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Is a dining room practical in modern life?

Life is busy, and most British homes are squeezed for space. Handing over an entire room to the task of eating together as a family doesn’t fit with modern living.

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According to the Telegraph, only 20 per cent of families eat together on a regular basis. How can we capitalise on this premium space within the home?

Families will know that children and parents like to be near each other and within earshot. Therefore, the dining room is an excellent place for a playroom as it’s often close to the kitchen, so parents can keep an eye on the kids whilst still completing important tasks like making dinner.

Many of us are choosing to work freelance, and with employers encouraging working from home to allow employees to work more flexibly, the dining room may need to make way for a desk. Workspaces can fit into the corner of a dining room easily, freeing up the rest of the room for other uses.

Choosing furniture

In reality, this space may need to be multifunctional, and clever use of furniture can allow all of your needs to be met. Investing in a large table can enable this room to be multipurpose whilst still maintaining its original function.

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A table that extends can act as a workspace or craft table during the day and can be cleared and extended to be used as a dining table for special occasions. If you want to use the space as a play area, pushing the table to the wall when it’s not needed for dining creates more space and allows kids to use the table for crafting.

Choosing a chair that can look great when around the table or as an occasional chair is a good choice. The Lloyd Loom dining chairs (https://lloydlooms.co.uk/product-category/lloyd-loom-dining-chairs/) are extremely comfortable but also provide a nice seat for reading, working or watching the kids play when the room is being used for other purposes.

It’s important to get this space right as a multifunctional space, so before you invest in any major overhauls, write down all the functions you will require. You can then plan more effectively and lay the room out in the best possible way.

The healing power of nature for both our minds and our bodies is well established. People often take long walks in order to help them focus or sometimes to help them clear their mind. Stress is a very really problem in modern day society and anything we can do to reduce or even eliminate some of these stresses is very important.

Offices are a hive of activity and with more pressure on peoples’ time and performance, it can be hard for people to get out of the working environment for a short time during their lunch breaks. This is where it can help to create a calming space within your office building. Whether this is a dedicated staff area or even just adapting the desk and communal areas to bring more of the outside, inside. Of course, in order to be able to create a truly harmonious environment it is important that you keep everything tidy and organised where possible. For more information on office cleaning in Cheltenham it is worth taking a look at http://intocleaning.co.uk/services/office-cleaning/.

But in the short term take a look at the list of office friendly plants below and see if you can bring some more greenery into your environment.

• Peace Lily

This plant is great for filling in space. It’s beautiful green leaves also help to clean the air making it the perfect plant for office environments. It produces white hooded flowers and needs very little natural light in order to thrive.

• Snake Plant

The leaves on a snake plant grow tall and by planting a few next to each other you can create a natural partition or barrier. Whether this barrier is between desks or partitioning off a particular area it certainly gives a calming feel. The leaves are two-tone in colour with dark green centres and yellow edges running along the length of the leaf. This means that they are a very eye-catching choice.

• Spider Plant

Spider plants are often chosen for use in office buildings, reception areas and sometime doctors surgeries as these hardy plants are incredibly easy to maintain and grow very well indoors. They can be used to create some interest in the space and can be planted in pots or hanging baskets meaning that their display possibilities are endless.

• Parlor Palm

The Parlor Palm is a variety of small palm tree and is one of the best options if you are looking to create a natural partition or barrier, perhaps to corner off a sofa or quiet area. This plant is also happy growing where there is very little light. Again, making it perfect for the office environment and it can also help bring a tropical feel to the chilly, dark winter months.

• African Violets

These little plants are perfect for small desks and spaces and although they do require a little bit of looking after they produce some beautiful small flowers.

