I was reading an article on MedicineNet.com about first aid myths the other day, and I thought it would be interesting to present a few of them here. I for one was surprised by some of the cures that I used and I shouldn’t have.

1. Myth: Putting Butter On A Burn

Applying butter on a burn will just add unclean, foreign proteins to your wound. If they’re 2nd or 3rd degree burns you should go to a doctor. If they’re 1st degree burns (when the skin is red but the feeling still normal), then you can treat it at home. Run cold water on the burn for at least 10 minutes then apply an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment. Then put a cloth on it, and a cold compress over it. Don’t put ice directly on the skin, use a bag of frozen veggies instead.

2. Myth: Throwing Back Your Head When You Have A Nosebleed

This one surprised me, as I’ve been doing it for ages. Tipping your head back can apparently bring the blood into your lungs or into your stomach, which will make you vomit. Instead, grab your nose on the fleshy part, as you would if you would try to stop a bad smell. Press firmly for 10 complete minutes on the clock. Don’t take your hand to see if you’re still bleeding. If the nosebleed goes on for more then 15 minutes, it comes after a serious injury or results in serious blood loss, go to a doctor or the emergency room.

3. Myth: Getting The Venom Out Of A Snakebite As Soon As Possible

Using suction to get out the venom can bring in more germs and bacteria. Don’t let the victim run for help either, as it accelerates the speed of the tissue-destroying and nerve-paralyzing venom. Remove tight clothing and rings from the victim and get them to a hospital. Keep the affected area immobile and below the level of the heart. What I’m curious though, what if you’re camping and a hospital is hours away. I guess using suction to get the venom out is better then nothing?

4. Myth: People Can Swallow Their Tongues During A Seizure

Another one that surprised me. Apparently people can control their own airway and we shouldn’t stick anything in there. Holding him down can also result in injury and we should let the person to roll around on the ground. Just remove any objects that can injure him. I don’t know about this one. Anyone has any opinion on this? I mean, if I see someone having a seizure, I’m going to be really pissed off if he injures himself because I was just waiting around for him to finish it, doing nothing as this doctor says.

5. Myth: A Cold Steak Can Bring Down A Shiner

Putting a cold steak over an injured eye will just introduce grease and foreign proteins in it. Use a frozen bag of veggies instead.

You can read the rest of the article here. There are couple more first aid myths mentioned there.

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One other way of saving money is buying clothes or other season related stuff in other seasons. For example, when the winter is gone and spring comes knocking, it’s a very good opportunity to go buy winter clothes for the next season, as shops try to get rid of the stocks. Unless you’re a fashion victim that needs clothes that match the latest trends, those clothes will be just as good if you use them 6 or 9 months from now.

You probably know what you usually pay for clothes in winter, so make a list of what you’ll absolutely need when winter is coming and go shopping now, looking for cheap alternatives. I’ll have to reinforce the word “need” here. Just because you can find a cheap snowmobile now doesn’t mean you should buy it.

When seasons are over, look for big discounts and take advantage of them so you don’t have to scramble 9 months later. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go look for a new winter coat.

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Today’s tip is somewhat related to the Day 3 tip, reducing entertainment costs. Take a moment and consider the costs of all the objects you buy. DVD’s, books, audio cd’s, games, board games and all the other stuff you buy and usually just store in a closet. Items that are not of everyday use can be borrowed to your friends. You can also borrow a book or a DVD from them and watch it freely instead of paying for it. Or you can just trade them, a book for a DVD or any other combination that makes sense. Taking a book from a friend to read is a very good way to save $20.

This kind of trades can keep your entertained for free for a very long time. I’m already using this together with my friends. If they have a book that I want to read, I borrow it from them and give it back once I’m finished with it. When me and one of my friends want to buy some books, we don’t buy the same titles, because we’re going to trade the books and all of them anyway.

A better way to find something you like, instead of relying solely on your friends taste in books, is using a service like SwitchPlanet.com. They allow you to give away any item to other members, and receive instead virtual currency that you can use to get stuff that other users want to get rid off. The only cost is those for shipping. A very nice way to save money and get all kinds of stuff in return.

