Home Office

Working from home created a new chaotic household disaster. Moving your office, files, laptop, and your work stuff to your home has become a tricky business.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.


But no problem has no solution at Ja’s Lifestyle! We had the honor of re-interviewing Jessica Abou Jaoude and get some ideas and a simple focus-list to turn your home into a more suitable office, that ensures your well-being, and helps you get your work done.

Stability


Stability comes first in this list as to its big importance in this process. Having a constant “Stable” place in your house that you can use all the time as your office, helps you get your work done faster, more efficiently, and so much easier.

Stay away from dining tables, the bedroom, and a very busy living room. Any place that can trigger unwanted distractions even falling asleep, should be avoided as much as possible. A closed balcony can do the work. It is spacious, bright, and isolated.


Location


After deciding on the area of your new home office, it’s important to filter your choices based on 2 important things: A window in front of the desk, and behind us a wall and not another room.


Having a window right in front of your desk will help get the sunlight directly into the room, which will increase the room’s brightness to protect your eye vision. If there’s no window, choose a room with a painting in front of your desk. It is important to have a painting or a view in front of you, so you can look away and shift your focus to something natural other than your screen.


Ambiance

Choose an ambiance for your new home office that suits your style, but is comforting and professional at the same time. Who said you can’t be comfortable in your office while being focus and dedicated to finishes these files.


A coloring range can vary between white, light grey. oak. Some color that is light and sight comforting. Light colors make you feel in a wider space too, which can boost your motivation.


Decoration

For decoration, you need to keep it simple as an office, but fuller as a house. You can add some plants, flowers, a piece of art hanging, or for example, dispose of a collection that you own of your interest. It is highly recommended to add a cactus next to your laptop, it can absorb the toxic radiations. The plants should be limited to oxygen providers ones.


Organize


Because it is your current everyday office, you need to keep everything organized and unmovable from the desk. For example, those files, these pens, papers, anything that you work constantly with, should always and never leave the desk. Plus you should buy yourself an office/desk chair it will help keep your posture straight.


Light

Light is important, the more light there is in a room, the more energy it will provide you. The room where your new office is located should always have access to an abundant source of light. Natural and artificial. During the day, the sun will do its work of lighting the room, but working at night requires lots and lots of light to keep the work environment healthy.

You’ll need general lighting, and task lighting. General light will do the sun’s work during the day, (ceiling lamp), and task light is the focused light you put on your desk for details and no shadow over your paper. And go for cool lights and not warm light. Cool light will keep your brain awake while working at night, while warm light have the tendency to make you sleepy.

Joe Assaad1 Comment

How to “house decor” well-being

Home decor is an important factor in boosting your well-being. It’s a fun activity and a necessity at the same time. So, to bring more information about the impact of good home furniture and items organization on our mental health, I allowed myself to ask my friend, Jessica Abou Jaoude, to answer some of the most popular questions related to our topic today.

 Jessica Abou Jaoude is an Alba graduate with an amazing eight years of experience in architecture-landscape-interior design-furniture consultant, who also adopt a healthy lifestyle, 

So first, How can interior design affect our mental health?

<<Interior is very important because wherever we go we might be affected by an interior ambiance. Our house – hospital – restaurants – malls. Due to quarantine lately, we might notice the importance of our interior and how it’s affecting our mental health.

To start with, it is important to know what we like and feel comfy around.

A simple exercise can answer this question to the people who don’t know what color they like. “Open your closet and search for the color you wear the most, It may help figure out the color we will need the most because it will be the color you feel comfortable in.

If you like black or neutral colors, you are more into minimalism.

This step can help you identify the style you like and feel comfortable with within your house.

To understand the importance of applying each color in the specific area,

Close your eyes and imagine redecorating your room with red ceramic tiles, red wall painting, Red lights, curtains, and bed. Then tell me how many seconds would you resist in such a Red space. Red is a yang energy color that is too active and will disturb the occupant.

Here comes the feng shui to explain and help us turn our interior into a comfy one.

It helps us by allowing us to listen to our five senses and turning the interior to be as perfect as our mother nature.

Fast food restaurant colors are yang therefore, you eat quickly and leave.

Spa and hospitals are more into blue and green relaxing colors.

Now, how can we fix our houses and bedrooms decors and make them greener:

<< First of all, we need to pick a style we like. It’s important to reduce the quantity of furniture and stuff in our room or living area fix colors to our interior (the right color to the right place) and add some greeneries.

Materials are so important and, they affect our mood and mental health as per the furniture selection and colors:

Mirrors in small places to make it bigger. Painting can help but, it depends on the drawing and where to hock it.

Lightings are so important either from the sunlight (we must have a window in each bedroom) or warm bulbs color can help stay calm and relaxed (bedroom). Cool lights can be used in spaces we need to stay focused and awake (kitchen sometimes in a living room)

Daylight can be used as task lights (in our kitchen above the island or countertop / on any desk we have or working office or space).

And finally, do green plants affect our mental health?

