Sunday, April 17, 2016
6 Creative Ways to Add More Eggs to Your Diet
Hearing a fellow fitness professional prescribe breakfasts of egg white omelets to a client is like hearing nails on a chalkboard to me. Half of the protein inside an egg is inside the yolk, and egg yolks contain many beneficial nutrients as well, including B vitamins such as choline. One whole egg contains about 6 grams of protein and approximately 70 calories, which make eggs a healthy and low-calorie, high protein food choice.
Eggs have some serious bragging rights when it comes to nutrition, and I might even dare call them a superfood.
The best thing about eggs is that they are incredibly versatile. You can eat them at any time of the day, not just for breakfast.
Here are six creative ways to add more eggs into your diet:
1. Add a hard boiled egg to any green salad with veggies to make a complete meal.2. Add soft boiled eggs to a bowl of quinoa for a protein-packed new twist on lunch or brunch.
3. Go Mediterranean and design a plate with hummus, olives, pita, and eggs cooked "over easy."
4. Make a healthy high protein party appetizer for your dinner guests to enjoy instead of filling up on chips and other carbs with empty calories. Try this spicy deviled egg recipe for a home run!
5. Crack an egg into a chicken noodle soup, and stir it around until it cooks evenly. For vegetarians and pescatarians, I make a yummy non-chicken soup with peas, noodles, veggie stock, and eggs.
6. Add a poached egg to a pasta dish to increase its protein value. Italian restaurants will often add egg on top of a creamy Carbonara pasta dish, but I like to make healthier versions subtracting the cream and adding veggies and an egg on top.
5 MOST OVERRATED EXERCISES
Some exercises become so common that few people take the time to question their validity. Perhaps they began as specialty exercises intended for use in specific contexts -- by patients in rehab, for example, or by advanced bodybuilders who need the most challenging variations of certain movements. Some trainers noticed the exercises worked for those specific trainees in those specific situations and started pushing the workouts toward the middle, to be used by everyone. Over time, the exercises become a bit too popular, and they end up vastly overrated.
But keep in mind that "overrated" does not mean "bad." It simply means there are better choices than those that are currently popular.
The Ab Plank and Side Plank
The plank makes sense in yoga, where you hold the plank pose for a few seconds then transition into another pose. It makes sense in rehab, too, where the goal is to build awareness of optimal body alignment in a static position.
And when trainers began to use it for entry-level clients, it seemed like a great idea. After all, people who exercise should be able to hold a plank -- with their body weight resting on their forearms and toes, in the classic pushup position -- for at least 30 seconds.
The reason this exercise is overrated, though, is because trainers too often recommend the beginner version without ever showing progressions to more advanced and useful exercises. Once you have an awareness of what it feels like to have a properly aligned torso, and once you have a base of core stability, you need to move on to exercises that challenge your stability dynamically. That's where it counts. Maintaining alignment when you're moving is the difference between getting hurt and staying in the game.
Two examples of how to progress planks and side planks from static to dynamic exercises are the pushup and the walking lunge.
If you can hold a pushup position for 30 seconds, you may as well progress from that to sets of 15 pushups, using a 1010 tempo. It's still 30 seconds in the plank position, but now you've added a dynamic challenge.
Once you can manage this, do 15 pushups with one foot off the floor, at the same tempo. Then switch feet, and do 15 more.
When these variations are easy to accomplish, do 15 pushups, at the same tempo, lifting one hand off the floor after each rep. Then switch hands, and do 15 more.
And once these are no longer challenging, start T-roll pushups, such as those featured in the Resources section. T-roll pushups cover your front plank, side plank and rotary control -- all in one exercise. Plus they build dynamic control, which always has more athletic carryover than static variations.
The side plank is more challenging than the front plank, and fewer people can hold it for 30 seconds on each side right off the bat. But once you get to the point where that's easy, the same principle applies: You need to learn to use that lateral stability during dynamic movement.
One excellent exercise is the walking lunge with an unbalanced load. If you can do walking lunges with 35-lb. dumbbells in each hand, try them with a 70-lb. dumbbell in one hand.
It takes tremendous lateral stability to keep yourself upright when all the challenge is coming from one direction. And as a bonus, you'll work your entire lower body as well as your core -- and the gripping muscles in your hands and forearms aren't just along for the ride.
The plank makes sense in yoga, where you hold the plank pose for a few seconds then transition into another pose. It makes sense in rehab, too, where the goal is to build awareness of optimal body alignment in a static position.
And when trainers began to use it for entry-level clients, it seemed like a great idea. After all, people who exercise should be able to hold a plank -- with their body weight resting on their forearms and toes, in the classic pushup position -- for at least 30 seconds.
The reason this exercise is overrated, though, is because trainers too often recommend the beginner version without ever showing progressions to more advanced and useful exercises. Once you have an awareness of what it feels like to have a properly aligned torso, and once you have a base of core stability, you need to move on to exercises that challenge your stability dynamically. That's where it counts. Maintaining alignment when you're moving is the difference between getting hurt and staying in the game.
