{"id":179,"date":"2010-05-30T13:30:16","date_gmt":"2010-05-30T17:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/?p=179"},"modified":"2010-06-10T02:38:15","modified_gmt":"2010-06-10T06:38:15","slug":"4-essential-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/4-essential-blogs\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Life Improvement Blogs You Should be Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_186\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-186\" style=\"width: 424px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/3397450186_c0a33c5182_o.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/3397450186_c0a33c5182_o.jpg\" alt=\"A happy couple\" title=\"happycouple\" width=\"424\" height=\"283\" class=\"size-full wp-image-186\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-186\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Everyone should focus on ways to improve their self and their happiness from time to time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With so many different blogs on the Internet it&#8217;s difficult to know which ones are actually <em>good<\/em>.  Sure, you can Google for &#8220;productivity blogs&#8221; and read each one that shows up on the first page, carefully comparing notes between the blogs, but who wants to do that?  That takes valuable time that could be spent on reading the archives of one of the better blogs out there.  So, through years of reading productivity blogs in all corners of the Internet, I&#8217;ve come across a few I think are beneficial to everyone in a diverse area of topics.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>EXPERIMENT TO LIVE MORE EFFECTIVELY<\/strong>.  Created by Tim Ferriss, author of the New York Times bestselling book <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0307465357?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=offsitoftimfe-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=0307465357\"><em>The 4-Hour Workweek<\/em><\/a>, The accompanying blog is an incredible foray into his lifestyle experiments that helped catapult him to the position he&#8217;s in today.  Some of the topics I&#8217;ve seen Tim cover over the years include <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fourhourworkweek.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/24\/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail\/\">managing criticism<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fourhourworkweek.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/19\/9-tricks-for-getting-a-table-and-being-a-vip-at-hot-restaurants\/\">tricks for becoming a VIP at a restaurant<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fourhourworkweek.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/14\/how-to-do-the-impossible-create-a-paperless-life-never-check-voicemail-again-never-return-another-phone-call\/\">creating a more efficient time management system<\/a>.  Although not updated as recently as it used to be, Tim&#8217;s blog is host to hundreds of topics in the archive to help you tweak your habits and bring out the best out the best results in your daily life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RE-WORK THE WAY YOU THINK<\/strong>. Leo Babauta is a busy, busy man.  The author of three blogs, Leo&#8217;s most popular blog&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/\">Zen Habits<\/a>&#8211;is a blog I check weekly.  On Zen Habits, Leo writes to increase reader awareness about simple habits that improve your quality of life.  A large percentage of Leo&#8217;s posts focus on the mind: how to improve the way we think and the way we react mentally to negative circumstances.  Some of my favorite posts from Leo include <a href=\"http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/55-ways-to-get-more-energy\/\">ways to increase your energy<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/3-jedi-mind-tricks-to-feel-better-in-a-nanosecond\/\">quick ways to feel better about yourself<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/5-tips-to-maximize-your-ability-to-concentrate\">ways to maximize your concentration<\/a>.  Like Tim, Leo has a gigantic archive section on his website.  Go ahead, <a href=\"http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/archives\/\">take a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_193\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-193\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/zen-garden.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/zen-garden.jpg\" alt=\"Stones in sand.\" title=\"zen-garden\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" class=\"size-full wp-image-193\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-193\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A peaceful sight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>STUDIES ABOUT THE MIND RELEVANT TO YOUR LIFE<\/strong>.  Like most people, I&#8217;ve always had an easier time accepting what someone says if there&#8217;s scientific data to back it up.  Well, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spring.org.uk\/\">PsyBlog<\/a> gives you scientific data to back up their claims.  In fact, the site is founded on scientific studies and the results.  The website is filled with detailed posts about the latest findings in practical psychology; the psychology that has an impact on EVERYONE&#8217;s life.  Recently, I&#8217;ve found the posts on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spring.org.uk\/2010\/04\/cognition-accelerated-by-just-4-x-20-minutes-meditation.php\">benefit of meditation<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spring.org.uk\/2007\/09\/practicing-gratitude-can-increase.php\">increasing happiness 25% by practicing gratitude<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spring.org.uk\/2007\/05\/slow-smile-attracts.php\">the importance of smiling<\/a>.  The posts are typically short and sweet and contains very little subjective content.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(ACTUALLY) KNOW HOW TO SPEND AND SAVE YOUR MONEY<\/strong>.  Ramit Sethi is a funny, funny man.  A funny man who happens to know a great deal about personal finance and how to apply it to your spending and savings goals.  Thankfully, he shares his knowledge for the world on his blog, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/\">I Will Teach You To Be Rich<\/a>.  Unlike other personal finance gurus, Ramit does not always advocate simply not spending money.  Instead, he comes up with practical solutions to save for goals and emergencies while making your accounts as autonomous as possible.  Ramit covers a wide variety of topics including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/blog\/earn-more-money-turn-skills-into-income\/\">how to earn more money<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/blog\/3-credit-card-perks-you-have-but-probably-dont-know-about\/\">lesser known credit card perks<\/a> (hint: buying things through your credit card almost always grants you a lesser-known, longer warranty), and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/blog\/heres-how-i-negotiated-out-of-bank-fees\/\">ways to negotiate out of those annoying bank fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What are you favorite blogs?<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/muscle-gained-30-lbs\/\">as mentioned in my post on muscle gain<\/a>, here&#8217;s my weight update of the week!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/chart2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/chart2.png\" alt=\"Week 2 muscle gain\" title=\"chart2\" width=\"494\" height=\"303\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-195\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With so many different blogs on the Internet it&#8217;s difficult to know which ones are actually <em>good<\/em>.  Sure, you can Google for &#8220;productivity blogs&#8221; and read each one that shows up on the first page, carefully comparing notes between the blogs, but who wants to do that?  That takes valuable time that could be better spent on reading the archives on one of the better blogs out there on the Internet.  So, through years of reading productivity blogs in all corners of the Internet, I&#8217;ve come across a few I think are beneficial to everyone in a diverse area of topics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13,128],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-productivity","tag-happiness","tag-productivity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2226,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/2226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmkthinks.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}