<<Greenery helps a lot with reducing stress and staying calm plus having a special mood, a view on our garden from either our room or reception area is always a plus And in case we don’t have this luxury we can bring the outside into the inside (feng shui style)

Adding some plants inside our house can help a lot (we must be careful about the kind of plants we pick a few plants are specific for the interior and can provide oxygen to have a healthy interior)>>

So to sum up, the interior can affect positively or negatively. It’s our job to take it seriously and make our living areas more comfortable and relaxing.

Thank you so much Jessica Abou Jaoude, for these important pieces of information you provided us with!

Stay safe, stay green, stay positive!

Joe AssaadLeave a comment

How to Social media detox.

Social media is the most popular addicting “activity” that people always check, post, like, stalk, and stay active on. But social media is a real energy drainer and consumer, so detoxing from all sorts of social media platforms, now and then is a must. But how?

Detoxing from social media can be done in so many ways that I can’t even count or note. But it is preferable to go directly with the process and cut yourself completely from using your social media accounts.

So as a start, disconnect your accounts. (if you have a business account, keep it but limit your use of it).

If you feel like you will be more comfortable, delete the applications… ALL OF THEM.

Keep yourself busy in the day with things that are more important and can Keep you off thinking about social media: click here.

Get yourself some hobbies to keep your mind peaceful: aromatherapy, yoga, or meditation. Every single person on this earth has his therapy. It is time to discover yours!

When you feel ready to come back, give yourself a “following detoxification.”

 A “following detoxification” is to unfollow all users that may be affecting your mental health and well-being. It is recommended to have a quality following than quantity.

 Follow motivational pages, positive pages. Unfollow all the bad vibes, from people to friends, to any user you don’t like their provided content. You need to do this step to feel better coming back to this world.

And that’s how social media detox is done. Every time you feel down, tired, and low energy and you need some free time for soul searching and self-reflecting, social media detox is the best option.

And while we’re on that topic, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest, and like our Facebook page

Joe Assaad2 Comments

How to draw a bath?

Baths are one of the most relaxing things you can prepare for your comfort. But a lot of times, something does not feel right when we draw the bath for ourselves. So here’s a guide to a very satisfying and relaxing experience in a bathtub.

First: Make yourself a drink. It could be; wine or tea. 

Second: Put on some music to set the mood. You can lit some candles too. (Or use aromatherapy)

Third: Fill your tub halfway with warm water and sea salt, or you can put a bath bomb of your choice.

Fourth: Before getting into the tub, dry brush your full-body to make sure that your blood is fully circulating to be more relaxed in the tub soaked in soap and warm water.

Fifth: Put a face mask on.

Sixth: Lose your warm robe and relax in the bathtub. 

Seventh: Don’t forget to bring a book or something to enjoy your time and don’t get bored quickly.

Eighth: Make sure that your water is still warm. You can add a little salt too.

Ninth: When you feel like it or that you’re bored, take a quick shower to clean your face and your body from the dirty/soapy water.

Tenth: Drain the tub and apply some moisturizer on your face and body. So, you will feel fresh and more relaxed after giving your body a massage.

Enjoy your bathtub ritual and self-pampering time, and prioritize self-care.

It is not recommended to stay in the bath for more than 30 minutes.

Joe AssaadLeave a comment

Important lifestyle addition: Self-talk

When you are alone or phasing out, you practice a lot of self-talk, analyzing speeches, pep-talks, the bad ones specifically. So in this article, we will see how healthy self-talk is for your mental health and well-being.

Let us see what self-talk means:

Self-talk is the combination of words and sentences we tend to say to ourselves. While thinking about something, analyzing our current situation, or what you are about to do in the future. Self-Talk tends to be negative because, as I said before, we tend to be hard on ourselves due to society.

The importance of Self-Talk:

Only you can motivate you. Self-talk reflects your self-image. How you truly feel about yourself, how you see yourself, and what you believe in yourself. People’s opinions and comments can influence your self-talk.

The brain is like a machine. Whatever data is entering its system, it will adapt to work thoughtfully. So an example of negative self-talk: I am not good enough, I am not beautiful enough, I’m not worthy… ” your brain will automatically think nothing but these things about you. You will always feel drained, tired, unmotivated, and “unworthy”!

thepathway2success.com

But on the other hand, if your self-talk is positive: I’m lucky, talented, worthy, The whole universe will switch in your favor because you will see the universe from another perspective. You will feel more energetic, happy, motivated, and getting your blessings one after the other!

Positive self-talk is essential for one’s survival. It doesn’t come easy but, once it shifts from the negative, this is where you will get going in life. Choosing the right words when describing yourself always comes in handy and, your life will automatically change for the better. Your performance will boost so will your well-being. Your healthy mind will blow you away with its creativity and the potential that it will give you in return.

Practicing positive self-talk is essential for you to live a healthy life with a boosted well-being. Listening to good music, surrounding yourself with mentors and positive friends helps with your self-talk and your self-image.

Joe AssaadLeave a comment

How to meditate.