Two examples of how to progress planks and side planks from static to dynamic exercises are the pushup and the walking lunge.
If you can hold a pushup position for 30 seconds, you may as well progress from that to sets of 15 pushups, using a 1010 tempo. It's still 30 seconds in the plank position, but now you've added a dynamic challenge.
Once you can manage this, do 15 pushups with one foot off the floor, at the same tempo. Then switch feet, and do 15 more.
When these variations are easy to accomplish, do 15 pushups, at the same tempo, lifting one hand off the floor after each rep. Then switch hands, and do 15 more.
And once these are no longer challenging, start T-roll pushups, such as those featured in the Resources section. T-roll pushups cover your front plank, side plank and rotary control -- all in one exercise. Plus they build dynamic control, which always has more athletic carryover than static variations.
The side plank is more challenging than the front plank, and fewer people can hold it for 30 seconds on each side right off the bat. But once you get to the point where that's easy, the same principle applies: You need to learn to use that lateral stability during dynamic movement.
One excellent exercise is the walking lunge with an unbalanced load. If you can do walking lunges with 35-lb. dumbbells in each hand, try them with a 70-lb. dumbbell in one hand.
It takes tremendous lateral stability to keep yourself upright when all the challenge is coming from one direction. And as a bonus, you'll work your entire lower body as well as your core -- and the gripping muscles in your hands and forearms aren't just along for the ride.
Hanging Knee Raise
In some cases, intermediate and advanced lifters get stuck doing beginner exercises, but the hanging knee raise is an example of the opposite situation: an advanced exercise that's become popular with intermediates.The hanging knee raise is a great choice if your abs are strong enough to tilt your pelvis upward from that position. In other words, you don't want to just raise your legs in the air. While that's a good way to work your hip flexors, it's not working your abs through a full range of motion. For that, you need to be able to lift your legs and tilt your pelvis upward.
It's extremely hard to do, which is why very few people you see hanging from elbow straps and lifting their legs in the air are able to complete the exercise. You could say the same thing for the knee raise from the captain's chair, which may be an even worse choice because it encourages you to stop the movement before completing it with the pelvic tilt.
First, try to perform the hardest version of the reverse crunch exercise. If you can't do this, you've got no business doing hanging leg raises, because you certainly aren't doing them well.
Lie on your back, holding a broomstick, or something else that's straight, solid and light, directly up over your chin. Your feet are off the floor with your knees bent at about a 90-degree angle. Roll your hips up and pull your knees to your chest without lifting your head off the floor or moving the bar from the starting position.
If you're strong enough to do that, you're probably strong enough to try hanging knee raises. If you aren't, do reverse crunches on the floor -- or on a decline bench with your head higher than your hips -- and focus on building the strength to do that pelvic tilt.
In some cases, intermediate and advanced lifters get stuck doing beginner exercises, but the hanging knee raise is an example of the opposite situation: an advanced exercise that's become popular with intermediates.
The hanging knee raise is a great choice if your abs are strong enough to tilt your pelvis upward from that position. In other words, you don't want to just raise your legs in the air. While that's a good way to work your hip flexors, it's not working your abs through a full range of motion. For that, you need to be able to lift your legs and tilt your pelvis upward.
It's extremely hard to do, which is why very few people you see hanging from elbow straps and lifting their legs in the air are able to complete the exercise. You could say the same thing for the knee raise from the captain's chair, which may be an even worse choice because it encourages you to stop the movement before completing it with the pelvic tilt.
First, try to perform the hardest version of the reverse crunch exercise. If you can't do this, you've got no business doing hanging leg raises, because you certainly aren't doing them well.
Lie on your back, holding a broomstick, or something else that's straight, solid and light, directly up over your chin. Your feet are off the floor with your knees bent at about a 90-degree angle. Roll your hips up and pull your knees to your chest without lifting your head off the floor or moving the bar from the starting position.
If you're strong enough to do that, you're probably strong enough to try hanging knee raises. If you aren't, do reverse crunches on the floor -- or on a decline bench with your head higher than your hips -- and focus on building the strength to do that pelvic tilt.
Close-Grip Seated Cable Row
It's clear why lifters like to do close-grip rows using the triangle attachment: They can use more weight and the contraction feels more intense throughout their shoulder girdle. That's because the shoulders are more internally rotated, which involves chest and shoulder muscles along with the lats. When you do the exercise, it will feel like you're using more muscle -- because you are. You're also putting your elbow flexors into a stronger position, thanks to the neutral grip.But because you leave off the final 2 to 3 inches of your full range of motion on a rowing exercise, you're not getting a complete contraction of your lats and traps.
If you'd like a better alternative, try a slightly wider, neutral-grip row if your gym has that attachment. If not, simply use those PVC-style handles that are attached to straps. What you may sacrifice in load with either of these grip options, you'll make up for with the greater range of motion -- and perhaps greater involvement of your middle traps and rhomboids in conjunction with your lats.
