions you may have had in mind to ask your doctor can quickly disappear. You can make your next appointment a stress-free success with a bit of preparation. Try these tips: • Take notes: If you’re having specific symptoms, keep a journal of the day-to-day changes. Add details like what you eat, what time, changes in mood or appetite, as any little detail might be important. If you’re taking medications, include those as well so your doctor is fully informed. Make notes, too, of questions you have for your doctor – your visit is a two-way conversation and you want to maximize both your own time and your doctor’s. • Timing is everything: Delays at the doctor’s office can increase feelings of anxiety and nervousness. If you can, make appointments first thing in the morning. That could help you avoid the inevitable delays as doctors see other patients and appointment times run over. Try to make sure your day is as free as possible so you don’t stress about your next task if you end up waiting. • Be honest: Not being entirely honest or withholding information from your doctor can be a detriment to you and your health. Remember: your doctor is there to help you. If you find you have a hard time actually saying something you’re embarrassed about–try practicing it out loud in a mirror before your appointment. • Be flexible: You may have a specific treatment in mind when you go into your appointment, but your doctor is a professional. It’s a good idea to at least listen to all the options.

5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastinating is a learned behavior. The good news is that it can be combated, as long as you’re focused on how to prevent it. Here are 5 steps to help you stop procrastinating and get in gear. 1. Get Rid of Distractions – Turn off the phone, shut the door, put on headphones, whatever it takes to drown out tempting diversions. 2. Break Tasks Into Chunks – Things like “wash dishes, do laundry, and vacuum” are more specific, and chances are you’ll be more apt to tackle those tasks than the gargantuan-sounding “clean the house.” 3. Do Your Hardest Task First – The sense of accomplishment when you complete the biggest item on your list first will help propel you forward toward crossing off more things on your list. 4. Perfect is the Enemy of Done – Keep in mind that if you’re only striving for perfection, you’re less likely to even start a project. 5. Reward Yourself – Give yourself a pat on the back for getting stuff done, whether the reward is a night out or simply a favorite treat.

5 Tips to Keep Healthy and Strong

Here are 5 ways to keep healthy! • Working out. U.S. Health and Human Services recommends that the average adult get at least 150 minutes/week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes/week of vigorous aerobic activity. Generally, that’s 30 minutes of physical activity every day. Too much exercise can result in exhaustion, muscle fatigue and injury. Average adults should aim to break a sweat – if you’re completely exhausted after the gym, you might be going too hard. • Walking. It’s great exercise but if you do it too much, you may end up with chronic foot pain. The repetitive motion can cause plantar fasciitis (also common in women who wear high heels). Your best bet is to get good orthotic inserts with sturdy arch support for your walks. Walking daily is a great New Year’s resolution! • Getting consistent sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours (for adults) per night. Oversleeping on weekends builds up carbon dioxide and doesn’t make up for lack of sleep during the week. Think daily, not weekly cumulative hours. • Dieting. People who try different “fad” diets often gain back more weight than they’ve lost. If you want to lose weight, talk to a nutritionist or your doctor for a long-term diet that’s right for you. • Taking supplements. Many adults take one or more vitamins or supplements every day. However, too many supplements (without your doctor’s approval) can interact with other medications and have serious side effects. Vitamin K, for example, can reduce the effectiveness of blood thinner medication. For more info, go to: https://ods.od.nih.gov

Find More Free Time

Where does the time go? Even if you work a normal schedule and get a full night’s sleep, you still have about 50 free hours during the week – but most people say they still can’t find free time for hobbies and passions. Take these steps to find more time for YOU this winter: 1. Map your current time use. First track how you use your time. Keep a log for a week or two to get a good representation of how you spend your time now. Try the app Chronos for Android and iPhone for an easy-to-use and comprehensive time log. 2. Create a list of things you really want to do. Try to come up with a list of 50-75 things. Make some of them easy one-day things (visit a museum) that you can quickly accomplish and others things you tend to put off (practicing guitar). 3. Cut out unnecessary time-wasters and replace with something from your list. Cut out the time spent watching TV, surfing the internet, or attending too many functions. Start a new schedule and prioritize things that make you happy instead of time-wasters.