You may think that all of those driving games that you play on your games console are all just a bit of fun, but what if those games that place you at the controls of a car can actually have some bearing on how well you drive when you get behind the wheel of a real vehicle? While many use such games as a way to unwind after a stressful day they could be influencing your behaviour in the real world without you noting it. Gaming, whether online or not has often received bad press, especially when done to excess, and there have been studies that have shown that the types of games that are played can have an effect on the behaviour of the individual especially when it comes to violent games.  But what they fail to promote is the beneficial effect that some of these games can have. Similar but less publicised studies have shown that there is a correlation between how someone drives their car in the virtual world and how they operate their vehicle in the real world.

Driving Games

These studies were not all relating to racing games of course, there are actually some games on the market that are aimed especially at improving the skills of the driver. But one thing that all of these games have in common is that they all obey the laws of physics, so that driver error results in consequences ranging from losing control of the car to writing the vehicle off. Through this the player is educated as to how their mistakes result in different consequences.

The act of simply playing the game works towards improving the players visual and co-ordination skills as reactions need to be fast to avoid a disaster in the game. Statistics have shown that those drivers who regularly play driving or racing games in their leisure time have a 30% greater ability to process any visual information that they are presented with, they are also shown to be more aware of the environment they are in which all bodes well when it comes to scanning the road ahead for potential hazards.

Reaction and Response Time

Gamers are known for having good hand-eye co-ordination skills, which is something that they have developed over time, as they know that in order to do well in whatever kind of game they are playing they either need to move fast, think ahead or dodge whatever foe they are up against, otherwise the game would be over before it got started. This increased level of co-ordination has influence over a number of everyday activities making certain types of task easier to perform, including driving. Gamers’ reflexes tend to be that little but faster and their response time a little bit quicker, giving them the advantage when it comes to avoiding obstacles in the road for example. The playing of driving games however, should not be done to excess as this could lead to someone driving tired which as everyone knows has a negative effect on response times.

Are you using the phone to connect with business prospects? You can effectively build stronger relationships by talking to people over the telephone on a persistent basis. Chatting on the phone helps you to become real, to become human to your prospects. Unless you are able to meet with individuals in person the next best step is to chat with people over the telephone. Many business people think of the phone in an archaic light but this old school marketing tool helps you stand out from the crowd who never uses the device. You can simply sit behind your computer and send out emails, or Facebook messages, or twitter tweets, but by using the phone to build stronger connections you use an element that many entrepreneurs ignore.

Keep Your Phone Calls Short and Sweet

Successful entrepreneurs are a busy lot. They rarely have enough time to chat for more than 10 minutes with any single individual. If you are a newbie entrepreneur you can grow your business quickly by remaining disciplined, even when you might not exactly have a list of 10, 20 or 30 prospects to talk to each day. You have to play the part in order to become the successful entrepreneur you wish to become. This means setting a time limit to each phone call you make, by simply setting an alarm clock in the background. Even if you have only 1 person to talk to today about your business you need to cut the phone call to 10 minutes, to set up a vacuum through which more prospects can flow to you.

Novices spend 20, 30 or 60 minutes talking to one person. You do not respect your time, nor do you respect your prospect’s time by using this strategy. You also show that you are an amateur entrepreneur who is prospecting for the first time because busy entrepreneurs do not spend over 15 or 20 minutes talking to any single person. You have a list of people to chat to, and you need to get down to business fast. Simply ask a question to the effect of how you can help, then allow the prospect to speak.

Listen In and Resist the Urge to Speak when You Should Not Be Speaking

The urge to talk when you should listen is almost too much for most entrepreneurs to resist, but if you can remain disciplined you are far more likely to let go the urge to blabber on and simply tune in, and listen. You figure out what your prospects need help with by being quiet and listening and you can only create helpful content or product solutions by working this material. Each person has a unique problem, issue or dream they want to live and you have to be silent and allow the person to state their problems, or their dreams, so you can effectively match your product with the needs of the individual.