It's clear why lifters like to do close-grip rows using the triangle attachment: They can use more weight and the contraction feels more intense throughout their shoulder girdle. That's because the shoulders are more internally rotated, which involves chest and shoulder muscles along with the lats. When you do the exercise, it will feel like you're using more muscle -- because you are. You're also putting your elbow flexors into a stronger position, thanks to the neutral grip.
But because you leave off the final 2 to 3 inches of your full range of motion on a rowing exercise, you're not getting a complete contraction of your lats and traps.
If you'd like a better alternative, try a slightly wider, neutral-grip row if your gym has that attachment. If not, simply use those PVC-style handles that are attached to straps. What you may sacrifice in load with either of these grip options, you'll make up for with the greater range of motion -- and perhaps greater involvement of your middle traps and rhomboids in conjunction with your lats.
The Leg Press
Some bodybuilding coaches offer passionate defenses of the leg press, arguing that it's a good choice for some lifters in some situations. And this is indeed true. But the reverse is also true: It's a poor choice for most lifters in most situations. That's because when you do the leg press, you become a part of a machine that resembles a huge accordion -- with you in the middle. That is absolutely the wrong position to be in when handling a heavy weight. The higher you place your feet on the platform, the more hip flexion you create. And the greater the hip flexion, the faster you lose the natural lordotic curve of your lower back. Just as you wouldn't do a deadlift with a rounded back, neither would you want to push a heavy weight on the leg press from that position.If you feel that back squats don't hit your quads hard enough, try front squats. When those grow boring, try split squats. These options are much safer on your back and have more functional carryover to real-life and sporting actions.
Some bodybuilding coaches offer passionate defenses of the leg press, arguing that it's a good choice for some lifters in some situations. And this is indeed true. But the reverse is also true: It's a poor choice for most lifters in most situations. That's because when you do the leg press, you become a part of a machine that resembles a huge accordion -- with you in the middle. That is absolutely the wrong position to be in when handling a heavy weight. The higher you place your feet on the platform, the more hip flexion you create. And the greater the hip flexion, the faster you lose the natural lordotic curve of your lower back. Just as you wouldn't do a deadlift with a rounded back, neither would you want to push a heavy weight on the leg press from that position.
If you feel that back squats don't hit your quads hard enough, try front squats. When those grow boring, try split squats. These options are much safer on your back and have more functional carryover to real-life and sporting actions.
Tire Flips
There's no doubt about it: Tire flips are one of the coolest-looking exercises you can possibly do. It's also one of the most dangerous moves and a perfect example of a contest-specific exercise created for advanced-strength athletes that just got too popular.Florida-based personal trainer Rob Simonelli agrees. "Tire flips are best used for folks who'll have to flip tires in some sort of strength competition," he said.
Furthermore, hardly anyone has the hip mobility to do it right. Just about everyone, including Strongman competitors, goes into lumbar kyphosis -- a rounded lower back -- when they bend down to grip the tire.
World-famous, Boston-based strength coach Mike Boyle said, "Most people don't have bad backs. They've got bad hip mobility, which causes their bad back."
When it's used as a training exercise, the goal is to work the posterior-chain muscles, like the lower back and the hamstrings. That's something you can accomplish very well with deadlifts.
The only real benefit to doing tire flips is the fact they're often done outside, where other people can see you doing these stunningly badass exercises. But "because it's badass" isn't necessarily a good reason to do it.
Always try to keep in mind that the reason you're exercising in the first place is to improve -- your health, your strength, your body or your attitude. So focus on exercises that help you advance toward this objective, and skip those that don't.
There's no doubt about it: Tire flips are one of the coolest-looking exercises you can possibly do. It's also one of the most dangerous moves and a perfect example of a contest-specific exercise created for advanced-strength athletes that just got too popular.
Florida-based personal trainer Rob Simonelli agrees. "Tire flips are best used for folks who'll have to flip tires in some sort of strength competition," he said.
Furthermore, hardly anyone has the hip mobility to do it right. Just about everyone, including Strongman competitors, goes into lumbar kyphosis -- a rounded lower back -- when they bend down to grip the tire.
World-famous, Boston-based strength coach Mike Boyle said, "Most people don't have bad backs. They've got bad hip mobility, which causes their bad back."
When it's used as a training exercise, the goal is to work the posterior-chain muscles, like the lower back and the hamstrings. That's something you can accomplish very well with deadlifts.
The only real benefit to doing tire flips is the fact they're often done outside, where other people can see you doing these stunningly badass exercises. But "because it's badass" isn't necessarily a good reason to do it.
Always try to keep in mind that the reason you're exercising in the first place is to improve -- your health, your strength, your body or your attitude. So focus on exercises that help you advance toward this objective, and skip those that don't.