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For the third day of the 10 Day Money Saving Marathon, we’ll see how we can reduce the costs for entertainment. The inspiration came from this article, that makes a nice job on breaking down the costs for several fun activities. Now, I’m not necessarily for cutting back on fun activities and doing something else then we usually do just because it saves money. Relaxing and doing something you truly enjoy is very important, so I’m going to use this tip for the times when I really need to cut back or when I’m in a tight spot with money.

The best value for money when it comes to fun comes from items you buy and use very often, but there are some activities from that list that make sense doing more often if you enjoy them. Biking, bowling ($5/hour), board games, a walk in the park, a picnic, going to a movie or seeing a show from iTunes or using Netflix. You can add to that list camping, reading a book and listening to music.

For example, if you usually go bowling every weekend for 2 hours, and you rent something from Netflix instead, you save $8 every week, or $400 every year. It may not seem much, but if you use it combined with the rest of the tips in the series, it all adds up to quite a large amount of money.

In the end, it’s all about what your current entertainment costs are, and if you’re willing to trade for something cheaper.

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Perhaps one of the greatest dreams of human kind is immortality. Through medical advances and increase in quality of life our life expectancy keeps going up, but immortality is still far from being reached. Until that happens (if it will happen) there are ways you can increase your chances of a long and healthy life. This article was researched mostly because of my parents, since I’m still in my twenties and life expectancy is less of a worry for me now (though it should be).

1. Get friends and stick with them

In a 10 year study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, on more then 28.000 men and women, those that lived a solitary life were 20% more likely to die from any cause, then those that maintained a large network of family, friends and had community involvement. The solitary type was 53% more likely to die from heart related problems and twice as likely to die from accidents or by suicide.

2. Use a bicycle instead of driving when possible

A study done in Denmark on 13.000 women and 17.000 men with ages from 20 to 93 years old, revealed that those that didn’t use a bicycle to get to work experienced a mortality rate 39% higher. Though it wasn’t clear exactly why this was, the researchers think that it has to do with the average 3 hours of cycling done every week, which is considered moderate exercise. So if going to work on your bike isn’t an option, you can still go to the gym and exercise to get these benefits. In addition to that, bicycling home after a hard day at work may relieve some of the stress. Also, another result was that the older a woman was, the better the results were from using bicycles. Apparently this strategy has the best results when used by women.

3. Volunteer for 30-40 hours a year when you’re older

A study done in the period 1986-1994 on 1,211 older adults showed that those that volunteered for a moderate period of time each year were less likely to die then those that didn’t have activities. Also, volunteering too much can increase the death rate according to the scientists. The best effects of volunteering were seen on older men and women who didn’t have an active social life. Volunteering can give people once they stop working both a social life, the chance to make new friends and a new meaning and purpose for their life.

4. Get tested

Get tested every couple of months and make sure you’re disease free. There are a lot of diseases that can be caught and neutralized if detected early and a doctor can tell you what your risks are and what steps you should make to prevent them. When your body tells you that something is not right, go to a doctor and make sure everything is alright.

5. Don’t smoke

I know you hear this all the time, but it’s still worth mentioning. Every cigarette you smoke shortens your life expectancy by 11 minutes. If you smoke one pack a day for 10 years then your life expectancy is lower by 1.5 years. Is it really worth it?

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Day 2 of the Money Saving Marathon has started, and I already brewed my own coffee and I’m ready for the second goal, driving less and saving money I pay on fuel.

In the last years, people have started taking fuel costs more seriously, and not taking it for granted anymore. Buying cars that consume less gasoline is one way of saving money here, but you can also use shortcuts.

For example, if you make your shopping when you return from work, and have a favorite supermarket that you visit, and it’s not on your regular route, then try and find something that doesn’t need extra driving. Check the magazines or fuel stations on your regular route and see if they don’t offer the same things. Whenever you need something that they have, go to the nearest shop.

Also, use a GPS or check yourself how long each route takes you and how much fuel you use. If you can use shortcuts then you’re saving money. Change your habits when it comes to driving and it will add money in your pocket.

For example, if you do all your shopping only once a week instead of every 2 days, and you use shortcuts on your regular routes, you might use one less full tank of gas every year or even more. It might be only couple hundred dollars but with the rising fuel costs this will mean more and more as time goes by.

