How to Learn a Little Every Day

Something can be said for knowing a little bit about a lot of things. Being an everyman or everywoman can propel you to a more efficient, productive and fulfilled personal and professional life. Whether it’s keeping up on current events, a new hobby or interest or simply any new idea, taking a small amount of time to learn something every day is a great way to add to your personal knowledgebase.
Incorporating bits of learning into your every day experience puts you on a path to lifelong learning. Lifelong learning keeps you engaged in your environment, builds your knowledgebase, ensures that you use your mind, provides a sense of accomplishment and simply makes you feel good. The knowledge you gain, tools you get and experiences you have with learning a little bit everyday all work together to achieve real personal advancement.
Here are a few thoughts on how to incorporate learning a new thing each day into your routine.
Make it part of your routine and give it 20 minutes
Are you a “getting things done” kind of person? Devote a small amount of time each day, 20 minutes, to reading some new article or book chapter or watching a video. On average we are all doing way too much in our daily experience. However, a great way to feel good about your day is to start off with an accomplishment by learning something new, exercising or completing a work task. You might try all three before you start your “real” day, but let’s stick to the learning a little bit a day theme.
If you can’t start your day with a little time for learning something new, try doing it at lunch time or at the end of the day. Take an article to lunch or add a video to watch to your iPod. After you have shut down your computer for the day pull out your “learning” file and read a new article.
Think of learning a little bit in your daily routine as simple compound interest on your personal knowledgebase. If you were to put away money every day in an account that earned simple interest the balance on the account would accumulate exponentially by the daily addition of principal. The same concept works for your knowledgebase, add to it daily and your personal abilities will benefit exponentially.
Think About What Interests You and Surprise Yourself
What ideas, information or things interest you? Answer that question for a moment. Once you have your answer – find resources (hopefully free, see below) on those subjects. Organize your interests whether on paper or electronically in a way that can deliver bits of new information to you on a regular basis. For example, keep a folder of articles either physically or electronically. Pick something out of that folder and dig into it at least once a day.
By the way, web videos of skate boarders smashing through plate glass windows for the sheer fun of it, doesn’t necessarily add to your lifelong learning experience – unless you add it to the what not to do in life column. So, make sure you choose some piece of information that fits within your personal goals or might simply add value to your knowledgebase.
Once you have your interests settled – surprise yourself. At least every few days choose something to learn that may not be on the top of your list as an interest or might not even be on your list at all. These things tend to be really useful later – if not directly then indirectly. For example, I would venture that most folks reading this article are not heavily into Japanese Origami. However, twenty minutes of learning how to fold a paper swan might come in handy years later as a way to change what’s on your mind and bring some focus back into a really stressful work day.
Use free resources
Organized education can be expensive even though a necessity. However, learning a little bit everyday can be virtually free if you take the time to find valuable resources. Use the web but also understand its limitations and use your public library.
When using the web, recognize that there are incredible bits and pieces of information to learn from all over the web from established media outlets, universities, governments, and other sources. Once you found some of these resources that interest you, see if they serve up their information through Really Simple Syndication – RSS.
RSS feeds can be a great way to find little bits of new information. Practically, all e-mail programs support RSS and there are many web-based and desktop programs that also support it. An RSS reader can help you organize your “learning folder”, in fact it could be that folder.
Public libraries are an incredible source of free learning. Find your local library, get your card and take the time to find books and other information that fit your interests.
Overall, it doesn’t take long to find a small bit of useful and interesting information that you can retain.
Take notes, spend some time reviewing
Learning something new also requires you to retain all or some of what you’ve learned. You need to make the most of those 20 minutes of everyday. So, take some notes – in a journal, on the article or on a sticky note.
One of the most effective ways of making sure you retain something is by getting that piece of learning past your short term memory. A good way to do just that is by taking some action beyond reading or watching. Note taking can accomplish that by requiring your brain to process the information in another way. Gather those notes because you are going to use them later.
Once in a while, at the end of a week or month, use your 20 minutes to look back at your notes. Looking back at your notes will ensure that your knowledgebase was added to and that you have gotten past short term retention.
Try these few simple tips for learning a little bit every day and enjoy the added value you have created in your personal knowledgebase.

Written by Ari J. Markenson, J.D., M.P.H. Ari is a healthcare attorney, graduate school professor and writer who regularly tries to learn something new as a goal toward personal and professional achievement.

5 Simple Activities to Get Healthy and Have Fun

Do you groan when you think of trying to lose weight and exercise? Most of us do! Unfortunately, for so many the very idea of losing weight breeds negative thoughts and feelings. You may even feel as if it’s an impossible challenge.