Your listening needs to become a habit because almost every sales person speaks up as a rookie, or newbie, and few can lose this tendency. You need to make listening a habit in order to become a successful phone prospetor. Ask how you can help then listen, and do not interrupt the prospect unless the person rambles on for 5 minutes or so. Remember, you must respect both parties’ time and you will more effectively connect with an increasing amount of people interested in your opportunity.

Use these tips to more effectively connect with business prospects over the phone and grow your venture today.

When you become a landlord, there are certain standards by which you are legally bound, duties you have towards your tenants which must be adhered to. And when people’s safety and the law are involved, it’s best to do some research and make sure you have everything in order.

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What Constitutes Rental Property?

Obviously any property that is let as residential premises for tenants’ main residence is included, whether let privately, through a management company or housing association, and even hostels. It also includes single rooms and bed-sits, B&Bs and holiday accommodation. The Gas Safety Regulations (1998) outline exactly what the landlord’s duty of care and responsibilities cover.

Responsibilities

Maintenance is key. You must ensure that all pipework as well as the appliances themselves are serviced and kept in good condition. This includes chimneys. Manufacturers’ instructions are your go-to to know how often everything must be serviced, but more often than not, an annual service is required unless a registered Gas Safe engineer is happy to advise differently.

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The exemption would be an appliance owned by the tenant and not the landlord, though connecting pipework would still be required to be maintained.

In order to prove the condition of the pipes and appliances, and that maintenance has been carried out correctly, keep records. Tenants should receive a copy of the up to date certificates within a month of completion of their contract.

Keep things simple and make it part of the initial formalities, such as going through an inventory. There is technology available to help you. Check out property inventory software from experts like Inventory Base https://inventorybase.co.uk/, and get things in order and maintained easily.

Where sharing a certificate within 28 days is not practical – for example a short-term lease – display a copy prominently in the property. Keep copies for two years.

For more information on what you need to know as a landlord, check out the information from the government on the Health & Safety Executive website.

You are not likely to be in the property at the time of any issues, so make sure the tenants are aware of how to turn off the gas and what to do next. Finally, be sure that anyone working on any part of the gas system in the property is registered Gas Safe.

Properly managing contracts is an integral part of business success and is crucial to creating sustainable outcomes and relationships.

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1. Set Clear Goals

When negotiating a contract, take some time to list the goals you are trying to achieve by enshrining the agreement in legal form. What do you want from your counterparty? What are you willing to give to your counterparty? What will the key negotiation points be? Which stakeholders within your organisation will need to have input into the agreement?

2. Avoid Giving Your Counterparty Ways to Avoid Their Commitments

If the counterparty asks for information or actions to be performed by your organisation in order to fulfil their commitments, make sure these actions and information requests are specific. Moreover, ensure that your team is ready and able to perform these requirements, thus avoiding costly renegotiations and failed expectations.

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3. Build Relationships

Your business relationships will be the most fruitful to all parties involved if you develop cooperative, collaborative and respectful relationships. Use a win-win frame of mind. Make sure to meet your own obligations in the negotiation stage (information requests, meeting agreed deadlines for contract drafting, et cetera can be easily managed in a Contract Management System) to set the tone for what you expect for performance of the contract. In addition, trusting relationships are more likely to create a forum to discuss potential pitfalls, saving future time and effort.

4. Contract Performance Assessments

If this is a repeat contract, what do the stakeholders within your organisation think of the counterparty’s ability to perform the contract? While some teams may think the counterparty is excellent, others may be frustrated in ways which could be easily resolved through small changes in contract terms. Engage with your stakeholders, who will often be pleased that their views are being taken into account. Use a Contract Management System like ECAS from https://www.contractswise.com/ to keep track of ongoing performance.

5. Risk Mitigation

What are the potential impacts of your counterparty failing to perform on their contract? How will this impact your business and what would you need to do to make up for this contract failure? How mission-critical is the performance of the contract? If you identify significant risks for your business, engage your relevant stakeholders within your organisation to isolate and put in place potential action plans to mitigate the risks.