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First day goal in the 10 Day Money Saving Marathon is switching to my own brewed coffee. I usually buy my coffee from a local coffee shop, so over a year I end up paying quite a bit for this little pleasure.

Now, no matter what coffee you like, chances are you can find the recipe on the Internet. If you enjoy Starbucks coffee you can go here to learn how to make your own. In my case, its much easier, since I drink my coffee black. Tips on how to make a good pot of coffee here.

Brewing your own coffee has multiple advantages. Besides the money that you save daily, you also gain time every day. You don’t have to stop every single day and stay in line to get your coffee. If you spend 10 minutes every day to buy your coffee, that amounts to 50 minutes per week or 2600 minutes per year. That’s 43 hours of standing in line every year at Starbucks to buy coffee! Use those 10 minutes to make your own coffee for work or do a small goal in your own marathon.

Now, a coffee at Starbucks might cost $4, making your own coffee will probably cost you $0.50. If you usually buy 5 coffees per week at Starbucks that means $17.50 saved if you brew your own. In one year it means an extra $910 in your pocket.

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In general, people tend to focus in life on their big goals, their dreams. Small goals are just as important to have and can make a huge difference in your life. One way of doing it is having small goal marathons. What I like to call small goal marathons are periods of time where I learn to do something new every single day. It can be a 7 day period or it can be 1 month, or anything in between.

In order to really feel the results I’d recommend having small goal marathons focused on a specific area of your life. You can do 10 days of experimenting with different money saving techniques, you can do 7 days of making contact again with old friends that you lost touch with, or 31 days marathons where you spend some time with your family each day and do something together. Whatever the focus of your small goal marathon, you’ll see that it can bring huge rewards when combined.

I’ll try to have small goal marathons all the time here on Brick Blogging and hopefully it will help you as much as it helps me. It’s all about those little bricks that build a house when combined.

I’ll kick it off today with the 10 Day Money Saving Marathon, and post a new tip every day, with a recap at the end.

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Want to get more done in less time?  Time is the one constant in all our goals that  raises problems. We waste it daily on different tasks that should be done in much less time. I’ve just read a book called “175 Ways to Get More Done in Less Time”. While many of those tips are just to fill the space and don’t do that much, I checked those that I think are truly valuable and I’ve made my own version of that list. The result is a list of 60 ways to improve your productivity.

Getting Started On The Right Foot

1. Know how you spend your time

Much of our daily time goes on unimportant tasks that don’t help us in any way to get the work done. Observe how you spend your day and which are the areas that you can improve.

2. Focus on starting tasks rather then finishing them

Rather then thinking in the terms of doing something, focus on trying to start it first. That’s usually the hardest part, starting to work on something. Once you get it going you’ll find that it’s easier to actually finish it.

3. Expect the unexpected

Unexpected events will take place every single day and they will eat some of your time. Don’t plan all your day in advance. Instead, leave 20% of your work time unscheduled. If there are only minimal interruptions then use that extra time to work on tasks that are more enjoyable or get a head start on the next day with something more important.

4. Write it down

Relying solely on your memory isn’t the best way to remember to get things done. We forget things all the time, so it’s best to write down your to-do lists and the problems that you need to fix.

5. But don’t write it on pieces of paper

When you write down something that needs to be done don’t do it on pieces of paper that can be lost. Use a spiral-bound notebook or an agenda and a pen. Take them with you wherever you go and write everything down in it, from to-do lists to phone numbers.

6. Learn to speed read

Being able to read documents and books faster will definitely bring you extra time. Plus, it’s something that it’s useful your entire life. Take a course on speed reading or look for ways on how to do it online. I think this will be my next article.

7. Less clutter, better productivity

Ask yourself this question “What’s the worst that can happen if I throw this away?”. If you can live with the answer then throw it away. We cling to lots of things from our past that don’t make sense on keeping. Unless it’s got sentimental value, it’s not worth keeping.

8. Date stamp what you can’t decide to throw away

If you can’t decide to throw something away because you might need it again, put a sticky note on it with the current date and store it in a special drawer for all this stuff. If in 90 days you didn’t need it, get rid of it.

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With a bit of a delay, for which I apologize, here are the entries for the Group Writing Project organized by the Middle Zone Musings blog. My post was What I’ve Learned From Working on a Start-Up.

What I Learned from.

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