10 Health benefits of COFFEE!
If you rely on coffee to get through the day, or just to get it started, you might be lacking sleep or something in your diet. Nobody, after all, is ever going to mistake coffee for health food.
But like wine, chocolate and popcorn, coffee has joined the ranks of unlikely foods with health benefits. An increasing body of research has found that drinking coffee—even four or more cups per day in some instances—provides health benefits. And a 13-year study of 402,260 AARP members conducted by the National Cancer Institute, which was published May 17 in the "New England Journal of Medicine," concluded that devoted coffee drinkers were associated with a reduced risk of early death by up to 16 percent.
“This is perhaps the most compelling because the study was so large,” says Robert Davis, at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and author of “Coffee is Good for You: From Vitamin C and Organic Foods to Low-Carb and Detox Diets, The Truth About Diet and Nutrition Claims.” He noted that the study was observational, so it doesn’t prove cause and it effect.
Though drinking coffee excessively can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol and foster a dependence on caffeine, here are ten areas where coffee consumption just might be beneficial – if you limit the cream and sugar.
1. Gallstone Prevention
Harvard researchers in 2002 found that women who drank at least four cups of coffee a day were at a 25 percent lower risk of gallstones. An earlier study found similar results for men.2. Depression Prevention
Women who drank two to three cups of daily coffee were 15 percent less likely to develop depression, and those drinking four cups were 20 percent less likely, according to a 2011 report in the "Archives of Internal Medicine."3. Memory Improvement
Coffee can help with both long- and short-term memory. In a 2005 study presented at the Radiological Society of North America, researchers found that consuming two cups of caffeinated coffee improved short-term memory and reaction times.Interestingly, a 2007 study found that women -- but not men -- who were 65 or older who drank more than three cups of coffee each day performed better on memory tests and were less likely to show memory decline than those who drank just one cup a day.
Although researchers have known for some time that coffee can decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at the University of South Florida in 2011 found that a distinctive interaction between caffeine and coffee might be why. They recommend drinking four to five cups daily, starting in middle age, to increase GCSF, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, which is decreased in Alzheimer’s patients and improves memory in mice.
4. Less Risk for Diabetes
Studies suggest that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, with those putting away four or more cups daily 50 percent less likely. A January 2012 report in the 'Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry" might explain why. It attributes the effect to compounds in coffee that block hIAPP, a polypeptide that can result in abnormal protein fibers, which are found in people with Type 2.5. Decreases Cancer Risk
Coffee consumption has been associated with decreased risk of breast, endometrial, prostate and liver cancers, and those linked with obesity, estrogen and insulin. A 2008 Swedish study found that drinking at least two to three cups a day reduced the risk or delayed the onset of breast cancer.A 2011 study in "Breast Cancer Research" found that drinking five or more cups could translate into a 20 percent less chance of developing estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer. And, citing research on coffee’s effect on diabetes, researches also found that drinking more than four cups a day was linked with a 25 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer.
But it’s not just the women who luck out. A recent study out of the Harvard School of Public Health found that both regular and decaf coffee resulted in reduced risk of prostate cancer.
6. Metabolism Boost
Coffee might help you maintain -- or even lose -- weight. A study as far back as 1980 found that the caffeine found in coffee stimulates the metabolism, but that only “normal,” rather than obese, subjects experienced greater oxidation of fat.A 2006 study confirmed that the metabolism-boosting benefits of coffee were greater -- and lasted longer -- in lean women. More recently, researchers discovered that ground green coffee beans taken as a supplement seemed to promote weight loss -- an average of 17 pounds in obese adults during a 22-week period. Researchers didn’t think it was the caffeine; rather, they credited the chlorogenic acid, which might reduce glucose absorption.
7. Lower Risk for Parkinson’s Disease
The "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 2000 found that the caffeine intake associated with coffee translated into a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s. A 2010 study found that drinking two to three cups of coffee daily can mean up to a 25 percent less chance of developing the disease.8. Antioxidative Properties
Harvard researcher Edward Giovannucci, in research published in "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention," noted that coffee has more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits. In fact, a 2005 study found that coffee is the No. 1 source for antioxidants in the American diet. That’s a reflection of the volume of coffee consumed in this country, and how much is making it into the bloodstream is unclear.9. Performance-Enhancing Benefits
Coffee -- and the caffeine in it -- has been shown in multiple studies to increase both endurance and short-term performance. A 2008 study concluded that the benefit of caffeine before exercise occurs during endurance events, stop-and-go events and long-term high-intensity activity. It also can help athletes perform better during strength training -- even when sleep-deprived -- if taken one hour before exercise at the rate of 4 mg for every kg of body weight.10. Gout Prevention
A 2007 study of men older than 40 linked long-term coffee consumption with a lower risk of gout, an inflammatory condition caused by elevated levels of uric acid. Decaf and regular both had an effect, and those drinking six cups a day experienced as much as a 60 percent lower risk of gout.The Best Productivity Apps for 2016
Buckle down and get productive with these excellent apps for managing your work, organizing your life, collaborating with teams, and much more.