It’s the time to be on high alert for all those hit by Hurricane Sandy or are looking to get home improvement at this point of time. The time is very important because during the times when some place is hit by disasters like Hurricane, people known as gypsies or storm chasers occur from nowhere and offer to do home improvement at your place for a very small amount.
The trick is very old but each time something like Sandy happens anywhere, people use the trick and many innocent or gullible people looking to get their job done for less, fall prey to them and then they disappear in the same fashion as they appear.

The BBB has advised people not to fall pray to their emotions when it comes to home repairs or improvement following a disaster. It has advised people to use only legitimate contractors for the job and has even advised them to seek two to three estimates from different contractors before starting the work to get the best price and quality for the job.

The BBB has even asked people to ask the contractor for his license and check his credentials before giving him the work and money. It has asked people to check the rating awarded to the contractor and to check if the company is bonded and insured for injuries during work.

The Attorney General of New Jersey, Jeffrey S. Chiesa has added that no matter the urgency of your repairs or how desperate your need for repairs, you should stop and check every detail about the contractor that you wish to employ for home improvement.

It has come to light that often people pay huge amounts in advance to the contractors to get their work done in urgency. But the state law does not specify that one must pay 50% or more of the entire project at the start of work. In fact the proper method of payment should be one third at the time of start, another one third at midway and the last one third at the completion of the work.

Another important thing that people should take care while getting their job done through a home improvement contractor is that he should be a qualified contractor with proper knowledge and tools to carry out the job on hand. It came to the notice of authorities that several people that did not have any experience of doing home improvement had taken up home improvement contracts with people hit by Hurricane Irene in the past.

The market is seeing a recent trend and affinity towards natural pet products. The owners of the pets have started reacting to the market in a different manner. Now a day, the pet owners care for their pets as one of their own members of the family, prompting them to pamper their pets in a similar fashion in which they take care for any other member of their family.

Such is the extent that the owners of the pets are turning towards feeding their pet animals with natural pet products. With the passage of time, the packaged food products for the pets are also becoming highly harmful, since they are mostly devoid of any natural mineral that is quite essential for the well-being of any living animal. The natural, eco-friendly and organic pet products are therefore becoming the perfect alternative for the owners of the pets, all over the world.

It is also a fact that the owners of the pet prefer to feed their pet, what they themselves are eating. This has also catered for the increasing demand of the natural pet products in the market, since the owners find it extremely useful for their pets to be fed with natural food just like the human beings.

The natural pet food products are also very good for the growth of the pet animals and they do not even pose as a threat to the animal. According to the survey reports, there is a steady rise in the demand of these kinds of pet food. It was estimated that in the year 2011 the market for the natural pet food product was worth 18.1 billion, while that is steadily tending to rise by 15 per cent by the year 2016.

According to surveys conducted, it has been found that 75 per cent of the population owing pets, consider the value, along with the price of the food product for their pets. The factors of taste and nutritional value associated with the product do not flash in the minds of the pet owners in majority of the cases. While it has been reported that the cat food of natural ingredient has rose to 6.8 billion in the year 2011, the market of that of the dog food is estimated to increase by 20 per cent, touching 10.6 billion, from the year 2006 to 2011. In many cases, the owners even tend to shun packaged food products for their pets.

Seeing this pattern, the big companies are starting marketing the animal food by focusing on the organic preparation process. Majority of the branded pet food manufacturers are now stressing more on the fact that their products are natural and not artificially created. The major retailers of the world are also turning towards selling natural food for the pet animals, since they are showing an increase in demand in the market.

However, the recent pattern of the pet-owners’ behavior has forced the pet food manufacturers to switch to selling natural pet foods. As the situation is indicating, the demand of such type of pet food is in the increasing side, and surely, the market for the natural and organic pet food will flourish in the coming days.

