Month: February 2014

Posted in A Better You

Small Ways to Clean Up Your Life

Posted on by melissaburgess

Sometimes, even the smallest of tasks can help us feel better about our lives. We all have so much going on, all the time, that it seems to never end. But here are a few things you can do in a matter of seconds or minutes that will clean up your life just a little bit and help you feel a little less frazzled and a little more organized.

  1. Erase your text messages. Keep the most important ones but clear out the rest. You’ll save your eyes from the clutter, save your phone the storage space – which may help it run better – and make a small cleaning adjustment to a device you probably use every day.
  2. Clean out your email. This might take a few minutes, but sort through email. Toss the junk or the things you aren’t using. The emails you might need in the future, make folders for them to get them out of your inbox. For instance, I have a folder for each upcoming trip I’m planning; the folder has all my confirmation for bus tickets, events, hotels, etc. It’s an easy way to keep everything organized & right at my fingertips without having to search through my inbox.
  3. Weed out your “following” or “friends.” Social media is great, but how many people on there do you actually TALK to or care about? If there’s accounts that you shrug at every time you see a post from, or someone on your Facebook friends who is constantly posting things you don’t care to see…. maybe it’s time to consider breaking that virtual tie for now.
  4. Clean out your bag. Something you use daily, it’s bound to get filled with all sorts of things, including some meaningless and useless trash.
  5. Write it down. If there’s something you’ve got in the back of your mind like “Oh, I need to do this later!”… write it down NOW. You won’t have to think about it any more, and it’ll clear some space in your mind. This also goes for story ideas and other creative endeavors.
  6. Write. Just write. If it feels like you’ve got a lot going through your head right now, write. Just free write – anything you feel. Express yourself, describe your emotions, your worries, your plans. Get it out of your head and onto tangible paper and you’ll feel a little bit better.
  7. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and delegate portions of tasks or tasks if you think other people might be able to assist you!

I hope these are helpful. They may seem like small, insignificant things that you may not think will make a difference, but it often amazes me how completing small tasks such as these helps me to feel better. It alleviates stress, helps me feel as though I’ve accomplished something, and gives me a visual PROOF that I’ve done something productive. I can’t quite put my finger on why it feels so good to clear out my old text messages or the old photos on my cell phone that I don’t need anymore; I think it’s the idea that I’m in control and able to get rid of the old, essentially useless trash in at least one aspect of my life, and all I need to do is hit a couple buttons to do so. Weeding out my following on Twitter does the same thing; I can’t quite say what I like about it, just that I know it feels good to clean things up every once in a while.

Posted in Travel & Experiences

The Revitalization of Buffalo

Posted on by melissaburgess
(Photo: Melissa Kania)
(Photo: Melissa Kania)

I’m proud to say that I am from Buffalo, New York.

Everyone has their own conceptions of what Buffalo is about. Ask people who aren’t from here and they’ll say things like: the winters, snow, Lake Erie, being close to Canada, less-than-stellar sports teams, chicken wings, etc.

While those things may or may not be true, there are also plenty of other things that are a part of my city. It’s the City of Good Neighbors and the Queen City, and I’m happy to be here. Right now, there is a lot of development going on in Buffalo, and these various projects are really helping to boost the economy, morale and vision of the city; revitalizing Buffalo is a great task and I am so happy to be here to see it occur.

Continue reading “The Revitalization of Buffalo” →

Posted in A Better You

The Importance of Defining Yourself

Posted on by melissaburgess

How many times in our lives are we defined based on things that are out of control? People define us based on our appearance or mannerisms, our hobbies or customs, or often, based on our relationships and connections with others.

How many times have you met someone and they’ve said “Oh, you’re so-and-so’s sister!” or “You’re her cousin, right?” or “You work with <<insert name here>>, don’t you?” or something along like those lines? And while those things may in fact be true, you may be a sister, a cousin, a fellow employee of…. someone, that’s not how you necessarily want to be defined or recognized.

It’s important that we define ourselves, to ourselves, before we try to define ourselves to others. It’s not easy; I doubt there are many people in the world who know exactly who they are in every single aspect of life, know exactly what they want in every area possible, and are 100 percent certain of every single thing. We’re all works in progress, but it’s important that we work on figuring ourselves out in the process. It’s a daily thing, taking a step at a time… figuring out who you are, what you like or don’t like, where your comfort levels lie and how they may change in different situations or with different people.

Here are some ways I could be defined y other people: I’m Jessica’s younger sister. I’m that girl who supports that specific hockey player that many people don’t necessarily like. I’m the one who writes this blog. I’m Tim’s cousin, so-and-so’s goddaughter, etc. etc. etc.

But I refuse to be defined by such small parameters. Who I am is so much bigger than anything anyone can define me as. Don’t let anyone put you in a box (metaphorically…. or physically, either, I suppose). I am not a box and there are more than four sides to me (yes, that’s a quote from Glee.) I discover new sides to myself all the time, discover I’m capable of things that I never dreamed about, and I grow a little bit every day.