Get off of email. Stop wasting time in meetings. Work smarter, not harder. You've heard it all before. The advice and mantras all over the Internet about making yourself more productive could fill libraries. But there's no one-size-fits-all solution to being more productive. It depends so much on who you are and how you process information, not to mention the details of your work and life: What do you do, and how do you do it?
That's why this list of the best productivity apps is nearly 60 items long. Some productivity tools help you handle email because a big part of your life is handling email. Others automate various aspects of your life so you can get back to doing hard work that requires creativity and focus.
With the right productivity apps and services at your fingertips, you can increase your efficiency and get more done. People seem obsessed with productivity these days, but few actually think about what it is or what it means.
To me, the meaning of productivity is highly personal, but ultimately, it's about achieving goals. It's about making the most of your time so that you have time and energy left over to do more.
What Are Your Productivity Goals?
In the traditional sense, the phrase "increasing productivity" means making more money, making more goods, or both. But being more productive now has a much broader meaning. Your goal could be anything from maximizing profits in a business to getting a nine-to-five job done faster so that you have some mental and physical resources left over to pursue personal interests at home. Some people want to get out of the office faster each day to spend more time with their family. Some people want to put in two hours of work each night writing a movie script.Being more productive is all about figuring out how you want to live your life and making it possible.
What is Productivity Software?
An entire classification of software, productivity software, is devoted to making our work easier and ourselves more productive. It goes way beyond the more old-school definition of office suites, like Microsoft Office, and business applications.If there's a task to be done, whether it's personal or for your job, there's a productivity app that will help you do it faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. From browser plugins to services that help you maintain important relationships, productivity apps aim to do it all—or at least, try to help you do it all.
Productivity Apps for Individuals
In this age of DIY solutions and the accompanying focus on self-reliance, there are plenty of productivity apps that are almost more like self-help apps. Time-tracking programs, for instance, like RescueTime, help you figure out your work habits and patterns so you can hack your behaviors to make them more productive. Tools that minimize or prevent distractions, such as Stayfocusd, let you impose rules on your Web surfing behavior, blocking sites that might distract when you want to get work done. A lot of these apps aim to help you be the focused, attentive person you wish you were but struggle to be.Task-management and to-do list apps are also popular among individuals. With the ability to share and sync data through the Internet, it's easy to make lists of chores for your partner and kids, assigning them tasks anytime, anywhere. You can manage household chores and tasks from your home computer, or you can get it done from your smartphone the next time you're stuck waiting in a doctor's office or at the DMV.
Speaking of which, mobile devices are a huge part of the productivity movement. Being able to get a few little jobs done when you have natural downtime is a big part of what makes productivity apps so, well, productive. These apps let us juggle our time differently so that we aren't necessarily working more, but we are getting more done, both in our jobs and our home lives, across all the hours of the day.
And while we're on the subject of getting lots of things done at once, forget everything you think you know about the perils of multitasking. A growing body of research shows that multitasking makes you more productive, not less, as most people believe. There is a hitch, of course. You have to do the right amount of multitasking. Too much causes productivity to plummet. You've probably heard that multitasking prevents long periods of focus and interrupts our thought processes. Well, making use of natural downtime, like being productive while in a waiting room or while stuck on a train, are perfect examples of multitasking efficiently. Multitasking is a rather complicated topic, but the point is that it's not all bad, and mobile productivity apps help you multitask in the right way.
Productivity Apps for Businesses
Of course, there are plenty of productivity apps that fit better for business cases than home and personal life. Project management services, for example, help teams keep track of work and assets so there's less need to continually have meetings and make sure everyone is on the same page. They also give employees greater visibility into all the moving parts that make up a project. It's incredibly more productive to be able to find out who is responsible for what and when with a few clicks of the keyboard than having to track down individuals and ask a million questions.Invoicing and billing solutions—and really all kinds of online business accounting apps—do wonders for productivity, especially for very small business owners and sole proprietors. When you're a one-woman shop and time is at a premium, you can't afford to waste it messing around with accounting. You need tools that work efficiently and that get it right the first time, every time, so you can get back to the real work that makes your business tick.
And let's not leave out traditional office suites. In this list of the 60 best productivity apps, you'll find plenty of suggestions for word-processing programs, spreadsheet apps, and presentation tools as well. The best ones are now collaborative, letting multiple people work on the same document simultaneously. Quite a few are also free and include a good chunk of storage so you have a place to keep your documents while you work on them.
Problems and Solutions
At the heart of every great productivity app is a solution to a specific problem. Some look toward efficiency, aiming to take an existing product, such as email, and make it easier to use so we waste less time futzing with it. Others seek to silence the noise of the net, bolster collaboration, or unite disparate data.The 60 programs, mobile apps, plugins, and services in this list are among my favorites for helping anyone be more productive, from office workers to students. It's by no means a comprehensive list, but I hope it lets you explore your options among the truly necessary productivity tools, and also introduces you to some hidden gems that you might have missed while you were busy getting things done.