After all, who wants to think of climbing onto those machines in the gym for 30 minutes to take off the pounds? Or even worse, doing sit-ups at home. Yuck!
If losing weight has become a drag, you need to rethink your strategy.
You’ll be glad to discover that you don’t need to go to the gym to lose weight and get the body you want! Here are five simple activities that will help you get healthy while having a blast.

1. Play group sports
   One great idea for losing weight the fun way is to play group sports. Next time, instead of dragging yourself to the gym and those dreaded machines, check out the recreation center in your area.
   • Start playing soccer, softball, volleyball, or basketball. With these activities, you’ll be burning off the calories while enjoying yourself at the same time!
   • Try a group exercise class, such as yoga, reaction cycling, or aerobics. I go to the 6am reaction cycling class almost every morning because I’m motivated by the instructor, and I love the energy it gives me.
2. Go for a walk with your friends
   Another great way to get active and improve your health is to start walking with friends. Meet during the week to take a brisk walk together, either in the morning before your day begins, during lunch, or in the evening after work.
   • Schedule your walk into your day as social time. While you’re walking, take time to catch up and chat with each other. This way it feels more like a social experience instead of exercise.

   Our brains evolved when humans used to walk 12 miles per day. That means in order to have maximum brain power, you need to get moving. One way I do this is by taking walks with my mom, or going on jogs with my girlfriend. It’s always quality time.

3. Dance
   Dancing is another great way to burn off mega calories while you have a great time. You’ll get your heart pumping, and you’ll enjoy an awesome total workout!
   • Take a dance class.
   • Go out to a nightclub where you can dance the night away. This is something I used to do every weekend with my friends. Participating in active activities, instead of something like the movies, is an incredible way to get those calories burned.
   • Get some dance videos so you can dance at home… Tom Cruise style if you know what I mean.
4. Beautify your yard or cultivate a garden
   Gardening and yard work are both activities that burn calories so you can lose some weight. Planting flowers or vegetables, pulling weeds, raking, hauling dirt, and doing other gardening chores can really help you get in shape.
   • When you’re squatting, bending, and yanking out those weeds, you’ll be working muscles you didn’t even know you had!

   I personally don’t know how to garden all that well. What I did was volunteer at the Rutgers Garden, a place I’ve visited often over the years. Now people will teach me how to do garden, I’ll get to sit in on lecture from gardening experts, and I’ll get my gardening exercise in as well.

5. Play with your family
   Even something as simple as playtime outdoors with the family can help you lose some pounds and stay healthy. Whether it’s running, Frisbee, or playing tag together, just having fun with the family can give you some much needed activity.
   • Visit a park and go hiking on the trails.
   • Climb a tree in your backyard.
   • Go swimming or skiing.

   I recently introduced my mom to a personal trainer. She started out slow, but now she’s up to 3 days a week with the trainer, 1 hour exercise each morning, and a 30 minute walk each night. She lost 12 pounds so far, and feeling awesome. This is definitely having a positive overall affect on the family.
   The possibilities are endless! You’ll have fun spending quality time with your family, and teaching your children a healthy lifestyle as well.
   Although these activities are fun, regular activity and eating a healthy diet go hand in hand when you want to lose weight. You can’t count one weekend of gardening as your exercise for the week. Vary your activities for more fun, and do something to get moving every day.

Consistency is the key to reaching your weight loss goal.
As you can see, exercising and getting in shape don’t have to be boring or unpleasant. There are plenty of easy activities you can do to lose weight, improve your health, and have fun!

Written by Alex Shalman

Research project to make barra grow faster

Queensland’s James Cook University has been awarded $350,000 in federal funding to investigate which families of barramundi grow the fastest.

Doctor Dean Jerry says the university hopes to cultivate a strain of fast-growing, consistently-sized barramundi.

He says that will create a higher turnover of fish bred in captivity.

“Any production system, the longer you have to grow the product, the more it costs you in the end to grow that product,” he says.

“So what we are trying to do is identify those really fast growing fish, they’re the most profitable to grow, and eliminate the farmers having to rear these inferior fish.”

NSW will sell artesian water

The NSW Government plans to sell off water from the artesian basin.

Thirty per cent of water saved under the cap and bore program will be sold to the highest bidder.

That amonts to 1.2 gigalites.

NSW Water Minister Phil Costa says the money will be spent on more water saving projects.

“It’s a win, because what we can do is then use those dollars to assist others to have theirs capped and piped.”

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