Here are 3 easy steps to organize and plot out steps to reaching your goals!

New Year’s Resolution?  Yah right.  For most people, it’s a pipe dream. But New Year’s Resolutions usually don’t happen because everyone set lofty goals WITHOUT A PLAN!  So here are 3 easy steps to make your New Year’s Resolutions part of your life.  Not just temporarily, but until you actually reach your goals!

Step One: Write it down
My good friend Tim Niemier once told me that you need to write down your goals in order to make them come true.  At first, I thought he was a little wacky, but then again, he had a goal to make sit-on-top kayaks and sold Ocean Kayak for a small fortune! Hmmm. But I’m actually advocating that you write down your goal in your planner. In other words, pick the date you would like to actualize your dream or goal and write it down on that date.  That’s right, just write it down. 

Step Two: Block off time to do each phase
After you write down your goal on an actual date, then make a list of all of the steps you need to take to reach that goal.  For instance, if you want to build a greenhouse, then make a list of the general steps you need to take to complete it.  The list might look something like this: (1) design greenhouse; (2) layout measurements; (3) organize materials list; (4) create a budget; (5) order materials; (6) lay foundation; (7) build framework; (8) add windows and glass; (9) install doors; and (10) install shelves. Then WRITE DOWN WHEN YOU WILL DO EACH OF THESE PHASES.  Take into consideration your job, family, and other commitments but block off time to get it done.

Step Three: Reward yourself along the way
As you complete each phase, highlight it in your planner.  That’ll give you a feeling of accomplishment.  If you miss one step, then move it to another time that works for you.  Don’t beat yourself up about it. Life happens and you need to be flexible.  As you consider your tasks for each day, you may need to say no to other activities in order to stick to your goal.  That’s why it’s nice to have it written down in your planner. 

So get the new planner for next year and get started now!  It’s simple.  Just WRITE IT DOWN.  Write your goal and each step in your planner; you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to reach it by your deadline!  Let me know how this works for you!

I’m not sure why so many schools have final exams after the holidays. 

When kids have 2 weeks off from school, trust me, they don’t spend their precious vacation time studying for final exams.  Instead, they lose steam, forget what they’ve already learned, and get set back at least a month. So when they head back to school after the holidays, they’re dazed and they’re overwhelmed because final exams are just around the corner.

Short of pumping your kids full of caffeine – just kidding!  mostly! – here are 3 tips that can help them maximize their time to get the highest scores possible on their final exams.

Step 1: Make a plan
First, ask them to meet with each teacher to ensure that all course work has been turned in and check to see if any extra credit assignments are possible. Second, they should find out what concepts the finals will cover and what types of questions to expect (essays, multiple choice, short answers). Third, they need to make a list of all concepts that will be covered for each final, even if they think they understand them.

Step 2: Block off time to do each task
Using their Merit Planner (or a paper planner that is equally divided by 7 days per week with time increments that start at 6:00 am and go until midnight), ask them to block off time to review and learn concepts following the list they just created.  First, they’ll need to enter their classes and scheduled appointments and practices/games that are mandatory to attend.  Then they can fill in short blocks of time to complete each study task around their mandatory classes and appointments.  If time permits, ask them to block off time to review other sources like Khan Academy, Wikipedia, and SparkNotes. By reading other textbooks or source materials, they’ll gain a stronger foundation and understanding of the material.

Step 3: Postpone social activities until after finals
If you ask your kid to postpone all social activities until after their finals, they’ll think you went off the deep end.  But, if they actually make a plan and block off time to complete each task just as I’ve suggested above, they’ll quickly see why they won’t have time to hang out with friends or play computer games while they prep for their finals. When they really understand what it takes to be prepared for final exams, they’ll make smart choices because they really do want to do well.  But, they’ll only understand what time commitment they need if they plan ahead. Kapich?

It’s important to get started NOW.  So many kids think they can review notes and homework assignments for a few hours the night before the exam and still get a good grade.  Even when they are disappointed with their grades on their finals, they often don’t understand what they should have done to be better prepared.  That’s why they need to make a plan, block off time to get it done, and postpone their social lives until after finals. 

Good luck!

Today’s post is by Jonathan Williams, an Exercise and Fitness Specialist from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology. He is also the co-founder and president of Silicon Valley Applied Biomechanics (SVAB), a non-profit organization.

Many people experience neck, shoulder, and arm pain caused by many different situations. But did you know that these symptoms are often produced by movements we do every day? While traumatic injury is a cause of pain in these common areas, it can also be related to simple everyday movements we do all the time without thinking.