ABBYY FineReader
ABBYY makes the highest-power OCR software on the market; it's indispensable for anyone who needs fast, accurate text-recognition. This Editors' Choice software is smoothly automated for high-volume and hands-off operations, with precision correction tools for difficult tasks. Its superb tools make it easy to correct doubtful readings by comparing OCR text to the original.
Any.do
Any.do is a collaborative (or personal) task-management app for iOS, Android, and Chrome. It's a beautifully designed to-do app, but one unique feature, called the Any.do Moment, sets it apart from others. The Any.do Moment nudges you to make a habit of reviewing your daily tasks first thing in the morning so you're never caught off guard by surprise tasks and meetings later in the day. Developing a good habit that promotes productivity is extremely hard to do but immensely valuable, and it's impressive that Any.do goes for gold with this special feature.Asana
Collaborative workplace management tools are transforming how teams get work done together, and Asana was among the first to make a real splash. Asana helps teams keep track of what needs to get done and have both visibility into work and accountability, too. Businesses large and small are using it to manage projects, get employees off email, and inspire a new way of working. It's one of the best productivity apps available today, making it an Editors' Choice.Boxer
Email is a persistent pain for a lot of people. Finding an email app that gives you the tools you need to help you better manage your particular inbox can make all the difference. If you like to have a lot of control over how your app works, including the ability to assign specific actions to swipe gestures, then Boxer is for you. With fast notifications, plentiful customization options, and an integrated calendar and contacts list, this app for iPhone and Android provides a lot of value to those who like control and want to be more productive when it comes to mobile email.
Brewster
Brewster is an excellent contact manager; if everyone used it, no one would ever waste any time cleaning up their address books. Brewster hooks into multiple places where you might have contact information stored and brings them together, merging duplicates along the way. It's a time saver for all your networking needs.Do.com
Poorly managed meetings are a huge productivity killer, and that's where Do.com comes in. If you hold a lot of meetings or are the assistant for someone who does, Do.com will guide you toward better meeting practices while also providing a central place for archives, follow-ups, and more.
Doodle.com
Free; $39 per year for Private; $69 per year for BusinessFree at Doodle
Let's say you have five people and need to find a time and date to meet that works for everyone. You could start an email thread and waste half a day tracking replies, or you could use Doodle. Doodle helps you effortlessly set up polls for scheduling. It's free to use, and respondents don't even have to join to answer a poll. Doodle cuts down on needless email and streamlines scheduling big time.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dictating reports and controlling your computer with your voice could be a huge productivity booster if you have an app that's highly smart and extremely intuitive. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is. It's not cheap, but it is the best dictation software on the market. With Dragon, you can start dictating emails right after setting up the software. Give yourself a few days to master deeper features, and you'll be flying through your work.
EasilyDo
EasilyDo is a mobile app that automates small tasks for you, everything from posting "happy birthday" on your friends' Facebook pages on the right day to texting your significant other when you're running late. EasilyDo is very simple to setup and use and comes with a wealth of functionality. For tiny time-eating tasks that you'd rather automate, let EasyDo take the helm.Evernote
Evernote is a wonderful productivity app with a variety of uses. What started as a note-taking app for text, voice memos, photos, and more has grown into a full-fledged business tool with collaborative features. Excellent search capabilities and OCR on images with text make Evernote indispensable for finding important information quickly.
Evernote Scannable
With Evernote Scannable, you can practically kiss your desktop scanner goodbye. This mobile app zips through stacks of pages you need to scan and turns them into collated PDFs. It also works wonders on business cards. You don't even have to press a button for Scannable to snap each picture, as it auto-detects edges and produces great quality images just about every time. Of course, it connects with Evernote for easy saving, as well as other storage.FileMaker Go
If you use FileMaker Pro, get FileMaker Go so you can keep up with your work when you're on a smartphone or tablet. This app lets you access database information from the palm of your hand. Whether you need to check inventory or share information, FileMaker Go lets you do it from anywhere.FreshBooks
FreshBooks is the site to beat when it comes to managing and tracking invoices, time, and expenses for very small businesses that don't need full-blown double-entry accounting. If you're a small business owner or sole proprietor, use FreshBooks for your accounting so you can get back to the real work.Google Drive
With a tremendous amount of free storage and great integration options with other software and services, Google Drive is a productivity wonder. Part office suite—with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms—and part file-syncing service, Google Drive delivers a wide range of essential business software. It's easy to use, it's collaborative, and it works offline, too.HipChat
HipChat by Atlassian (the same company that makes JIRA) is an online, real-time, team communication and collaboration platform. If your team is searching for a replacement to email, HipChat should be at the top of your list. With excellent features, including screen-sharing and video calls, all for a very low price, it's an Editors' Choice.