Drive the North Cascade Hwy

Fall colors are a great excuse to take road trips. If you have time and find a sunny day jump in the car and go for it! SR 20 closes every winter sometime in November depending on snow depth and does not generally reopen until May. The pass is 5,477 ft. above sea level! It is one of the state’s oldest highways; it was roughed out in 1897. Before that it was a well-used Native American trading route. It is the states northernmost route across the mountains and was the 1st designated National Scenic Highway in the United States. From Marblemount to Winthrop you will want to stop several times to take pictures. The most scenic drive starts in the North Cascades National Park and is absolutely spectacular past a turquoise Lake Diablo and crystal blue Ross Lake. I have taken the drive once and will not forget it! You will want to consider staying the night or plan on a full day. Winthrop offers many great restaurant and lodging options. Enjoy the trip!

Seattle Tap Water - Countries Finest

You probably don’t even think about or consider the source of the water that comes out of our taps every day. We take for granted that we have stable clean and nearly contaminate free water. Seattle area customers are totally spoiled! When you travel to other parts of the country and drink tap water you realize how good we actually have it. Quality drinking water for a major metropolitan like Seattle is not something that just happens. City planners were thinking ahead, and we benefit from their foresight. Humans can last up to 21 days without food, but you can barely make it to day 3 without water. How many acres of untouched forest does it take to keep our water clean and desirable to drink? The Cedar River Watershed supplies most of our tap water and has 90,638 acres of land protected for our supply. Owned by the City of Seattle and topping out at 5,414-foot-tall Meadow Mountain this land has a rich diversity of plants, animals and first growth forests. Coming from the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains the water is so clean it requires no filtration! The geology of the upper watershed acts as its own filtration with surface water seeping through a region of deep and porous glacial outwash before it gathers into an underground aquifer. This water then resurfaces in springs and creeks along the Cedar River. From the city’s founding a stable water source was a top priority. Before 1880 water was provided by several different private companies from local streams. The Cedar River was first proposed in the 1870’s but the question was how to bring this much water into the rapidly growing city. The original pipeline was made of reinforced wooden pipe “big enough so a small boy could stand upright in it”. By 1950 the wooden pipe was gone and three large mains carried over 162,000,000 gallons of Cascade Mountain water into Seattle every single day!

Me Time - Carve Out Time For Yourself

Although the idea of “me time” has become more popular, there are people who equate being alone with loneliness—and no one wants that. Solitude can seem hard to find if you live in a busy city or a crowded house, but intentionally carving out time for yourself can have positive mental and physical health benefits. If, that is, you embrace being alone. Experts say that if being alone is your choice, you’re much more likely to enjoy the solitude and less likely to succumb to loneliness. But this doesn’t mean you have to become a hermit to be happy alone. It means you’re able to find happiness in solo pursuits of your choosing— exercising, birdwatching, creating art, or even working. If you struggle to do something you love when you’re alone, you may want to try an activity that boosts endorphin levels. After all, if you’re getting a happiness high from the activity, you’re more apt to do it again. Physical activity like gardening or beachcombing can work here (you don’t have to go to the gym to be physical), but you can also do volunteer work. Studies show volunteering makes people feel more fulfilled, and solo volunteer work may even be something you can do from home—think preparing meals for houseless people or making hats for preemie babies. The Japanese practice of “forest bathing” is a poetic term for something research has shown time and again: Spending time in nature is very good for us. Taking a solo hike in the woods is great, but movement isn’t necessary. You could knit in the park on your lunch break or watch flickers dig for ants in the backyard. It can also be a meditative experience, immersing yourself in the natural environment to allow you to take it in with all of your senses. Treat yourself to something special that you usually need company to justify, like dinner at a fancy restaurant or a ticket to the opera. And this doesn’t need to be expensive or even outside the home. You could cook a favorite meal, for instance, served on your good dishes. You don’t have to skimp on things you’d enjoy just because you’re flying solo.