The cervical spine (c1-c7) is where the brachial (related to arm) plexus (bundle or network) originates. At the shoulder and neck area, a common daily movement is lateral bending where the ear and should come together and get farther apart. This movement causes compression or stretching of the nerve bundle that travels through that area. While extreme compression or stretch of these nerves is more often caused by a sports injury or car accident, it can also be caused smaller repetitive movements causing more chronic symptoms. A common complaint related to brachial plexus irritation is a nagging pain at the shoulder, and a tingling sensation at the pinky or palm. Often these symptoms are reported as being the strongest in the morning or during work situations where posture may be challenged (desk work or holding objects). If the pain lasts more than a few weeks, or even months, it is most likely caused by something you are doing every day. I have had numerous clients who have reported discomfort in the neck and shoulder area which have turned out to have some very unusual causes. One client was having trouble in the morning with a “frozen” shoulder and was struggling with putting a shirt on in the morning. After asking a number of questions, I asked about her purse and how much was in it. The purse contained a number of items, and weighed more than 10 lbs. This may not sound like a lot, but if you think about carrying 10 pounds on the same shoulder for hours a day, it starts to add up. With the shoulder hiking done on a daily basis, the nerve was constantly being irritated to the point where it was causing serious problems. The suggestion made was to use (at least temporarily) a back pack with two well-cushioned straps, along with a series of back and posture exercises to help rehabilitate the affected area. Another client was having similar problems caused by something else entirely. This individual was in the last few semesters of his college career, and decided to take up fitness to balance out all the desk work he would be doing. The irritated shoulder, tingling in the wrist / palm indicated that the brachial plexus might be irritated. After checking for postural deviations, I noticed forward-rounded shoulders, which are common amongst people who sit for long periods of time. This can cause compression on the anterior side of the shoulder where the nerve bundle goes through. Again, a series of upper back and postural exercises were prescribed to help counteract the postural distress caused by his career choice. My last example is someone who owns and operates a day care facility. She was experiencing difficulties when trying to lift anything overhead, and a throbbing sensation in the shoulder during the morning or before bed. It turns out she had been using her dominant arm to hold children for hours at a time without really thinking about it. Here again, a shrugging of the shoulder was causing compression and irritation to the nerve bundle traveling through this area. After going over this, we suggested letting some of the helpers hold the kids more often, at least for a short while, to help rehabilitate the muscle group. This combined with a series of exercises have caused the symptoms to subside. What should I do if I am experiencing similar problems?  The first thing you will want to do is identify what may be causing the problem. While you may need to see a specialist for symptoms caused by traumatic injuries, you can start to narrow it down by thinking about what you do often with your neck and shoulders. Do you have a desk job, or sit for long durations? How is your posture during this time? Do you carry a purse or briefcase on one side? Do you hold objects on one side for long durations? We are looking for things that require your shoulder to elevate and in turn compress the nerve plexus. If you do find that you may be having these issues, give your body a break from what may be causing the irritation. This may not always be possible with work situations, but you may be able to modify your work station, how you carry your bag, or how you hold objects to help reduce the stimulus. Icing and anti-inflammatories may be temporarily useful, but would not be considered a solution to the problem itself. After a period of rest and recovery, you can begin to use rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the affected area. Upper back and postural exercises are often prescribed by physical therapists to combat brachial plexus issues, but why wait until it gets that bad? Even if your symptoms are not that bad yet, you can always think about PRE-habilitating yourself. References Frederic  H. Martini, Michael J. Timmons, Robert B. Tallitsch. Human Anatomy-5th Ed. Prentice, William E. Principles of Athletic Training: a Competency-Based Approach – 14th Ed. Chad Starkey, Sara D. Brown, Jeff Ryan. Examination of Orthopedic and Athletic Injuries – 3rd Ed.

I’m getting ready to host a Star Wars Marathon, and my new rendition of Yoda is helping to set the mood. 

Sadly, the Force is not with Rice Krispies Treat Yoda, so I put a chopstick across his head to help keep his ears up.

With a little green food coloring, Rice Krispies, marshmallows and margarine, you can sculpt just about anything!

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the end of 2015 and look forward to a prosperous and happy 2016. 

If you’re looking to change up your look without spending a fortune, try one of these updos! 

…and Merit Educational Consultants!

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would line us up against a blue backdrop and take angelic photos of my brother, sister and me. We would have actual halos over our heads as if we were little angels.

Well, that’s what it LOOKED like, but there were lots of tears, screaming, and threats required to pull off those cute little photos.  Back in 1998, when we were taking photos of Nicole and Jaclyn for our holiday card, I actually captured a photo that really depicted what was happening during our photo shoot.

The girls were sitting on a miniature Japanese bridge ready for the photo shoot.  Being 4 years older than Jaclyn, Nicole understood the routine and just wanted to get the photos taken.  Jaclyn, of course, being 4 years younger, thought it would be amusing to irritate her big sister. 

I couldn’t get a good photo because one of them either had their eyes closed or looked bored.  So I told them that we were going to stay there until we got a decent photo for the family card. Yikes, that sounded way too familiar for me – I was beginning to sound like my parents!