HootSuite
Hootsuite is a social media management system, meaning it's a one-stop shop for updating Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, and now Instagram, too. Hootsuite helps keep social media managers and small business owners productive by giving them high-level tools for scheduling updates to their social network accounts, monitoring replies and feedback, and much more.HP Trust Circles
When you protect a sensitive file with HP Trust Circles, losing it on a USB drive or emailing it to the wrong person is no big deal. People within your trust circle can transparently access the file; to anybody else, it's gibberish. With fewer security worries, you can be your most productive self.IDrive
You'd be hard-pressed to find an online backup service as full-featured or versatile as IDrive, especially for the price. With this cloud-based syncing and backup service, you'll be able to get the most recent version of your files no matter where you are, which means you can be productive no matter where you are, too. It offers not only some of the most attractive pricing plans, but also more nifty features than you can shake a stick at.IFTTT
IFTTT stands for "if this, then that," and it's an online tool you use to create little automations, no coding skills required. For example, you could say, "if there is an upcoming event on my Google Calendar, then send me a text message reminder with the event name, time, and address," or "If someone tags a photo of me on Facebook, then save a copy of that photo to Dropbox." The power of IFTTT is how easy it is to use and how many services are supported. Check it out, and start automating your life.Inbox by Gmail
Google's iPhone app Inbox by Gmail is a breath of fresh air for casual email users who feel overwhelmed by an influx of information. it simplifies Gmail for casual, mobile email users, offering smart summaries of emails for travel, shopping, and more. It also includes snooze and other useful convenience features.The 12 Best Free Movies on YouTube
We’re no stranger to wasting time on YouTube, clicking an endless stream of inventive home movies, sports highlights, silly dog videos, film trailers, news clips—you name it, they’ve got it. Once in a crazy blue moon one might stumble across blips of Hollywood blockbusters, helming titles such as “BATMAN PART 1/7,” but aside from unreliable, the shelf life of these are brief.
But in 2011, YouTube inked deals with major Hollywood studios and since have added thousands of titles to their library from five top studios, in addition to the sea of independent films that live under YouTube’s “Movies” tab, where visitors can rent or purchase a growing variety of flicks for a nominal fee.
Unlike Netflix, YouTube also offers a collection of movies free of charge, available to anyone passing through for instant streaming, not requiring a membership or credit card number. An odd collection, sure, but Paste has done the dirty work and plucked the most notable freebies of the bunch that are highly worthy of some classic, YouTube time wasting. We’ll update this as new movies become available.
12. Spun
Year: 2002
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
A drug fueled ride of dizzying proportions, Spun may not be award-worthy but its choppy, darkly comedic, and hyper depictions of the daily ins and outs of various lowlifes (Jason Schwartzman, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo) involved in a crystal-meth drug ring is fascinating, visceral and never boring.—Caitlin Colford
11. Plan 9 from Outer Space
Year: 1959
Director: Ed Wood
The “best worst” horror movie of all time. Whether its the stringed hubcap flying saucers, visible pillows found in the graveyard, or even the very concept of aliens destroying humanity by reanimating the dead, this movie is just so ridiculously flawed in the best way possible. The debacle starts with an alien monologuing that “future events such as these will affect you in the future.” With apologies to Troll 2, it’s safe to assume that this was, is and will always be the best worst movie of the past, present, and, indeed, the future.
10. King Corn
Year: 2007
Director: Aaron Woolf
The most subsidized and ubiquitous American crop is explored in this documentary about two friends who plant an acre of corn and follow it from seed to food products. Director Aaron Woolf presents a provocative film about America’s increasingly controversial agricultural staple.—Emily Riemer
9. White Zombie
Year: 1932
Director: Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin
Bela Lugosi may be remembered as the cinematic face of 1931’s Dracula, but the Hungarian icon hypnotized audiences a year later as a voodoo master in White Zombie, considered the first feature about the walking undead. While the modern zombie subtext tackles such millennial fears as disease and social anomie, this grim tale and those it influenced focus on such evils as slavery and exploitation (check out 2008’s Dead Girl for a modern interpretation). Brothers Victor and Edward Halperin direct an atmospheric nightmare about a Haitian wedding from hell, creating a new horror genus in the process.—Sean Edgar
But in 2011, YouTube inked deals with major Hollywood studios and since have added thousands of titles to their library from five top studios, in addition to the sea of independent films that live under YouTube’s “Movies” tab, where visitors can rent or purchase a growing variety of flicks for a nominal fee.
Unlike Netflix, YouTube also offers a collection of movies free of charge, available to anyone passing through for instant streaming, not requiring a membership or credit card number. An odd collection, sure, but Paste has done the dirty work and plucked the most notable freebies of the bunch that are highly worthy of some classic, YouTube time wasting. We’ll update this as new movies become available.