I guess what I’m trying to say in the end is this. Don’t let anyone put you in a box or define you; don’t put yourself in a box, either. Don’t limit your opportunities or capabilities; you can do anything you want if you’re willing to put some work, time, etc. into it. It’s important to define yourself and not let others define you. YOU are in control of your life, and don’t you dare ever forget it.

Keep discovering yourself every day. You never know what you might find.

Posted in Miscellaneous

Link of the Day: MapCrunch

Posted on by melissaburgess

Everybody has those days. (No, I’m not quoting Hannah Montana. Or am I?)

We all have those days where we just feel absolutely…. stuck. Bogged down by a seemingly dead-end job or stress at work, irritated by family or friends or coworkers, tired of dealing with the car payment and the rent and the ten other things you need to budget for this upcoming paycheck.

It’s easy to let all of that get to you, and to feel like you’re absolutely stuck right where you are. While it’s nice to imagine a vacation or picking up and moving abruptly to another city, state or even country sometimes, much of the time it stops at imagining.

There’s one website that many of you have probably already seen, but that I’m going to bring to your attention today. It’s called MapCrunch, and the premise of it is really very simple. Daily, going to the website brings a new image from somewhere around the world.  Today’s, as I write this, is a spectacular underwater view from Burnett Heads, Queensland, Australia.

So not only is there the daily view that is automatically loaded upon visiting the page; you can also click the green button that says “Go!” (with an arrow) at the top of the screen and instantly, a new image from somewhere else in the world will be loaded. You can zoom in, navigate around, etc. You can also select options so it gives you views only in certain continents or countries, etc. and can easily download the image you’re seeing just by clicking ‘Share’ and then the little arrow pointing downward that signals download!

It’s a great way to get some different views of the world, escape from your desk/family/bank account and remind yourself of all the other things that are out there in the world. Sure, some are closer than others, but this world is truly a magnificent place, and even if I can’t always explore it in person, it’s great to be able to do it via a computer screen, simply by visiting a website. Some of the views may be majestic, bright beach scenes; others may be busy city streets or rural towns. You never know what you’ll get.

Just to get a little taste of the variety of worldly views MapCrunch has to offer, I decided to test it out and click ten times and see what different views I could get:

1) Daily view – Burnett Heads, Queensland, Australia
2) Unnamed Road, Co. Wexford, Ireland
3) 21913, 431 91 Kryštofovy Hamry, Czech Republic
4) Ceriņu iela, Gaisma, Bārbele parish, LV-3905, Latvia
5) Pnt Rouge, Martinique
6) Jerusalem
7) HaBustan Street 94, Hatzor HaGlilit, Israel
8) 53, 8677 Kalchevo, Bulgaria
9) R393, South Africa
10) MR26, Swaziland

Below is a slideshow of what I saw in my mini virtual vacation. I think this is a pretty neat website. I like using Google Maps sometimes to do just this, give myself a little escape from my current reality; MapCrunch provides a GREAT way to do that. Instead of having to click on a specific place on a map and figure my way out from there, MapCrunch is completely random, but I can also select certain regions if I so choose, and I like the random aspect of it. I can go from the Czech Republic to Latvia to Martinique in a matter of seconds… all while sitting at home in Buffalo.

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Posted in A Better You

The Thing I Do (Almost) Every Day

Posted on by melissaburgess

I can’t say that I exactly have any sort of “daily routine.” Some days I sleep in a little more than others; sometimes I shower before work, other times I wait until I get home. Sometimes I tackle a big project first thing, other times I work on smaller things and ease my way in. But either way, there is ONE thing I do almost every day that helps me to stay organized and on-track and helps me not completely lose my mind.

I make a to-do list.

Almost every day, I sit down and either write or type out everything I need or want to accomplish that day. My lists include all sorts of things, from TV shows or hockey games I plan to watch, eating dinner, cleaning my emails, going to the store to purchase something, making a blog post (like this one!), responding to someone’s email, tasks I need to complete at work, etc. I include everything from minute tasks to larger ones that I may eventually break down into sections to make them more manageable.

Let me tell you: it helps.

I feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I’m able to check something off my list, even if it’s something as small as returning an e-mail from my aunt in Pittsburgh to tell her how my week is going. You can break the list down into things that are absolute priorities that day and other tasks you simply wish to achieve if that helps as well.

Some days, I may not accomplish everything on the list, but it’s still important that I make one. It allows me to see what I need and want to do that day, prioritize things based on how much time I have and how important each task is, and get to work. I realize that for some people, this may actually be stressful because they’ll feel pressure to complete every single thing on their list on a daily basis – but see what works for you.

Making a to-do list keeps me focused and driven and most of the time, it only takes a few minutes of my time. I may add things as they come up or as I remember “Oh crap, I need to get that done today!” but either way, I’ve found it extremely helpful and I encourage anyone reading this to give it a try.

For the next seven days, make a to-do list each day and see if it works for you!