Then as I waited for them to come around, I captured the perfect photo.  The one that truly depicted the spirit of the session.  Nicole grabbed Jaclyn’s face and squeezed it as hard as she could – notice the blood vessels popping out of the side of her neck? And at the same time, Jaclyn couldn’t let her big sister get the better of her so Jaclyn stuck her tongue out at Nicole! A picture really is worth a 1000 words! This is the funniest photo I’ve ever taken of them. 

That year, I made enlargements of both photos and framed them.  

Here’s the other photo, for comparison:

Creating the spirit of Christmas over the past 20 years, the girls and I have built over 30 ceramic structures for our Christmas Village. 

We’ve made houses, churches, Santa’s Toy Factory, and Christmas trees.  My favorite is a replica of Santa Cruz’s Town Clock.  I set the time on each face of the clocks to be the exact birth time for Nicole (7:42) and Jaclyn (1:40).

We even added Chichen Itza and a model home!

Every year we look forward to adding something new!

Here’s another DIY gift idea for the holidays! 

If you’re like me and you have a drawer full of old jewelry – some junk and others sentimental, here’s a solution that might work for you.  I asked both of my daughters to give me their old jewelry and I’m going to surprise them with a unique memento. 

I bought an inexpensive memory box frame, pulled out some velvet remnants from old costumes, and assembled piles of old jewelry in the shape of a heart.  Then I hot-glued sentimental rings (their first gifts from me), travel pins that they collected from our travels around the world, and costume jewelry that they wore for dance competitions. 

It’s a good way to clean out old jewelry boxes and create a work of art! 

I got this idea from my friend Barbara Eastburn who commissioned her friend Rowena to make a Christmas tree using old watch faces:

As an educator, the SAT looks like it’s going to be a much better test.  It will test the student’s ability to read, write and edit essays, and solve math problems. 

Nervous? Unlike its predecessor, it’s going ask questions to test overall reading and math comprehension skills rather than asking specific questions for an answer to a particular word or phrase in an essay or the final solution to a math equation. 

In other words, for reading, they’ll require that students actually read the whole passage to determine the author’s point of view; and for math, they’ll provide a word problem that the student needs to solve or a table/chart that the student needs to analyze.  Makes sense, right? The good news is that they’re giving students over an hour for the reading sections; the bad news is that they’re giving the students over an hour for the reading sections.  Huh?  The reading is dense and students seem to struggle staying focused on the long reading sections, even with the extended time allowed.  

The new reading section is similar to the ACT and follows the Common Core theme. The new SAT is not going to use ridiculously difficult vocabulary so students won’t have to memorize thousands of “SAT words” to prepare for the exam like in the past. That’s really good news! And best of all, they will stop docking that ¼ point for guessing. Finally!

Want to know more?  Keep reading.

The reading passages will include reading in the sciences and the College Board will pull a science score from the math, reading, and writing sections.  In other words, the new SAT won’t have an actual science section like the ACT but there will be a science score.

While there will be a writing section, the majority of the writing score will focus on finding grammar problems or better ways to write a phrase or sentence. The essay section now requires real evidence.  In the old SAT, a student could write an essay and support it with fictitious facts.  No more. The new essay is evidence-based. 

The math section, however, is radically different from the ACT.  It follows the Common Core philosophy of math fluency and comprehension.  It is reading-heavy with big word problems.  They’re testing fluency rather than solving equations.  

70% of the math questions are word problems in the new SAT.  The “no calculator” section has more long division and multiplying decimals, which can be difficult for students who are used to using their calculator for simple math. The new SAT is all about algebra (both Alg 1 and Alg 2) and has very little geometry (only 1 or 2 problems), but it does have statistics.  The goal for the new SAT is to test more applied math concepts.  The ACT has all of the algebra, geometry and trigonometry.

As a college advisor, the new SAT is worrisome because many students don’t have strong critical reading skills and most students don’t like math word problems.  So if you are a good reader with good comprehension skills, the new SAT might be a good fit. 

On the other hand, if you are a quick reader and can handle doing more problems in a shorter period of time, then the ACT might be a better fit.  In the next few years, all of the colleges will determine which portions of the SAT and ACT that they’ll use in making admissions decisions.  My bet is that the new SAT will be revered as a better signifier of success in college than the ACT or the old SAT.

The first new SAT will be offered in March 2016, but the scores won’t be available until after the May exam.  The College Board will use both the March and the May exams to create the new curve.  That said, don’t take the March test because you won’t get your results in time to help you prepare for the next sitting.  Everyone is expecting twice as many students to take the ACT in 2016 as a result.

I recommend that juniors take the January 2016 SAT (the old version) because it’s a test we understand.  Take the ACT to see how you score, and then take the new SAT in May or June.  You’ll still have plenty of time to prepare for the fall 2016 SAT and ACT test dates.