12. Spun
Year: 2002
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
A drug fueled ride of dizzying proportions, Spun may not be award-worthy but its choppy, darkly comedic, and hyper depictions of the daily ins and outs of various lowlifes (Jason Schwartzman, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo) involved in a crystal-meth drug ring is fascinating, visceral and never boring.—Caitlin Colford
11. Plan 9 from Outer Space
Year: 1959
Director: Ed Wood
The “best worst” horror movie of all time. Whether its the stringed hubcap flying saucers, visible pillows found in the graveyard, or even the very concept of aliens destroying humanity by reanimating the dead, this movie is just so ridiculously flawed in the best way possible. The debacle starts with an alien monologuing that “future events such as these will affect you in the future.” With apologies to Troll 2, it’s safe to assume that this was, is and will always be the best worst movie of the past, present, and, indeed, the future.
10. King Corn
Year: 2007
Director: Aaron Woolf
The most subsidized and ubiquitous American crop is explored in this documentary about two friends who plant an acre of corn and follow it from seed to food products. Director Aaron Woolf presents a provocative film about America’s increasingly controversial agricultural staple.—Emily Riemer
9. White Zombie
Year: 1932
Director: Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin
Bela Lugosi may be remembered as the cinematic face of 1931’s Dracula, but the Hungarian icon hypnotized audiences a year later as a voodoo master in White Zombie, considered the first feature about the walking undead. While the modern zombie subtext tackles such millennial fears as disease and social anomie, this grim tale and those it influenced focus on such evils as slavery and exploitation (check out 2008’s Dead Girl for a modern interpretation). Brothers Victor and Edward Halperin direct an atmospheric nightmare about a Haitian wedding from hell, creating a new horror genus in the process.—Sean Edgar
8. It Might Get Loud
Year: 2009
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, the director of An Inconvenient Truth, brings Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White together to talk about guitars and if they feel the urge, to, you know, jam a little. The result is a film that works as a brief chronicle of each musician’s life and career—chock full of old clips, photos, concert footage, recordings, and visits to pivotal locations—and a testament to the allure of a particular stringed instrument. Though the much touted jam summit itself is the disappointing part, the film is still plenty of fun.—Robert Davis
7. Dick
Year: 1999
Director: Andrew Fleming
A hilarious comedy about two ditzy blondes (Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams) who accidentally assume the historic role of “Deep Throat” that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon in 1972. A well-written, entertaining and fictionalized portrait of one of the most historic moments in politics, Dick is best suited for post-pubescent audiences rather than the teenagers the film was marketed for (and ended up trashing) a decade ago.—Caitlin Colford
6. The Runaways
Year: 2010
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Once upon a time, before The Go-Go’s lips were sealed, before the Bangles walked like an Egyptian, five schoolgirls and a Svengali record producer created an all-girl rock band called The Runaways—the title of this film about the band’s improbable rise and inevitable fall. While rock biopics can sometimes be an unwieldy beast, The Runaways is a strikingly honest look at a band that was much too young for its britches.—Tim Basham
5. The Fifth Element
Year: 1997
Director: Luc Besson
Science fiction to the absurd power, The Fifth Element is the ultimate display of what would happen if a teenage boy wrote a big budget Hollywood script, which is exactly the case here. Set in 23rd century New York City, taxi driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) gets wrapped up in saving the world with his passenger Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), the fifth and final piece that is needed to protect earth. Entertaining, thrilling, and visually fantastical, The Fifth Element is worth every minute of your time.—Caitlin Colford
4. Nosferatu
Year: 1922
Director: F. W. Marnau
F.W. Murnau’s sublimely peculiar riff on Dracula has been a fixture of the genre for so long that to justify its place on this list seems like a waste of time. Magnificent in its freakish, dour mood and visual eccentricities, the movie invented much of modern vampire lore as we know it. It’s once-a-year required viewing of the most rewarding kind.
3. His Girl Friday
Year: 1940
Director: Howard Hawks
Adapted from the widely acclaimed play The Front Page, His Girl Friday is a classic whose sharp, witty dialogue matches that of old newsrooms. This smooth-talking editor, played by the always-charming Cary Grant, recognizes true journalistic talent and goes to great lengths to get his best reporter to cover a major story.—Bonnie Stiernberg
2. The Kid
Year: 1921
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin’s first full-length film and one of his finest achievements, The Kid tells the story of an abandoned child and the life he builds with The Little Tramp. Chaplin went against heavy studio opposition to create a more serious film in contrast to his earlier work. However, The Kid features just as much slapstick humor as his previous shorts, but placed within a broader, more dramatic context.—Wyndham Wyeth
1. Life in a Day
Year: 2011
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Life in a Day is the ultimate YouTube documentary film. What began as a way to commemorate YouTube’s fifth anniversary, LG and Ridley Scott teamed up with the video sharing site and requested clips from visitors worldwide, documenting their lives on a single day: July 24, 2010. 80,000 submissions later, a voyeuristic, beautiful, and fascinating portrait of the variance in humanity was born, defining not only what YouTube is all about, but the potential it has to become.—Caitlin Colford
Source : http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/08/the-20-best-free-movies-on-youtube.html
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