Meditation has long been used for relaxation, mindful thinking, and increase of creativity. It’s not only about the movement of your breath. It’s not a breathing exercise. But it’s part of it.

Meditation can have many health benefits, such as: 

  • Better focus and concentration
  • Improve self-esteem and self-awareness
  • Reduce stress
  • Help manage anxiety or depression
  • Fight addiction
  • Control pain
  • Promote altruistic behavior

Because there are varying practices across cultural, spiritual, and religious traditions, there are lots of ways to meditate. Some common types of meditation include a body scan, walking meditation, loving-kindness meditation, or mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation

To put it simply, mindfulness meditation is the basic act of being aware — or mindful — of what you are doing in the present moment. For example, you could be practicing mindfulness while you are walking your dog, brushing your teeth, or washing your dishes. 

That would mean you are 100% involved in the activity you are doing — and not thinking about any distractions, stressing about the past, or worrying about the future. By improving your ability to focus in the moment, what you’re actually doing is training the brain to become less affected by stress.  

Body scan meditation

Body scan meditations focus on consciously relaxing different parts of the body. You can do this by: 

1. Focus on your feet and how they feel on the floor. Breathe in, and then as you exhale, try to relax your feet. 

2. Next, move up to your legs and notice how they feel as part of your body. Breathe in, and then as you exhale, try to relax your legs. 

3. You can repeat this process as you move up the body, focusing on your arms, shoulders, and head. You can also start at your head and work your way down. 

This type of meditation may be preferable if you have a difficult time focusing on your breath alone it may be easier to anchor your awareness on how your body feels. In addition, body scan meditations are a great way to relieve tight shoulders or a tense neck, which often builds up as a result of stress or anxiety. 

Walking meditation

Instead of using the breath as the object of awareness, walking meditation encourages you to focus on each footstep in order to be fully present. 

This involves becoming aware of the movement of each foot; noticing the action of lifting, lowering, and having each foot touch the ground, one step after another. 

Like body scan meditation, walking meditation allows you to cultivate a sense of mind-body awareness by focusing on your body’s physical sensations as it moves. Walking meditation is a great substitute when you might find it difficult to sit still, because it allows you to get moving while still focusing on an object of awareness. 

Loving kindness meditation

Loving kindness is a form of meditation geared towards cultivating compassion for yourself and others. 

During loving kindness meditation, you can direct phrases of goodwill and a positive intention to yourself, loved ones, difficult people in your life, and even complete strangers. Here’s how: 

1. First, get into a comfortable position, in a quiet room, and close your eyes. Focus on your breath as you inhale and exhale. 

2. Think about yourself in your head, without judgment. Then, either out loud or in your head, repeat, “May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe.” 

3. Next, think about someone you love, and direct that same positivity towards them, repeating, “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe.”

4. You can continue to do this while you bring other people into your awareness. Try harnessing these kind, loving feelings towards someone you don’t always like, or someone you don’t even know that well. 

Transcendental meditation

Transcendental meditation involves focusing on a specific mantra or phrase by repeating it during meditation. 

The mantra acts as the object of awareness for the practitioner, just like breathing is the object of awareness for mindfulness meditation. A mantra can be something as simple as saying “Om” or a phrase like “I am worthy.”  

As a result, transcendental meditation may not be the natural first choice for someone hoping to start a meditation practice. However, research has found that transcendental meditation can have similar health benefits to mindfulness meditation, helping to relieve stress and anxiety, and improving overall well-being. 

Joe Assaad2 Comments

Aromatherapy home version

Aromatherapy takes advantage of the effect scents have on us by using plant essences and essential oils to improve psychological and physical well-being.

While it’s more known as an “essential oil massage,” aromatherapy can be used by yourself and enjoy the benefits at home.
It’s not a necessity to have a relaxing aroma-massage to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy. There are plenty of easy-to-use products that can help you diffuse the essential oils and scents that you need in your house

Reed Diffuser

Electrical Diffuser

Diffusers:
There are two different types of diffusers that you can try: Electrical diffusers and reed diffusers. These two types of diffusers are easy to work with; you just put the essential oil in the water of the electrical diffuser and the reeds in the “reed diffuser” and done!

Oil burner


Oil burners:
here the process is also easy; you light a small candle and put it underneath the ceramic surface of the burner. Add your desired amount of essential oil to the top. And voila, let the magic begins.

Scented candles

Scented candles:
I think these are the easiest to find anywhere. They are fast and efficient. Light the candle and set the mood. Your whole day will get better!

Potpourri

Scented boxes:
Or a modernization to potpourri, these are simple just buy them, decorate your room and enjoy the scent.

Aroma-Bracelets

Aroma bracelets:
We’ve all seen these new stylish bracelets that you can add essential oil to the surface and, the oil will sink into your skin and, you can benefit from the wellness they will provide.

Caution! Some essential oils might not be for you; they might cause irritation for people with pre-existing conditions like allergies and asthma. For everybody else, even if you don’t like it or don’t feel any difference after trying it, there’s no harm.

Joe AssaadLeave a comment