Team building exercises are highly popular events on many corporate calendars. Companies are trying to come up with ever more original and exciting activities to truly test their staff and give them a day to remember. Here are some popular choices:

Wild Goose Chase – Send your team out into the town or city to compete in a smart phone scavenger hunt. Complete with brain-challenging riddles, physical challenges and plenty of hilarious photo opportunities, this friendly but competitive digital hunt can be completed almost anywhere. It will only take half a day and contains moderate activity levels that can be completed any time of the year.

Team Pursuit – This is an activity that can be completed indoors in case of inclement weather. Groups work together to complete varied challenges, playing to their strengths and against the clock to earn points and climb the leaderboard. Great fun with low to moderate activity levels, team pursuits can be enjoyed by all over just one day or half-day session. Why not treat your hard-working employees to an after-work celebration of food and perhaps a few cheeky drinks with Mobile Bar Hire Leicester from http://www.elliottgeorgebars.co.uk/

Crime Scene Investigators – If your team is full of budding sleuths then they will love this popular team building activity. Many event companies offer this challenge where staff use their detective skills to follow evidence. It’s a great activity for boosting morale, engaging staff and collaborative working. The interactive experience needs you to solve the clues and work out ‘whodunnit’

Escape Rooms – These have grown hugely in popularity over the last couple of years, so if you haven’t experienced one then your team will love it. Whether you attend a set venue or use a mobile event, all colleagues must collaborate and solve riddles to escape the room they are trapped in. This challenge requires cohesive team efforts in a fun, challenging manner. It’s an indoor event that only takes a couple of hours so should be easy to fit into everyone’s busy schedules.

Castaway Challenge – If you’re looking to get a bit more active with some outdoor pursuits, then why not consider a corporate castaway event. Inspired by the survival TV shows, two teams attempt to survive the great outdoors in a series of physical and mental challenges where they must outwit and outlast the opposing team. Blindfolded obstacle courses, puzzle-solving while tied at the wrist to each other and many other fun and hilarious challenges are involved. This is a great team building exercise for promoting leadership, trust and logical, strategic thinking.

As we get older, our decisions begin to have larger and larger effects on the way we age. Making healthy choices a top priority is a premium strategy for maintaining a healthy mind and body. This not only helps us live longer, it also enhances our quality of life.

According to a Pfizer survey on aging, a surprising number of adults felt that aging turned out to be better than they’d initially anticipated. Seniors in good health seemed quite content about growing older. In contrast, those with health problems were less cheerful when asked for their thoughts on aging.

It’s never too soon to start making healthy choices. As 2013 approaches, so does the opportunity to make several resolutions to enhance the coming year. Why not get an early start? Here are a few suggestions on ways you can reboot your mind and body:

Quit smoking
No matter how old you are, your body will begin to repair itself the instant you commit to quitting smoking. A year of tobacco abstinence reduces your risk of heart disease by nearly 50%. After five years, an ex-smoker’s risk of stroke decreases to that of a non-smoker.

Care for your heart
Strive to do at least 30 minutes of cardio exercises per day. Be sure to choose activities you enjoy – this will increase your chances of making them part of your healthy routine. Biking, swimming, running and walking are all excellent ways to maintain premium heart health!

Maintain bone density
Our bones need exercise, too. Strength training helps improve bone density, which reduces your risk of broken bones and osteoporosis. Twice a week, dedicate twenty minutes of your time to strength training.

Bones can weaken due to nutritional deficiencies, so remember to consume plenty of fruits, veggies, and dairy products.  Check with your Doctor about supplements which may work best for your specific needs.

Keep your brain active and healthy
Studies are showing that keeping the brain active may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Reading, writing, and doing memory games are all great brain training exercises. Try using your non-dominant hand to do everyday activities.

Stay Social
Regular interaction with friends seems to lower your risk of developing dementia. Get together with your favorite people for a coffee or tea.  Sit down with your caregiver, and load up your social calendar with get-togethers and outings. You could even plan a road trip to go and see some old friends.